Fae's Promise E-Book

Melissa A. Craven

• Herausgeber: Twin Rivers Press
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Griffin O’Shea is trapped.
Again. 
His prison sentence was supposed to end when the magic keeping the Dark Fae captive in Myrkur finally fell. But when King Egan’s army clashed with the armies of Iskalt and Fargelsi on the battlefield, there was no winner and no clear path forward. 
Now the Dark Fae king is missing, vanished without a trace of the army at his back or the abducted child leading him to the prize he desires. The magic held in Aghadoon.
With no way to locate the forever moving village, Griffin can only set his sights on a more attainable goal—saving Eldur from the coming invasion. The desert kingdom is Egan’s next target and there is no magic strong enough to stop him. 
Until now. 
Joining forces with people who do not trust him may prove foolish. 
Allying himself with the ones he isn’t allowed to love brings unimaginable pain.
Yet, with Riona and Gulliver by his side, Griffin can handle the unwanted magic that has returned to haunt him, the brother who hates him, and the questions with answers that could change everything. 
But none of that will matter if Egan isn’t stopped, because now, it isn’t only the fae realm in danger of succumbing to his darkness, but the human realm as well. 
As Griffin begins to lose hope that he can save his family and earn their trust again, he starts to wonder…
Will he ever truly be free?

Fae's Promise is the sixth book in the Queens of the Fae series featuring fae out for redemption, others desiring revenge, and an entire world that desperately needs to remember the things that have been lost to magic. 

Leseprobe

Fae’s Promise © 2020 M. Lynn and Melissa A. Craven

All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Edited by Cindy Ray Hale

Proofread by Nic Page

Cover by Covers by Combs

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Epilogue

About Melissa

About M. Lynn

For those who say LGBTQ+ characters don’t belong in YA or clean fiction.

You won’t like this one either.

Prologue

Toby

Fire ravaged the village, casting a wave of heat through the ranks of those begging for their lives.

Help us.

Please.

Stop!

Not my daughter!

Light Fae cowered as creatures they hadn’t known existed tore through their homes. Homes that had once lain hidden safely behind the magic found in the book of power.

Tobias O’Shea skittered back, stumbling over something warm behind him. His eyes searched the square frantically until he saw what tripped him. A body. A young man lay at his feet, blood pooling in the grooves between cobblestones.

This was Aghadoon, the fae village his grandmother discovered in the human realm using the book’s power.

The book.

Someone crashed into Tobias from behind, and he fell forward, diving to the left to avoid the dead man. His knees hit the stones, sending pain rocketing through his body. His hands slammed down next, the shock reverberating up his arms.

Blood seeped through the cracks in the stones, its warmth soaking into Tobias’ scratched palms.

He scrambled back until he hit the side of a building that didn’t burn. Fire from surrounding surfaces licked at the walls, yet it remained intact.

Tobias pressed his back against the cracked wood of a door and drew his knees in to his chest, hearing the words his grandmother, Enis uttered to him only hours before.

It’ll be okay, Toby.

This book can give you magic, the kind of power you’ve never seen.

All he wanted was his sister, his twin.

But Enis was right. It hadn’t been the first time he held magic in his fingertips, but it was the first time the power belonged to him. His sister wasn’t channeling power through him, he wasn’t strengthening her magic. This was his magic.

Enis taught him how to use the book to awaken the O’Shea magic in his blood, the portal magic. And it led him here.

Tobias closed his eyes, wanting to pretend the world wasn’t coming down around him, that every time he heard a body thump to the stones it wasn’t his fault. He’d brought them here, the Dark Fae king and his army.

The innocents of this village had only ever wanted to protect the magic of the book.

“Tobias!” Someone screamed his name, but he couldn’t find them amidst the cacophony. A creature King Egan had called an ogre ran across the square, each stomp shaking the structures nearby.

A Light Fae, who’d been a prisoner until weeks before, used his magic, drawing power from the sun to keep the fires blazing. An Eldurian. He had to be.

Tobias knew the Eldurian queen. The future Eldurian rulers were his cousins since his mom and theirs called each other sister. It would hurt them to see their ancestral magic used for such evils.

There’d been a place for people who did evil things.

The prison realm.

But now…

“Tobias!”

He heard it louder that time, the voice. Uncurling himself, he searched for someone, anyone he knew.

A sword flashed, the sun glinting off its rusted blade, almost blinding Tobias as an unfamiliar fae ran for him.

He froze in the moment, wishing there was something else he could do. Tia would have had a plan. She’d have used her power to save the day.

But all he could do was open portals, though he’d only done it a total of once. He wasn’t sure where to begin or if he could even manage it on his own a second time.

His eyelids slid shut. If he couldn’t help Tia save the world from Egan Byrne, he’d rather not play a part in this war at all.

But the blow never came. Instead, warm droplets sprayed his face. He opened his eyes to find Riona kicking the slain fae off her sword. Her wings, a mixture of white and swirling black shadows, stretched out behind her, adding to the fear he already felt around her.

“Tobias.” He recognized the voice. Had she been the one calling for him this entire time?

When Tobias didn’t respond, Riona bent down to grab his arm and hauled him to his feet. She pushed him forward, kicking open a door as she did and shoving him inside before shutting out the battle ensuing outside. Her wings curled in, making her odd tattoos the only thing separating her from the Light Fae.

“Tobias.” She shook him. “Toby, did you crack your skull?”

He shook his head.

“Then speak, child. Don’t scare me like that again. I’ve been searching for you the entire fight. You ran from the king’s side.”

He had. When Egan killed the first fae, Tobias ran.

“You came for me?”

She nodded, the blood spattered on her dark skin giving her a harsh look. But if she wanted to protect him, did that mean she was still loyal to his Uncle Griff?

“The king would have my head if we let you get hurt. You’re our way back to the fae realm, remember?”

His heart sank. Maybe she’d never been loyal to Griffin at all. Maybe it was all a plan to get here, where she could help the king find the power he sought.

Tobias couldn’t look at her hard expression anymore. He breathed deeply, trying to get control of his heart the way Mom taught him. Mom. Tears welled in his eyes. What would she say when she found out what he helped the prison fae do?

He blinked away tears, hearing his sister’s voice in his head. Iskaltians don’t cry, Toby. When we’re hurt, we get back up again. We fight.

She wouldn’t have let anyone use her.

Wiping at his eyes, he scanned the room they’d entered. “Why isn’t it on fire?” Everything else in this doomed village was.

Riona slid her sword into the sheath at her waist, her shoulders relaxing the tiniest bit as she glanced to the door. “Because it’s been spelled.”

Spelled? Tobias walked on shaky legs to one of the shelves where ancient looking leather-bound books and scrolls were stacked in tight rows.

The twin Prince and Princess of Iskalt were no strangers to tragedy or danger. They’d spent months in the human realm with their evil Uncle Callum and lived. But they’d been together. Now, Tobias couldn’t even feel his sister anymore.

Riona sighed as she blocked the door with a heavy wooden chair she wedged under the doorknob. “The king has given strict orders that no one is to enter the library. We won’t be found until the slaughter is finished.”

Tobias flinched at the word slaughter. An entire village of fae who just wanted to live their lives while providing a sacred service. They were gone.

Grainne’s lineage had protected the spell book for so many years, and now it was snuffed out in a single day.

A library that didn’t burn and was obviously important to the king? Tobias reached for one of the scrolls, but Riona’s voice stopped him.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Tobias curled his fingers in, despite her protest, making him more curious than ever. He’d never been one to act on curiosities. That was Tia’s way.

Riona slumped onto a wooden chair in front of a long, cherry wood desk. “I never thought this was possible.” She rubbed a hand over her face.

Tobias inched closer to the fearsome warrior. “What are you talking about?”

“From what I’ve been told, kid, your O’Shea magic would have woken years ago if you had any potential for magic.” O’Shea power was different from the Iskaltian magic he didn’t have. It didn’t wait to fully manifest until one came of age.

“I’m only ten.” He crossed his arms, unable to look at her.

“Yes, which is my only hope.”

When he didn’t respond, she continued. “The book woke your portal magic, but it’s different from the other O’Sheas. Your father, your uncle… they struggle to take more than a few people through with them at a time. Yet you brought part of an army into the human realm on your first go. There’s also the time skew. If Griffin leaves the fae realm at night, it’s daytime in the human realm, rendering him powerless until the moon rises again. But you… despite the darkness and the full moon, it was day in the prison realm when we left. And now…”

“It’s still day.”

She nodded, giving him a weary sigh. “Did Callum bring you to the village?”

Tobias nodded.

“So, you knew where to portal, but I wonder if the power that book gives you would let you portal to places you’ve never seen before.” She rested her arms on the desk and shook her head. “That book breaks all the rules.”

Tobias didn’t get a chance to find out if the fear he heard in her voice were true because a flash of light blasted through the door. It didn’t burst inward like Tobias expected, but the chair blocking it exploded into a thousand tiny shards of wood.

The door opened, revealing King Egan flanked by two Light Fae with wicked smiles.

Riona rose to greet her king. “Egan, you should know nothing can destroy this library.” She dipped her head in respect.

A wide smile spread across his face. “Just a test, darling.”

She lifted a brow. “And that.” She pointed out to the square where Tobias caught a glimpse of the carnage and turned away. “Is that a test?”

Egan walked forward and put an arm around Riona. “No, dear. That was a victory.”

Enis followed him into the room, her eyes searching the library before finally landing on Tobias. “Toby.” For a moment, he wondered if the relief on her face was genuine, but as she wrapped him in a tight hug, he found he didn’t care. His body shook in her arms, and he sent a silent apology to Tia, wherever she was.

It turned out, Iskaltians did cry.

At least this one did.

Chapter One

Griffin

Retreat.

It was a strange thought. The army pulled back from the battle they’d been fully engaged in, but it didn’t lessen what they’d already lost. It didn’t clear the rocky valley of the bodies of their fallen friends.

It didn’t wash the blood from a warrior’s hands.

Griffin O’Shea wasn’t a man to back away from a fight, but even he’d known they couldn’t defeat Egan’s Dark Fae army who had defensive powers he’d never imagined they possessed, powers that kept the Light Fae from decimating them with magic.

For a seventh straight day since the battle, he stood looking at the bloodied rocks spanning the distance from the trees at his back to the prison realm at his front. There was no longer a barrier separating the two, no magic keeping him on opposite sides from his family.

He’d fought for them, battled against an army of people who weren’t altogether different from the ones he’d lived with for the last ten years, and yet suspicion followed him wherever he roamed among the Iskalt and Fargelsi camps.

The fae who remained, the ones who’d lived through the onslaught until Egan’s army pulled back for a reason they couldn’t understand. Their eyes held a wariness.

Griffin walked past the pyres that had burned for an entire day after the battle. He didn’t let himself avert his eyes from those who suffered, the ones who’d come because of him. If he hadn’t set out on that fateful mission for Egan to find the book of power, maybe none of this would have happened.

But his people would have still been trapped.

“Why hasn’t Egan returned?” Griffin kicked over an empty pot, letting his irritation get the best of him. “Nothing makes sense.” They couldn’t leave the Myrkur border, couldn’t provide Egan with a clear path into the three kingdoms. But there’d been no sight of his people since they attacked from both sky and land.

He’d told Lochlan everything he knew about the Dark Fae king, every strength, every weakness. Griffin wanted to lead the advanced Iskaltian and Fargelsian forces into the dark realm to meet the enemy forces head on before they could recover, but Lochlan refused, saying he wouldn’t lead his people into a realm they did not know to fight a king they’d never heard of before a week ago.

In this war, Egan would have to make the next move.

“And why the heck is my brother a self-righteous jerk who has to be right all the time?” He imagined if they’d grown up together, Lochlan would have been their father’s favorite, mastering his books and his magic in ways Griffin never could.

But they didn’t grow up together, a fact that had never been more clear when recognition finally lit in Lochlan’s eyes only hours before the battle, when he knew Griffin for what he was—or, at least, what he used to be.

“You going to burn the camp down?” Myles looked up from the book he was reading. “Yesterday I sat by Lochlan when he ranted and raved about you, and I swear he almost set me on fire.”

“Since when do you read?” Griffin plucked the book from Myles’ hands and looked down at the cover. “The mythical fae?”

Myles took it back. “The grumpier O’Shea took me into the human realm after you left for Myrkur—again—for a few of their books once he realized they knew more about our world than we did.”

“It’s just a book of myths.”

Myles lifted a brow. “And you think their myths aren’t rooted in fact? This book contains information about fae who live in the waters, in the skies.” He shrugged. “Even ogres, though I’m still not sure I believe Shrek is out here running around.”

Griffin sighed, lifting his eyes to the sea of tents winding through the thick forests in the mountains outside Myrkur. It was considerably less than it had been a week ago. He dropped to the ground next to Myles. “I don’t know one named Shrek, but I’ve only met a few ogres.”

Myles smiled in that human way he had whenever he thought fae were amusing for not understanding what he said. He closed his book. “Griff…”

“Spit it out, human.” Griffin had never given Myles much thought after dragging him to the fae realm. He hadn’t wondered where he was while Griffin spent ten years in the prison realm. Yet, he’d come to have a grudging fondness for the boy over the last few months.

“Are you okay? Like… really, really okay?”

“I don’t look it?” He forced a smile, knowing how he must appear to those camped here, the ones who now remembered the stories of Griffin, the traitor, the Iskaltian prince who chose the wrong side.

“I mean… you always have that ugly mug… but lately it’s been—”

“Uglier?”

Myles let out a humorless laugh. “I guess.”

“I’m guessing the words are yours, but the question is not.” He let his eyes follow the familiar trail to the tent belonging to the King and Queen of Iskalt. Queen Brea sat on a stump digging her hands into the bucket containing the day’s washing. A servant stood by, horror plain on her face at the sight of the queen washing her own clothing.

Myles followed his gaze. “Is it wrong for her to be worried about you?”

“No. I feel it too.” The worry, the remnants of a broken marriage bond that returned with the memories. It didn’t return the love, exactly, but he was tied to her. A fact both she and her husband knew as well.

“I don’t understand why you two can’t just clear the air.”

“Myles.” Griffin shook his head as he pulled his knife free and reached for the stone he’d used to sharpen it. And sharpened it again. The steady sound of the blade kept him from focusing on the magic inside him.

“No.” Myles rose up on his knees and inched closer. “Hear me out. Okay, so I know I’m like the only person in this entire camp who will talk to you.”

“Not true.”

“The only person who isn’t a kid.” He paused as if waiting for Griffin to contradict him.

But it was the truth. Griffin had been shut out of everything. Strategy sessions, war planning. Other than Myles, the only people in this camp who spent any time with him were Gulliver and Tia, the latter only because he didn’t try to make her talk like Brea and Lochlan did.

“Go on.” Griffin continued sharpening the already sharp blade.

“Like I said, I may be the only adult here who will talk to you, but I’m not the only one who cares about you. It’s complicated, Griff. You have to understand that.”

The truth was, he did.

“I need a walk.” Or to hit something. Where was Egan and his army when he needed them?

After ten mostly peaceful years in Myrkur where they struggled to survive but didn’t have to fight for their lives, he was back to his old self, yearning for a fight. Jumping to his feet, he ignored Myles’ protests.

All Griffin had done for the last week was replay the events in his mind, talk to Myles, and sharpen his blade. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could do it. He wound through rows of tents where Iskaltians and Fargelsians followed him with their eyes. He’d betrayed both peoples when sitting at Regan’s side. Ten years didn’t erase what he’d done.

Back then he’d longed to be known, to sit on a throne. And now… everyone knew him.

The smaller Fargelsian army and the advanced force Lochlan and Brea had led from Iskalt were bolstered just before the battle by the arrival of the rest of the Iskaltian army.

The remaining army of the three realms—the one loyal to Eldur, stayed back along the border of Iskalt and Eldur, a last defense if the Dark Fae broke through.

Griffin found Gulliver surrounded by a circle of soldiers who laughed and gaped at everything he could make his tail do. Seeing the soldiers laugh after the tough week they’d had was uplifting.

Tia leaned against a tree, keeping herself apart from the soldiers. She hugged her arms across her chest as if afraid someone would come along and rip her heart out. Maybe they already had. He knew the feeling.

“Hey, kiddo.” She lifted dark eyes to his, and he wondered if he was mistaken at the relief on her face. Knowing she wouldn’t respond, he didn’t wait for an answer. He loved how much she liked human terms and belongings. She was as fascinated by the other world as Gulliver was. During the battle, Gulliver had named himself her protector—along with a guard her mother assigned—and he hadn’t left her side.

Griffin tried not to think too much about the similarities he might share with Tia, not now that he knew a truth no one else did.

Other than Riona.

Pushing her betrayal from his mind, he wrapped an arm around Tia’s shoulders. “How about you and I go find some quiet?”

She nodded, the brightness she once held in her eyes gone. He jerked his head toward the path they’d taken many times over the last few days. It twisted through the trees before bringing them to the edge of camp, where a small clearing let them escape without drifting too far from the safety of the army.

He saw Lochlan standing with two of his generals and pulled his arm back from Tia’s shoulders. Still, she followed him.

He pushed through a curtain of branches and leaves, creating an opening for Tia.

They sat side by side on the bright green carpet of tall grasses. Above, the trees shielded them from the sun.

Tia lay back, her hands resting on her stomach.

Griffin watched her, not saying a word. It wasn’t that he didn’t know what to say, just that there was no reason to speak because he knew this girl had the same emotions rolling through her. It was like half of her was taken right along with Tobias.

Just like Riona.

And his mother.

The difference was Tobias never chose to leave her.

Griffin reached out, folding one of her tiny hands in his larger one. He didn’t know if Tia would ever find out he was her father, but he wasn’t sure he wanted that—to completely upend her world. To take that away from Lochlan—even if Lochlan was currently not on team Griffin.

Griffin didn’t know how long they lay there before Gulliver’s shouting broke their peace. He pushed through the opening to the clearing, his chest heaving.

Releasing Tia, Griffin jumped to his feet. “What’s wrong?”

Gulliver’s haunted eyes flicked from Tia to Griffin, and he swallowed. “I need to tell you something—”

Tia’s scream cut him off as she pressed her hands to the side of her head and rocked from side to side. “Toby, no!”

Tears streamed down her face, and Gulliver dropped to his knees at her side, pulling her up to look at him. “Tia… what is it?”

More tears. Seeing Tia cry was such a rare sight, Griffin watched her carefully.

Gulliver dipped his head to meet her gaze. “Is it Toby?”

She nodded. “I see…” She couldn’t finish.

Gulliver gripped her hands. “He’s in the human realm, isn’t he?”

How? Griffin watched them, not quite sure what was going on. Egan didn’t have an O’Shea with magic with him. They couldn’t get to the human realm.

Gulliver looked to Griffin. “You can’t ask me how I know, Griff. I won’t tell you. But Enis used the book to awaken Toby’s O’Shea magic. I think that’s what she’s seeing. Egan’s army has destroyed Aghadoon, leaving only the library intact.”

That wasn’t possible.

But with the book of power in the mix, he still believed it. “I need to get to Lochlan. We have to march into Myrkur now.” There were too many people he cared about still in there to forsake it. He had to make his brother see that. “Can you get Tia to her guard?”

Gulliver nodded. “Make him listen, Griff.”

When Griffin pushed through the branches back into camp, he froze. Soldiers who’d been sitting idly by their tents on his way through now scrambled to don their armor and wield their weapons as brigadier generals shouted orders.

Griffin had to find Lochlan. He pushed through the hordes of men and women preparing for another battle, reaching the command tent as fast as he could. Shoving past the guard outside, he pushed his way in.

Lochlan stopped mid-sentence as his advisors turned to look at Griffin, not a single one hiding their disdain.

“Shouldn’t you be preparing to run to the enemy, brother?” Lochlan didn’t even bother looking up from his maps.

Griffin’s jaw clenched. “I didn’t deserve that after fighting Egan with you, but I don’t care. Right now, you need to listen to me. Enis has used the book to awaken Toby’s O’Shea magic.”

“That is Prince Tobias to you,” one of the advisors snarled.

“Enough. I will speak with my brother on this matter.” Griffin wished he could call on his magic, but the sun prevented it from flooding into his arms. Still, he clenched his fists as if holding it back. “Egan has destroyed Aghadoon.”

No one even blinked.

“Destroyed what?” one of the men near Lochlan asked.

Lochlan crossed his arms. “The village that once protected the book. Why is it of importance now?”

“You have no idea how this book works, do you?” Griffin would never forget what he’d read in it. He only understood pieces of the whole, but he couldn’t ignore it for the tool it was. “The village… the book is the key to accessing every spell, every history, every piece of magic housed in the Aghadoon library, the most dangerous and powerful magic the realms have ever known.”

“If Egan has the book, why does he need the library?” Lochlan asked.

There was no time for this. “Because a spell does not exist in the book if it is not in that library. When one has the book, they see what the book allows them to see. But in the library, there is no limitation.”

No one spoke for a long moment as they stared at each other in confusion. A voice came from the doorway. “Is my son okay?”

Griffin closed his eyes at the sound of Brea’s voice.

Lochlan cleared his throat. “The best way to save Toby is to meet this army head on.”

“What army?” It made sense now why the soldiers were preparing to march.

“The one full of Dark Fae who just marched over the border where the barrier once stood. We fought them before, we’ve been preparing to do it again. This king has sent a much smaller force this time.”

“No, that doesn’t make sense. Egan’s units retreated. If they come for another fight, they will lead with an air strike first.”

Lochlan nodded to a guard. “Get my brother out of here and inform the rest of the generals we are prepared to march.”

The guard grabbed Griffin’s arm, but he jerked away and stormed from the tent to find Gulliver waiting. “Come on, Gullie. We need to find out what’s happening before my brother leads us into ruin.” Egan wouldn’t risk one part of his army unless he needed to hide what the rest was doing—like Griffin suspected he’d done with the first battle, the one Egan didn’t fight in, the one Riona retreated from in the midst of chaos. Was that when he’d left for the human world? He’d sent his army to fight as cover, hadn’t he?

But now… why would he send a small force now?

“It can’t be Egan, Griff.” Gulliver’s tail flicked in agitation. “They’re still in Aghadoon. I’m sure of it.”

At some point, Griffin would demand to know how he knew. But there was no time.

He didn’t realize they’d been followed until he heard soft footsteps behind him. Turning on his heel, he prepared for a fight only to come face to face with Brea. The magic inside tugged at him, wanting him to move closer.

He refused to obey it. “Here to make sure I don’t interfere with your husband’s war?” The words came out harsher than he’d intended.

Brea didn’t even flinch. Her eyes hardened. “Lochlan is a stubborn man. I know you, Griffin O’Shea. Something isn’t right here.”

He met her eyes for a brief moment. “You used to know me, Brea. But I’m not that man anymore. I have more people I’m fighting for than you and your husband.”

“Your brother.”

Griffin didn’t give that a response. When Lochlan hadn’t remembered him, he’d hoped they could be true brothers. But he realized now that was just a dream, a delusion. There were people trapped behind Egan’s forces whose fates were unknown. They needed him, and he needed to remember who he was fighting for.

Hector… he was Griffin’s brother. Shauna, his best friend. And Nessa. He worried for her like Brea worried for Toby, like a parent.

He stopped, facing Brea, as a horn sounded, calling all their forces to the front. “If you want to help, Brea, command one of your men to give me their horse.”

Her eyes searched the camp full of soldiers leading their horses to the lines of cavalry. “Benjamin,” she called.

The young soldier approached. “Yes, your Majesty?”

“Griffin needs your horse.”

“My horse, Majesty?” The boy’s ears turned pink with indecision.

“Yes. The king will not like it, but I trust Griffin. I will take any blame that comes your way.”

The soldier bowed his head. “Of course, Majesty.” He handed the reins to Griffin without hesitation. Griffin wondered if Brea was loved everywhere she went. First in Fargelsi, then Eldur, and finally she thawed the cold hearts of Iskalt.

Benjamin gave her one more long look before running to join the lines of foot soldiers.

“Thank you.” Griffin took the reins.

“Don’t let me down, Griff.”

He wouldn’t. Not this time. Pulling himself into the saddle, he looked down at Gulliver. “Stay with the queen. Keep her safe.”

He didn’t stick around to see the scowl he knew those words would bring to Brea’s face. Digging his heels in, he snapped the reins and galloped through the crowded camp, forcing soldiers to jump out of the way as he approached the troops preparing to march out.

Breaking through the Iskalt line, he ignored the shouts from the generals as he raced through the trees and along the narrow mountain pass, determined to catch sight of this enemy army, to find out if it was a trap.

He rounded a bend and pulled up on the reins, a smile stretching across his face.

Griffin rode at the head of the army approaching the Iskalt forces. He waved a white flag high over his head. The sun sank on the horizon, meaning Iskalt would soon be at full power.

And Griffin had to make them see reason first. Lochlan sat atop his dark steed, ready to lead his army. “I’ll go talk to him,” Griffin shouted over his shoulder. “Stay here.”

As he neared his brother, he wondered which family mattered more. The one at his front or the one at his back?

Lochlan tried to remain stone-faced, but Griffin caught the terrified glances toward the other fae. They’d seen what an army of Dark Fae could do.

“Joined the enemy again, brother?” Lochlan sneered.

Griffin sat ramrod straight atop his borrowed horse. “They are no more my enemy than you, Loch. These fae are from Myrkur, but they pledge no allegiance to Egan. In fact, they’d like to help us defeat him.” Griffin glanced back over his shoulder, catching sight of a few Slyph flying above the army to intimidate the Light Fae.

He waved their leader forward.

“This is Hector.” Hector stepped up to Griffin’s side. “He’s my brother.” Griffin hadn’t gotten the chance to tell Hector how much it meant to see him here.

Lochlan’s stony expression cracked at that. “How did your force get past Egan, Hector?” Suspicion rang in his tone.

“Egan is gone.” Hector’s tone was flat.

Lochlan sat up straighter. “What?”

“Egan is no longer in Myrkur. A few of my people witnessed the army disappear, but I’m not quite sure how the magic works.”

Griffin knew exactly where they’d gone.

Lochlan visibly paled. “Toby,” he muttered, seeing the truth in Hector’s words. He steeled himself and yelled to his people. “There will be no fight today. We are among friends.”

As Hector’s small army joined the ranks of the Light Fae, the two sides didn’t mix, but there were furtive glances both ways. Lochlan’s lines broke, allowing the new allies into camp.

Griffin barely noticed Brea ordering food to be made for Hector and his people as they tried to determine what was next. Instead, he jumped from his horse and ran through crowds looking for a few distinct faces.

Gulliver found them first, coming out of nowhere to cut in front of Griffin and barrel into Nessa, lifting her in a crushing hug. Griffin did the same to Shauna, pressing her so close their hearts beat in time with each other. A tear slipped down his cheek as he thought of the months since he’d seen them last, when he’d wondered if Egan had killed them.

But he hadn’t, and they were right here.

Gulliver and Nessa joined their hug, and a hole in the center of his chest filled. His family was okay.

The four of them cried as they clung together, no shame too great to stop them.

They didn’t break apart until a horse thundered into the camp, looking like it had been running for days. A haggard messenger stumbled from the horse, dropping to her knees, weary eyes lifting to the crowd of soldiers still recovering from the almost fight.

“She’s wearing Eldur colors,” someone murmured.

“Bailey!” Brea ran forward, Neeve at her side. They helped the young messenger to her feet and murmured in low tones.

Griffin inched closer, trying to figure out what was going on, why this girl would almost kill herself riding into their camp.

Her cracked lips parted. “Majesties. I have dire news,” she said, her voice growing stronger with the message. “Eldur has fallen.”

Chapter Two

Riona

Riona followed the narrow stone path along the Dalur River through Raudur City. Even after weeks of occupying the city, she still couldn’t get used to the exotic people of Eldur with their spicy food and robust personalities. Or the infernal blazing hot sun.

In Eldur, clear sunny skies were a daily occurrence—not even a cloud to offer a respite from the heat and endless bright light that still hurt her eyes.

Sliding her sunglasses back in place, she followed the directions Rowena had given her to the marketplace.

Rowena. Now there was a fae she wouldn’t mind helping escape the Eldur Palace. Maybe then the woman would finally stop trying to be her lady’s maid. In all her life, Riona had never known what it was like to be waited upon. Not until she arrived in Eldur with Egan’s army and watched as he laid waste to the beautiful city, taking it for himself. He’d moved Riona into what Rowena said were Brea’s old rooms and set the servant on her, saying the old woman was his gift to her for showing her loyalty by returning to his side.

At first, she thought she might like having a servant, but she found out rather quickly that lady’s maids were an opinionated lot, and she avoided hers as much as possible.

Riona picked up her pace, feeling the fine hairs on the back of her neck and wings stand up straight, like she was being watched. The boarded-up windows and soot-covered mounds of rubble were a sorry sight to behold of the once beautiful city. Riona had never seen anything like it. Even in its current war-torn state, the city was incredible, carved right out of the canyon walls far above the Dalur River. She imagined crowds of Eldurians must have filled the narrow streets before the Dark Fae arrived. Now only the bravest of souls—or the most desperate—ventured out of their hiding places.

Taking a turn down a dark alley, Riona checked her directions again. She wasn’t looking for just any marketplace. The mainstream market was all but closed these days, anyway. She was looking for someone with special skills. She just hoped they would be willing to help her.

She pushed through the screen door and stepped into the dark shop.

“Can I help you?” A kind voice met her in the cool darkness.

“Yes, please.” She took her sunglasses off and approached the counter of the apothecary. It wasn’t the usual shop. That was destroyed in the battle. This was the temporary shop the local apothecary set up to help the Eldurian people get through this difficult time with the essentials that could still be had. It was supposed to be a secret shop.

“You’re one of them.” The man’s previous kind tone disappeared as soon as he caught sight of her wings. “We do not serve dark beasts in this establishment.”

The cutting remark hurt, just as it was intended to, though the Dark Fae had destroyed their city. She’d heard all sorts of insults since her arrival in Eldur. She shrugged it off. If nothing else, Riona Nieland had a thick skin. “I have coin to spend. Coin I would rather see put to good use in this city than spend it in the human realm acquiring what I need.”

“You have access to the human realm?” The tall, thin man stared down his crooked nose at her. “You’re the one in charge here?”

“Yes. And as I said, I have coin to spend. I would see it used to help your people.”

The man gave a doubtful snort before he approached her at the counter. “What do you need?”

Riona took her sunglasses out of her pocket. “I was told you might have the skills to create something like this.”

The shopkeeper picked up the glasses, examining the dark lenses and their unusual construction.

“You want me to make dark glasses for your beast brethren? So they can see better to kill more fae?” He placed the glasses back in her hand. “Not interested.”

“We are all fae,” Riona said softly. “Light and Dark Fae.”

“You are killers, Madame. All of you.”

“By that logic, am I to believe all Light Fae are exactly the same? You are all good and kind creatures of magic who have never waged war against your brothers, usurped thrones from young princes, or imprisoned an entire nation of fae?”

The man met her gaze and shook his head. “You may have a point, my dear, but I cannot—will not help you.”

“There is an entire army of Dark Fae fighting alongside the leaders of Fargelsi and Iskalt this very minute. They need the protection these glasses can give them. Not to fight against you, but to fight with you.”

“I’d like to believe that, but it is difficult to trust such a thing.”

“What if I hire you to make the glasses, but you can deliver them to one of your own kind? A friend of mine who works with this army will take delivery of the glasses, and he can vouch for their use.” At least she hoped they were still friends.

“You will pay up front,” the man relented. “I can make the dark lenses, but I will need a smithy to make the frames. How many do you need?”

“As many as you can make, sir. And the lenses as dark as you can make them.”

“Evan.” He held out his hand. “I hope I don’t live to regret this.”

“Thank you, Evan.” Riona shook his hand. “You have my word, you will not regret this. Send word to Rowena at the palace when you have them ready.”

Is operation ‘make it stop’ a go?