Institute of the Shadow Fae Box Set

by C. N. Crawford

  As I studied him closer, I got a better read on his magical defenses. His body shimmered with a second kind of magic—the glimmering red agony kind. If I tried to trap him in this room, around all these humans, the Prince of Elfame would take out every person in here—including a sweet-looking elderly woman in a cat T-shirt.

  Our blond teacher lifted her arms over her head. “And take a deep breath in through your nose.”

  As she spoke, my attention was still on Maddan. I’d attack him in the stairwell away from the humans, before he opened the door to the street outside. The fluorescent lights in the stairwell would stop him from leaping away.

  “And let yourself roll down, one vertebra at a time.” The instructor’s soothing voice filled the room. “And move down to your hands.”

  Maddan’s gaze was fixed straight ahead, intent on a tight pair of leggings—violet, like Ruadan’s magic.

  At the thought of him, a hollow pain opened in my chest. I hadn’t heard a word from him in weeks. He’d given me a pretty wreath, then he’d disappeared like a puff of mist in the night.

  If he wanted me dead, I couldn’t run from him forever. No one could run from the Wraith. I’d tried it once. I’d traveled miles through icy rivers. I’d woken to find Ruadan looming over me, weapons glinting. As a god of the night, sleep was his dominion. He could track me through my dreams.

  We’d had our moments, sure. He’d healed me, brought me into his bed when I’d been sleeping on the floor. We’d protected each other numerous times. We’d shagged in a sewer. But the fact was, I was half death angel, and Ruadan had sworn to kill my kind.

  The abrupt loss of him from my life felt like a jagged ravine in my chest, but I was a survivor. I could outsmart him. If I didn’t dream, he couldn’t find me. Ha! I was perfectly safe, as long as I allowed myself to slowly go insane. A brilliant plan, really, apart from the hallucinations, confusion, and complete inability to regulate my emotions.

  My little monster…. Baleros’s voice purred in the darkest hollows of my mind. Scrambling in the dirt.

  Another piercing bite of my lip, and my attention snapped back to the yoga class.

  “Exhaling out through your mouth, and let the relaxation fill your muscles.” The teacher’s voice re-centered me. “Arms into prayer pose, and … did you guys hear about the people who got the Plague?”

  Okay. This particular yoga teacher needed to work a bit on her relaxing patter. Guilt coiled through my gut at the mention of the Plague. Where the hells had it come from? I’d let out some of my death magic when I’d tried to save Ruadan at Hampton Court Palace, but I had thought it was only a tiny bit.

  “Arms over your head, and breathe out.” She smiled. “Really horrific. And I’ve heard it’s going to get worse. Like, death everywhere, all over London’s streets. And moving down gently into child’s pose, take a deep relaxing breath. But yeah, it’s, like, people bleeding from swollen glands in their necks.”

  A monster like you shouldn’t be on earth, should you? said Baleros’s voice.

  I gritted my teeth, then whispered under my breath, “Shut up, Baleros. Get out of my head.”

  “Okay, and now let your head hang, rolling down slowly,” the teacher chirped. “And some people are saying it can make your skin rot.”

  I sucked in a sharp breath as this vivid description, my body now vibrating with tension.

  Should have kept you in your cage under the earth.

  “Get out of my head!” I failed to keep my voice down that time.

  Bollocks.

  Maddan’s attention shot to me, and the shock of understanding shone on his pale features. He pivoted, rushing through the class toward the front of the room.

  A smile curled my lips. That’s right, bitch. I’m here for you.

  I sprinted after him, weaving between the yoga students. I slammed through the door into the stairwell. Only a few moments to catch him before I lost him.

  Adrenaline sparked through my veins as the prince thundered down the stairs of the old Victorian building. I pulled my dagger from its sheath, its blade pure iron.

  Death magic beat in my chest like a raven’s wings, and I shot down the stairs right after him. He was getting too close to the exit, nearly at the door.

  Just as he reached for the handle, I snatched the back of his shirt, clenching it in a death grip.

  I braced myself for a blast of his red pain magic. It took only took a moment for the shimmering magic to explode from his body, and agony ripped through my bones and muscles. Still, I held onto his shirt tight, forcing myself to maintain my concentration with an iron will. Then, I slammed him against the wall, face-first. Lightning-fast, I rammed the iron dagger into his shoulder blade. The iron in the knife would stop him from summoning any more red magic. His scream echoed off the high ceiling.

  Pressing him firmly against the wall, I stood on my tiptoes. “Stop screaming or I’ll cut your tongue out.”

  “You’re a sadist,” he whimpered.

  “I’m a monster, and you tortured me. too, so I’m less inclined to go easy. Now keep your voice down.”

  “What do you want?” he stammered.

  “I want to know where Baleros is. He’s an enemy of the Institute.”

  “So are you.”

  My stomach dropped. Even Maddan knew about my fugitive status? “What?” He’d caught me totally off guard.

  “You’re not part of the Institute anymore,” he grunted. “So why do you care?”

  I felt unmoored, completely lost. He was getting me sidetracked, and I pressed the blade in further. “Stop distracting me. I want to know about Baleros. I know your father is working with him. Tell me where to find him or the pain will get worse.”

  Maddan groaned, thrashing to get away from me.

  I twisted the blade, eliciting another scream. “I said where is he, you worm!”

  “I don’t know!” he whined. “Baleros doesn’t trust me to know his location.”

  I narrowed my eyes. This was actually a believable claim. Baleros was many things, but stupid wasn’t one of them. “Tell me what you do know. What’s he planning?”

  He groaned. “Baleros is not happy that you took the mist army from him. In fact, he’s furious with you.”

  “And?”

  “Plague…” he groaned.

  “What about it?” Ruadan had captured the Unholy Grail—the artifact that held my father’s death magic. The Institute had been keeping it safe. So how could anyone spread the Plague when the magic could only come from my dad or me?

  Maddan groaned. “Ruadan, all the Shadow Fae. They’ve got the Plague. They’ll be dead within days.”

  At his words, that jagged ravine in my chest cut a little deeper.

  Chapter 101

  My blood roared in my ears. “What are you talking about? How is Baleros spreading the Plague?”

  “The Unholy Grail is in the Tower.”

  “I know that, worm.” I dug my fingernails into his shoulder. “That means it’s safe.”

  “Except that someone in the Tower knows how to unleash its magic,” he said. “Baleros’s agent infected the Shadow Fae. They don’t know there’s a traitor among them, and he’s still there.”

  My mind screamed with panic and a sense of vindication at the same time. So this had been a good idea.

  “The knights don’t know someone in the Institute has turned on them?” I asked in disbelief.

  He grunted from the pain. “They’re not even looking for a traitor. All Shadow Fae think you spread the Plague. I’m surprised you’re still alive. Why haven’t they killed you?”

  Another brief flash of vindication. I’d been right to be paranoid, to refuse sleep, to move from place to place.

  Then, the reality of the situation hit me. The knights were all dying, and they definitely wanted to kill me.

  “Who is working for Baleros? Which knight?” I hissed. “I need a name!”

  “I don’t know that!” he screeched. “And what diffe
rence does it make? It’s too late to save them.”

  My knees went weak. “What do you mean too late?”

  His face was mashed against the wall. “No one can reverse the Plague. No one except Adonis, and you don’t know where he is, do you?”

  Now Maddan was trying to get information from me. I wasn’t about to give it to him.

  In any case, I could find my father, maybe. If I could get Ruadan to open the portal and send me through into my old home.

  “A name,” I said icily.

  “I swear to the gods I don’t know that. I just know the Plague is already spreading, and you’re too late. Baleros wants to create chaos. He wants Ruadan dead so he can get the World Key. The Plague is supposed to weaken the Wraith. Then, Baleros’s agent will kill him as soon as he gets the chance. He’ll cut the key off his corpse.”

  A wild surge of protectiveness rippled through me. Maybe the Shadow Fae wanted me dead, but I had to warn Ruadan about the truth. I just needed more details.

  I pushed Maddan hard against the wall. “Tell me anything you know about the traitor. Anything at all.”

  “I don’t know. I don’t—”

  A scream from the stairs cut through the interrogation. I glanced at the elderly woman in the cat T-shirt.

  “Murderer!” she shrieked. In her panic, she dropped the yoga mat from under her arm.

  Bloody hells. I couldn’t imagine why I’d liked her earlier.

  “Stay where you are!” I shouted at her.

  I couldn’t deal with both of these screaming people at once. I had to keep Maddan pinned or he’d slip away into the shadows outside.

  Cat Lady was still screaming, her shrieks deafening me.

  Let the monster out….

  My breath sped up as I started losing control. “What’s his entire plan, Maddan?” I shouted.

  “I told you. Spread the Plague. Get the World Key. Take over the Institute.”

  “Why is he so hells-bent on doing this?”

  “Because!” Maddan shouted impatiently. “If he can open and control the worlds, he can use his power to control the demons trapped within them. He can conscript them to join his army, offering them freedom in return for their swords. He wants to rule the world. It’s not complicated.”

  Dread slid through my bones. “What else do you know?”

  “He won’t fail. Now, he has a powerful ally on his side.”

  “The person in the Institute? Who?” I barked.

  “Someone you know very well—”

  The creaking of the door made my heart skip a beat. Cat Lady had slipped past us and opened it. Maddan craned his head to look outside, into the shadows.

  It was enough. I felt the electrical rush of shadow magic from his lumen stone, the whoosh of air as he leapt past me. The knife in his shoulder blade had torn his flesh when he’d jumped. I held nothing but the gore-soaked weapon now.

  I stepped outside, onto the main road. Cat Lady was running down the pavement, screaming into her mobile phone. Maddan was nowhere to be found. Six of my mist soldiers milled around the sidewalk, but they hadn’t been able to stop Maddan’s leap.

  I loosed a sigh, rubbing a knot in my forehead. My muscles burned and dizziness clouded my thoughts.

  The Shadow Fae were all dying of the Plague—and they thought it was my fault.

  My days were numbered—but so were those of all the Shadow Fae. If I could get to Ruadan and speak to him, maybe I could convince him of the truth. We could find my dad together. It was the only way to move forward.

  Ciara sat next to a human on a white leather sofa. His name was Jared.

  I paced in front of them, wringing my hands as I did. My body buzzed with nervous energy. I’d sent a message to the Institute, explaining clearly that I had crucial information they needed to hear. Now, I only had to wait to hear back from them.

  Jared let out a sigh, staring at me dreamily. “Amazing to have real supernaturals here.” A blond wig was draped over his wool sweater, and a set of plastic ears poked through the hair. The whole enormous room smelled of stale cigarettes, incense, and sweat. “Legally, I’m not allowed to be in a room with women unsupervised, but I don’t think the rules apply to your kind.”

  I pivoted, turning the other way. “Good to know.”

  Jared was one of those humans who had a total hard-on for the fae. He believed he was meant to be one of us, but the gods had messed it up. He was thrilled to let Ciara and me stay in his luxurious but stinking apartment for a night. Embarrassingly, he actually knew more of the Ancient Fae language than I did, and he’d started teaching me the few commands I needed to really control the mist army.

  Apart from the stench, Jared’s flat was a perfect hideout. It offered a balcony view of the Institute’s gatehouse—just on the other side of the stone courtyard. We were so close that the golden glow of the moat beamed onto his hardwood floors through his balcony windows.

  I turned to the balcony windows again, staring out. The Institute’s battlements seemed to rise from a cloud of fog, and the moat’s golden light streamed through the mist in perfect rays.

  My throat tightened as I thought of what was going on behind those Tower walls: Shadow Fae dying in the Institute, cursing me with their final breaths.

  A sharp crack of pain pierced my chest. I’d only unleashed my death angel side to save Ruadan—I never would have tried to hurt him. I wouldn’t harm the other Shadow Fae, either.

  It stung that Ruadan believed I’d poison them on purpose. Is that what he thought of me? That I was some sort of a—

  A monster like you….

  “Shut up, Baleros,” I muttered.

  The betrayal was eating at me like a cancer. In the depths of my mind, Ruadan’s perfect features began to merge with Baleros’s rugged face.

  “I need to talk to Ruadan right away.” I slid the balcony door open, and the chilly wind rushed over my skin. Mist floated in on the breeze and coiled around me.

  “Liora.”

  I turned to find Jared lifting his wine.

  “Ye mighty faestress! Please partake in mead with me as we dine together, we fae.” He looked at me hopefully, eyebrows raised.

  I scowled, grabbing a bottle of whiskey off his marble countertop. “First of all, you don’t have mead. Second of all, faestress is not a word. Next of all, mead is gross, and I would never drink it. What number were we on? It doesn’t matter. The point is, please stop talking, because I’m busy thinking about death and betrayal.”

  He raised his arms. “O wild spiritess of the oaks—”

  My lip curled, and I growled at him, letting my canines show.

  He fell completely silent, paling. Mist skimmed over his floor and his sofa.

  Ciara frowned at me. “Stop scaring the rich human. And stop worrying. Once the note gets to Ruadan, he’ll get right back to you. He knows you wouldn’t hurt him. You’ll be back in the Institute in no time. What can you see out there?”

  “Whole lot of fog.” That was the problem with the mist soldiers. You could never see shit.

  I could beckon them to me at any moment by whispering a particular spell, but I tried to stay patient. They had to get the message to Ruadan. I’d included just enough details that he’d understand the urgency of the situation, but not so many that they could fall into the wrong hands.

  I turned back to the balcony, hovering in the doorway. How sick was Ruadan? I could only hope his demigod nature gave him added protection. After all, that’s how he’d survived my blast of death magic, years ago.

  But any amount of weakness could provide an assassination opportunity to the traitor.

  The great, ancient fae warrior was vulnerable in the Institute, and I had to keep him safe.

  Chapter 102

  “Forsooth, thine friend speaks the truth.” Jared leaned back on his sofa, spreading out his arms. “Thou will be back within ye old stone walls within no time.”

  Had there been a time when I’d been nice to humans? Back when I’
d donated a bottle of hand lotion every week to the woman in my squat, or when I’d tolerated Uncle Darrell’s stories about sticking his dick in the forest soil. Those days felt like centuries ago. Now, I felt the monster inside rattling the bars of its cage, straining at the leash. Human deaths would feed my strength.

  Once, I could spend a Friday night drinking cheap beer with humans, listening to Taylor Swift. Now, death fluttered between my ribs like dark moths, and I yearned to taste the blood of mortals.

  Never meant to walk the earth….

  “Faestress, can I touch your skin?” asked Jared.

  “Quiet, mortal,” I snarled. He’d be so easy to kill….

  When in my life had I ever uttered the phrase quiet, mortal? Sometime after I’d let my angel wings out, phrases like that had just started rolling off the tongue.

  Darkness spilled into my mind like ink. I pivoted, pacing again.

  How had my father managed to control this power for thousands of years? Oh—that was right. He hadn’t controlled the power. That’s how Ruadan’s wife had died. And also half of Europe.

  A monster like you….

  I stepped out onto the balcony, goosebumps rising on my skin in the damp air. The briny scent of the river floated over me, and I strained to see through all the fog. Were my soldiers at the gate now?

  I took a long sip of whiskey, hoping for a brief bubble of inner peace. Could the whiskey drown out Baleros’s voice in my head?

  Should never have been born. An abomination.

  Jared was still prattling on behind me. “We will celebrate the Old Gods by drinking of their bounteous gifts!”

  I’ll turn your body to ash, Jared. How about that?

  Although I couldn’t see the base of the gatehouse, I was sure that the mist soldiers would have delivered the message by now. They should be moving through the ancient doors and over the moat of light, into the Institute itself. With any luck, Ruadan would see that I told the truth. He’d know that I’d never tried to hurt him.