All at once, the whispers stopped and silence fell. A tall form stepped out of the darkness and into the dim light of the Fae lanterns on the walls on either side of me.
The Seelie King stopped on his side of the boundary and lazily took in my appearance. I had no doubt my skin looked pale and I probably had a few fading bruises since all the healing had been concentrated on making sure my inside parts hadn’t become outside parts and my spine hadn’t snapped. My clothes were too big and I hadn’t even bothered to fix my hair that I’d braided this morning. Loose strands brushed against my neck where they’d been yanked free.
“It’s a wonder your kind has survived this long.” He looked down at me, disdain written all over his face. “What do you want, mongrel?”
I didn’t answer him right away. Instead, I looked him over while I thought about his words. At first glance, Draven didn’t look anything like his father. He hadn’t looked much like his mother either, but the longer I looked, the more I could see the similarities.
He’d gotten his mother’s dark hair and pretty elegant features in comparison to Erendriel, who had deep, golden-blond hair and more of a masculine handsomeness. Draven wasn’t nearly as tall or broad as his father either, who was close to Cade in size, but he did have the same light brown skin with bronze undertones as Erendriel. Though it was the eyes that made their familial connection undeniable.
The same lapis lazuli blue that appeared in Draven’s eyes reflected the light before me now, but while the Moroi Prince’s eyes were full of mischief and more than a hint of wickedness, Erendiel’s were cold. He might look no older than his late twenties, but those eyes were ancient and harsh.
“By my kind, do you mean all of the Moon Blessed? Or the Velesians specifically?” I asked.
Erendriel tilted his head. If he was surprised by my question, he didn’t show it. “The Velesians.”
I cocked my head, mirroring his movement but in the other direction. “Because our ancestors were human? Completely human, I mean.”
Apparently, some of the Fae had gotten friendly with the humans before everything had gone to shit. When the original spell had been cast, turning the humans into the Moon Blessed, those with Seelie blood had become Moroi and those with Unseelie blood had become Furies. The humans who’d had no Fae blood had become Velesians.
“No magic.” He waved a hand at me. “The humans existed to serve us. You exist to die.”
“You’re a lot of fun, you know that?” In my head, I could picture Kieran laughing and Roth giving me a pointed look for aggravating the person I needed help from.
Erendriel turned and started walking back to the shadows.
“What will happen when the Unseelie Princes find what you’re searching for in the mountains?” I asked casually. We were only guessing about the princes being the unseen player, but based on the way Erendriel went completely still, I suspected we were right.
“Not possible,” he said quietly enough that I didn’t think he meant to say it out loud. “What game are you playing, mongrel?”
He spun around suddenly and moved to stand even closer to the boundary. Two feet and a blood ward were all that stood between me and certain death.
I stepped closer. “Who would you rather have find this mystery object? The princes? Or me?”
Erendriel snorted. “You think I don’t know your people have been looking for it too? And failing?” Again, his gaze drifted over me, and it was clear he wasn’t impressed. “The only thing you’ll find in those mountains is death, but by all means, go look for it.”
“I have a theory about the Fae,” I said calmly. “Would you like to hear it?”
Shadows trailed off his shoulders, and I once again found myself wondering just how much of that magic he retained in addition to his earth magic.
“Let’s hear what foolish story you’ve come up with.”
“I don’t know what you’re looking for or where it is, but I know what it can do.” I raised my chin slightly, keeping my gaze locked on his. “The Fae built all these castles here and warded them against each other. That’s why, as wraiths, you can’t enter any of them, isn’t it? The Seelie warded their castles against the Unseelie and the Unseelie warded their castle against you, but as wraiths—or whatever you are now—you have both Seelie and Unseelie magic. The fortresses you all built have plenty of luxuries but not a lot of personal touches.” I leaned forward until I could feel the charge of the ward that separated us dancing across my skin. “Except for the murals of your home. Where you were originally from.”
Something flashed across Erendriel’s face, so fast, I wouldn’t have caught it if I hadn’t been watching him carefully.
Longing.
“What’s it called?” I asked softly. “Your home? I’ve read through thousands of Fae poems, letters, and texts. Its name is never mentioned.
Erendriel’s expression closed off. “What pack are you with?”
I debated lying but decided to go with the truth to see what it would get me. “Alpha pack.”
“And are they your home?” His eyes bored into mine. I tried to hide the pain that question caused me, but he must have caught my slight wince because he chuckled in a way that had every one of my instincts on hyper alert. “Not your home. Your enemy, perhaps? Do they know you’re here, little wolf? Or are you plotting something behind their backs?”
I suddenly had even more appreciation for my best friend. Samara had spent hours in the Seelie King’s company, weaving her trap. I’d been talking to him for less than ten minutes and already felt like he was five steps ahead.
“Don’t look so worried, little wolf.” There was that nickname again. Apparently, I’d been upgraded from mongrel. Lucky me. “It seems fate has brought us together so we can help each other. Do you know who built that place?”
