Page 20

Chapter 20

Shadow Fae

Jo

I knew something was up the second that bastard Dark Fae showed up at V’s door and refused to leave.

I detected the shift in his confidence when he got his slimy hands on that amulet he blackmailed V into getting for him. I hadn’t figured out what it did, but I didn’t like how quickly Cassius lost the fear in his eyes when I attacked him. Or how the usually incoherent coward barely hid his arrogance, sure that I wouldn’t win against him should a fight occur—as baseless as that confidence was because I never lost.

Loathe as I was to admit it, Cassius was clever. Everything he did was directly connected to helping V. Every movement he made was to further our agenda so we could take down Lux and his evil minions. And he never once mentioned the amulet. He’d barely looked at it since the night he retrieved it. I found it broken and in pieces inside a box he kept in his room, discarded like trash.

So, what was it? What did he gain from it?

Curious, I tailed the two when Cassius insisted he get V all to himself without the ever-watchful gaze of her tattooed keeper. Another clever tactic I hated to give him credit for.

Phillip was right to be wary, but V had the arrogant bastard under her thumb. The fiery Hunter was the cleverest of them all. Honestly, it was just another reason that I was enamored with her like the rest of them. A surprise, yes, but one I wasn’t exactly upset about.

The Dark Fae used a stone to travel, but it was easy enough for someone like me to follow. I’d put a tracker on both Cassius and V the first day we met—one even the great Phillip couldn’t detect. It wasn’t magic. It was a shadow that took the shape of theirs.

What no living creature knew was that I controlled shadows. I could become them, move through them, use them. It wasn’t an ability anyone but my kind could do. And even then, very few of us existed now or in the past. So, in this world, no one feared their shadow. Not until I appeared out of it, striking before they could breathe—their worst fucking nightmare.

I was undetectable. The Chaos Fae every supernatural creature feared. Terrifyingly powerful and merciless. As a shadow, I could go anywhere and do practically anything. Still, as with anything, there was a great cost to using my shadow ability. One I’d pay for tonight if things went pear-shaped because I’d already used too much and rendered my other powers useless.

Something about Cassius’s power since he retrieved the amulet was noticeably different. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I’d lost him despite the shadow tracker. And that was when I sensed serious goddamn trouble.

Fucking Serine.

I’d thought for sure she was back in the Fae realm. She’d gotten her ego bruised during our last encounter, but apparently, she was back—and with a fucking army by the looks of it. Not the usual one or two she kept with her for protection, but a staggering twenty in total.

The cloaked figures moved through the crowd, drawing hoots and hollers from the inebriated mass. Humans were drawn to our kind, but in this case, the numerous cloaked figures making their way through the crowd in formation looked like a show was about to take place. The humans around me grew agitated with their excitement, following the cloaked figures wherever they went. A death procession of sorts. Because by the end of the night, every human who followed would be dead.

If Serine was here, then V was in danger. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. Serine was power hungry. A ruthless mercenary with a penchant for destruction. It wasn’t beneath the Organization to network with her kind. She was worse than Eros, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she was being paid a pretty penny to come after their runaway weapon. But what the Organization failed to anticipate was that Serine wouldn’t take the coin or favors, she’d steal their prized goose for herself.

I didn’t want to think about what would happen if Serine got her claws into V.

I had to move fast to find out where the obnoxious Dark Fae took her. Neither of them were up to snuff. They couldn’t take on Serine without the right information. Instead of tracking Cassius, I followed V’s tracker. I came to her as a shadow, revealing myself to someone for the first time in centuries. The first person since Reyna. I’d ponder its significance after I got the saucy Hunter to safety.

Serine wasn’t someone I wanted to fight after using my shadow form all night. I’d be too vulnerable to her magic, and with an army at her command, I’d have to hope V could pause time and use her abilities to end it quickly. Because Serine was the same thing V and I were.

A Royal fucking Siren.

Overuse of my shadow form was already taking its toll. I wouldn’t be able to fight like normal, and certainly not against Serine’s necromancy. Because the way I controlled shadows, she controlled the dead. Every cloaked figure she’d brought with her was a Fae she’d killed and collected for her army of the undead. She’d upped her game. Controlling so many would take a toll on her, but their abilities became hers. Without significant recon, I couldn’t be sure what any of them could do—and that was what made Serine the most dangerous person any of us could face.

There was a time limit on her control, but only with that particular Fae. Unfortunately, not short enough to be any use in our present predicament. She’d move her power through the group to reserve her strength. The only way to defeat someone like Serine was to get to her before she could get to you. But I’d already lost my edge. I wouldn’t be able to disable her now that I had to warn V she was about to go up against her own kind.

I grabbed the confused Hunter and headed the opposite direction of Serine and her undead army. V moved like normal, so I was thankful the annoying asshole had the good sense not to give her anything that would limit her ability to fight. When I looked back, I didn’t see Cassius anywhere. He’d disappeared into thin air. Did that fucking coward flee at the first sign of danger? He wouldn’t be able to use his teleportation, so it was more likely he’d found somewhere to hide. It fucking figures he’d be a coward to the very end.

Men and their goddamn lip service.

V seemed to catch my line of sight. “Where’s Cash?”

“Guess we’re on our own,” I grumbled angrily. Her face twisted with confusion, but I grabbed her by the jaw and forced our eyes to meet. “I need you to listen carefully, V. We have one shot at this. You’ll need to use all that incredible power inside you to get us out of this alive. I’ve…Well, I’ve used too much of mine already.”

V seemed genuinely surprised to hear it. “That can happen to you? Wait, what do you mean? How?”

I licked my lips, uncomfortable and running out of time. “I’ll explain after we get through this, but I need you to focus. Do you see that cloaked line and the woman with pale blonde hair in the dead center of it? She’s the one we want to kill. She’s…like you and me, a Chaos Fae.”

“You and me?” Her eyes widened with recognition. “You’re a Chaos Fae?!”

“V, focus. We can talk about all of that later. All you need to know is that she controls the dead. Those cloaked figures are likely Fae she’s already killed. She can use their power, and you’ll never know what they can do until it’s happening to you. So, I need you to use that awesome power of yours and freeze time.”

V didn’t speak, just listened. I was so glad that unlike that dolt of a mentor of hers who ran his mouth every chance he got, she knew when to be quiet and listen.

“We’ll need everything—the hellfire and deactivation ability. She’s got Siren skin, so physical attacks are pointless. First, use your hellfire to burn the dead and deactivate her Siren skin. Then we’ll be able to decapitate her and end the battle before it starts. It’s risky to use everything, but anything less and she’ll kill you. Stop time now.”

Her hazel eyes were wide with shock, but like she was trained to do, it was only a moment before she moved into action. The world around us came to a halt. Except, something was different this time as V flitted through the crowd like lightning.

I followed, my whip out just in case. V focused on Serine, her face distorted with concentration.

“Have you deactivated—” I started to ask, but before I could finish my question, time moved again.

It wasn’t clear what happened at first or why V was suddenly behind Cassius, but the line of cloaked Fae were brought to their knees. Smoky magic wrapped around each one and bound them to their black prison. A blink later, each one caught fire. I didn’t have time to question it. Hellfire burned Serine’s cloaked army to ash in seconds, and V removed a dagger from her belt. Her fangs caught the light, and I knew by the look she gave Serine she was ready to do whatever it took to kill her.

Now was the time to act. I’d leave my questions for later.

Serine looked left and right, confused, but she wasn’t one to let a moment get to her. Lime-green magic washed the crowd and every single creature in that room was taken to the floor.

Weight hit my stomach.

V hadn’t managed to deactivate her abilities. The lethal Chaos Fae still had control over the dead. It was clear she’d do whatever it took to get her hands on V.

Fucking shit.

I barely reacted with a shield in time to reflect Serine’s magical attack. Both Cassius and V seemed unharmed when the green died out and everyone collapsed onto the floor. It was just the four of us facing off, but I knew all too well what came next—and it wasn’t fucking good. She’d used the last of her power to get the edge, and if we didn’t act quickly, we’d be fucked by numbers alone.

“V!” I yelled out, trying to warn her before everyone who’d come to that underground space was on their feet and attacking us.

All two hundred of them.