Chapter 1
CHAPTER ONE
Awave of heat slammed into Connal, throwing him into his brother’s large frame. Luckily, Asterius equaled the size of his namesake star. Asterius stopped Connal from landing on his ass with one oversized hand and a chest the size of one of the walls of the King’s castle.
Since thanking his brother would be an insult, Connal instead returned his attention to the monster that had rocked him backward. Before he could comment, the echoing boom of an explosion rocked Connal a second time.
“The fire demon is out of control,” Connal hissed.
His eyebrows, only slightly singed, appeared to be his only injury.
And that was to his pride. Connal couldn’t imagine showing up to the Queen’s court in such a state.
He’d never live it down. Although, as the youngest of four warrior brothers, he’d likely be reminded of his folly for many years to come.
“Aye,” Asterius said. “But then so were those hairy creatures crawling above your eyes. At least one of them has been tamed.”
Connal groaned but didn’t rise to the bait. They’d no doubt fight it out later, once they’d defeated this beast and returned to the newly formed Unseelie Court. At first, he’d thought the Queen offered them a boon with a last-minute assignment that would in effect banish them to the human realm.
Connal scoffed. Some honor.
The human realm offered little to keep four warriors of their caliber occupied.
Connal could defeat any number of humans without using an ounce of his satyr magic.
Many of the human realm’s shifters didn’t stand a chance against Connal’s talent.
Hell, Connal had taken on a dragon within the first week of his arrival.
He’d had his ass handed to him, much to his brothers’ delight, but how was he to know dragon scales were impervious to most magic and metal?
Needless to say, their transition to the unusual land of humans had been difficult, although through no fault of their own.
They’d followed the Queen’s command to the letter: aid King Silenus in finding fae magic users in the human realm and bring to heel those reluctant to follow the King’s command.
And if they had a secondary purpose, well, not even the King needed to know about that.
“Damnation!” Asterius bellowed as the raging inferno shot another blast of flames high into the night sky.
Although their experience in the human realm was limited, Connal didn’t need knowledge of the realm’s inhabitants to recognize a magic user had caused the extensive fire. Only one creature was capable of this level of destruction. “Damned demons.”
His brothers huffed their agreement.
Connal loathed the nasty creatures. Once he found the cursed beast, he’d happily remove its head. Connal searched the area but failed to locate the source of magic.
The sigil circling his wrist—a gift from the Queen of the Fae herself and the envy of every fae creature he’d met in the Unseelie Court—glowed with her magic.
Its brightness left no doubt that the blaze was connected to what they sought, even if Connal couldn’t locate the source.
Connal would serve his Queen—and the newly appointed King of the Unseelie—and destroy the threat. Demon hellfires be damned.
Zer, Connal’s eldest brother, stepped forward. Only slightly smaller than their shining star brother, Zer used his height to his advantage in every battle they’d fought over the years. His gaze remained focused on the fire.
A tiny pixie perched on his shoulder, her bright, shimmery wings a stark contrast to Zer’s ebony hair. Another refugee from the fae realm, his brother’s little friend had claimed him as her protector the moment they’d arrived in the Unseelie realm.
“Fly, Avaneel,” Zer commanded. “Be cautious, little one.”
Avaneel darted into the sky. His brother’s focus finally shifted from the fire to the tiny specks of sparkling magic Avaneel left in her wake.
Connal shook his head and chuckled. “Only you, big brother.”
Zer ignored his teasing laugh as well as Asterius’s accompanying cackle.
In their home realm, no creature would have dared such a bold gesture where Zer was concerned.
Asterius? Sure. Their brother’s jovial nature shone brightly and countless fae had been captivated by his charms. But Zer?
Unthinkable. His shadowy nature, powerful intelligence, and sharp tongue drove away the majority of their fae brethren.
Keir emerged from the shadows, his ever-present scowl darker than usual. “I don’t sense any magic users nearby. Something approaches, however.”
The broodiest of Connal’s brothers was a master of the obvious. As if they couldn’t clearly hear the screaming creature heading their way, not to mention the glow lighting the night sky in the distance.
Did Keir think no one had noticed such an obvious approach?
Connal glanced at Asterius in time to see his brother roll his eyes. If Keir’s temper wasn’t as ferocious as Zer’s sword, Connal would point out his oh-so-clever ability. He held his tongue, though, lest his brother be tempted to try and remove it.
The glow of the creature flashed in the night sky as it drew closer to their location.
Connal ignored the approaching threat for another few moments until the screech became too close to avoid.
The brothers waited for Zer’s command, while Zer waited for Avaneel’s return to her perch on his shoulder.
“Patience, brothers,” Zer warned.
The rules of the Unseelie King rang through Connal’s ears, worse than the incessant pounding drums used during certain feasts. They were to neither be seen nor heard within the human realm, unless the threat from a fae creature demanded they take action.
“Spread out,” Zer commanded as Avaneel reappeared from behind the flames. “Hold steady until my command.”
Connal didn’t bother arguing. He was more of a kill first, ask questions later kind of warrior. His eldest brother preferred a more subtle, if less exciting, approach. Connal didn’t mind. He’d rather let Zer deal with all the crap that came with being their leader anyway.
Sliding into the darkness, Connal moved to a position across from Zer. Asterius stood behind the building, while Keir hid in the shadows across the human street. The shrieking monster grew closer, finally appearing in all its shining red glory.
Connal had never seen such a beast in his life.
The incessant screaming ceased as smaller minions poured out from inside the creature.
Although humanoid in shape and size, the bright yellow minions weren’t human at all.
One large, reflective…Was that an eye?…took up the entire front of their face, giving them a Cyclopean appearance.
He held his position as the minions swarmed around the fire, searching for any weakness they might exploit. The minions appeared to work with a hive mind. The huge, red mother beast remained still as the smaller creatures moved at her side.
Then, to Connal’s awe, the minions began pulling a large tentacle from the body of the red beast. He shivered as several of them held the tentacle, and it began spewing what appeared to be water from its belly.
“A water demon,” Connal hissed. “Makes sense.”
Opposing magical forces often battled each other, none more ferociously than fire and water. As much as he wanted to leap into the fray, Connal waited for his brother’s command. He couldn’t fault Zer’s logic for keeping them at bay.
Hell, if the water minions wanted to take out the fire demon, Connal would happily let them.
He’d hate to singe his new human garments, after all.
The Consort would be quite miffed if he ruined yet another set of clothing.
Apparently, humans didn’t have adequate resources to clothe someone of his size.
Connal wondered once again what they’d done to have their Queen send them to such a piteous realm as punishment.
At least the creepy water minions would be interesting to battle.
Was their weak spot their large, solitary eye?
Or perhaps the cylindrical lump on their back?
Either way, the strange reflective stripes on their bodies that echoed the color of their thick skulls gave Connal an easy target to locate.
Would it take more than one swipe of his sword to remove their heads from their bodies?
Keir snuck around the red mother demon and crouched by Connal’s side. “My sigil stopped glowing.”
Connal glanced at his wrist. His own had gone dark as well.
Odd. Whatever they had detected had vanished before the sigils could lead them to it.
Another explosion rocked the area, this one sending the remains of the human building high into the air.
It knocked several of the water minions off their feet.
Connal scoffed. Puny creatures.
Their pitiful strength meant they lost control of the mother demon’s tentacle.
It began flying through the air, spewing its contents everywhere.
Some of the spray drenched Keir, but Connal ducked behind his brother in time to avoid the majority of the deluge.
Before Keir could seek vengeance, a shrill whistle sounded.
At Zer’s signal, Connal and Keir charged into the clearing with their swords drawn. The water minions shouted, finding themselves quickly surrounded by Connal and his brothers.
“Control your mistress or we will end her,” Asterius roared, rising to his full height.
A few of the minions stepped back, but it only put them closer to the end of Zer’s sword. One, however, stepped forward. His skull was a darker shade, closer to the red of the flames still lighting the sky behind them. It likely indicated an elder position, perhaps the leader of this group.
“I don’t know who the hell you are, but this is not a joke. Get the hell out of our way and let us do our job.”
“Your job,” Connal snorted. “Isn’t that quaint. Does your mistress have no better use for you?”