Institute of the Shadow Fae Box Set

by C. N. Crawford

  I’d have to ask for Ruadan’s shirt.

  Speaking of Ruadan, where the hells was he? The bastard thought he was going to protect me, and here I was getting attacked by creepy poets lurking in the bushes.

  It took me a few moments to get my bearings, until I glimpsed the broken branches that marked my path back to the main trail. I pushed through the undergrowth, sticks scratching at my bare skin, until I found my way to the larger, clear path. I was wearing nothing but my knickers, but I held my hand over my breasts as I walked.

  On the main path, I found not a single incubus. I considered yelling out for Ruadan, but decided I may not want to call any more attention to myself, particularly considering I was basically naked and reeking of ancient fae blood.

  An alluring song floated through the tree boughs—a female voice. I sniffed the air, breathing in the scent of pine, a faint hint of apples. Ruadan was nearby. I spotted a few broken branches in the shrubs, and I sniffed the air again.

  Well, well, well. Seems Ruadan got a bit distracted as well.

  I cupped my breasts as I walked through the darkened forest, my feet crunching over the leaves, until the little path opened into a clearing. A sensual song floated through the night air, trembling over my skin. A sapphire pond glittered in the starlight, so beautiful I nearly missed the people standing by the lake’s edge.

  My chest tightened with irritation at the sight of Ruadan. Sirens dressed in sheer, gossamer dresses surrounded him, singing into his ears. Their wild berry-colored hair cascaded over delicate shoulders. The women—with very visible nipples—gripped his limbs, sliding their hands over his body. Pearly wings swooped down their backs, rhythmically beating the air.

  Ruadan’s eyes had turned black as the night sky, and he didn’t seem to see me. The sirens’ music lured me closer, their song a powerful tug in my chest.

  I gripped the sword tighter. I ran my fingertips over the iron, using the pain to keep control of myself, even as the song seduced me. Ruadan’s muscles tensed. With a grunt, he ripped himself away from the sirens. He whirled on them, snarling, canines bared. His dark magic poisoned the air, and the lake began to ice over. Finally.

  The sirens’ wings fluttered, feathers flying around as they scrambled away from him. Their beautiful song fragmented, the melodies falling apart. Then, they clambered back into the icy lake.

  “Enjoying yourself, Ruadan?”

  Chapter 62

  His head snapped toward me, eyes dark as pitch. “I was just leaving.” His eyes slowly raked up and down my body. “Perhaps I could ask the same of you. It seems someone has divested you of your clothing.”

  “He’s dead now. But it just seems like you were making a few friends.”

  His magic lashed the air around him as he stared at me. He went completely still, and I had the odd sensation that he was about to pounce on me like a wild animal.

  After a moment of silence, he said. “You’re wearing nothing but a few streaks of fae blood.”

  “Why are we still talking about that?” I snapped.

  I crossed to the sirens, my eye on one with blue hair. Before she could escape me, I leaned down and gripped her arm hard. I pointed my sword at her. Chunks of ice floated around her, and her breath clouded the air. She blinked at me, pouting, her face a mask of innocence. I tried to ignore the fact that I’d now totally uncovered my breasts.

  “I’m going to need your dress,” I said. “Now.”

  She opened her mouth to sing, and my back started arching at the sound. “Stop it!” I yelled. “I will sing over you. And nobody wants that. It’s not pretty. Also, in case I wasn’t clear, this sword is made of iron and I will cut out your larynx.”

  Did I feel bad for stealing a woman’s dress at swordpoint? Maybe a little, but I really needed it, and I’m sure she could find a new one.

  She pouted for a moment, then held out her free arm. The other sirens swarmed around her, untying the ribbons from her arms and back. They peeled off the gossamer fabric, and her breasts bobbed in the water. She scowled at me as she handed me the dress.

  I let go of her arm as I snatched the dress from her, and the sirens began humming again.

  I shot Ruadan a sharp look, clutching the gossamer fabric to the front of my body. “Let’s get away from them before they start singing again.”

  “I was just leaving them.”

  “Were you now? Looked like you were standing there while they rubbed their gossamer tits all over you.”

  After a long silence, he said, “There were five of them.” Then, his gaze slid over my body again. “You haven’t explained what happened to your clothing.”

  “I met the gancanagh.”

  “And he stole your dress.” I heard a hint of snarl in his voice.

  “Yes. Before I killed him. He talked a lot. You know what I like?”

  He didn’t respond, but I answered anyway. “Men who don’t talk too much.”

  For just a moment, the corner of his lips twitched in a smile. “I’ll take the sword while you put the dress on.”

  He took the sword from me and turned away. With his back to me, I slipped the dress on. It was a bizarre cut, with holes in the back and swaths of fabric meant to accommodate wings. A series of ribbons hung down the back.

  Freezing lake water soaked the dress. With the sheer fabric, it didn’t hide much, and I’m not sure it was worth the bother.

  “Ruadan? Can you tie up the back?”

  He didn’t say a word, but within moments, I felt his fingers nimbly moving up my spine as he tied the ribbons.

  I turned to face him, and I held my hand out for the sword. But he wasn’t handing it to me. Instead, his eyes were on my body. I watched them shift from violet to the darkness of night, and his magic snaked over my body.

  In the sheer dress, and without my sword, I felt strangely vulnerable under his dark gaze.

  “Ruadan,” I said. “We need to find Maddan.”

  His eyes cleared again. “I know.”

  He crossed to me and handed me the sword.

  “I’m amazed Maddan didn’t get pulled in by the siren women,” I said. “Apparently, he has better self-control than you. But honestly, Ruadan, it’s a good thing you were around to save me, just like you said.”

  “I was about to leave them,” he reiterated, a hint of a growl in his voice.

  I sniffed the air. “There. Do you smell him? We’re still on the right track.”

  Ruadan’s eyes were on the ground. He didn’t say anything, but after a moment, I caught what he was looking at—footprints, about the right size for Maddan. Gripping the sword, I crossed onto the main path. I moved as quietly as I could through the underbrush.

  After a few minutes, the trail cut into the thicker forest. Here, broken branches and footprints signaled Maddan’s route. Here, too, his scent grew stronger.

  The distant sound of chatter pricked up my ears, until we reached a clearing.

  As soon as we did, hunger gripped my stomach. Silver moonlight washed over a long banquet table laden with the most elaborate feast I’d ever seen: fruit pies, roast pheasant, bowls of strawberries, an entire duck, bread, and butter. My mouth watered.

  I nearly missed the sight of Maddan. He was rolling around in the dirt in only his underwear, his pale skin covered in cream and smeared berries. His face beamed ecstatically.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  Ruadan held a finger to his lips, then quietly whispered, “The enchantment of the forest has lured him in. But it’s likely to be a trap.”

  I’d never seen his bare feet before, but now that I could, I realized they were comically small. Practically the size of a child’s feet.

  My nose wrinkled in disgust. No wonder he had that weird, lumbering walk.

  I was about to take another step closer, when Ruadan grabbed me by the waist. My muscles tensed.

  This didn’t seem like a particularly dangerous situation—apart from the enduring psychological horror of watching Ma
ddan roll around in cream and mashed berries. But of course, here, things were not always as they seemed. If this was a trap, it was like a fae spider’s web. But what sort of fae sentinel was trapping us?

  The shrill cry of a bird pierced the canopy of trees, and I looked up through the boughs, catching the silhouette of a crow against the moon.

  When I looked back at the table, one of the pies was shaking and trembling, the crust bulging. A sharp beak pierced its surface, and a black bird burst from it. In the air, the bird transformed into a warrior, clad in black. Her white-blond hair whipped around her head, and she drew a sword—an iron blade, just like mine. She was enormous, practically the same size as Ruadan, and the sight of her sent a jolt of dread through my chest. The iron spikes jutting from her black leather didn’t really lessen the intimidation factor. Here I was, in a gossamer-lake-water dress.

  Ruadan leaned in, whispering in my ear. “Do you have this?”

  “Yes.” Already, battle fury raced through my limbs, making my legs shake.

  Without waiting, I rushed for her, and our swords clashed. Within moments, we were whirling around each other, iron hammering against iron.

  Through the clanging of our swords, I heard more birds dive for us, screeching. Ruadan was unarmed, but I wasn’t too worried about him.

  My opponent thrust her sword at me, but she left herself open on the right side. I drove my blade between her ribs.

  She fell to the earth, and I whirled to take on the other attackers—three of them. For just a moment, I stared at Ruadan, who was fighting bare-handed. He was a maelstrom of fury, a whorl of black shadows and canines tearing into flesh. He was managing to fend off three attackers at once.

  I cocked my head, learning from him as he fought. With his speed, no one could get a blow in. I liked watching him fight, and I stared as he snapped a warrior’s neck. Shadows whipped through the air, and he whirled again. I smiled at the sound of crunching bone when he slammed his fist into a warrior’s face.

  Maddan was still rolling around on the ground, oblivious to the violence around him. Before he got the chance to clear his mind, I reached down and snatched the lumen crystal off his throat. I clasped it around my neck, and shadow magic rushed through my limbs. After a dizzying moment, I managed to evenly channel it throughout my body.

  I gripped the sword again, but when I turned back to Ruadan, it was clear he didn’t need my help.

  In another five seconds, all three warriors were lying on the earth. They weren’t dead, but they wouldn’t be getting up in the next few minutes. Good enough.

  Maddan pushed himself up onto his elbows, blinking. When his gaze landed on Ruadan and me, his face paled. He scrambled to his feet, reaching for the lumen crystal around his neck. It took him a moment to realize he’d lost it.

  “Maddan,” I said. “How lovely to see you again. I love the new look. Seems like you’re doing fantastic since we last met. When was that? Oh, that’s right, it was just an hour or so ago when you were about to slice off my head with this iron sword.” I lifted it.

  Ruadan stepped closer—two fae princes squaring off, one of them considerably more intimidating then the other.

  “You’re coming with us.” Venom laced Ruadan’s voice.

  “You can’t kill me,” he sputtered. “My father will send an entire army after you. Grand Master Savus will, too.”

  “You’re coming with us to the High Council,” Ruadan interrupted him. “Put your clothes on.”

  I frowned at his feet. “Do you wear extra-large shoes to hide the ridiculous size of your feet? How do you even manage to stand?”

  His face reddened, and he fell silent. Without another word, he snatched his clothing off the ground, frantically dressing himself. He was shaking so much, he didn’t bother trying to clean the cream off his body. “Where are you taking me?” he asked.

  “The High Council of Emain.”

  Maddan blinked, pausing with his trousers halfway up his legs. “Emain? Why are we going to see the High Council?”

  I swung the iron sword in the air, carving it in sharp arcs before lowering it again. I just wanted to remind him that we could easily kill him. “All we need is for you to tell them what happened. Tell them what Grand Master Savus asked of you, and that Baleros has the queen.”

  “That’s it?”

  The ground trembled beneath our feet, and cracks of water opened within the soil.

  It took me a moment to realize what was happening, and that magical light glowed from around Ruadan’s body.

  The ground gave way to icy water, and I plunged down beneath the depths, still gripping the sword. I held my breath as the water enveloped me.

  The prince of Emain was really starting to piss me off with his lack of warnings.

  Chapter 63

  The jolt of freezing water shocked me. As I sank deeper, a few thoughts whirled in my mind. One, apparently you could take a portal within worlds, and not just between them. And two, I owed Ruadan the shock of an ice water bath as he slept.

  At last, pale light streamed onto the water’s surface from above, and I kicked my legs hard, swimming past Maddan. The silver orb of the moon appeared, and my hand pierced the surface. Still clinging onto the iron sword, I looped one arm over the stone lip of the portal’s edge, and I hoisted myself out, gasping.

  Ruadan had already climbed out, and he stood, his body dripping with water. He was staring up at the castle that loomed above us.

  I clambered out of the water onto soil. “A little warning would be nice,” I grumbled.

  But my attention was already turning to the palace itself. A rocky, mountainous slope rose above us. The castle seemed to grow from the slope itself—its turrets made of uneven rock. Narrow gaps in the rocks formed windows—chinks of pale light in its walls. Thick ropes of tree roots and vines wound around the castle walls.

  Inset into the base of the castle was an ornately carved wooden door.

  The splashing and gasping behind me told me that Maddan had arrived through the portal.

  Maddan sucked in breath so sharply he almost sounded like an animal. Then, he grasped for the fountain’s rim. Grunting, he pulled himself over the edge and flopped onto the soil.

  “How do we get in?” I asked.

  Ruadan was already moving for the carved door. I grabbed Maddan by the arm, yanking him off the ground and dragging him toward the door. Still barefoot, he stumbled after me on his ridiculous small feet.

  “Why do you need me to report to the High Council?” he protested. “Do you want me to explain to them that you’re traitors who worked for Baleros?”

  “They’ve already heard that story,” I said through gritted teeth. “You need to tell them the part about how Grand Master Savus is working with Baleros.”

  “And what if I don’t tell them that?” Maddan sniffed.

  Ruadan whirled, and the look on his face, the darkness in his eyes, slid right through my bones. Despite his beauty, Ruadan’s was a face from nightmares.

  “In Emain, we interrogate people through torture. It’s not reliable, but it’s an old tradition. I could break your bones,” said Ruadan, “one by one. It would delight me to hear your shrieks echo off the ceiling. Or, you could simply tell them the truth, like I’ve asked.”

  Maddan swallowed hard. “Torture? Even royalty from other realms?”

  “We do things our own way here,” said Ruadan. He whirled again, moving for the door. As we approached it, my eyes roamed over the carvings. It looked like it was made of oak, probably thirty feet high. A craftsman had carved it with pictures of stags, curling leaves, trees, and an engraved hand in the center.

  When Ruadan reached it, he leaned down to his boot. He unsheathed a silver dagger. Then, he slid the blade across his palm, drawing blood. He pressed his bloodied palm against the engraved hand.

  The door groaned, slowly sliding open, the weight of it shaking dirt from the rocky walls above us. Slowly, the enormous door heaved open.

  “
Is that an Emain royalty benefit?” I asked.

  “The castle knows my blood.”

  The door rumbled open, revealing towering stone ceilings. Oak roots seemed to grow into stone around us, and torchlight faintly illuminated a vaulted ceiling that peaked hundreds of feet above us.

  While I was gaping at the hall, Ruadan had already moved ahead, his footfalls echoing off the high arches.

  I gripped Maddan’s arm tighter, still dragging him along on his baby feet.

  As we marched, a low, sonorous bell began to toll. An alarm, perhaps? Whatever it was, Ruadan didn’t seem bothered, and he simply stalked onward.

  At the end of the long hall, another set of wooden doors loomed over us. When Ruadan reached them, he pressed his hand against the door again. The doors groaned open over the stone floor.

  In this hall, silver moonlight streamed through tall windows onto an ivory marble floor. An empty stony throne sat at one end of the hall.

  I tightened my grip on the sword, with a chill rippling over my skin. How exactly had we been able to wander in here so easily? Ruadan was royalty with special door-opening blood, but we’d been reported as traitors. It was like this castle had no real defenses.

  And yet as soon as the thought passed through my head, shadows whispered over the floor, whorls of smoke. Phantoms? The shadows spun faster, until they materialized into solid forms.

  The sentinels wore black leather—all males. By their canines and pointed ears, I could tell they were fae as well as phantoms. But most importantly, they’d surrounded us, and they were thrusting swords at us. Maddan yelped behind me.

  For a moment, I wondered if we were supposed to fight them. Since Ruadan never told me anything in advance, I had no idea.

  “Lower your sword to the floor,” Ruadan said quietly.

  At last, he was filling me in.