Court of Shadows (Institute of the Shadow Fae, #1)

by C.N. Crawford

“I know your game, little girl.” The vampire licked his fangs, swaying on his feet. “You read your little books about teenagers falling in love with thousand-year-old vamps. Our skin is supposed to sparkle like a unicorn’s arse, right? And you all get a happy ending. Wrong. Those books are crap. Come with me, and I’ll teach you about reading real literature. Hemingway, Kerouac, Bukowski⁠—”

“He’s still here. And now there’s another one, with violet eyes. I’ve heard of him. He’s the one they call the Wraith. He moves like wind in the night and slaughters silently in the shadows. I think he’s the Devil himself.”

“I connect to the power of the earth,” he went on. “Bury my manhood in the fresh forest soil.” Vomit. “How about we don’t have this discussion?” “My shaman says it’s gotta be the whole ballsack and not just the shaft. It’s quite the commitment, going out into nature.”

Oh, lovely. A voiceless, psychotic fae who I’m pretty sure wants to gut me.

I let out a slow, shaky breath. “Usually I save up-the-skirt action for a third date, but since you’ve got such a sparkling personality….”

I knew a woman was never supposed to admit when she thought she was beautiful. It was a mortal sin. Everyone hates a woman who likes how she looks, and women are especially reviled if they’re flawed and still have the balls to feel beautiful. Covered in scars, not the right shape, wrong hair—whatever. You’re supposed to feel bad about it. So I just kept my thoughts about it to myself. I was scarred; I was beautiful, and I didn’t need to know what anyone else thought about the matter.

He just stood before us with the water from the portal dripping down his powerful body, like not a big deal, just crawled from another realm with my penis on display.

“In the ways of the shadow demons?” I bit my lip. “I guess your ways don’t involve trousers.” “I will not sully the waters of Nyxobas, God of Night.” Sure, and I guess he doesn’t mind your balls all over the place.

We crossed into the grassy park, and a flicker of movement caught my eye. It took me a moment to register that I was staring at a man’s naked arse, thrusting into the earth. When he looked back at us, terror paled his features, and he scrambled to stand and pull up his trousers.