Page 16

Chapter sixteen

Without A Trace

I had never known anything about my mother’s side of the family tree. I had never asked my uncle for any information regarding where I had come from on that side, the Fae side. Because it was easier to ignore that part of me completely while living in a world that historically hated magic so vehemently. It was easier to pretend that it didn’t exist, that she didn’t exist, because there was never any chance at all that I might see her again.

Now that had changed.

And not only might I be meeting my mother but I might meet my grandfather as well. My grandfather who was a Fae King, ruler over the largest territory in the immortal realm, the Court of Peace and Pride. They were the protectors of the realm, the sowers of the fields, and the defenders of the plane. They prided themselves on hard work, determination, and an iron will. They tilled the fields in their expansive territory and used the harvest to feed all the immortal realm. They honed warriors in their barracks, military schools, and training grounds, creating a new class of soldier, immortal men who had dedicated their unending lives to the defense of all courts, to protecting all Fae.

I had learned all of this from Cass during our daily lessons back at the Court of Light and Life. She had had nothing but respect for the brown court when she had told me about it. About the property of its people, about the dedication to such a noble cause, even about the Bronze Throne. And in all that time, in all that teaching, she hadn’t told me that my grandfather was the king. She hadn’t even mentioned him. Not once.

So the betrayal I felt at that revelation was sudden and it was great. So much so that I narrowed my eyes, glaring right back into that intense gaze of Lark’s, those dark, brooding eyes, and I snapped.

“Take me back.”

He blinked at me, truly stunned for a moment. It was the first time I’d ever actually seen him genuinely surprised.

“Ren,” he said and the way he spoke my name, the strained pain of it, almost made me change my mind right there.

But the anger won out.

“Take me back,” I spat again. “Now.”

“Ren, please. Just wait,” Cass tried but I whirled on her next.

“You knew,” I barked at her. “You all knew and you didn’t tell me. You lied to me.”

“We didn’t lie,” Cass said, holding up her hands in a show of surrender and stepping slowly toward me. “You didn’t ask.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Next time you teach me about the courts and their thrones, I’ll be sure to ask if any of the royal asses that sit upon them happen to be related to me.”

I stormed away from them then, stomping down the street, back through the city. Cass called out after me but I didn’t so much as glance backward as I strode away, fists clenched at my sides, teeth gritting so hard they ached. But I didn’t care. I was so furious I could hardly see straight.

For all their talk of wanting to be my friend, wanting to give me the time and space I needed to learn about this place and to figure out if it was somewhere I might want to remain, they had lied to me about what it meant for me to be here, for me to return. I was a princess.

It was hard to breathe as I turned blindly down an alley and continued storming through the streets, putting as much distance between myself and the others as I could. A princess. I was royalty, a member of a Major Court, an heir to the largest court in the land. My grandfather was a king, an ancient king. My fists clenched at my sides and I squeezed them tight. They had known who I was all along. They had known exactly what court I belonged to, exactly who my family was, and they let me parade around in gray. The hapless mortal so far out of her element that she was willing to blindly trust the first supremely magical being that showed her a hint of kindness. I could barely contain my rage as I whirled around another corner in one of the most dangerous territories in the immortal realm.

But anger is blinding and, in that moment of rage, I forgot.

I forgot I was a mortal trapped in the immortal plane, surrounded by powerful creatures of magic, predators lurking in the corners, watching me as if I were their prey.

My steps faltered when I realized I didn’t know where I was anymore. This street wasn’t familiar, nor was the scent of burning sage undercut with cloying jasmine. If I listened, I could hear the sounds of soft moaning interspersed with various grunts. I blinked, eyes widening as I took in the open shutters of the windows above, candlelight sputtering in the cool night breeze, and the bodies writhing upon a mattress beyond. I averted my gaze, cheeks heating as I stared down at the cobblestones and willed my feet to move on quicker.

I dared a look back, hoping to see that my companions had followed, but they must have taken my silent request for some space seriously. That or I had actually managed to shake them amidst these winding alleyways and crowded streets. There was no sign of them behind me.

I turned back around just in time to run straight into a solid chest. I stumbled back a step but the male caught me with a hand around my wrist, gripping me harder than was necessary to stop my fall.

“Hey there, pretty,” he muttered, slurring his speech. I could smell the alcohol on his breath as he smiled wolfishly down at me. “You happen to know what time it is?”

My heart plummeted to my stomach.

“No,” I said quickly and made to step around him. But he sidled to the side and blocked me, our bodies colliding as he coiled an arm around my waist and held me there against him.

“Oh,” he whispered against my neck and I felt the cool tip of a blade pressed against my abdomen as he did, “I think you do.”

He was toying with the ends of my hair. My breathing was coming in quick, ragged gasps. I wanted to run, to scream, anything but, as if he sensed my thoughts, his blade pushed even firmer into my stomach and I froze. At the same time, I felt an unfamiliar thrum of magic coil around me, binding my arms, my legs.

“Why don’t you run in there and get us a room?” he asked, nodding his head toward the nearest pleasure house. “And I’ll be along shortly.”

I nodded my agreement, if only to get him to let me go. He loosened his hold on me and I darted away. The moment we separated, Lark appeared between us and the male Fae was blasted off of his feet by some invisible force. He went flying a few meters away, sprawling in the dirt, clamoring back to his feet a moment later.

Lark prowled toward him, his eyes a darker shade than I had ever seen them, narrowed into a glare of pure, unadulterated hatred. My lips parted in shock at the sight. He lifted a hand and a crack reverberated through the streets. The male who had been holding a knife to me just moments ago was on the ground again, howling in agony. I gave a soft gasp and then Cass was in front of me, cradling my head in her arms and turning me away. She was hushing me, wiping tears away that I hadn’t realized I’d shed. The next crack was even louder and I jumped against her as I turned into her, breath coming in hitched, shaky gasps.

Lark muttered something I couldn’t hear from this distance and then there was one last crack before the man’s screaming stopped entirely.

“Is he—” I started to ask when Lark approached us, frowning.

“He will wake up,” Lark answered before I could finish my question. “And when he does, he will remember not to touch a lady without her consent.”

I shuddered at the darkness in his eyes, the cold cruelty, the memory of how easy it had been for him to shatter the man’s bones and leave him unconscious in the street. And I couldn’t help but think of Cass’ words from before.

We let everyone believe we’re so evil, so wicked. We aren’t.

Weren’t they?

Lark’s frown deepened as if he understood where my train of thought had gone but before either of us could say a word, ten men appeared surrounding us. Cass gasped and pulled me closer, protectively. Rook fell back, drawing one of the two swords he kept crossed at his back, and took up a defensive stance. Lark didn’t even look surprised. He just kept his eyes on mine, searching.

“Canis Morningstar,” one of the men formally announced but Lark did not remove his gaze from me even then. “You have been found in violation of your sentence of exile. Come with us willingly to face your punishment.”

Lark’s jaw twitched but he held out his hands, eyes still on mine. They stepped forward and clasped chains around his wrists made of some metal I couldn’t identify. But I could feel it. Even from here. The suffocating heaviness of the material made my eyes droop as if I were suddenly more exhausted than I’d ever been. Lark didn’t look away from me but I saw his power dim, that bright, pulsing purple glow lessening, retreating within him and my lips parted slightly as I understood.

The trace. They had found him because he had used his powers to protect me, to save me.

I gaped at empty space as they were all gone as suddenly as they had appeared, taking Lark and Rook with them. Rook had violated his own exile as well.

Cass and I were alone now, huddling together in the street. She took a deep, shaky breath and then let go of me, slowly, carefully, as if afraid I might break apart if she moved too quickly.

“What—” I stuttered. “Where—”

“I have to speak with my father,” Cass interrupted me, pacing away on the street, “before he punishes Lark. I have to go, Ren, now. So if you want me to take you back to the mortal plane first, I need to know—”

“No,” I answered, shaking my head. “No. This is my fault. He only used his magic because of me. They only found us because of me. I want to help, Cass. Just tell me how I can help.”

She watched me for a moment, warily, considering my plea. But we were running out of time and she knew it. We didn’t have the luxury of distrusting each other. Not anymore.

So she gave one quick nod and strode back to me, grabbing my hand and giving it a squeeze.

“Don’t say anything,” she warned. “When we get there, no matter who speaks to you, no matter what they ask, don’t say anything.”

Before I could so much as nod my agreement, we were hurtling through space and time toward the Court of Blood and Bone, toward her home.