Page 4

Chapter 3

Vareck

“You look like a twat,” Corvo said. My familiar tilted his head in amusement as he watched me from his perch. The Maine coon sat regally; his chest puffed out. The silver of his mane framed his black face, giving him an ethereal quality. If only he weren’t such a prick.

“Thanks. You’re so helpful.” I deadpanned.

“I try.”

Try to get on my nerves, maybe.

“Don’t you have something better to do?” I grumbled, trying to adjust the collar of my dress shirt. “A box to sit in? Or a mouse to hunt?”

“Hunt? Please, that’s why I have you, Can Opener. Why would I expend the energy when I can sit here and judge you instead?” His black and white tail flicked behind him. “Besides, what’s better than watching you fumble with buttons so you can attract a lady friend?”

“Lady friend? That’s the best you can do?”

“Fine. The imaginary female that you think is real.” I rolled my eyes, used to his antics. “And people say I’m mad.”

Not for the first time, I questioned myself. What he said was true in a sense, if delivered in the most sarcastic way possible.

I’d been dreaming of a fae woman for years. In the beginning I’d thought she was just that—a dream. But then it continued to happen.

In all my life, I’d never experienced anything like it. Which meant someone was playing with my head—or she was real. Given I’d seen every healer from here to Belfast and they’d all claimed I wasn’t under some sort of enchantment, that led me to believe the latter.

She was real. She had to be.

So why haven’t you found her? a little voice in my head whispered. It was one of the many questions that bothered me. Despite hiring detectives and even a few unsavory sleuths to search the realms, they’d all yielded nothing. Finding this woman was like trying to catch smoke.

Not that they had a lot to go on. I didn’t have a picture of her, let alone a name.

Corvo turned his judgmental gaze toward the door, alerting me to the presence on the other side. “You have company. Think they brought dinner with them?”

“You already had dinner.”

“Not second dinner.”

A single knock rapped the door before the handle turned. There was only one person in the castle that would enter without waiting for a response.

“Your Majesty,” a warm voice greeted, the two who followed behind her lingered in the hallway, heads bowed. Kaia, my personal guard and best friend, entered the room before gesturing to one of the two behind her. A man carrying a pillow with my crown. “Your guests have begun to arrive. ”

“Yes, right. Set it on the armchair.” I motioned to the empty chair in the corner of my room. The guard dipped his head, avoiding eye contact as he slipped past me to do just that. Kaia watched him, tilting her head toward the door a moment later. He followed her silent command.

“You’re excused,” she said without looking at them. Her foot nudged the bottom of the door, closing it quietly. Wicked amusement danced in her purple eyes.

“Arguing with the house pet, again?” she teased, winking at Corvo. Her ebony braids were pulled into a high ponytail, highlighting her pointed ears. She was already dressed in the formal blue tunic and pants, leather armor strapped above it. Twin steel blades crossed her back in their holster, while a variety of knives decorated her hips. The ensemble was complete with a gold emblem that adorned her chest, displaying her status as commander of the royal army.

Corvo narrowed his golden eyes at her, flicking his tail in annoyance. “I am not a house pet. I am a god?—”

“Yeah, yeah, we know,” I said, waving my hand at him in a mocking gesture.

Corvo’s tail flicked in displeasure. “I’ll remember that next time you need a favor.”

“Need I remind you that you just referred to me as Can Opener?”

Kaia snorted while Corvo and I held a staring contest.

It ended when the cat rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m going to the kitchen. Call me if someone dies. Actually, don’t. I’m taking the night off. You peasants can fend for yourselves.”

With his little tantrum over, Corvo turned and lifted his tail—showing me his asshole. The smug fucker glanced over his shoulder to make sure I got the point, then disappeared in a blink.

Fucking cat.

“Never a dull moment with you two,” Kaia snickered, then frowned as she looked at my dress uniform. “Your riband is crooked.”

“I know,” I said, throwing my hands up. “I’ve been fumbling around with the aiguillette. I can’t get either of them right.”

“You’re hopeless,” she said, shaking her head with a suppressed smile.

“Remind me why I’m doing this again?” I asked as she straightened the sash across my chest.

“Because you can’t go door-to-door looking for a woman you don’t know. It’s creepy,” she said, patting my chest and scrunching her nose at me.

“Right . . .” Some might argue hiring people to search for her was also disturbing. At least Kaia had. It’s not like I was paying them to peep through blinds. I just wanted to meet her, if for nothing else than to figure out why we had this connection.

Was it something I’d done? Was it her doing?

I twisted my lips, frustrated by my lack of answers. My expression must have given me away. Kaia sighed, her lips pulling up into an empathetic smile as her eyes softened with concern.

“I’m worried about you, Vareck.”

I swallowed any annoyance because logically I knew her worry was warranted. If the situations were reversed, I’d feel the same. “I’m fine.”

Kaia scoffed. “That’s exactly what someone who wasn’t ‘fine’ would say.”

I didn’t respond. She was right, as usual, but what was there to say?

I ruled a failing kingdom that was perpetually on the brink of starvation. My court of sycophants both hated and revered me. My father was the cause of this endless winter, but I was the only one who could end it. I was fairly certain that was the only reason I still breathed. Someone would have tried to assassinate me by now simply out of rage—and succeeded—if not for the prophecy that stayed their hands.

“Please don’t shut me out,” Kaia continued.

This time I couldn’t hold in the sigh. “I’m not trying to, but we’ve had this conversation. I might not be the happiest of kings, but I think it’s understandable given the state of things .”

“Things,” she repeated.

“Should I make a list?”

She narrowed her eyes, not amused. “The issues in Faerie aren’t the cause of this. That’s an excuse. One I’ve let you use before because I sensed you weren’t ready to talk about it.”

“Then what’s changed?”

“You,” she answered simply. “I’ve known you for a long time. You may feel guilt over the circumstances that led you to being king—but that’s never stopped you from trying your damnedest to fix it. The greenhouses. The robust trading system. While your ideas haven’t fixed the problem at hand, they’ve made it a hell of a lot better. Faerie would be a barren wasteland right now if not for you.”

“I’m not seeing your point.”

Kaia’s jaw tightened. “My point is that you’ve always been singularly focused. Driven. Sometime in the last few years . . . that’s changed. I don’t know how to describe it, but I can see it in you. You’re only half present at meetings. You’re letting the courts of the high and low fae make decisions on your behalf. We’re losing you, Vareck.”

“I’m right here,” I said softly.

“Physically, yes. But mentally? You’re withdrawn. I know it has something to do with your mystery woman. Every time one of the private investigators you sent out turns up with nothing, a little bit more of you slips away.” I opened my mouth to refute her, but she silenced me with a hand. “Don’t insult our friendship by spouting false truths. What started as a curiosity is slowly turning into an obsession.”

I let out a harsh breath, my chest tightening. “I know. I know you’re right, but I . . . I can’t let this go. You don’t understand, Kaia. I dream of her every single night now. I’m with someone, and yet I’ve never met her. In the beginning I could write it off as me needing a reprieve from my role as king, but now” —I paused, running a hand through my unruly hair— “she has to be real. If she’s not, then we have a bigger problem at hand.”

“You’re not crazy,” Kaia said sternly.

I half smiled. “Corvo thinks I might be.”

“Corvo is a fucking cat who enjoys ribbing you because it’s entertaining for him. He’s just bored.”

“Doesn’t mean he’s wrong.”

“Doesn’t mean he’s right either,” she retorted just as easily. “I get why you’re doing this. The search parties. The balls. If you weren’t king, you’d be out there looking yourself.” I didn’t correct her. She knew me well. Kaia tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling as she took a deep breath.

“Do you believe she’s real?” I asked quietly. It was a question I’d thought about many times but could never bring myself to voice .

“I don’t know,” my best friend answered honestly. “For a while I assumed it was the stress of everything. I thought it would go away. Then it didn’t. Now . . .” She shook her head, letting her words trail off.

“You know what comes next if I don’t find her.”

Kaia went stiff. “You are not your father.”

“His insanity started the same way. Like it or not, we can’t deny the facts.”

“Deimos was a sociopath. He was mad. There were obvious signs of it well before the massacre or the dreams.” Her stern tone left no room for an argument. I shrugged.

“Promise me you won’t let it get that far.”

“No.”

“Kaia—”

“It won’t, because we’re going to find her.”

I laughed bitterly. “I’ve been trying for years. Even Drayden hasn’t found a lead. I’m not sure what else I can do.” If Kaia was considered my second-in-command, Drayden was next in line after her. They were the only two I trusted. He was currently searching for my dream girl, and he knew how important she was to me.

“Drayden is due back in a few weeks.” Kaia rolled her shoulders and ran her thumb over her bottom lip in thought. “After he gets back, you’re going to announce that you’ll be taking a tour of the kingdom. It’s been over a decade. This will give you a chance to search every major town and fulfill your role as king at the same time.”

“And if she’s not in this realm?”

She shifted side to side, seeming to consider something. “I’ve heard rumors . . . of a leprechaun that can find anything. For the right price.”

I tilted my head, regarding her. “You think that extends to people? ”

Kaia shrugged. “Maybe. Only one way to find out.”

“Why haven’t you mentioned this before?”

Kaia looked away, not in guilt per se, but definitely discomfort. “Two reasons. The first, I only heard about it six months ago.”

“And the second?”

“He’s a fugitive you banished from Faerie.”

That would be a problem. “Which makes him unlikely to help, assuming he even can.”

Kaia nodded in acknowledgement. “It’s a last resort option. Let’s get through this and schedule your tour, then I’ll see if I can hunt this guy down. Okay?” She reached out to grip my bicep, giving me a comforting squeeze.

“If this doesn’t work . . .”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it and not a second earlier. Now, if you’re ready—you have a ball to oversee and a woman to find.”