Queen of Light (The Forbidden Fae Book 3)

by Linsey Hall

  I drew in a deep breath and reached deep inside myself, trying to find the light magic that so confused me. It was there, deep and nearly hidden. No doubt I subconsciously kept it repressed out of fear.

  But when I approached it like this, it felt almost... okay.

  “It’s light,” I whispered. “Pure light.”

  “That’s powerful stuff.”

  I tried to imagine it shining out of me, turning me into a mini sun that walked the earth. At first, nothing happened. I tried hard. It began to vibrate across my skin. Warmth followed.

  “You’re doing it.” Iain chuckled low in his throat. “Hell, I’m going to need sunglasses soon.”

  I opened my eyes, and spotted what he was talking about. A bright golden glow emitted from my body, shining warmly on his face.

  I laughed, elated. “I can’t believe it.”

  Iain’s gaze snared mine, and suddenly, it was impossible to look away. Warmth surged between us, and it felt like we were wrapped in a cocoon, just the two of us. The wire that connected us was tightening, tension pulling at every inch of me.

  My whole body felt suddenly alive—too alive. As if energy were vibrating all through every muscle and sinew, its only goal to force me closer to Iain.

  My lips parted, and I swayed toward him. The glow faded from my skin, but it was replaced with a different kind of heat.

  “Caera.” His voice flowed warm and low, sparking through my veins.

  “Iain.”

  His head dropped as he leaned toward me, his lips so close to the shell of my ear that I could feel his warm breath. A shudder raced through me as he asked, “Can I kiss you?”

  They were the hottest words I’d ever heard. Desire tightened my throat so that I couldn’t speak. I turned my head and crushed my lips to his.

  He groaned low in his throat, his lips parting to capture mine. His strong hands moved to my waist, gripping me firmly to pull me against him. His strength enveloped me, and I reveled in it.

  My lips parted as I threw my arms around his neck, kissing him with a ravenous desire that I feared could never be sated.

  He groaned low in his throat, kissing me with a ferocity that I matched. I plunged my hands into his hair and held him to me, every inch of me vibrating.

  More.

  I just wanted more.

  I pushed him backward until he hit the wall, then moved my lips to his neck. He titled his head back, a low groan rumbling from his throat.

  He tasted of salt and skin, some undefinable essence that was uniquely him. When his hands came up to grip my waist, they trembled.

  I dragged my teeth along his neck and bit down. His hands tightened on my waist, and he spun me around until my back was against the wall. He hoisted me up, and I wrapped my legs around his waist.

  His hardness pressed into me, and a moan escaped my throat. He moved in a rhythm that made pleasure streak through me, tightening until it was almost unbearable.

  “Iain, I want—”

  My comms charm buzzed, and we jerked apart.

  Gasping, I met his gaze. His eyes were dark with desire, his lips swollen from our kiss. I nearly threw myself at him again, but Connor’s voice emitted from the charm. “Claire? You there?”

  A mask fell over Iain’s face, and he set me down.

  I slipped away from him, pressing my fingers to the charm. “Yes. I’m here. What did you find?”

  “The mist is a spell, all right. Hyrathea hilocampia, to be precise. It’s coming from the ground, and you can’t breathe it without going into painful convulsions and then dying almost immediately.”

  That was enough to kill any heat that still burned inside me. “Fantastic. How do we get past it?”

  “You need to wait until dawn and pray that there aren’t any clouds. The first rays of the sun will burn it away, but for less than a minute before it adjusts and comes back. So you’ll need to be quick.”

  Iain glanced out the window, then said softly, “We have a couple hours.”

  “Thanks, bro. When it’s time to leave the house, what do we do?”

  “Pray that you get to leave at dawn. If you step foot into that mist, you’re dead.”

  Shit. There was no way we could time it that perfectly, but we had to try. “Thanks. Have you heard an update from Cass?”

  “Not yet, but I’m going to call her and see if I can help. Unless you need me?”

  “I think we’ve got it from here. Del and Nix need you more.”

  “Okay, be careful, sis. Get some rest. You’ll need it to fight what is coming.”

  “Will do. And you, too.”

  I cut the connection and looked at Iain. Tension prickled the air between us, the kiss still vibrant in my mind. His gaze moved over me, clearly trying to assess how I was feeling.

  I wanted him still, of course.

  But Connor’s words raced through my mind. I did need to rest. Everything was relying on me, and one wrong move could end this all. I couldn’t make a single mistake.

  And if we picked up where we left off…

  There’d be no stopping. And now wasn’t the time, as much as I might want it. We needed more time, not some quick shag followed by an exhausted nap and a deadly trek to save the world.

  Whatever he was to me, he was more important than that. We were more important than that.

  I met his gaze, unable to articulate the thoughts. I didn’t know how.

  But he seemed to get it. The smallest smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and he asked, “Shall we get some rest?”

  I nodded, my gaze going to the small cot in the corner. “If we squished into that, we could fit.”

  He nodded, and I followed him to the small bed, curling into the warmth of his arms. He sighed and pulled me closer.

  “I want you forever, you know,” he said.

  I didn’t respond, but more and more, I was thinking that I might want the same thing.

  9

  After a few hours of sleep, Iain and I stood at the edge of the forest, staring out into the darkened meadow as the pale light of morning began to illuminate the sky. It made it easier to see the deadly mist that surrounded the house, forming a protective dome that allowed no one to cross.

  “I haven’t seen another ghost,” Iain murmured.

  “Same.” I frowned, staring at the house. “It definitely feels empty, doesn’t it?”

  “Yes. Though it’s so big that we could be wrong.”

  I shook my head. “There’s no one living in there. This place feels like it’s been empty for years.”

  “I’ll take your word for it. Hopefully it’ll make our job easier.”

  “Somehow, I doubt it.”

  The corner of his mouth cracked upward in a smile. “True enough. Good things never come easy.”

  “Especially things that are meant to save an entire race of Fae. Those things always seem really hard to come by.”

  “We’ll succeed.” He reached for my hand and squeezed. Emotions hit me in the face like a ton of bricks—fear, affection, love.

  Love?

  Maybe love.

  Holy fates. That was way more than I was prepared to unpack right now. I didn’t know how I felt, but it was clear that I had been developing some serious feelings. They’d crept up on me—but they were there.

  Somehow, while we’d been fighting common enemies as well as each other, I’d started falling for him.

  It wasn’t just the mate bond—which I’d once been afraid was responsible for some of these feelings. No, this was coming from deep in my soul. I really felt something for him. Something real and true and terrifying.

  Nope, nope, nope.

  I needed to focus on the task at hand. There was too much at stake for me to do any navel-gazing about a man. Even if he was the man.

  “The sun is almost up,” Iain said.

  His words jerked me back to the present and I looked toward the east. The horizon was that perfect pinky-orange that foretold the sun cresting the horiz
on.

  Thank fates it wasn’t a cloudy day.

  The sun rose over the edge of the world, shining bright rays onto the grass. Almost immediately, the mist began to dissipate. Within seconds, it was gone.

  “Let’s fly,” Iain said.

  I called upon my wings. Not bothering to temper my strength, I launched myself into the air and shot across the grass so fast that I left Iain in the dust. I arrived at the front of the house just a moment later, landing in front of the sweeping stone stairs that led up to the massive front door.

  Two stone lions crouched at the base of the stairs, staring at me with cold granite eyes. Behind them, two narrow metal cannon sat on identical landings.

  Weird, for a house. This wasn’t a fortified structure like a castle. The main tower loomed overhead, the balcony beckoning me.

  Cass had said that the crown would be on the highest floor in the tower. Why not try to enter that way?

  I launched myself into the air, reaching the level of the balcony. The glass doors sparkled in the early morning light, and I floated toward them.

  “Look out!” Iain’s voice cut across the still morning air. “From below!”

  I looked down, spotting the two narrow metal cannon pointed right at me. They boomed simultaneously, hurling metal shot toward me. I darted backward, the projectiles whizzing by my head.

  The cannon shifted to fire again, an ear-splitting boom cracking through the air. The heavy iron shot flew toward me, and I darted toward the ground, joining Iain.

  “I definitely don’t think we can go in that way.” I sprinted toward him.

  The cannon re-aimed, turning to point at us. They fired, and we dived out of the way. I skidded on the grass just inches from where a cannonball plowed into the ground, dirt spraying up around me.

  “Get onto the landing!” Iain shouted. “They probably won’t fire at the house itself.”

  I scrambled upright and sprinted for the stone stairs.

  As soon as I stepped onto them, the lions roared, lifting up on their stone legs to turn toward me. As predicted, the cannon stopped firing, but the lions took heavy steps toward us, their mouths gaping open to reveal long stone fangs.

  Quickly, I called an ax from the ether. It was my biggest one, and I spun it around backward so that I could hit the stone lion with the blunt end. I needed a hammer for this job.

  The lion on the left charged toward me, its heavy stone feet chipping the ground beneath it. At my side, Iain called on a huge mallet.

  “You’re prepared,” I said, eying my lion and looking for the best place to strike.

  “Can’t have enough weapons.”

  Now, that I could agree with. My lion was so close that I’d have been able to smell its breath if it had any. I swung my ax, slamming the blunt end into the statue’s stone head. It shattered, but the headless beast kept coming.

  Crap.

  I leapt out of the way, narrowly avoiding being crushed under its heavy stone paws. The creature spun on a dime, not needing its stone eyes to see where I was. It lunged for me. I raised my legs and kicked it hard in the chest with both feet, sending it flying backward.

  A powerful leap put me on my feet. The headless statue had already turned to face me, and I swung my ax at its chest, smashing it apart. The front legs fell away from the body, and the back half tumbled down the stone stairs.

  On the other side of the rocky carnage, Iain smashed his statue into bits. When the broken granite lay still, he looked up at me. “I enjoyed that.”

  I grinned, then spun in a circle, looking for more threats. Our surroundings were silent as the grave, which almost made it eerier. “Let’s get inside. The mist will return soon.”

  We took the wide stairs two at a time, running toward the huge wooden door.

  “Are you going to knock this time?” Iain asked.

  “Ah… no.” I gave a weak smile. “If there’s anyone in there, they know we’re here.”

  “The ghosts certainly do.” He nodded to a window over my right shoulder, and I looked up.

  A scowling ghost looked down at me. The figure appeared to be dressed in some kind of old-fashioned clothing. It was a few hundred years old at least, though I was no expert on those things. I waved, then turned back to the door.

  I turned back, looking at the yard. Mist was beginning to form on the ground. “We’re running out of time. Let’s go.”

  Iain reached for the wide handle and pushed it open.

  “No lock?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “They clearly rely on other measures to repel unwanted visitors.”

  “Well, they weren’t counting on anyone as determined as us.”

  Iain pushed the door wider, and it creaked as it opened, groaning like the haunted house that it clearly was. The interior was dark and drafty. A cold wind flowed out, blowing my hair back from my face.

  I stepped over the threshold and squinted. It was so dark that I only caught glimpses of a shadowy interior with a high ceiling and wide, elegant stairs.

  “It smells abandoned.” Iain followed me in and shut the door behind him. “Feels that way, too.”

  “Told you so.” I looked up, immediately catching sight of the ghosts floating about halfway up the walls.

  I eyed them warily, realizing that they weren’t floating. Each ghost was standing on a tiny balcony. There were over a dozen balconies, each protruding from the second floor at even intervals. The ghosts lit up the space around them with their eerie glow, illuminating the ornately carved dark wooden balconies.

  “They aren’t attacking,” Iain said.

  “Yet.”

  Watching them warily, I stepped a few more feet into the room. Magic pricked against my skin, as if I were igniting some kind of charm.

  Throughout the room, candles flared to life. Hundreds of long white tapers sat in sconces along the wall and perched in ornate chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The room blazed with warm light, driving the ghosts away.

  “Wow,” I breathed, staring upward. “What is this place?”

  It was the fanciest room I’d ever seen. The space was a huge rectangle with an ornate red and gold carpet. A glass ceiling soared high above, three stories up. The second floor of the house was visible through the tiny balconies where the ghosts had been standing, and I could just barely make out a third floor behind one huge balcony that wrapped around the entire room.

  At the bottom of the room, the walls were intricately carved dark wood. The top gave way to sage green paint that was punctuated by more wooden carvings. The most striking were the full-size men in ancient garb. The figures were so well carved that they looked almost real.

  When they leaned over and peered at us, I wasn’t even surprised.

  “Why are you here?” They spoke in perfect unison. “Who are you?”

  “We are just visiting,” I said.

  “Were you invited by the Count?”

  “Um, yes,” I said.

  “Lies!” They shrieked the word.

  “It’s not!”

  “That is not good enough.” Their voiced boomed.

  The ground began to rumble beneath my feet as magic surged on the air. Iain stepped closer to me. Overhead, the glass ceiling exploded.

  “Crap!” As the glass fell, I called my shield from the ether, yanking Iain toward me. I crouched low, and he joined me, calling upon his own shield. We huddled beneath them as the deadly glass shards smashed to the ground all around us. They bounced off the shields, and Iain gathered me closer to him, making sure that no part of me was exposed.

  Finally, the glass stopped falling.

  Heart thundering, I peeked out from underneath my shield.

  The wooden men had resumed their positions on the walls, standing still and silent as if they’d never come to life at all.

  “They’re back to normal.” I lowered the shield and stood, surveying the carnage all around. Thousands of shards of glass glittered under the candlelight. Overhead, the ceiling had ret
urned to normal, regrowing itself somehow.

  “Let’s move,” Iain said. “Last thing I want is for them to come back to life and repeat that.”

  I nodded, heading toward the stairs. It was the only direction to go if we wanted to reach the top tower.

  The stairs themselves were fifteen feet wide, so grand that I could imagine princesses gliding down them in their fabulous dresses.

  Iain drew his own sword, and we strode up the stairs, our footsteps muffled by the red carpet. The air smelled stale, and even the warm light of the candles couldn’t make the place seem inviting.

  About halfway up, the stairs widened to a landing. On either side, suits of armor stood in neat rows. Their helmets turned in unison to stare at us.

  “Shit.” I drew my sword from the ether, raising my shield.

  Iain did the same, pressing his back to mine so all sides were covered. With a clatter of metal, the steel soldiers charged. They were armed with all manner of weapons, from swords to pikes and axes. Blades glinted under the light.

  I swung my sword at the nearest pike, chopping the wooden staff in two. Another suit of armor sliced a sword at my face, and I countered, our blades clashing. I kicked the attacker in the middle of the breastplate, catching sight of a gaping black hole through the eyepiece of the helmet.

  They were truly empty.

  The suit of armor clattered backward, smashing into two others and taking them down the stairs in a tumble.

  Behind me, Iain swung his sword with fierce precision, knocking weapons aside and smashing into breastplates. Pieces of armor scattered left and right.

  I ducked a sword strike and leveled one of my own, slicing a suit of armor in two. Another attacker landed a blow to my shield that nearly sent me to the ground, but I caught myself and leapt upright.

  The next few minutes were a blur of swinging blades and flying armor, until we were surrounded by piles of disarticulated suits.

  Finally, the attackers were all in pieces.

  “This is a hell of a lot of protection for one crown,” Iain murmured.

  “Might be more than one crown.” I strode through the piles of armor and climbed the stairs toward the next floor. “But I still have no idea what this place is. If it’s a house, it’s a weird one.”