Chapter One

 

 

 

Dylan

The days were long, and there was still more to do. Knowing Kilara could return at any moment put everyone on edge. I knew things would not be slowing down anytime soon. Listening to the rush of water echoing through the halls from the not-so-distant Teleen falls and pools, Shade and I returned to our room and gently closed the door behind us, effectively cutting off the sounds echoing across the stone walls, including the endless excitement that followed the celebration party the Teleen had put on for the Raven queen Aluse and her brother. Trey’s recovery had been nothing short of miraculous.

His illness and subsequent cure had brought elation to the once-solemn Raven queen, but it had cast an ominous cloud over the rest of us for what was sure to be a torrent of consequences for the power we’d discovered.

Shade’s eyes gleamed in the darkness, reflecting the bluish tint of my natural appearance: cobalt fire and electricity crackling along my skin. I kneeled on the floor before my wife, took her by the waist, and pulled her toward me. Her sweet scent filled me with an exhilarating intensity as I let her warmth spread across my body. Watching her as she slid those gorgeous brown eyes down my body, I could see that her thoughts were elsewhere. There was much going on in there, and I knew most of it she never spoke out loud.

It only made me want to open her mind and examine every bit of it with a magnifying glass. Though we’d been married for months, she remained a mystery, an unsolved puzzle. It only made me want her even more. My insatiable desire for Shade was unlike any thirst ever experienced before. It was just that unquenchable.

“I hate her.”

I lifted my chin up to her, surprised by the shift in the mood.

“Who? Kilara?”

She nodded. “She’s up to something, and that’s never good. I wish she’d never returned. I don’t trust her.”

“You just have to meet with her once. Then we can go home. I doubt she’ll try anything in front of the Teleen faeries; they’re almost as old as she is. There’s no way she’d try to hurt us here. The Teleen are too powerful for her to try anything.”

“I still don’t trust her.”

“Neither do I. Just focus on home. Should I notify Camulus to pick us up right after the meeting, or do you want to take the long way?”

She shook her head. “I think we might need Camulus. I need to leave here as soon as possible. I don’t like being under the same roof as Soap’s mother. Such power should not be used without great caution. If Kilara knew about this new power, this all-consuming magic between me, Zena, Xyon, and Iana, we’d be doomed.”

I nodded. “I understand. I’ll notify him tonight, and we can leave in the morning.”

“Wait. I must think.” Shade wrung her hands together, her brow tense as she thought things over. “Kilara is close, and if she knew about this power, do you think she’d try to exploit it? What am I saying? Of course she would. At least she never got ahold of Rowan. She’s too wild. But Benton told me Rowan was not quite right when he saw her on Storm Rock Island.”

I nodded, thinking of Benton’s update on Rowan. “She’s probably still there. Ilarial sent an archivist to replace the dead one. There’ve been no reports about Rowan leaving.”

Shade nodded absently, partially lost in her mind.

I cleared my throat and continued. “Do you have any suggestions on what to do about Kilara then?”

She shook her head, her long dark brown locks glimmering as she closed her eyes and placed a hand on her forehead. Her smooth features were not eclipsed by the fire that burned along my skin. In fact, it amplified her beauty. She opened her eyes and stared at the fire burning in the fireplace, flickering like my own. I saw eyes bright and determined to find a solution to our problem. I knew she’d come up with something soon. We couldn’t stay at the Teleen Caverns forever. Not even our kingdom at The Scren Palace was safe from the likes of an Ancient queen of Faerie.

Kilara had already found us and had sent a messenger to “inform” us of her imminent arrival in the Haunted Forest. She would be waiting for us to lead her into the caverns. That didn’t mean we were yet in danger, but secrets were not kept long from Ancients. She’d know sooner or later the power Shade held in her blood. It was a good thing the Ancient needed to be escorted into the Teleen Caverns. They were impenetrable even to the likes of her.

“Kilara wants the cure.” Shade’s barely audible words sent a shiver down my spine.

“How do you know that?”

“I feel her calling me.” Shade squeezed her eyelids shut hard, like doing so could wipe away the imagery of the dreams which had awoken her during the night. The day before, she’d helped heal Trey, Aluse’s brother. In the morning, the fear had returned to her face for the first time in months, the nightmare about Aveta’s death and Arthas’s evil lingered in her head. We’d enjoyed the calm after the storm only to see another one coming again far too soon.

“Those twins,” I said. “Zena and Xyon. They can’t be all right in the head. They looked crazed when we healed Trey. What if they aren’t being straight with us? What if they did something to you? After all they’ve been through… Iana messed them up thoroughly. It could be why Kilara is here in the first place. For them. Not you.”

“No, Kilara is here for me. It’s always been me she’s needed. She wants something from me that she’s been unable to get without asking. She’s getting closer to breaking through my wards, into my head.”

“What’s she saying?”

Shade’s eyes flung open and stared back at me, but she wasn’t really seeing me. There was something else she was watching play out before her. “She spoke to me last night. She needs my power to recover from some illness. I don’t know what it is. It feels odd, like withering, but not quite. She’s dying.” Shade stared at the wall, one hand on her chest as she twirled her memory charm. Its protection never left her now that she knew it’d saved her once before, when Corb had wiped our memories and shut us into The Great Divide, his ice palace.

“Corb.” Shade winced at the name, as if saying it caused a fluctuation in her soul. “Of course. She’s afraid that Corb will find out she’s dying. She thinks it would cause him to lose his mind and turn the entire land into winter again. He’s done it before, with grave consequences. I can no longer control him.” She shook her head, frowning. “No. I don’t believe her. Corb is of sounder mind than she is. Maybe she’s afraid that if he finds out, it’ll ruin some plan she has. I wish I knew what she’s up to. The last time she feigned helping us, at The Withering Palace, it almost got us killed.”

“She can’t be trusted.”

“No. But that’s not the most concerning thing I’ve picked up from her thoughts.”

I straightened. “What did you see?”

“She wants to take my body, inhabit it with her spirit, and rule as Ancient Summer Queen forever.”

“What? This is the first you’re telling me of this.”

Shade groaned, rubbing her eyes, sleep still hovering over her like a jealous lover. “I know. I’m sorry. I’ve known it since we returned from The Withering Palace. She’s hurting, in a bad way. Her ‘vessel’ of a body is failing. She needs me because I’m her descendant and can harbor her spirit. But I won’t let her. She can’t have me; I’d disappear inside her if she takes over. It’s what the twins said: I must kill her and take the position of Summer Ancient. But I can’t do that.” She shivered, holding her thin arms around her body. “There’s been so much death already, and I’m not sure I could defeat her in the first place. I don’t want to take her place.”

“It’ll work out. I know it. You always find a way. I think maybe you should talk to her first, especially since Xyon and Zena left before the party. There’s no cure for her to snatch from us now. Not here. She’d need all four of you—the twins, Iana, and your blood—to get the cure. We should be safe. Queen Gretel will have her escorted by the guard. She’ll make sure of it.”

Shade nodded and pulled off her dress, leaving the thin undergarments on as she slid under the covers and closed her eyes. Her exhaustion was apparent now as she relaxed back into her pillow. She was too young to be so incredibly burdened by the magic of Faerie. Her human side was not handling it well, but her faery side kept her going.

“We’ll be safe. I just don’t trust her. There’re so few people I trust anymore, Dylan.”

“There are too many players in this game.”

“I don’t want to be part of any game. Especially not hers.”

“What should we do then?”

“We’ll see what she proposes tomorrow when we meet with her. If it doesn’t agree with us, then we move on to the next thing.”

I nodded, slipped in next to her, and scooped her into my arms, pulling her close. She sighed into my chest, warming her cooled skin on mine. When exhausted, she didn’t spare much magic for warmth, but I was more than happy to turn up the heat for both of us. The feel of her soft curves against my body stirred a need I’d buried for weeks, but I was sated by just holding her as her breathing softened and her dreams took over.

I wanted her, but she was far too occupied and drained lately for lovemaking. I let her drift away into sleep, recuperating from the day’s events. Relaxing into her, I hoped the night would calm my own demons and push my doubts about us away.

There were doubts. Especially since Soap has come back into our lives.

We were not perfect, nor did we want to be. This was the only place I wanted to be—at her side. There were always things happening, but something told me the next few days would prove to be some of the toughest either of us had experienced.

Until then, I would take these quiet moments while I still could.