Chapter 27
S tone
Shannon shook her head, but it didn’t stop the loathing that had been growing in my soul from the moment I’d let Vilderon put his hands on her. I felt no sorrow for his death, nor did I blame my sister for murdering him. I did begrudge her the act, though. I’d wanted to end him myself with my bare hands. No weapons, no wolf, no magic. Fuck, he’d hurt my Butterfly so much when she was young. He was disgusting. How could I be sired by such a monster? The Unseelie were supposed to be the monsters of the Fae race, but the truth was, we were all monsters inside, hiding beneath a thin layer of civilised veneer.
A cool hand on my cheek brought my gaze back to Shannon.
“No, don’t do that. I’m alive and well because of you. None of this is your fault; it’s your father’s…and maybe your sister’s.”
I wasn’t so sure about it being Airling’s. I’d failed her, too. And my mother. My father had unleashed his monstrous soul on them, and his evil had twisted my sweet sister into a dark- hearted stranger. No, this was all on me, but now wasn’t the time to have that discussion.
I pulled away. Shannon was right not to give me her mating mark. Maybe I had been right all those years I pushed her away; I wasn’t worthy of it. She opened her mouth to speak again, but I spoke first.
“Shift, Butterfly, I’ll stay like this and provide light with my magic. You’ll be warmer if you summon your wolf.”
She tilted her head and narrowed her beautiful eyes but didn’t call me out on my obvious deflection. Her shift was quick and elegant. My wolf pushed to the surface, gazing down at his mate, and though he fought to shift and be with her, I held him back.
We carefully made our way down dark corridors I had never ventured into before. It was a fucking rabbit warren. How she’d managed to find a way out was beyond amazing. I glanced down. She was amazing. I swallowed. I loved her, but after what had happened, I had to admit she was safer if she didn’t bond herself to me.
The distant noise of a raised voice reached us. Shannon halted just as I slipped my hand into her fur. I met her eyes and extinguished my magic. The corridor turned inky, and even with my wolf’s vision, it was difficult to make out any shapes, so we inched forward. The voice got louder, joined now by another. One was my sister’s heated words, and the other voice was deep and smooth but with an eerie calmness that made the predator in me still, wary of the danger such calmness could hide.
“You were supposed to kill the Unseelie lords, Holt! Not just kidnap the female. And those vamps were supposed to annihilate my father’s troops, not run rampant through the whole fucking household, killing everyone in their path. Now we have the Prince Regent after us for killing innocent Fae!”
“But I did keep my part of the bargain, Airling of House Vilderon. The impure did kill your sire’s troops.”
The hair on the back of my neck rose, every one of my instincts screaming danger, that Holt didn’t belong in our world, that he shouldn’t be here.
“It was your own blood, your brother, who called in the cavalry and got in the way of my plans.”
“Your plans? This wasn't your plan. It was mine.”
“I concede that is true. Which is why it didn’t work. Your brother is too powerful to be held by someone as weak as your father. And you are too inadequate to end him. However, my intention to bring the offspring of my sworn enemy into this chaos is fulfilled, though it is unfortunate that I did not have the opportunity to end him. Now, I will take control of the relay and continue my true plans without you in my way.”
“You think the future king of Faery will just let you go? He won’t. You have kidnapped the daughter of his enemy. A Fae who is of royal blood, no matter which kingdom or land she is from. That is a crime punishable by death.”
The Fae chuckled, but there was no fear in his voice, only triumph. “I am aware. In fact, I am counting on his tenacious nature to hunt me down and do the noble thing that his bloodline always does. Try and be the hero…” His sneer and the sheer hatred in his tone were unmistakable.
Airling snarled right back. “Well, he will not let me live now I’ve murdered a High Fae lord, my father or not. My position here is compromised. I can no longer plan on becoming the lady of this house. I will take the relay and leave. I can make a deal with the Mades to hide me on Earth. That should be easy enough since they’ll want that stupid communications box back. Or you can take me with you and give me refuge.”
“I cannot. The creatures of my kingdom hate all who dwell in this world. The Darklings will rip you to pieces and feed on every spark of your magic and soul.”
“I’d like to see them try,” Airling hissed, but her voice wavered. “Fine, give me a portal to Earth, then. I’ll easily survive there.”
The Darkling Fae smiled, but there was no amusement on his face or in his dead eyes as he studied my sister.
“No, you really wouldn’t, but it is of no concern because death is always preferable for someone as emotionally weak and damaged as you.”
Before I could process what was happening, he’d stabbed my sister four times. Twice in the chest and twice in the belly before swiping the blade over her neck. Dark in the gloom, blood poured from the gaping slash, bubbling as she tried to breathe but drowned instead. Her shocked gaze swivelled to me, almost as though she knew I was there. Her hands clutched uselessly at her neck.
The Darkling cocked his head before he held a hand over my sister’s chest. Her face contorted, but the slash in her neck made her scream silent. A cloud of energy seeped from her chest into his hand. Within a mere blink of an eye, she no longer looked like my sister but an old woman. My feet were moving before I could even shout my fury. Airling wasn’t the girl I remembered, but she was still my sister, my last living relative.
The Darkling turned to me, malevolence seeping from him. Before it registered what he was doing, he dissolved into a dark mist, reappeared in front of the Unseelie lady who was slumped on the ground, lifted her with one arm and swiped his hand across the air. A dark and shimmering portal appeared. What I saw on the other side made no sense. It was a land devoid of life, of light. In the distance, animals, the like of which I’d never seen before, writhed in huge pens, while the baying of hounds was loud in air that stank of rot and desperation. In the distance loomed a large dark palace with spiked towers and a moat of water so dark it could be oil.
“No!” I yelled as he raised a hand, and the glowing comms device rose in the air. A relay? Was this the evidence Ava had found? She’d mentioned a device that could scramble, block, and infiltrate our satellites and communications.
The relay floated in the air, but the Unseelie female lifted her head and saw what the Darkling was after. As diminutive and delicate as she was, she surprised him by jamming her elbow in his stomach and her fingers into his eye sockets. The relay crashed to the floor, bits flying off it. He released his hold and within seconds, dark magic tethered her arms to her sides and she floated in the air, her mouth gagged with darkness. Her terrified gaze found mine.
I didn’t owe her anything, but there was no way I’d let her be taken. “Let her go!”
Holt merely looked at me before dismissing my presence and stepping towards the portal. Shannon growled from across the room, where she’d used the shadows to hide. Without turning his head, he sent magic shooting her way.
No fucking way! My wolf roared, the sound escaping my mouth and rattling the air. I hit him in the chest with as much magic as I could muster. He turned and raised a brow. “Enough, pup! You cannot hurt me.”
I reared back and tried again, but each hit just dissipated in a shimmering field across his body. He had a shield. Shit! Thanks to Ventry and his father, the Shadow Sentinels had them incorporated into our mission armour. Shields were a standard part of Seelie Fae armour, but I’d never seen it on an Unseelie. Yet, this male wasn’t Unseelie, he was something that shouldn’t exist in this world. An impossibility. A legend. A being that was lost to time. He was Holt, the leader of the Wild Hunt. It was why I’d not sensed his presence; technically, he didn’t exist because he had no soul. Legend had it that Darklings had been banished to the land between the living and the dead, the Void, and that they couldn't return to the land of the living because they had been cursed to exist without souls. They could only visit this plane of existence after the winter solstice when the moons were at their weakest and the darkest days in Faery came.
Soul or not, he wasn’t getting near Shannon. I kept firing, even as Ronan came barrelling in, followed by the others.
“Ishika! No!” he yelled, his eyes wide, panic in every line of his face. “Don’t let him take her into that portal!”
Shannon staggered up, shaking her body from the effects of the magical hit she’d taken. Her gaze homed in on the Fae female. She growled and leapt before I could yell at her to stop, just as I sent magic exploding forward. Ventry joined me, slamming out a surge of ice-green magic that mixed with the violet of mine. The Darkling lord staggered back, his nostrils flared, a snarl on his lips.
“That’s right, you fucker. Not so smug now, are you?” I ground out, sweat beading on my brow.
Shannon crashed into the terrified female Fae; even the Darkling’s magic couldn’t hold her. Together, they flew across the room and crashed into the wall.
Holt lost his composure, his eyes flashing, and he roared as he sent a powerful blast of dark energy my way. It crackled through the air, hitting the magical shield I threw up. That wave of dark energy was far more formidable and ancient than anything I’d ever felt. It sucked at my soul, sending my wolf into a frenzy. Another wave of green magic rushed forward, augmenting mine.
“Shit, I’m glad you’re here,” I panted, my gaze sliding sideways to Ventry, sweat running down my brow. Even as we pushed back that ancient force, my eyes sought Shannon. She was fine, getting up from the floor and shaking herself.
“Can’t let you have all the fun, my friend,” Ventry ground out, his top lip baring his teeth and his chest heaving. It did my ego some good to see he was struggling, too, even if I wished he wasn’t. If the most powerful Fae in Faery had to work at holding back this dark force, I didn’t feel so bad about needing help.
Connor stalked in, and the Darkling’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly at his monstrous bulk.
Ventry growled. “That’s right, you bastard, you’re out-matched. We have the girl and the relay, so give yourself up.”
Holt smiled coldly. “You have nothing, false king. Beware the solstice. Your arrogance will be your downfall. The time of your bloodline is soon to end.” Keeping his shield in place, a snarl bared his white teeth, distorting his beautiful face into an ugly, violent mask. His icy regard narrowed on Shannon, and my heart stopped as he gave me a conniving grin. A second later, spears of darkness sailed through the air, slamming into Shannon’s flesh with a wet thud. More and more soared towards her. I reacted, throwing magic into their path. Even Ventry tried to stop them, but we were too late. My heart shattered as Shannon fell to the floor, blood spurting from her fur as the spears turned to nothing but air. My heart shredded into tiny ribbons, such pain caving my chest that I couldn’t breathe. Holt’s self-satisfaction was palpable. He smirked, gave a bow and stepped through the shadow portal. In a blink, it was gone.
Ronan ran to his sister, pulling her away from my mate, and the pool of blood that was swiftly gathering beneath the softness of her fur. Fighting a wave of nausea and fear like nothing I’d ever felt, I sprinted across the dank cell and dropped to my knees at Shannon’s side, blood roaring in my ears.