Chapter 10

Zander

Horns blared and I woke with a start, drawing my weapon even as I pushed to my feet.

Where am I? What time is it?

The events of the night before bled into my mind much slower than they should: sneaking into Noreum, Dawn discovering the truth, our shared moment of passion followed by falling asleep in front of the fire with the flaxen-haired beauty in my arms.

I ran my tongue slowly over my teeth, feeling a sluggishness pulling at my limbs that did not normally befall me upon waking.

I’d been drugged, and I knew immediately by whom. With a growl of frustration I shook off the remnants of fuzziness. Even if she hadn’t been missing, I’d have known it was Dawn. She might have warmed to me, but I knew her mission to save her people was still first and foremost in her heart and mind. She believed the fate of her realm depended on returning with one of our black hearts, and honestly it might. I didn’t know much about the curse placed upon her world. I just knew that every hundred years one of the princesses of Faerie came and tried to kill one of the Ethereum lords, my family, to take their heart.

If I knew anything about Dawn in the time we’d spent together, it was that she wouldn’t give up. Her fierce determination and loyalty warmed me toward her even as they frustrated me now.

Sheathing my sword, I gathered my belongings, shoving them in my bag and snatching my cloak as I clenched my jaw. I’d been exhausted and lulled into a false sense of security with her after we’d kissed, but I should have known this would happen and chained the little bird to me before falling asleep.

Little bird indeed. The moment I’d first gazed upon Dawn with her bright green eyes and corn silk hair, she’d reminded me of a strik, the small bird with butter-colored feathers known for its beauty, cunning, and resilience. It was considered a bad omen if you passed one because of their penchant to feed on fae flesh and blood, but I always thought that just made them more interesting.

Others might not find the comparison particularly flattering or overly romantic, but I recognized the fire within Dawn immediately. Something inside of me responded to it, flaring to life in an instant. Every day since I’d met her, she’d lived up to her namesake, for she was the most beautiful, most cunning, and most resilient fae I’d ever met.

The little savage also had a thirst to spill blood that would have been shocking if I hadn’t understood she’d been raised to kill, according to my great-grandfather who taught us of her kind. To kill me and my brethren in particular, but that was trivial. No relationship was perfect.

Despite what she’d been sent to Ethereum to do, she’d surrendered so sweetly into my arms earlier that night. The cuffs had fallen off the moment she discovered who I truly was, letting me know what I’d suspected all along, that her feelings for me had grown stronger than her desire to kill me.

And as we’d kissed, the bond between us had sharpened and solidified. She might not know it, might not realize the permanency of what had happened between us at that moment, but I did. There was no going back now.

Dawn owned my heart, and I wasn’t going to let her go that easily.

When I found her again, I would tie us together with a magical tether until she realized what I already knew, that our fates were woven together for a reason. The bindings that now tied her to me, and me to her, were as unbreakable as the Northern Mountains, and unbendable as the strongest steel.

But Dawn was stubborn, which I happened to find attractive, and if anyone were to fight against a foe as unchangeable as fate, it would be her. I was up for the challenge, but now I had to find her again—before she managed to cut out the heart of one of my brothers and return home, for that’s assuredly where she’d fled.

A war horn blared through the dark night, penetrating the small room. Alarm bolted through me at the sound, and all thoughts of Dawn fled my mind. I crept to the window, where a four-inch gap of the curtain was open, and observed what was going on.

I knew the hour was still late, yet fae were running up and down the alleyway outside my hideaway as horns periodically blared. Yes, I had to go after Dawn, but something was happening in the city, and I needed to find out what first.

Packed and armed, I cracked open the door, my mood thawing a little when I realized she’d made sure it was locked before she’d left me drugged on the floor.

My little bird still cared and didn’t leave me to get my throat slit in the middle of my slumber.

“The rondak is dead!” someone in the distance yelled, and my heart stuttered as I staggered backward a few paces. Could that be true?

I tested my powers, reaching inside myself, probing my magic. I felt it flare to life in response, stronger and more potent than ever before.

It was true! The rondak, the beast who took everything from me and tortured my people for nearly a year, was dead. I should have noticed it right away, but I’d been preoccupied with Dawn’s disappearing act. I could feel that the curse that had weighed me down since the moment my brother was killed, and the mantel of leadership shifted to me, had lifted. I was back to full power, and finally free to unleash on my enemies without fearing harm coming to my people in the form of a plague.

Swinging the door wide, I stepped out of the hideout, uncaring for the first time in a year who saw me in the streets of my city. I was unstoppable and itching for a fight.

Down the street, a contingent of the rondak’s soldiers kicked in a door and rushed into the house, pulling out a young couple. The wife clutched a wailing baby as she was shoved forward.

“What have we done?” the husband asked as his hands were bound behind his back. His wife tried to go to him, but she was roughly grabbed and held against the wall with the screaming baby in her arms.

“A murderer is on the loose in the city. You may be harboring him,” one of the soldiers growled. “We’re to search each home in the city until we ferret out the traitor.”

My blood began to boil through my veins like heated tar. I recognized their garments. They weren’t innocent city guards, forced into service by the rondak. These fae were part of his personal guard, ones who’d sided with him and rose up against me for their own gain.

How convenient, I thought, an outlet for my rage only steps away. A wicked smile stretched my lips as I moved toward the group, but before I reached them one of the soldiers slammed a fist into the fae male’s gut. His wife screamed at them to stop, but they ignored her.

My fury and outrage grew until they became a maelstrom, fueling my dark power.

I heard myself say in a deadly voice: “I’ll give you this one chance to flee before I run each and every one of you through.”

The soldiers stopped what they were doing and looked over at me, a shadow of fear passing over their faces—all except one stupid soul who was dumb enough to sneer at my threat. “Do you know who we are? I’ll remove your tongue for speaking to us like that.”

“I know exactly who you are,” I answered as my smile sharpened. “And I was hoping you’d say that.”

Perhaps Dawn hadn’t been completely wrong about the Ethereum lords. Threaten or hurt someone who was ours and our darkness emerged. The young couple that the rondak’s soldiers were harassing were citizens of Noreum, and therefore were mine to protect.

These soldiers were about to find out just how dark a lord I could be.

My power swirled around me, pulling shadows from the night and solidifying them into narrow glass spikes in my palms.

When they saw the spikes, there were gasps of surprise, and the soldier’s eyes in front of me went wide.

“Lord Roan!” one of his companions yelled, and tried to flee, but with a flick of my wrist I sent one of the spikes at him, piercing him right through the skull. He was dead before his body hit the ground.

The alleyway broke out in pandemonium after that. The couple was released as the soldiers rushed me, and I saw the husband usher his wife and child back into their home before the first of the rondak’s loyal fae reached me.

Seeing that the citizens were now safe inside, I focused all my attention on the traitorous fae, killing three of them immediately with my spikes. The remaining four soldiers swung at me with swords, but I easily dodged their attacks. I could have hurled a barrage of projectiles at them with a flick of my hand, but at the moment craved the physical release of a battle too much to end the fight quickly.

With my power at full strength again, four against one was child’s play, so although my rage wasn’t assuaged I quickly grew tired at the lack of challenge and ended them one by one. I slammed the first one’s head into the wall, and he dropped immediately, his skull caved in. The second I pressed my hand to his chest and punched a spike through his heart and out his back. The third I decapitated with his own blade after quickly disarming him. The last still standing was the soldier who’d threatened to cut my tongue out. He sat below me, cowering against the wall, smelling of the urine he’d just released on himself.

“P-p-please, my lord,” he pleaded, but it produced no mercy in my heart. I would have made their deaths slower if I’d had the time and didn’t need to take back my castle and find Dawn.

“What happened here tonight?” I barked.

“The rondak was attacked in his bedchamber. They’re saying that he’s … gravely injured.”

He was lying. I could see it in his eyes. He didn’t want to admit his master was dead because he feared what I’d do to him.

“Only injured?”

He swallowed. “I wasn’t there, so I can’t be sure exactly—”

I lifted a hand, ready to run him through like I had the others in his cohort.

“Wait! Wait!” he wailed. “I can be useful to you. I can get you into the castle to see for yourself.”

I laughed. The idea that I would need his help to enter my own castle now that the curse was lifted was humorous. With no more effort than a thought, I sent a spike through his neck, pinning him to the wall behind him. I left him there, choking on his blood as I walked to the end of the alley, my only regret being I couldn’t make his death more painful.

Some of my fury had abated now that I’d killed some of the rondak’s personal guard, but it came flooding to the surface as I stalked the city streets on my way to the castle. Noreum was in chaos. The rondak’s soldiers were searching houses, looking for the assassin and abusing the citizens as they went. My people. Manhandling and beating them, they took the opportunity to take their cruelty out on innocents. Shops were being looted and small fires had broken out everywhere. Fae rushed back and forth, doing their best to put out the fires and defend their neighbors against the rondak’s forces, but they weren’t skilled enough to do either.

It took me far too long to work my way toward the castle. I couldn’t help much with fires, and there was too much bedlam to do anything about the looting, but I could stop any soldiers I came up against, and I did.

But even as I cut down my enemies, my mind fought against me, bringing up the urgency to find Dawn even though there was nothing I could do to find her right now. Was she still in the city? How long had I slept? Was she halfway to one of my brothers by now? I knew she could take care of herself. She’d proven that time and time again. Most likely she fled Noreum before all this anarchy broke loose. If she’d left the city, she would be difficult to find later, but I’d rather have a harder time searching for her than have her injured or worse.

“Lord Roan!” someone shouted, and I turned to see Captain Regis running toward me.

I wasn’t overly surprised that he was here. He’d been stationed right outside the city with a contingent of my soldiers. Dawn and I could have traveled to Noreum with them, but after she’d displayed the full extent of her sunlight magic I needed time alone with her to decide if she was a threat to my men or not. At least that was the lie I told myself at the time rather than face the truth that I simply wanted to be alone with her whenever possible.

“We heard the horns and stormed the gate,” Regis said. There was a cut high on his forehead that trickled blood, but otherwise he appeared unharmed. “Thought you might be in danger.”

My plan had been to get the intel from Maegan and then meet with Regis outside and have the army attack in the next night or two. This was even better than planned.

“Good,” I said with a nod. “The rondak is dead. I assume he double-crossed one of his men and they took him out. Now is our chance to take back the city from the betrayers that aligned with him.”

“Where’s Dawn?” Regis asked, his gaze scanning for her, before landing back on me. Regis was aware of my suspicions about Dawn, and the dark look on my face was answer enough.

“I see,” he said, and left it at that.

“I’m headed to take back my castle. Tell the troops to defend the people. If the rondak’s guards won’t surrender, kill them,” I ordered, and then turned to leave.

“Would you like me to send some men with you?” Regis called after me.

“No,” I said over my shoulder. I wouldn’t need any backup, not now that my powers were fully back. But my people did.

I sprinted through the streets quickly, becoming a blur to anyone who was near. Now that I knew my people were being assisted and protected, I could focus on taking back my castle and my kingdom.

I reached the castle steps in no time. The sun had not yet crested the horizon, so there was an unending supply of shadows to manipulate, and so without breaking stride I wrapped a rope of darkness around the soldiers guarding the entrance, lifting them three stories in the air before dropping them. Their frightened screams cut off abruptly when they hit the unforgiving stones below, but I was already inside the castle when that happened.

I rushed through the halls, slaying the rondak’s guards quickly whenever I came into contact with them, careful to spare the house staff who had nothing to do with his takeover. It would take time to ferret out the disloyal among my subjects after this night was done, but I didn’t want to condemn anyone to an unfair end.

My steps brought me to the top floor of the tower where the rondak was said to sleep. My spies had reported in the past that he hadn’t used the royal suites for his dwelling, instead choosing a smaller room that he thought was more well-fortified. Even though I knew the curse had been lifted, I needed to see his body for myself to know that he was truly gone.

When I reached the top floor, my eyes fell upon the smashed door at the end of the hall. I slowed myself, taking cautious steps forward. I didn’t doubt my ability to take out my enemy, but he was as calculating as he was vicious, which was the only reason he’d stayed a step ahead of me and my troops for so long. If he was still alive and had somehow made my power fully return to trick me, I didn’t want to be caught unawares, and above all I didn’t want to kill him and release a plague upon my beloved people.

My feet crunched over the broken bits of door as I neared. My gaze settled on the dead body of his beloved three-headed monster dog. There was white foam at its mouth. Interesting. Poison maybe?

I then looked upon the rondak’s remains. Half of the rondak’s head was missing and the remaining bit was charred beyond recognition.

Shock ripped through me at the sight.

I scanned the room, looking for more evidence of what I now suspected, and a smile grew on my face. There were telltale scorch marks on the stone floor and walls. The rondak was killed by sunlight magic, I was sure of it.

Oh, little bird. You’ve been busy.

I chuckled darkly, looking at the carnage she’d wrought on the room and to my greatest enemy. It was romantic in a dark and twisted way, a way that I loved. My little assassin bird had given me a gift in the only way she knew how. A deep sense of satisfaction settled in my chest that since I couldn’t be the one to end the rondak’s life, she had been the one to kill him.

There was nothing I could do about it now if she’d fled the city like I feared. I had to let the dust settle and make sure my kingdom was secure. But that didn’t change the fact that whether she knew it or not, she was mine, just as I was hers. And I would find her.