Secrets of the Shadow Prince's Captive

Chapter 1

Betrayal coats my tongue. Thick. Metallic. Suffocating. It clings to the back of my throat, choking me every time I think of the Fae’s deception, my town’s treachery, and everything else that’s transpired these past days. Everything I’ve lost. Everything I still stand to lose.

The tattered nightgown from my abduction is gone, but when I glance at the fresh tawny dress spread across my lap, I can still see where drops of blood fell.

Where each tear and smear of dirt clung to me like a brand.

My body may be healed, but the ghosts of every strike I endured in the barrack cell, every crack of pain, still pulse across my skin.

The saddle groans as I shift my weight, gripping the pommel between my legs.

The mare’s gait is steady, tethered to Jaxon’s horse ahead, carrying me away from Verdanthia.

The town I once called home, the town I bled for, has turned its back on me.

All for the sin of speaking up and offering to save them from the wrath of the Fae.

Even Lev turned on me. My childhood best friend, my lover, and a person I believed would be part of my days for the rest of my life.

No good deed goes unpunished, but mine ended in torture. It could have been worse. If not for the Fae males who now hold me captive. If not for him.

Rian.

The Shadow Prince rides at the head of our small procession, Draven beside him.

Their midnight stallions move like shadows come alive, muscles rippling beneath ink-dark hides.

The air around them hums with restrained power, warping the sunlight into a muted haze.

They ride relaxed, unhurried, as though the world bends to their will.

Arrogant monsters.

The magic in my veins rustles.

Rian’s back stiffens. I tear my gaze away before he turns around. I won’t be able to contain my fury if he meets my eyes.

I long to demand he release me—to curse him for stealing me from my sister. For forcing my hand in binding myself to him again, stripping away my choice, tethering me to his power like I am something to be used.

But I won’t. Not yet.

I fix my attention on Jaxon and Darius. They haven’t stopped talking since the moment our horses carried us into the ominous darkness encompassing the Forbidden Forest.

Their voices thread through the dense air as they banter about the humidity, the smell of the forest, even the discomfort of their saddles. Their easy conversation contrasts sharply with the forest’s hush, broken only by the rhythmic clomp of hooves and the soft grind of the wagon wheels behind us.

No one else speaks. Not me. Not Draven. Not Rian.

Once again, my eyes drift to the Shadow Prince.

Shadows press against his broad back. Their commanding presence penetrates the air, all the way back to me. The magic dwelling within me snaps to attention. My power warms with desire.

I grit my teeth and tamp down the traitorous emotion.

Whatever pull I once felt toward Rian…whatever strange connection tried to bloom for the male who’d learned about my power and chose not to treat me as an enemy, I snip it from the stem.

I crush the petals into dust and toss them into the wind.

Shadow Fae destroyed the human kingdom during the Shadow Wars.

Rian’s people tore down the Veil separating our worlds, and humans have been living under their oppressive thumbs ever since.

That is the legacy Rian will inherit. That is his fate as the Shadow King’s heir.

And he kept it all from me…

He tricked me.

Rian may have freed me from the deal we made, but he chose to trap me in another. Now he drags me along on whatever dastardly mission his king has sent him on.

For there is no reason the Shadow Prince would be so far south of the Veil.

Not unless he’s doing something important. Something that will undoubtedly harm humans and rob us of what miniscule freedom we have from our Fae overlords.

“Mother save me,” Darius groans, cutting through my thoughts. “My ass hurts. Please tell me we’re getting close to the port.”

At the front of our group, Draven turns his head, peering at Darius from the corner of his eye. “Going soft, are you?”

“He has been asleep for weeks,” Jaxon cuts in with a chuckle. “There’s more flab than muscle on his ass these days.”

Darius growls, “I was unconscious, you prick.”

Jaxon grins. “Excuses, excuses.”

“Spar with me right now,” Darius challenges. “And we’ll see who has more muscle.”

My mare huffs when my legs tense, pressing into her sides. I relax and stroke her mane in apology as my eyes dart from male to male, unable to tell if they’re joking or serious.

I mean, obviously they’re joking about Darius’s muscle loss. Despite lying on a cot for weeks, his body ravaged by a dark curse, he looks robust. Strong. Healed.

Only, he isn’t.

A small pebble-sized remnant of the curse has lodged itself in his chest, refusing to be eradicated by my healing power. Which is why I’m trapped with the Fae and not with my twin sister, off to start a new life somewhere else—somewhere our neighbors wouldn’t burn us alive for possessing magic.

Not that they could burn Ferria.

I’m pretty sure her power would protect her from that fate.

“Tell him, Elara,” Darius says.

My head snaps up. He and Jaxon stare at me expectantly.

I clear my throat. “Tell him, what?”

“That the curse didn’t atrophy my muscles. I’m just as strong as I was before.”

“Oh...” I swat at a buzzing insect flying near my ear. “I can’t say that.”

Jaxon bursts into laughter.

Darius rears back. “Why not?”

I shrug. “I have no idea how strong you were before.”

His mock outrage gives way to a wicked grin. “Your magic has flowed through every inch of my body. Surely you know how strong I am.”

Heat claws up my neck. Gods, did he have to make healing him sound so…sensuous?

A pulse of power brushes against my cheeks, a ghost of a touch that doesn’t come from me.

I follow the sensation to the two males at the front of the group.

The shadows at Rian’s back deepen, and a tendril flickers out but promptly snaps back to press against his rigid muscles.

Draven turns in his saddle, glare sharp as a blade. “Watch your mouth, Darius.”

Darius smirks. “I’m sorry. Did I step on someone’s toes?”

“Jaxon,” Draven barks.

“Yes?”

“Smack Darius for me.”

A wisp of shadow flies from Jaxon’s palm and hits the back of Darius’s head with an audible thwack.

Darius hisses and rubs the spot, narrowing his eyes on Draven before swinging his gaze to Jaxon. “Since when are you my brother’s attack dog?”

My brows rise.

Brother?

“Since he asked me to hit you.” Jaxon grins. “I’ll yap at his ankles all day if that’s my reward.”

A shadow shoots out of Darius’s pointer finger and shoves Jaxon’s shoulder. The affable Fae laughs, the sound bouncing off the thick tree trunks around us.

“Shut the fuck up, you two,” Draven snaps, though there’s a lilt of amusement to the order. “Before you alert every beast in the woods of our presence.”

Jaxon’s laughter is slow to die, but he and Darius heed Draven’s command for all of two minutes before they resume their earlier banter. Albeit at a much quieter volume.

The reminder that monsters roam the Forbidden Forest has me scanning the dense trees to my left and right. Insects buzz. Birds sing their songs. Despite Draven’s words, I doubt the creatures that haunt most of my nightmares are anywhere near our traveling party. Just like in Verdanthia.

Predators recognize fellow predators. And there is no question—the Fae are far more dangerous than the dark monsters that terrorized my town.

At the front of the group, Rian’s billowing power rolls forward and coats the woods. The inky blackness pulses before dissipating into gray smoke, leaving a clear, smooth path for the horses and wagon.

My pulse trips. His power seems…boundless. The kind of power that could destroy the world if left unchecked.

Humans have all heard stories of the Shadow King’s power, the strength of the darkness he wields with remorseless, violent precision. And rumors say his heir is even stronger.

“What’s your favorite drink, Elara?” Jaxon interrupts my dark musings. “Ale or wine?”

I jolt in the saddle. The mare tosses her head at the movement but keeps a steady gait.

“What?” I ask.

“Your favorite drink. At a tavern. What is it?”

My forehead furrows. “Why do you want to know?”

He hikes a thumb at Darius. “Because this idiot is trying to argue that ale is better.”

“I am arguing that it is easier to acquire quality ale while traveling than it is to find decent wine,” Darius counters, flinging his head back.

Sunlight beams through the cleared canopy, highlighting the red streaks in his otherwise dark strands.

“But which tastes better?” Jaxon presses.

“On a consistent basis?” Darius clarifies. “Ale.”

Jaxon throws his hands into the air. The horse underneath him doesn’t so much as shuffle. “You’re a stubborn ass.”

“What is it with you and my ass?”

“Don’t flatter yourself. It’s mediocre at best.”

“That’s not what your sister said the last time—”

“Enough.” Rian’s voice cracks through their revelry.

Jaxon’s retaliatory shadow halts its impending assault, inches from Darius’s strong jaw.

Every nerve in my body stands at attention.

I hate this.

I hate how, even now, when the Shadow Prince’s dark eyes shift to me, the urge to get lost in their depths gnaws at me. My body begs me to succumb to the attraction between us.

But I can’t. I won’t.

The dark marks on my forearms stretch.

I don’t look at the floral and vine design. If I do, I’ll remember the way they tore into my skin. How they shredded my flesh like ribbons when I dared to object to coming with the Fae on their unknown journey.

Once, I found the shadows that confirmed my deal with the Fae beautiful. Intriguing. Now, they are a stark reminder that I’m a prisoner. They won’t hesitate to hurt me if I go against their master. The same master whose heavy stare burns into my face.

My eyes remain on Jaxon who now faces forward. Darius, too, faces ahead, but his attempt to portray a dutiful soldier is diminished by the quick rise and fall of his shoulders as he struggles to mask his chuckle.

Rian’s exhale puffs into the air.

“Idiots,” he mumbles then turns around.

My lungs release the breath I’d been holding.

The quiet stretches. My thoughts unravel in it, and I piece together fragments from the Fae’s banter.

Draven and Darius are brothers.

Jaxon has a sister.

I’ve gathered that the Fae are close. Rian once told me he considers them his true brothers. But it is strange to hear them laugh, argue, and tease like this… It’s disarming.

It makes them almost seem human.

But I can’t forget what they are. What I am to them.

The Fae need me to heal Darius.

That’s it.

I’m a useful human…a means to an end.

I grip the saddle tightly.

Once Darius is healed, once the curse is gone, I’ll be free. The marks on my arms will disappear, just like the ones from my first deal.

Once I fulfill my debt, I’ll find Ferria. We’ll start a new life, and I’ll pretend none of this ever happened.

That I never met a Fae prince whose shadows could mask all the stars in the sky.

That my magic doesn’t yearn to reach for his—to meet his darkness with my light. To destroy this distance I’m forcing between us.

No… That’s not right.

I didn’t force anything.

I’m not the one who lied…who schemed…who manipulated.

Rian may wear a handsome face, but beneath it lies everything I was raised to fear.

He is the Shadow Prince. He is my enemy. No matter what my magic desires, I will harden my soul against him, against all of them. I can’t afford to do anything else.

Not if I want to escape.

Because if there’s one horrible story about the Fae that haunts me more than any other, it’s how the Shadow King enjoys keeping human pets.