Institute of the Shadow Fae Box Set

by C. N. Crawford

  I gritted my teeth. I wasn’t giving him the redemption he was looking for. “And you have no idea where he’s keeping her?”

  “Do you honestly think that I wouldn’t rescue her if I knew where she was?” he shouted, his voice bellowing off the stones. His eyes flashed. For a moment, intense fury contorted his features, and I had a vision of the formidable man he must have been at one time. Then, his eyes dulled again.

  The way he described the queen’s fingers made me think he was more than a loyal subject.

  “You’re in love with Queen Macha,” I said. “That’s why Baleros could manipulate you so easily.”

  Savus’s mist whipped around him. “She was supposed to marry me. Centuries ago, she was supposed to be mine. But I couldn’t marry her after she sullied herself with that incubus, and after she gave birth to Ruadan. He was a mistake that ruined both our lives.”

  “Of course, I understand. Ruadan’s entire existence is a slap in your face, isn’t it? A living symbol of your life’s ruination.” My lip curled. “Is it really all Baleros’s doing, or do you just want to correct this blight on your life?”

  The mist thickened around Savus. “I am doing what I must to protect a queen of Emain. That is all.”

  I could tell by the shaking of his hands that I’d rattled him.

  “Do you honestly think Queen Macha could love you after you kill her son? You can’t erase a mistake when the mistake is a person’s child.”

  Savus’s face turned pink. “I resisted Baleros’s demands for as long as I could. But Baleros will rip her apart! He will exalt her!”

  “You could turn the mist army against him.”

  “The goddess of fire would simply revive him. He can’t be killed.”

  “Everything can be killed,” I snarled. “You really haven’t tried. You’re giving a monster like Baleros the power to control the portals? You really think that’s a good idea? I don’t think you understand. Queen Macha won’t just be angry. She will hate you with every cell in her body. His mother will want you dead—”

  He flicked his hand and mist slid over my mouth, solidifying into a gag. Furious, I screamed into it.

  “You’re right,” he said. “I can’t let her know that I gave the command.” He tapped his fingertips together. “We’ll do this in private. Maddan will strike the blows. He’s been eager to do that. I’ll blame it on him, then I’ll have him killed as well. Queen Macha will be so pleased when I exalt him. I don’t care if I anger his father. I’m willing to make that sacrifice. You see?” His eyes shone in the darkness, the terrifying gleam of a fanatic. “I am willing to make that sacrifice for my queen.”

  I shouted into my gag, my chest heaving.

  He arched an eyebrow. “I know what you’re thinking. It’s a betrayal of the Institute. But the truth is, I’m making a sacrifice for the good of Emain.” He tapped a finger against his lip, eying me warily. “You’re dangerous. I’m going to need to subdue you.”

  He flicked his hand again, and the mist covered my nose so I couldn’t breathe. As my lungs burned, I knew what he was doing. Smothering me, knocking me unconscious until I no longer posed the smallest of threats to him.

  Chapter 59

  I couldn’t see much when I awoke—just the mist around me, and the contours of mist soldiers. A small cohort surrounded me, fog wafting off their silhouettes.

  Even if I couldn’t see much, I sure as shit could feel the iron garrote searing my throat. So this is where Baleros had learned about the iron garrote—apparently an Institute classic. Rope bound my wrists behind an iron stake, and the metal scalded my skin. My hands were crammed between the stake and a jagged stone wall.

  The mist had been taken from my nose so I could breathe again, but it still gagged my mouth. A jagged edge of stone bit into my fingers, practically crushing them against the stake.

  By the dim sound of dripping water and the heavy, mildewed feel of the air, I had the sense that we were in an underground space, one without open windows.

  I’d tried to talk Savus out of a public execution. Instead, I’d given him the idea to secretly assassinate us.

  “Arianna?” Ruadan’s voice echoed off the stones.

  I screamed into the damned mist gag, then I willed my heartbeat to slow, trying to think clearly.

  As I surveyed the hall around me, I flexed my wrists. When I looked up, I could see the contours of the room. A high, mossy ceiling arched a hundred feet above us. No windows. It seemed to be an enormous underground hall, and iron torture devices hung from the stone above. Not a fitting place for the prince of Emain to die.

  Then, torchlight tinged the mist with warm light, and footfalls clacked over the stone. From between the mist soldiers, Maddan stalked closer, a silver-hilted sword slung at his hip. I had no doubt the blade was iron, ready to dispatch us. My heart was a hunted animal.

  I wanted to vomit into my gag. Frantically, I rotated my wrists back and forth to loosen the bindings. If I managed to free my hands—well, I’d still be shit out of luck, because iron pinned my neck to the stake. But with my hands free, maybe I could attack Maddan if he got close enough…or delay things until I thought of a better idea.

  I grimaced, now shifting the ropes up and down against the jagged rock. Maybe I could saw through them.

  Maddan bit his lip at the sight of me, his cheeks reddening. He stroked his fingertips over the silver hilt of his sword, up and down, up and down.

  I shot a quick glance in the direction of Ruadan. As the mist shifted, I caught a glimpse of him. His arms were bound to a stake behind his spine, an iron garrote at his neck. All that iron around him would dampen his powers, sapping his strength.

  Maddan unsheathed his sword, a smile curling his lips as he stared at me. “I’m glad you now understand the proper order of things.” His gaze nervously slid to Ruadan, as if he were scared the incubus was about to break free and rip his head off.

  “I never wanted to execute a prince,” said Maddan. “It goes against everything I was raised to believe. But Grand Master Savus said that I had to. It’s the only way I can become a Shadow Fae. The only way he’d let me slaughter the gutter trash. As you can see, I don’t have a choice in this.”

  I glanced at Ruadan again. For once, no dark magic whipped around him, since the iron absorbed it all. He glared at Maddan, his eyes completely black. He didn’t say a word, his animal stillness taking over. Was he just going to stand there, completely still, until the iron sword cut into his throat?

  A grin spread on Maddan’s face, as he seemed to forget Ruadan was in the room. He prowled closer to me, and my skin crawled.

  Behind Maddan, the cohort of mist soldiers marched forward, armor glinting in the torchlight.

  Panic started to crawl up my throat.

  Maddan licked his lips. “I just want to savor this moment. A pretty little gutter fae, bound by iron.” His voice was a groan. “All mine. I’ll be thinking about this for a long time.”

  By the creepy-as-fuck leer on his face, I knew he’d forgotten about Ruadan altogether. I just focused on the small but rapid movements behind my back. Up and down, up and down.

  Mist whirled around the room, snaking over the floor and curling around our bodies, rushing over the rough contours of the stone walls. I could hardly see the soldiers anymore—only Maddan in front of me. The mist was a mercy, concealing the subtle shake of my shoulders that might otherwise give away my attempt to saw through the rope.

  Dimly, I could hear the faint, almost inaudible groan of metal coming from somewhere near Ruadan. What was he doing over there?

  Maddan, the sick twat, looked all too thrilled with this situation. Maybe I could keep him distracted long enough to cut through the rope. I opened my eyes wide in a mimicry of terror and screamed into my gag.

  Maddan groaned with pleasure. He couldn’t possibly imagine that right now, I was thinking of how it would sound when the crack of his bone echoed off the stones.

  Up and down, up and down.


  I longed for anything to disrupt Savus’s plans, to delay the point when the blade would hack into our throats…anything to give us time to figure a way out.

  When Maddan clamped his hand on my waist, I nearly threw up. Instead, I distracted myself with images of his death. Let’s see…an iron nail through the heart, one in his skull. Up and down, up and down.

  The sword, of course, would be easiest—

  At last, the final bit of rope snapped, and my hands burst free. I grabbed Maddan’s head—one hand around the back, one on his jaw. I twisted, and the crack of bone sounded off the stone ceiling.

  Maddan’s body slumped to the ground with a dull thud, and I stared down at him, smiling under my gag.

  Slowly, the fog began to part, and Savus stepped forward.

  “You killed my executioner,” he said. Then, a long sigh. “I suppose he’s not fully dead. Until he recovers, I’ll have to find another.” He tutted. “Honestly. This is highly inconvenient.”

  Truthfully, I’d hoped for a bit more of a reaction than that.

  Still, that faint, nearly imperceptible groan of metal…what was that?

  Savus flicked his wrist, and the mist snaked around my hands, binding them from the front. Sadly, this was a binding I wouldn’t be able to saw off.

  Savus crossed out of the room, his footsteps clapping over the stone floor. But he’d left his soldiers behind to watch us, and their silver eyes burned through the fog.

  I’m not sure how much time had passed by the time Savus returned with his new executioner. Pinned to an iron stake by a garrote that burned my throat, I was running on cage time. It had seemed like four hours, so it was probably about twenty minutes. Twenty minutes of silence broken only by the faint, nearly inaudible sound of groaning metal.

  A new figure stalked into the room, dressed in a black cloak, a cowl over his head. He gripped an iron sword.

  It took me a moment to realize the hands were not a man’s, but were delicate, with a rich bronze color.

  My heart galloped. Melusine was going to kill us? She wouldn’t.

  “They are enemies of the Institute,” Savus’s voice boomed off the damp stone walls. “Traitors working with one of our greatest enemies. I have reported them to the High Council of Emain, and we have received permission to execute. They are agents of Baleros. They are an insidious infection that will destroy the Institute from within…I have allowed them to live, and my crown has withered. We must correct this at once.”

  Melusine pulled down her cowl. She stepped closer, the mist coiling around her face. “Honestly, Grand Master Savus, I’m a little perplexed. Why do you want me to kill them?”

  His low growl boomed through my gut. “As I said, they are enemies of the Institute. Traitors. If you do as you are asked, you will be inducted as one of the Shadow Fae. You will have proven yourself, and you can take Ruadan’s spot. I know that’s what you’ve always wanted—to be a Shadow Fae. Now, you’ll no longer have to return home in disgrace. Isn’t that what you want, Melusine? To be a hero? For your life to mean something? I know it was lonely for you back home. This is your chance. It’s a matter of good and evil, as I’m sure you understand.”

  His voice had a soothing quality that snaked over my skin, almost convincing me that this was all a perfectly logical state of affairs. Of course it made sense that we should die.

  Maddan shifted at my feet, gasping for breath, but his eyes hadn’t yet opened. He groaned. When he awoke, he’d hack our heads off within moments. Even an idiot like him would know better than to screw around a second time.

  Savus didn’t want Queen Macha to know that he’d given the order. If I had to guess, his plan probably involved slaughtering Melusine right after she dispatched us.

  I glanced at Ruadan, hoping to see a sign that he had a plan, that he was working on something, but he was completely still. Had he simply accepted his fate? He seemed like the kind who would try to go out with dignity or something asinine like that. I’d go out screaming and clawing at flesh, bellowing curses into the void.

  Melusine wrinkled her nose, staring at me. “Thing I don’t get, Grand Master Savus, is why you came to get me and handed me this sword. Seems to me like you don’t want to kill them yourself. Seems like you don’t want your mist soldiers to kill them, either. I see Maddan here, lying on the floor, and that looks like a failed attempt at an execution to me. Then you come get me, try to get me to do it. I put two and two together. I may not be the strongest, but my intellectual capacities are fully intact. I can do six kinds of math. And what I see here is that you’re looking for a loophole, trying not to anger the Old Gods by getting someone else to do your dirty work. Now—”

  “Kill them!” Savus’s voice boomed. “Or I’ll turn the mist soldiers on you. You ungrateful wretch. I’ll have them tear you limb from limb, and boil your flesh in heated iron. The Old Gods don’t protect you.”

  Her face blanched as the mist soldiers began moving closer to her. Still gripping the iron sword, she held up her hands. “Now hang on. Hang on. Let’s just think this through.”

  On the ground, Maddan shifted again, groaning.

  The mist soldiers took another step closer to Melusine. Through the swirls of fog, I couldn’t see the expression on her face, but when she spoke again, I could hear the tremor in her voice. “I’m just asking that we all think—”

  Maddan leapt to his feet, and he snatched the sword from Melusine. He whirled, turning on me. As he moved closer through the fog, I could see the fury etched on his features.

  Then, a loud groan of creaking metal. My gaze flicked to Ruadan. Through the mist, I could barely make out what he was doing. He was pulling the garrote apart with his bare hands. Even with all the iron around him, weakening his body, he was powerful enough to bend the metal. Never underestimate a demigod, apparently.

  Joy bloomed in my heart at the sight of his garrote separating from the stake.

  Maddan raised the sword, ready for a swing, and panic paused my heart for just a moment.

  Then, the rumbling of the ground beneath us stopped Maddan’s swing—an earthquake that shook through my bones.

  Chapter 60

  “What’s going on?” Maddan shrieked, trying to keep his balance.

  Stone began crumbling beneath my feet, the floor cracking. Through the cracks, I caught a glimpse of dark, churning waters, flecked with stars. Ruadan was opening a portal.

  While Savus and Maddan shouted for the mist soldiers to attack, the world fell away under my feet, and I plunged into icy water.

  As I sank deeper under the water, hot wrath simmered inside me. Someday, I’d quench my fury with blood. I wanted to kill Savus, Maddan, all of them…

  In the cold waters, the mist around my arms and mouth began to dissolve. Unfortunately, I was still trapped to the damn stake by the iron garrote. Worse, the stake was connected to a large chunk of stone, and the whole thing was pulling me in deeper underwater, choking me as I sank into the portal. I flailed around, kicking in the water, but I couldn’t move myself upwards. My lungs were on fire.

  At last, a powerful arm looped around my waist.

  I held my breath, sinking underwater, and I stared into Ruadan’s violet eyes. Already, the presence of his magic and his body’s warmth soothed me.

  He reached for the garrote around my neck. Gritting his teeth, he pulled at it, bending the metal.

  Nothing particularly clever, no magic. He was just unbelievably strong, even when the iron around him had dampened his powers.

  Freed from the garrote, I kicked my legs, swimming for the surface. My lungs felt as if they might explode, but I stared with relief at the rays of light piercing the water. Hope began to bloom in my chest. Above us, I could see other bodies moving, kicking to the surface. Soldiers from the mist army must have fallen in. But as I swam, they began to dissolve in the icy water like sugar.

  The iron sword—the one Maddan had been holding—drifted down, and I caught it by the hilt. Had Maddan fall
en through as well? I hoped he had. I’d drive this weapon right through his throat.

  Now, I saw only moon rays piercing the surface. If Maddan had pulled himself out of the water first, he’d probably be waiting for us at the portal’s exit, ready to strike.

  At last, I breached the surface. I gasped for breath, frantically scanning for signs of Maddan, but I saw only a dark orchard, and a starry sky arching high above us. I still gripped the sword. As I caught my breath, it took me a few moments to recognize that we’d emerged in a fountain. Unlike the fountain in Lilinor, this one looked natural—a small geyser spurting out of a rough, stone-rimmed pool. Water rained down from above.

  I sucked in air to fill my lungs, and grasped onto the lip of the fountain. When I glanced behind me, I saw Ruadan climbing out of the water on the other side of the fountain.

  Still gripping the sword, I followed suit. Exhausted, I flopped down on the wet soil. By the heavy scent of apples in the air—a smell that Ruadan carried with him—I had the sense that he’d brought us to Emain. But that wasn’t my most pressing issue right now. I pushed myself up again, surveying the space around us.

  First things first. Establish the existence of a threat.

  “I think Maddan came through.” I lifted the sword, still catching my breath. “Found this sinking in the water.”

  Ruadan sniffed the air. “I think you’re right. But he was wearing the lumen stone. He must have leapt away from us.”

  “You don’t sense him around us?”

  “No, but we’ll need to find him.”

  I inwardly cursed myself for my sluggishness, relative to Ruadan. If I hadn’t been here, he could have shadow-leapt after Maddan. Instead, Ruadan was waiting for me.

  “Bloody right we need to find him,” I grumbled. “Let me have the honor of severing his head, please.”

  Ruadan’s magic snaked over my skin, raising goosebumps. “Not yet. We need to capture Maddan as soon as we can and take him to Emain’s High Council.”