Page 11

CHAPTER 10

T hey waste no time freeing Shamus, and he is dragged, along with Ronan, as we follow the fae.

“What have you done?” Shamus hisses.

“Truthfully, I do not know,” I admit. “But it’s better than your torture.”

“If you cannot do whatever she wishes, we are all dead. I can endure pain?—”

“I could not endure your pain,” I snap. “Let us focus.”

Our gazes clash, and his voice softens. “She could ask anything of you.”

“I know,” I murmur, “but I have a feeling this is why she allowed the healer to save me—she hopes I can help. If she believes I can, then I have to trust it’s something I can do and survive.”

“That’s a lot of blind trust,” Ronan mutters.

“Sometimes that’s all we have,” I retort as I glance at him. “Why did you come for me? Why did you risk it all to save me?”

“I am your commander—” Shamus begins.

“You would do this for any of your soldiers?” I interrupt incredulously.

His lips purse, and Ronan chuckles. “She got you good, brother.”

“Shut up, Row,” he mutters and nods forward. “Do not keep her waiting. The fae are not patient creatures.”

“We will discuss this when we get out of here alive,” I warn him.

“Yes, we will,” he replies, always needing to have the last word.

Rolling my eyes, I hurry to keep up with the fae as we move through the streets, the crowd dispersing in disappointment now that human pain is off the table.

One moment, we are walking the empty streets on the outskirts of town, and the next the landscape transforms around us and we stand before the entrance of a cave.

“This is definitely where the creepy, glowing fae lady murders us . . . well, you two,” Ronan supplies helpfully.

The fae glances back at us, her eyebrow arched. “I could blink and kill you. I would not spill blood here, however, so do not fear.” She steps inside, and we have no choice but to follow.

I expected it to be damp, but thousands of candles cover a wall with jagged steps leading down. We descend them quickly, and at the bottom, I stare in awe at the circular room. The ceilings are so high, I cannot see the top, and light filters in through holes all around, shining on a stone slab in the middle where a body rests, unmoving.

“What is this?” I ask.

She stops at the edge of the raised dais and stares at the body for a moment before glancing back at me. “This is your payment. You must wake him.”

“Wake him from what?” I ask.

“He is trapped in his mind. I worry it will warp him. You will free him.” She steps back, and I stare at the man on the stone, unable to see much from here.

“Who is he?” I query, a bad feeling building in my gut. You don’t wake a fae in a creepy cave, that is just rational thinking, but I suppose I don’t have much choice.

“That is not important. Free him and you will all be free to go. This is your payment.”

I breathe deeply, realising she will not tell me any more than that.

Tricky fae.

Glancing back at Ronan and Shamus, I see the commander narrow his eyes on me while Ronan gives me a cheeky grin and two thumbs up. Idiot ghost. I step onto the rock and still.

Something sends a shiver through me. The rock feels hungry, welcoming, as magic climbs up my legs and body, trying to devour me. Ignoring it, I head over, not stopping until I am above the man, and when I do, my mouth drops open.

I am not the kind to be swayed by beauty, but the man trapped in his mind on this stone is magnificently beautiful.

His features are delicate, almost feminine, with a small, slender nose speckled with freckles that extend across his high cheekbones. His jaw is pointed, but not too sharp, and his hair is an icy white, spread across the pillow below him, his pointed ears spearing through the strands. He looks like an angel—innocent, ethereal, and beautiful.

He wears a white and ivory fur collar doublet and trousers, and he almost looks as if he is sleeping, but when I lay my hand on his arm, I know differently.

I fall to my knees with a silent scream at the raw power, fury, and hunger.

It consumes me, pulling me deeper, like I am falling into a waiting chasm of teeth and claws. No, I am falling deeper into the darkness. I hit the bottom hard, and a sudden sharpness digs into my skin, trying to get my blood and organs.

This is not real , I remind myself.

“Oh, but it’s very real, human, and now you are trapped here with me, another thing to feed on. I should thank you, as you are much more powerful than the others.”

I ignore that and the wicked voice, and instead of fighting, I relax, calming my mind as I imagine I’m standing in bright sunlight.

I’m trapped in darkness in his mind. I need to free myself and hopefully him.

The teeth and claws disappear, and I am upright once more in the light that is suddenly eclipsed by darkness.

“Two can play that game.” It’s the voice again.

Male.

Wicked.

This was never about freeing him; this was about defeating him. I can see the bones of others scattered around. They have been fed upon in both reality and his mind. She fed me to him. I don’t know if she expected me to survive or not, but either way, it’s no loss to her.

Either I do or I don’t.

Either way, she gets what she needs.

Tricky fae bitch.

An evil, malicious laugh echoes around my head, and I begin to wonder if I am in his head or he is in mine. Who is really in control here?

“Who are you?” I ask.

The darkness closes in around me once more, and hands slide across my skin. I gasp as something bites my neck, drawing blood, and I know it does in real life as well. That chuckle comes again, and the hands disappear.

“Oh, but you are strong. I am he, of course, the one on the stone. If you wish for my name, human, then you will have to earn it. They have power, after all.”

“I am here to free you?—”

He laughs again. “You are here to die, like all the others she sends. It’s the price she pays for her mistake.”

“What does that mean?” I ask as I spin in the darkness. I try to imagine lights to illuminate the space, but they are quickly extinguished. As powerful as I am and as good as I am at defeating people, he is better and much stronger.

If I do not win this, we will both be trapped here forever.

Closing my eyes, I gather everything in me and force the darkness back, and it slowly starts to peel away. It takes so much effort, I sweat and sway.

We are with you. Remember who you are.

The voice is from within, and I recognise it from that table with the women. They are lending me their power, and with a scream, I throw my hands out, and the darkness is burned away.

I know the control has flipped again. He’s strong, but he’s also hungry. He needs my power. He needs . . . me.

Either I die and feed him or I free him.

This was her play.

“Show yourself. I have defeated you,” I demand, and a slow clap followed by a bone-chilling laugh comes again. A beautiful man steps out of the darkness.

He looks like a dark angel.

“That you did. Very good, human.” His voice is soft and sure, sliding across my skin like a caress that leaves me gasping. He watches me for a moment as I stare back, then he begins to circle me.

“I can free you of this . . . this curse,” I begin, unsure what to say now.

His laughter makes me shudder once more.

“You think I fell under a curse or spell? No, na?ve human, my sister made me this way. She trapped me in my own mind out of fear and love, as she called it.” He lifts my hair as he circles me. “You are beautiful.” His whisper reaches me as he stops behind me, his breath wafting over my neck and ear. “And so tasty.” His tongue darts out, licking down my neck, and I jerk away.

“Wait, your sister?” I frown, turning to keep him in view.

His head tilts to the side as he watches me. “You truly are na?ve. Did you just follow her blindly? Silly little human. The one who brought you to me made me like this, trapping me here.” He throws his arms out to encompass the shadowed area of his mind. “For my own good, she said. She thought she could free me as she wished, but magic has its own price. I have been trapped for centuries, and everyone she brings to try and free me ends up feeding my hunger.” His head dips, and his eyes darken.

He looks like an angel, but there is a devil in his eyes.

This one is not the same as the other fae.

“Did she trap you because she feared you?” I ask boldly.

He laughs. “So bold and brave. Yes, human, they feared me. I am not like them. My sister and I, we are . . . How do you humans say it? Born from two sides of the same coin—one is bright and good and the other is dark and evil. We bring balance, but when I grew stronger, she feared me so she trapped me here. Now she lives with regret, loving me even now.”

“You don’t love her?” I ask.

“I love no one or nothing, only power and feeding.” He grins slowly. “So, human, free me and I shall feed on this earth or you will die like the others.”

I watch him for a moment. “I choose neither.” Following an instinct I do not understand, I fling myself at him. We fall through the darkness, my hands trapping his face, and then I lift my arm, bite into it, and press it against his mouth.

I feel my blood drip into him, filling him as we hit the ground and he rolls us. He stares down at me, panting, his eyes wide and lips stained with my blood.

It’s then I understand what I am doing.

I am quenching the evil.

He is powerful but so hungry it drives him mad, warping his mind.

The hunger made him do terrible, terrible things to stop the pain.

That, I can understand.

“What are you doing to me?” he rasps as my blood seems to work through him.

“Saving you for real and freeing you from your hunger. I know pain. I understand how it can change you. Let me help.”

“It will hurt,” he warns.

“I can handle the pain,” I reply as he pulls my head to the side without any hesitation. My screams split the air as he buries his vicious teeth into my neck and feasts on the power within me—the life he so desperately needs. “I can handle it,” I tell him as I wrap my hand around his head, pulling him closer as he guzzles my blood.

Pain flows through me so strongly, I scream again, even as his hands slide under my clothes. He pinches my nipple as his other hand slides into my pants, pressing firmly against my clit. I am unable to stop him, and I know he tastes the moment the pain mixes with pleasure in my blood. He snarls, gnawing at my neck as he pinches my nipple so hard it aches. My thighs part and I press into him, rolling my hips.

The pleasure grows until it explodes.

I come with a scream, and he swallows my pleasure in my blood.

He jerks backwards, falling to his hands and knees, his back bowing as he coughs up black ink. Propping myself up on my elbow, I watch him.

“What have you done?” he snarls.

“I have fed the beast within you, and now I will free you.” I throw myself at him again before I chicken out, wrapping my arms around him as we fall once more. We descend through the darkness, but this time we fall right into our bodies and out of our minds.

My eyes snap open, the light so bright it hurts. My body is swaying and weak.

“Angel!” Shamus snaps from somewhere behind me.

“I’m okay,” I murmur.

Slumping into the stone, I glance at the sleeping fae. He suddenly sits up, and I hear his sister gasp and rush towards us. His head turns woodenly, and he glances down at me.

My blood stains his lips as he lifts a hand and pats at it.

I have brought him back from the edge, but he is not a good fae and never will be.

He was right, he was born like this, and now I have freed him.

“You’re awake!” The female fae hurries past me, her hands fluttering about before she looks at me. “You did it.”

Nodding, I climb to my feet, falling back as weakness hits me. Arms catch me, and I glance up at a worried Ronan and a stern-faced Shamus.

“She did as you asked. Are we free to leave in one piece?” Shamus asks.

“Yes, go, go.” She waves her hand at us, and Shamus and Ronan waste no time dragging me towards the exit of the cave. I glance back at the fae on the stone.

His eyes track me as I stumble away with them. His sister talks to him, but he doesn’t move, not even to blink. He disappears then reappears before me, making us stumble to a stop.

“What?” I ask, refusing to cower.

He cocks his head as he watches me.

“Brother,” she calls. “Come, we will head home?—”

“You know I cannot stay, sister. They will never accept me. I will go with her. I fear it is the only way to keep this . . . madness at bay.” He licks his lips—a reminder of drinking my blood.

“I was not offering,” I snap. “I have enough here with an asshole commander and a ghost. I don’t need a mad fae.”

“Too bad,” he murmurs as he steps closer. “You freed me and tied me to you. Where you go, I go.”

“No, brother, the mortal realm is no place for us,” the fae protests, hurrying over to us. “I will find a way to keep the hunger at bay?—”

“I have found a way—her. Either I go with her or I stay here and slowly go mad again until you have to lock me away. There is no choice.”

“I never said he could come,” I snarl at them. “I do not need any more issues. I have my own battles to finish.”

“Then you can use me to fight them.” He shrugs. “Or my powers at least, and in return, you will allow me to feed on your essence so I do not go insane . . . well, any more insane.” The smile he aims at me is crazed.

“This is not a good idea,” Shamus murmurs. “We should leave.”

“You think you can leave this realm without me stopping you?” the angel fae retorts. The entire cave is suddenly submerged in the same darkness, until all we can see is him. “I am more powerful than anything in this world or yours. I am ancient and eternal. You cannot escape me.”

“I say we bring him along,” Ronan says with amusement. “Who knows when a fae might come in handy? Besides, it’s super annoying to have to get up to turn off the lights every night. He can just do this.”

“You are a ghost. You do not sleep,” I murmur, but my eyes are on the fae.

“Brother,” she tries again before glancing at me. “Are you sure? She’s special, I can sense that, but not from this realm, and I will not be able to help you.”

“I do not need your help. I need her,” he declares. “Now, shall we go, humans, before you get into any more trouble in our world?”

I glance at Shamus to see his eyes narrowed on the fae. “It is your choice, Tate. Fae are trouble, and you are a hunter. You are enemies.”

“If I leave, you will just follow me, won’t you?” I sigh as I glance at the angelic fae.

His smirk lets me know I’m right. It’s better to keep an enemy in sight rather than stalking me. I’m left with only one choice. “Let’s get the hell out of this realm and then deal with this later. I’m fucking exhausted.”