Chapter Six

CAM SLID DOWN a supporting beam from the rooftop he’d been lying on for the last twenty minutes, waiting for the foot traffic below to disperse. As he descended like a spider on a silk thread, his gaze darted back and forth, trying to spy out any other fae creature that might tattle on his whereabouts. Cam needed to ensure his withdrawal from the Ancestral Lands imitated ghosts: deathly quiet and invisible.

He had taken nothing from his room. If there had been any indication Cam had abandoned the village, Sen would have Lady Aine rain down on him with the fury of a late summer prairie thunderstorm. A scolding Cam didn’t want to experience.

What he wanted was Everton, and after pining away for less than a day since Ev’s departure for the city, every thought Cam had focused on the wolfman, which only made him more intent on getting what he wanted.

A late August evening in the Ancestral Lands village meant the shadows had initiated their nightly stretch. Not like the dim gloom of a September night, where there would be the slightest bite of cold on bare skin. No, not yet. It was still hot, too hot, and Cam’s nerves were strung tight rehashing his impromptu escape plan over and over in his mind. Tiny beads of sweat dotted his forehead and spine. Normally, a couple of beats from his wings would have circulated the air around him enough to cool him. But such an action might attract attention.

Down the alley Cam spied the main village’s square. A large bench sat beneath one of the mammoth rowan trees where some of the lesser fae made their home. Another location to avoid. As he peered through the lengthening shadows, a massive shape sauntered across the central plaza, its head adorned with horns, similar to his own, but they were much larger, and there were more spurs than the two he sported. This monstrous beast displayed an impressive rack, each protrusion draped in moss and lichen hanging in streamers. Tattered membranous wings jutted out from a solidly muscled back. Cam leaned forward and squinted, trying to discern what he was seeing.

The creature held a familiarity Cam couldn’t place. He’d never seen anything like the beast before…

Then he knew.

It was another Royal male fae, much like himself, but this specimen had aged. His gnarled limbs swung with encumbrance, and the beast appeared tired. His nose lay flat across his face, wider than Cam’s. His skin was spotted with decorated and etched spirals and fae script and looked like someone had carved the designs out of his hide—a tattoo of sorts—but made in bark. Sharp spines protruded from the base of his jawbone and more bristles continued down his neck, across his shoulders, and down each arm.

This was an elder.

A grim picture of where Cam’s future lay.

“Damn, that’s ugly,” he whispered.

He turned away and slipped past the plaza, hopping over a stack of barrels. He climbed up and over a roof, then scampered toward the edge of the settlement. He had been down this path before. Sen had taken him through here to the clearing, “the only place safe enough to practice fae magic without blowing up the entire Ancestral Land population.” A direct quote from Sen, one he had sneered at his manservant for making. Clearly, Sen held no optimism regarding Cam’s abilities. The pessimistic outlook may have been warranted, considering Cam’s complete lack of dedication to his studies.

As he rounded the next corner, his shoulders firm and flat against a tall fence that kept the stock of animals the fae used for food, he focused on the last bit of his journey out of the village.

If he were to make his way down this road unseen, he’d have conquered his retreat and defied any detection, breaking free from all this fae nonsense and leaving him free to find Everton.

Cam held his breath.

Closing his eyes, he pictured his destination—the clearing. He needed to end up in the clearing.

Without realizing it, Cam silently slipped into the shadows. His flesh cooled as the darkness enveloped him. He shivered but revelled in the joyous sensation. The pull and obscurity of the gloom, huddled in the deepest corners and overhangs called out to him. And he easily and gladly responded to its call.

Cam vanished. Not like when he had been captured by Byron. Invisibility only worked when his anger flooded through him, which in turn made him disappear from view.

This was far different. Cam slipped into the “in-between,” a chasm nestled quietly between the dark and the light. A grey zone where few ever went.

He had slipped into the shadows.

“Hmph, maybe I should’ve paid more attention to Sen. This isn’t all that hard,” Cam whispered.

Focusing on his mind’s image of the clearing where he and Sen had spent many an afternoon, his body whisked along the last road behind a crate tucked under the eaves of a storehouse, then spilled into a narrow crevice amongst two buildings.

Almost there.

Peering out, Cam spied a massive oak which marked the beginning entrance to the village. The east side of the tree darkened with the oncoming dusk.

Calling out to the murkiness, he pushed out with his mind until he found the quiet within the dead zone of the dark and melted into the void, slithering toward—

“Before you leave…” A hand clasped his shoulder and sharp nails dug into his flesh.

The hand jerked him around, obliterating the focus Cam needed to jump the distance.

Cam’s instant reaction to the intrusion alarmed his senses. His hackles rose, teeth elongated and sharpened, his lips drew back, and as he turned he crouched into a fighting stance.

Lady Aine stood before him, one eyebrow raised, and with a slight twitch of her mouth, and a snarl, Cam’s instinctual reaction to being caught off guard morphed sharply into submission for the queen—lest he lose his head.

“Your Eminence”—Cam bowed—“my apologies.”

“Hmm, yes, well. I’m not certain the apology is sincere, considering.”

“Lady Aine, please, I just—”

“Cam, ever since you arrived here, you have been nothing but a thorn in my side. I have thousands of fae to look after from varying factions, and many of them are from other places around our world, sent here to learn our ways and traditions. You continually occupy my space with less than pleasant news.

“And now you’re attempting to leave, without permission, when I have made myself very clear that without learning the basic minimum of abilities you will put all of us in danger. I can’t let that happen. If you leave now, you leave for good.

“However, you still have one responsibility to fulfil.” From deep within the folds of her gown, the queen extracted the vial that had sat on Cam’s dresser. “You need to return this, full.”

“But if you cut me off—”

“Yes, well, it has been so for thousands of years. Exiled fae don’t generally find a way to survive.” She sneered. “Unfortunately, you don’t seem to be able to settle here, and so here we are. I need your seed; you don’t want to stay. What am I supposed to do? You remain the sole fertile Royal male in this clade until a new Royal fae is born. The only way that is going to happen is for you to father one, or for another human to morph into one of us. And I think you of all people have learned how rarely that occurs.”

“I have.” Cam’s head dropped along with his shoulders. “But Lady Aine, Everton has left. I need to find him. I can’t stay here. Every single thought I have returns to him. Studying is impossible. Sen is impossible. This isn’t who I am.”

“And yet, it is, Cam. This village and all the fae are now exactly who you are. We are your family. There is no going back to a human existence for you, ever. And you will live hundreds of years. We could have protected you, housed you, and loved you as one of our own. We see no difference between you and us, despite your origins. You can’t see that now, and I’m not sure why, but you seem unable to find a home here. Which means as much as you failed to apply yourself, we have also failed you.”

Lady Aine shook her head and the disappointed look in her eye shamed Cam ever more.

“Perhaps I have been too swift in judgement. Why is this wolfman so important to you? I have heard the tale of your imprisonment and how you met the man. Clearly, I am missing some important piece of information as to why you have developed such a connection to another species—which, I may add, is distasteful considering their propensity for violence. You do know they are baseless hunters intent on destruction?”

“I know very little of them.” Cam’s chest drew in tight as he pictured Everton. As a human, Ev towered over most men; his muscles bulged with every movement. Tall, furry, muscled, and bald. As a monstrous beast, Ev could rip apart anything that stood in his way, yet something happened while they had been held prisoner by Byron Radcliffe. “I’m not sure I understand why I can’t stop thinking of Ev, and I don’t really care what he is. I feel better when he’s near. And every time I’ve managed to pull off a fae ability, it’s been because of him. Angry someone was hurting him, scheming, and plotting to find a way to be near to him. Even jumping the shadows tonight, a first, was easy to do, as he was my intended destination.

“I don’t understand why he left.” Cam bit his lip as his head dropped. Why Everton managed to consume so much time within his brain mystified him.

“All right, I’ve heard enough.” Lady Aine rolled her eyes and sighed. “I am nothing, if not patient and forgiving. One last chance. Never let it be said I am not without compassion.” She thrust the glass vial toward Cam, its pearlescent sheen glinting in the last rays of sunlight the day would deliver. “You still must fill this. I will not waver on this task. You remain our sole sire, and we are few in number, Cam. Each generation is greatly anticipated and needed. However, I will give you free leave until Groundswell Day.”

Cam’s eyes went as wide as saucers. They were going to let him leave, and not upon pain of death, or exile, or anything else horrendous.

“But Groundswell isn’t a determined date,” Cam replied, confused about the issue of returning.

“Exactly, and I will tell you this. It’s too hot for this late in the season. Something isn’t right. I know you saw Aelfric, though I doubt he has granted an audience with you. His patience isn’t as far-reaching as mine. He is concerned, which is why he paces in the main square. There is something unaligned, and we are not sure what. Perhaps it is nothing, but I can’t be certain.” Lady Aine cocked her eyebrow again, an indication to Cam he had better pay attention. “If there is any sign of danger, I will initiate Groundswell and protect our kin. So, you are taking a risk, Cam. Going underground may happen at any moment. I feel in my bones a sense of urgency to protect our village. But I also appreciate you need to figure out this dalliance of yours, and perhaps this adventure will also fill my vial. So go, but do so knowing you may be locked out. And if I miss my cycle and cannot produce progeny next spring, there will be a whole fresh new hell for you to pay. Do I make myself clear?”

“As bright and shining as the sun.” Beetle wings, hummingbirds, and dragonflies swarmed in his stomach. The excitement Cam revelled in at being released almost overtook him, but a good chunk of his midsection was taut with fear. Being locked out of the Ancestral lands equalled death.

Cam could go free but had to return to finalize his only task. Returning a filled vial of his seed from a coupling fuelled by heightened emotions. The time afforded to him to complete his task remained unknown.

Sounded like a plan meant for him to fail.

“I understand.” Cam nodded once.

“Good, I also hear from Sen you figured out how to hold your human guise. Let me also remind you that no one beyond the Shadow Realm is ever allowed to see our true form. If I hear of wayward sightings of winged and horned monsters coming from the city, I will know it was you. Be sure to mind your magic, Cam.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Cam’s manners made an abrupt appearance.

“Then off with you.” Lady Aine burst into a thousand butterflies which dispersed as thousands of staccato wing beats. Relieved over the lack of her presence, Cam became acutely aware of the terror in being free to go.

The pearlescent vial lay at his feet, shimmering in the waning sunlight.

Cam stooped to pluck it up. As he glared at the glass he sneered.

“Fuck, I swear, I’m cursed.”