Page 42 of Fae Unleashed
I stepped back and admired my reflection in the new floor to ceiling windows. My smile slipped ever so slightly when I saw the peek of black ink reaching past the deep V of my shirt. The curse tattoo had spread further since our last fight.
When I turned inward, I could feel the blight and its red gleam over my garden. Vi had called her inner well of power a labyrinth. Addie treated hers more like an ocean. We all had different sources, but no one had ever noticed a stain like this in their arcana. Not even Vi, who’d nearly given in to Hellish corruption.
“Would my father be proud of me?” I whispered under my breath.
Tal watched me silently for a moment before moving on with what he’d been doing. Rhoan, however, reached the doorway, caught sight of me, and stopped dead in his tracks. His gaze roved over my body like a pair of greedy hands eager to squeeze and explore. I could almost feel his touch on my thighs and waist.
He forced a breath out through his nose and tore his gaze away from me, but I could feel it come back over and over. With a big smile on my face, I went over to the door and slipped my feet into a pair of ankle boots I hadn’t worn in a while.
“Ow,” I hissed.
I jerked back when something sharp pinched my foot. Rhoan rushed over to my side as I leaned against the wall to keep weight off my throbbing foot. A droplet of blood fell to the floor. When I shook my boot, a shard of glass fell out, too. It must have gotten in there when my windows were shattered. So much had happened since then I must have missed my shoes when cleaning.
Annoyed, I bent and picked it up with the intention of shifting the quartz to something plant-like. The shard of glass shimmered oddly in the light. This wasn’t a leftover from my shattered windows.
Already, my head spun. I reached for my arcana, but it was too late.
Rhoan shouted my name, but he sounded like he was underwater. The room tilted. No, that was me. I fell into Rhoan’s arms while the world flickered out of existence.
Rhoan
Cerri’s eyesrolled back right before she crumpled into my arms. My heart lurched into my throat. I sank with her until we were both on the ground. No matter how I patted her cheek or begged her to wake up, she remained motionless with only her shallow breathing telling me she was still alive.
Her aura turned pale. It receded close to her body where it flared ever so gently in time with her breathing. I looked up to Tal and silently pleaded with him, but even he seemed stunned.
Tal came over and claimed the sliver of glass in Cerri’s limp hand. He lifted it up to the light and I caught the shift of color, the same as Faust’s shadows.
Beryl had taken Faust back to her domain so that he wouldn’t kill Cerri, but that hadn’t stopped him. This was my fault. The truth hit me and forced the air from my lungs. Faust wouldn’t target Cerri like this if it weren’t for the deal he’d struck with me.
I shouldn’t have waited for Cerri’s permission in the park. I’d had an opportunity to kill Faust, but I’d hesitated. A part of me had been unsure what would happen if I killed the holder of my contract. I’d been selfish and unable to give up my beast just yet.
Had I taken the opportunity, Faust wouldn’t have pricked Cerri with the cursed glass.
“What did he do?” I growled, tightening my grip on Cerri’s unresponsive form.
Tal crouched beside us. His lips twisted to the side when he pried Cerri’s eyelid open to peer into her irises. “You can always find the source of a curse here.”
I thought that was a crock of bullshit, but I stayed silent. I wasn’t a thinker. My job was to fight and there was nothing here to fight. Not yet, at least. The minute we figured this out, I would throw hands.
My beast snarled in agreement. The creature’s power flooded my body. I could feel small feathers trying to push their way out of my skin. My teeth sharpened and pressed against my tongue. The taste of blood wasn’t enough. I needed more.
“Rhoan Glenwood of the Seelie Court’s knights,” Tal snapped.
My head shot up. The red haze that’d eclipsed my vision faded, and the room came into focus. Across the way, I caught a glimpse of my own reflection in the giant floor to ceiling windows. My five o’clock shadow had been replaced with feathers. Inky blackness swirled in my eyes. Claws protruded from my fingertips.
“He’s going to win if you can’t get yourself under control.” Tal scowled disgustedly at me.
I didn’t blame him, but I also couldn’t yet hang my head in shame. “I’m willing to let him win so long as it means she’s safe again.”
My plan had been to hold out for as long as I could. It’d seemed simple. If I could deny my feelings, then I would be able to help her until we reached her final goal: the throne. I wouldn’t make it that long, though.
Faust would see to it. He was always there, right behind me with a plan of his own. If I didn’t cave and give him what he wanted, then I would lose Cerri in the process.
“Whatever he did, it’s not poisonous. I don’t see any signs of it on her skin. It seems like he put her to sleep…” Tal’s voice trailed off.
Faust was called the Nightmare King for a reason.
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