Page 21

DRAKE

I winced against the light that slanted over my closed eyelids. Shifting, I rolled over and burrowed deeper underneath the covers. Something was off.

The sheets of my bed were not this rough, this abrasive. My eyes snapped open, my gaze flitting over the pale walls of the room, the black sheets, and the burgundy curtains.

Where the hell am I? The mounting alarm washed over me.

How the hell did I get in here? I thought.

I wracked my mind, searching for memories.

Flashes erupted before me of the club, Rosalana offered me drinks, and Ember, dancing at the club.

Then, I grabbed her hand, leading her away.

My body grew hot at the memory of her kisses, her tongue swirling around my own, meeting my kiss with an endearing shyness; it was hot.

Horror rinsed over me like cold winter rain. My gaze slowly turned to the other side of the bed. It was empty, but the bed sheets had been wrinkled, and a few drops of blood stained the middle of the bed .

I inhaled—Ember’s blood.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit!

I laid with Ember, had made love to her, and wasn’t even aware I had done so. Guilt slammed into me like an iron fist. Ember was gone. She must despise me and wanted to get out of my sight.

But how the hell had I taken advantage of her?

Shadow fae didn’t become intoxicated so easily. Our high metabolism ran through liquor like it was water.

My memories flashed back to Rosalana. She kept offering me drinks; at one point had turned her back, and then I caught sight of her smiling coyly at me as she handed me another drink. Her eyes glinting as she watched me down the contents.

No. What the hell did Rosalana do?

First and most importantly, I had to find Ember, reassure her, and explain.

I leaped from the bed, dressing quickly.

Racing out of the room, I put the price of the room on the royal tab and ran outside.

I spread open my wings. The giant wings spread out like twin sails catching the wind as I hurled myself into the air.

Usually, I did not use this form of transportation, despising how much attention it drew to me, being one of the few shadow fae in existence to ever master the manipulation of flight.

But this was an emergency, and my fated mate needed me.

I soared across the land, the town buildings whirling below—the tree tops nothing but a blur of green as I pumped my wings harder, propelling myself forward.

In the distance rose the obsidian palace, its tall towers pricking the sky-blue expanse above.

The afternoon sun was high in the sky, causing my heart to sink.

How long ago did Ember leave?

I flew to one of the balconies on the towers and tucked my wings in, dropping into a crouch.

The royal guards at the doorway stiffened, drawing their hands up in a salute.

I swept past them without a word. Barging into the palace, I hurried downstairs and straight to Ember’s room.

Reaching her door, my heart in my throat, and panting, though not from exertion, I knocked on her door.

“Ember?”

Silence greeted me. There was no sound of anyone stirring on the other side.

Frustration mounted within me. I knocked again, this time a little sharper.

“Ember, I know you’re in there,” I said.

“If you would please open up, I could—” my voice drew off.

I could what? Erase all that I had done to her?

Say sorry like it would make everything okay?

My claws sliced out, and I clenched my fist, not caring that the talons bit into my palms, drawing beads of blood.

I rested my forehead against the door, a sigh breezing through my lungs. “Ember,” I begged, “please just listen to me.”

Footsteps sounded to my right, and I whipped my head to the side, hope flaring within my chest. “Ember?”

A female stood in the middle of the corridor, but it wasn’t Ember. By her long dark hair and pointed ears, I knew she was a shadow fae. She wore a servant’s outfit, a long plain black dress with glittering stitchwork along the hem and collar, and a pair of sensible, low-heeled shoes.

I recognized her almond-shaped chocolate-brown eyes. She was one of the servants that waited on Ember, one of her friends. I pushed off the door and strode toward her.

“Have you seen Ember? ”

The female’s eyes widened slightly, her mouth falling open, then her composure grew relaxed, almost resigned even as she said, “No, I have not, Your Highness.”

I narrowed an eye at her. She knew something; my gut was telling me so. “Do you know where she went?”

The female servant shook her head. “No, no, I don’t, Your Highness.”

“But you do know something about her disappearance, don’t you?” I said, my eyes narrowing to thin slits.

At that, the servant’s eyes flashed. “Permission to speak candidly, sir?”

I blinked, taken aback. “Go on,” I said, dread slowly coiling a noose around my neck.

“After you rejected her,” the servant spat, “Ember told us that she would be returning home.”

I flinched as if I had been slapped.

“Ember…told you she was leaving?” I whispered, my throat hoarse with disbelief.

The servant’s eyes narrowed. “What would you expect, Your Highness? She was unwanted here and found lacking.” The servant’s words bit into me like the fangs of a venomous viper.

Did she run back home because of me?

I could hardly believe it. The ground felt as if it emptied out underneath me, dragging me under as I fell into its depths.

“No,” I growled, claws sliding out. “No, she can’t leave me! ”

I whirled around, intent on finding her, when the servant’s voice pierced into me. “Why can’t you just leave her alone? Haven’t you already done enough to hurt her?”

My back went ramrod straight. I slowly pivoted, fixing her with a furious glare. “How dare you speak to me in such a way! I allowed you to speak your mind, but it goes no further—you forget who you’re speaking to.”

“Oh, I know exactly who I’m speaking to,” she snapped at me. “I’m speaking to the male that broke my friend’s heart. And I will not take that lightly, Crown Prince. No one hurts my friends.”

“Broke her heart? What the hell are you talking about?” I flung my arms out to the sides.

“She loved you, you idiot!” The servant’s chest heaved with bridled rage, yet I was too stunned to acknowledge she had yelled at me.

My heart felt as if it dropped down to my feet. Every cell in my body rocked to a halt. “She loves me?” My voice was ragged.

“She was in love with you,” the servant bit out, incisors lengthening.

“Till you discarded her heart like it was nothing but trash, tossed aside for that—that female that’s always clinging to you.

Don’t you realize that she treats her fellow servants—everybody—horribly and only pretends to be nice in your presence?

How could you give up such a kind-hearted person as Ember for such a menace? ”

“Rosalana…?” I breathed out. To hear what the servant said about my childhood friend’s sister was hard to bear. Could Rosalana really behave that poorly to others?

“Yes, your lover.” The servant bared her teeth at me, hissing .

“But I don’t love her!” I growled.

“Your Highness, you don’t have to convince me,” the servant said. “What’s happened has happened. And nothing can be done about it.”

My eyes darkened as light leached out of the corners, my eyes glowing under the festering emotions. “We’ll see about that,” I said, determination roiling inside me. I whirled around and stalked down the length of the corridor.

First, I had business to attend to, and Rosalana, I feared, had something to do with it. I descended the stairs two at a time, veered left, heading straight for the med witch’s office. I rapped on the door. A melodic voice floated from the other side.

“You may enter.”

I opened the door and stepped into the room.

Before me stretched a large room, shelving outfitted the back wall with numerous vials and bottles perched atop it.

An operating table stood near the center of the room, and a desk to the far left.

Sitting at that desk was a full-figured woman wearing a long white gown with gleaming black hair tied in a messy bun.

She sat hunched over her desk observing files, when she swiveled around in her chair at hearing my entrance.

“How can I be of help?” Her eyes popped wide upon spotting me. She leaped to her feet. “Y-your majesty,” she stammered, dropping into a clumsy curtsy.

I waved her off. “It’s nice to see you, Mera, but I don't have time for pleasantries or formalities.” I stepped further into the room, closing the door behind me. I let my gaze rove over her form, assessing the questions that flitted across her gaze .

I had known the med witch since childhood…could I trust her with what I had to say? I sighed, sweeping a hand down my face. She had never betrayed patient confidentiality before, always swearing by it—and I needed to reveal all the details if she was to help me.

“Your Highness,” the med witch said, “you don’t appear to be well.”

“I-I think something has been done to me,” I told her.

Her brows furrowed. “Whatever do you mean?”

Quickly, I went over the events at the club and the subsequent encounter with Ember at the inn.

The med witch's gaze hardened. “You are correct,” she said. “Shadow fae are not easily intoxicated. It’s nearly impossible to get you lot drunk. And you say this all started when?”

My mouth turned dry as if I were unable to give life to the words. “When Rosalana started offering me drinks.”

The med witch's shoulders slumped, her eyes going dull, “Then I’m afraid that your friend may have very well spiked your drink with a potion.”

Bile rose in my throat. “Could you run some test to…to confirm what you say?”

“I would be more than honored to, my prince.”