by Jayne Hawke
“Tell me about yourself. What are your dreams?” Evander said.
He gently picked my hand up and turned it over before he began caressing the sensitive erogenous zone of my inner wrist.
My dreams were to slay the dragon, the beast of London, and step out on my own. A huntress walking through the night protecting those who couldn’t protect themselves. Once I had proven my worth, I could go wherever I pleased as long as I held to my vow to destroy the predators that stalked the humans and part-breeds.
“Freedom,” I said simply.
Evander’s mouth spread into a warm smile.
“I believe there is no greater dream.”
“And you?” I pushed.
Evander took a slow deep breath and looked out over the city. I missed his touch when he pulled his hand back to rest it upon the cold stone. He already felt so distant despite having moved so little.
“I dream of a better world,” he finally said.
I believed him. Sincerity shone through his eyes. I’d never thought that a fae would consider something so altruistic to be a goal. They were notoriously narcissistic and self-centred. Fae were focused entirely on what they could do to grow their businesses and territories. To see a lord of such great power desire something that would benefit those outside of his small bubble felt too surreal.
An understanding spread through me. He was toying with me. Everything was too perfect. This beautiful man offered me everything I desired in a partner. He was just indulging his predatory urge to play with his prey. I was nothing to someone like him.
“I should return inside,” I said with a false smile.
Evander frowned and moved to block my escape.
“Why?” he asked softly.
I’d expected a hard edge there, a dissatisfaction at my ending this before he had achieved his goal.
He laughed, a harsh bitter sound that echoed around them.
“You can’t believe that a lord, a fae, would think of anything outside of his own vicious ends.”
He rolled his jaw, and my stomach twisted. I hated seeing the offence and sadness flickering in his beautiful eyes.
Evander looked into my eyes.
“I have spoken nothing but the truth, and I would like for you to give me a chance to show you who I am,” he said as he gently took my hand in his and into it placed a small silver fae disk.
Evander closed my fingers around the disk and gave me a sad smile before he turned and walked back to the ball.
I felt empty and alone. His presence had wrapped around me and given me a warmth I’d craved for years. Opening my hand, I looked down at the slender disk. It was half as long as my index finger and barely thicker than a piece of paper. I’d heard of these disks, granted to only the most trusted and honoured of the fae allies. It would allow me to open up a private line of communication with Evander. I’d be able to press my thoughts into the disk and they could transmit to his own disk. It was a phone without any of the risks of someone intercepting the communication.
It was a direct line to the lord who promised me so much.
FIVE
I’d seen Sister Analise begin looking for me and had slipped back into the main ball before I got caught out on the balcony. Lord Evander was nowhere to be seen. I steadied myself and reminded myself that it was just a little flirting, nothing more. I was being ridiculous.
Sienna wore a brilliant smile and a soft blush upon her cheeks. Once we were safely in the privacy of the cab, she gushed that a smaller lord had offered her an evening at his home.
“You’re better than that,” Sister Analise snapped.
Sienna’s mouth dropped open, and she looked at Sister Analise, stunned.
“You are not a desperate fool, Sienna. He wants you for his bed; he’ll discard you the moment he is finished. You’re nothing more than a pretty face he wishes to use,” the Sister said.
“He’s different...” Sienna tried to say defiantly.
“I’m sure your mother said the same,” Sister Analise said drily.
It was a low blow that made me look away. Sienna had come to us as a little girl desperate for love. Her mother had treated her poorly as Sienna’s fae father had abandoned them both the day Sienna was born. Sienna’s mother had blamed her daughter for everything that went wrong, including her losing the love of her life.
I reached across the space between us and squeezed Sienna’s hand. A silent mark of solidarity. I agreed with Sister Analise, the lord wanted her as a toy for the night and nothing more. That didn’t mean I felt Sienna had to suffer the emotional wounds from Sister Analise’s words.
We continued the rest of the cab journey home in silence. Whatever good will and buoyant mood that may have existed before had evaporated.
“What did you learn?” Sister Analise asked as she settled herself into the old wooden chair behind her narrow desk.
The small office always felt as though it were closing in on me. The dark wood made it appear even smaller than it was. Sister Analise poured herself a generous serving of whiskey as she waited for her huntresses to speak. I looked down at the worn floorboards, their dark wood having formed indents where many young women had stood before this desk over the years.
“There is talk of Fenrir shifters in the Exmoor forests,” I said finally.
Sister Analise took a large drink of her whiskey and closed her eyes as she savoured the burn.
“We’ll keep our ears out. It’s very unlikely. They never leave their native territory. What about you two?” she said, turning her hard gaze upon Sienna and Nicole.
Sienna lifted her chin, defiance radiating off her.
“They are saying some Hades god touched slipped into the city last night. No one knows where they’re staying or what their purpose is.”
Sister Analise’s thin lips pressed together into a white line.
“It is unusual for them to risk the wrath of the fae by moving into the fae territories...” she said, more to herself than anything. “Nicole,” she said as her eyes snapped up.
“Lady Elise is moving against Lady Brigid. She has used her people to disrupt the running of Lady Brigid’s textile factory and upset her position in the fashion world,” Nicole said.
Sister Analise’s lip curled.
“We’ve no interest in the petty games between the upper fae. Their little war will have little to no impact on us.”
Nicole deflated next to me.
“Go. Training at sunrise.”
We were dismissed, and I was glad of it. I led the way out of the small dimly lit office past the last few huntresses of our age, who watched on with flinty eyes. Jealousy was a powerful emotion. I knew that the sparring matches and training would be particularly brutal the next morning.
The stairs creaked beneath our feet as we trudged up towards our shared bedroom. Nicole closed the door behind us, and we jointly breathed a sigh of relief. We could relax some and speak freely at last. I wasted no time in darting into the bathroom and freeing myself of the gown. I was careful to fold it neatly so as not to damage it. My mind flitted back to Lord Evander when I tucked the fae disk into the small pocket of my sleeping shorts. The disks weren’t cheap, nor were they frequently handed out to non-fae. Chewing on my bottom lip, I told myself that it meant nothing. He was just playing games with me. The sincerity that shone in his eyes wouldn’t leave me.
Rejoining my sisters, I sat down on my narrow bed with the ancient mattress and smiled. Sienna was pacing in her pale-grey cotton short-and-cami set.
“What does that old crone know of the fae lords? She hasn’t seen a dick in twenty years or more. So what if all he wants is a night of fucking? What does it matter to her? The gods know I could use it. It’s cruel to expect us to be celibate until we’ve undertaken our training and proven ourselves. There aren’t even that many opportunities to graduate. One lucky bitch will be granted the opportunity to hunt the dragon, and what about the rest of us? We’ll be stuck here hoping that some god touched goes
rogue, or a smaller fae is fool enough to turn against the supernatural community,” Sienna seethed.
I tucked my legs under me and found myself smiling at the comfort and familiarity of the rant. The tall blonde turned every head and was never short of male attention, and she revelled in it. Sienna thoroughly enjoyed sex and everything relating to it. No one had expected her to return from her year of exploration. And yet she did. Beneath her love of parties and men was a fierce huntress. One of the best the Sisters had ever seen.
Everyone knew that it would be Sienna who was granted the task of killing the last remaining dragon.
SIX
Sunrise came all too quickly. I groaned and buried my head beneath my pillow. I’d been getting up with the sun since I was a little girl, and it still hurt every morning. One day I would be able to enjoy the sweet comfort of my bed until 9:00 am. My toes curled in happiness at the very thought.
I dressed in my leathers as I had done for years. I barely registered the feel of the leather trousers skimming my cool skin, or the cotton shirt beneath the stiff leather jacket. It acted as light armour, which Sister Analise reminded us we would need when we fought our foe. The predators of the night had teeth and claws that tore through flesh and bone. What she didn’t say is that the leather wouldn’t do much against the dark magic of the fae, or worse, the witches.
Each huntress had a small spark of magic within them courtesy of their fae lineage, but it was barely a flicker. I was faster and stronger during a storm, but it was still nothing compared to the terrifying speed of a full-blooded shifter. Our limits wouldn’t stop us. We trained six days a week to become weapons.
Sienna remained in her bed until the very last moment, causing her to race down the stairs while lacing up her jacket. I was unsurprised to find we were greeted with steely expressions from our sisters. Some were a few years their senior, and yet they had not been granted the honour of earning their place in the world. I gave them each a warm smile and reminded myself that they were my sisters. We didn’t share blood, but we shared a united purpose. The beatings they would attempt to deal out would make me stronger and more capable.
The oldest of the sisters, besides Analise, was Emma. A broad, muscular woman with a scar running from her bicep across her chest beneath her collarbone. Her first hunt had been against a foolish witch that had attempted to steal magic from Cu Sith blood. The witch had been consumed by the essence of a Cu Sith, a fae hound of death, and turned into a monstrous abomination somewhere between a person and a black hound. Emma had been sixteen when she stood against the witch.
I remembered seeing the blood running in rivulets down the older huntress’s arm and the slight glassiness to her gaze. She had failed. Sister Analise had needed to step in and finish the witch abomination. Emma bore the mark of failure since. She had fought to be granted another chance, an opportunity to prove herself. Sister Analise had denied her at every turn.
Breakfast was given to us only after we had trained for a solid hour - two hours on the days Sister Analise was feeling particularly cruel. We filed out through the narrow door into the stone courtyard that formed our training grounds. Red brick walls towered around us on all sides, providing firm barriers ensuring that none could see what we did... or try to escape from the training.
I allowed myself to go through the familiar motions of stretching without thought for the movements of my body. My mind wandered back to Evander, the brilliant green of his eyes and the soft touch of his fingertips against my skin. The fae disk pressed against my hip. I knew better than to allow something that valuable out of my sight. The sisters would take on the world for each other, but luxuries were few and far between. Few were above taking something of value.
Rolling my shoulders, I turned my attention away from the memories of the previous night and chided myself for foolishness. I wasn’t going to use the fae disk. He was a lord. It would never come to anything, and I was working hard to convince myself that I didn’t want a single night of passion. It would be memorable, and that might make it all the worse. Could anything compare to the skills of a beautiful being such as him?
We all stood facing Sister Analise, who wore her own leathers. They were well cared for despite their age. A huntress’s leathers could save their life one day.
“I am not blind. I see the way you wish to take your jealousy out on the chosen three,” Sister Analise barked.
I bit back a sigh. I’d quietly hoped that Sister Analise wouldn’t be quite so cruel that morning.
“And so you will. You have fifteen minutes to do your worst against them. Then you will split into pairs and be assigned weapons to train with,” Sister Analise said sharply.
Sienna and Nicole moved to stand with their backs near mine, forming a small circle with none of our backs exposed. It was going to be a rough day.
Emma was the first to come at us. They were all without weapons at first, but that wouldn’t stop Emma from breaking bones if we weren’t careful. The older woman’s fist flew directly at my face. I reacted on instinct. Two decades of training had allowed me to see the blow coming. I ducked slightly to the side and returned with a harsh jab to Emma’s ribs, drawing a grunt from the older woman.
The other huntresses closed in around us, and I lost myself to the thrill of the fight. Pain bloomed in the back of my mind along with the scent of blood and cries of surprise. Sister Analise had chosen the three of us for a reason. We were her finest, and we were driving the others back steadily.
Nicole bore a split lip and Sienna’s knee had seen better days, but we all fared better than the huntresses around us. Blood spilled from the broken cheek bone I’d given Kara. The pretty brunette had thought I was an easy target where Emma was distracting me. I’d proven her wrong with a swift and brutal blow.
Even Emma fell in the end.
Sister Analise gave a nod of satisfaction. Her point had been proven.
“Run twenty laps each, then you will be assigned a weapon. Breakfast isn’t for 90 minutes,” Sister Analise barked.
My mind returned to Evander as I started following the pack around the square courtyard. My feet knew where to tread. I thought about the possibility of running across the rooftops with the handsome lord, his scent wrapping around me as we enjoyed the thrill of freedom and the peace of the night.
SEVEN
The rest of the day was spent running drills and studying the methods required to take down our likely enemies. The topic of the day was witches. Witches were the most difficult of our potential foes, as it was hard to discern what their magic was or how powerful they might be. I was thankful I hadn’t run up against a witch yet.
“What if we come up against a fallen?” a quiet young huntress by the name of Ruth asked during a classroom session. She had shown great promise during our training together, but she remained wiry and meek.
Sister Analise turned her harshest glare on Ruth.
“The fallen are a myth. You never need to fear them.”
Ruth shrank down in her seat, and I wished I was a little closer so I could offer the girl some support. I remembered what it was like to be under that glare, the way it made my skin prickle and my cheeks burn.
Sister Analise stood taller and looked around the small dark classroom. Each of us sat behind an old-fashioned wooden desk large enough for one person.
“You are huntresses. You will not listen to the idle gossip of drunk fools. The fallen gods do not exist. It is not possible for one of the gods to fall.”
We all nodded in understanding. We knew better than to question Sister Analise.
I couldn’t help but wonder why the older woman was so adamant on that point. Whispers had spread about the fallen for years. There were tales of a group of god touched devoted to hunting them and the dark witches. The very idea of the gods being able to fall sent chills through the hearts of the devoted. I was ambivalent about the gods. They existed, and they left their mark upon the world, but I had no real feelings towards them. They wer
e as real and as important to my life as the mountains.
After two hours locked in the classroom, we were glad to set free to eat our dinner. It was a simple meal formed of plain roast chicken and potatoes bought from the market. I found myself considering what Evander’s meals would taste like. I hadn’t experienced good food, the type of meals that a lord like him would enjoy. Even on my year of exploration out in the world, I hadn’t been able to afford anything like that.
“Those of age are to go out into the city and gain real-life experience,” Sister Analise declared when the dishes were being tidied away.
Once or twice a month, the women who were of legal age to enter bars were sent out into the city to start fights. They were to learn how to handle themselves out in the world. Sister Analise reminded us that sparring with each other was limited in what it could teach us. Bar fights were brutal and without the limits that existed in the courtyard.
I’d never been a fan of starting fights. I much preferred to step in and protect those who found themselves on the receiving end of a bully or thief. The older women began moving towards the front door, a thrum of excitement moved through the group. It was an opportunity to be free from the constraints of their home, and for the more daring a chance to get laid in an alley or filthy bathroom.
“Stay here tonight, Stormchild,” Sister Analise said.
I paused and looked at her in surprise. I’d done well in my training. As much as I tried, I couldn’t think of anything I might have done wrong. Was this punishment for only bringing back the information about the possible shifters in the Exmoor forests? A night getting into fights wasn’t ideal, but I could spend some of it running across the rooftops and tasting the closest I got to real freedom.
“You have done well as of late. Tomorrow you will have the day to yourself out in the city. Stay in tonight so you may rise early and gain some enjoyment from your free time,” Sister Analise said stiffly.