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Chapter 4

Fara

F ara scrambled onto Lija’s back. She didn’t need to be told twice and Tahlia’s urgent movements were command enough for her.

She didn’t know who this was, but clearly, he was Unseelie. While the Seelie—Fae of the Realm of Lights—had light peach, brown, blue, silver, orange, purple, and more colors within their population, Unseelie only had gray skin. Likely from living in their dark, mysterious realm. It was a place pretty much unreachable by Seelie Fae, with the exception of King Lysanael and Queen Revna.

Why was he here? Who was he? It wasn’t as if all Unseelie were evil. The Seelie used to believe they were, but Fara’s people had been proven wrong when Seelie King Lysanael discovered he was related to the Unseelie king. But that didn’t mean this particular male was trustworthy. No, in fact, he looked like the farthest thing from trustworthy.

Unseelie held unpredictable magic, unlike the Fae of this realm. Fara had always been frightened of their power. It was the stuff of childhood nightmares. Snakes and insects gathering to do their bidding. Weather altered by a whim. The ability to shift their physical form. She shuddered.

Fara set a hand on her pounding heart as she took in his clawed fingers and the easy way he walked forward like there weren’t a load of arrows and blades aimed at his chest. He was as tall as Marius, but that’s where the similarities ended. His blue-black hair was braided and came to the nape of his neck. A strange sensation crept over Fara’s skin—like the drag of talons over her flesh.

“Tell me why I don’t truss you up like a pig and have my dragon light you up right this second,” Marius said, still holding his whip ready.

“Curiosity,” the male said. His voice was like thunder, resonant and threatening despite his simple words.

His voice was fascinating. She wanted him to speak again just so she could pin down what was unique about it. He could probably sing well if he decided to.

She pressed her eyes shut, annoyed with herself. She wasn’t thinking clearly. This was an emergency and she should be more logically minded if she was going to join in on missions.

A massive scar ran across the Unseelie’s throat and down one arm. His short-sleeved vest pulled tight at his chest. His thighs were more pronounced than most males’—the muscles large like he did squats for a living.

The Unseelie cocked his head and studied each of the knights and dragons before his gaze landed on Fara. She felt his focus like a cool breeze dancing over her cheeks, down her chest, along her legs… His eyes glittered, and she swallowed against a sudden lump in her throat.

“I am the new leader of the Eelsmen,” the Unseelie said.