Quicksilver (Fae & Alchemy, #1)

by Callie Hart

It was common knowledge in Zilvaren City that to lie to a guardian meant death.

Anarchy and rebellion spread like a wildfire. And what do you do with a fire? You blockade it. Trap it behind a wall. Give it nowhere else to go until it burns itself out and dies a quiet death.

For the next one hundred years, anyone foolish enough to think twice about stealing from me will remember the black day Saeris Fane offended the Zilvaren crown and a hundred thousand people paid the price.”

Saeris Fane was twenty-four years of age when she died. Honestly, she should have died a lot sooner, but the girl never did know when to give up.

Of course Death was beautiful. How else would anyone choose to go with him without putting up a fight?

Bal is the goddess of the sun, but goddess of the day in a looser sense. Mithin is the goddess of the moon, but again, she presides over all of the night.”

It seems highly unlikely that a human woke the quicksilver.”

“You’re charged with awakening the quicksilver and reopening the pathways between this world and others.

“Is your life really worth so little to you?” “If Hayden really is dead… then yes,” I whispered. “It’s worth nothing.”

And… those eyes. Gods. Eyes were not that color. I’d never seen that shade of green before—a jade so bright and vibrant that it didn’t look real.

I was unprepared for how the sight of so many bound, hardback books would affect me.

“An Oshellith is a type of butterfly,” he called as he went. “Osha for short. They hatch, live, and die all in one day. The cold kills them very fast.

No cooked food in the library. I, myself, only eat dry crackers while working here. And I’m here for days sometimes. And I lean out of a window to avoid crumbs!”

Kingfisher stilled. “Are you asking me how big my cock is, Osha?”

he’d thrown me unceremoniously down onto my bed and snarled, “Bad human,” at me.

Kingfisher leaned forward, his tongue running over his teeth again. He smiled suggestively as he said, “Swallow.”

I jerked when he snapped his fingers in front of my face. “You could at least say hello before you start eye-fucking me.”

hadn’t seen many beautiful things in my short life. But, of all the beautiful things I had seen, Fisher was the most beautiful of all.

If I held you down and fucked you the way I’m imagining fucking you right now, I doubt that you’d survive it.”

“I wouldn’t fuck you—if you were the last living—” “Don’t bother.” The words held bite. “Lying is pointless with your heart betraying you so loudly.”

“That your body is betraying you in other ways. That I can smell you, Little Osha, and I’m thinking about drinking the sweet nectar you’re making for me straight from the fucking cup.”

In the years to come, when I looked back at this moment, I would be glad that I’d taken the leap and jumped. This was the kiss to end all kisses.

“I taught you a valuable lesson that will serve you well for the rest of your very short human life in this realm. Always pay attention to the fine print. The devil’s in the details.

“I’ll happily kiss all of your aches and pains better for you once we strike camp. I’ve been told my mouth has healing properties. Especially when administered between a pair of thighs.”

am the thing that exists on the other side of the dark. I’m the thing that puts the fear of the gods into the monsters who would eat you bones and all.”

“You said you were going to the camp for a week. You were gone for two.” “Did you miss me?” “I didn’t appreciate being stuck in your bed for five days, y’know.” “Really?” He picked up a piece of cheese. “Most females like spending time in my bed.”

“If I were evil and using your oath for my own purposes, I’d order you onto your knees for me,” he said, cutting me off. “I’d order you to part your legs for me. I’d order you to suck and fuck me until you passed out from exhaustion. Is that what you want, Little Osha?”

“You’re out of your fucking mind,” I whispered. “That’s what they tell me. But I don’t know. Aside from the relentless chatter in my head, personally, I think I’m doing just fine.”

“There’s something… between us. You know there is.” “Sure you’re not imagining things? Plenty of women fall prey to their own desperate fantasies where I’m concerned.”

“Yes. I want it. I want you.” His smile was pure, powerful male satisfaction. “Hold on tight, then. I hope you’re not afraid of the dark.”

Fisher. Kingfisher. Lord of Cahlish.

“Because she is moonlight. The mist that shrouds the mountains. The bite of electricity in the air before a storm. The smoke that rolls across a battlefield before the killing starts. You have no idea what she is. What she could be. You should call her Majesty.”

“Lupo Proelia. Kingfisher’s wolves,”

“She has a mind and a mouth of her own. I am the keeper of neither.”

Gods, sinners, martyrs, and ghosts. We were all so ridiculously fucked.

“Plenty of dark and hungry things lurk in the forgotten corners of this realm, Little Osha.

“You’re making a weird face,” Carrion whispered loudly. “Are you talking to it?” “Yes, I’m talking to it. What do you think I’m doing?” “I don’t know. You look constipated.”

“I was wrong, y’know. You are a good thief.” “What have I stolen?” But he smiled a small, sad smile, slowly shaking his head.

We know who she is, the quicksilver hissed. She is the dawn. She is the moon. She is the sky. She is oxygen in our lungs.

“Be unrelenting and unmerciful in the face of the wicked dead,” Fisher said.

“You can kick and scream all you like,” he said. “But he wants the Alchemist, Fisher. If he has to burn down all of Yvelia to claim her, you know perfectly well that he’ll do it.”

“That seat is reserved for the lady of the house, you stupid girl. Etiquette dictates that only Fisher’s wife is permitted to sit there.

“The Oshellith hatch once in most Fae lifetimes. Up north, in the wastelands, far beyond Ajun Sky, where the dragons used to live. The air’s so cold there that it’ll freeze in your lungs if you breathe it in without a mask. No life exists there for long. But once in a thousand years, the howling winds drop, signaling the coming of the Oshellith. News of that event travels quickly. That’s when the bravest of our kind set out. They go on foot where no horse can go. When they reach the valley where the Oshellith hatch, they find the butterfly’s cocoons and they shield them with their bodies. They give them whatever heat they can, for as long as they can. It can take up to twelve hours for them to break out of those cocoons. But when they do…” Kingfisher swallowed, shaking his head. “It’s the most beautiful thing a person can experience in this lifetime. They glow blue and pink and silver, with an ethereal light. They have music, though no one knows how. A sweet, soft song that’s capable of healing. The Oshellith mate and lay their eggs, but once that’s done, they fill the air, and they dance. Protecting them while they live is considered a sacred rite that many die in order to perform. That’s what Oshellith means in Old Fae, Saeris. Most Sacred.”

Make me forget that I’ve ever suffered, I commanded. Make me forget that I will again.

“Nobody will ever fuck you the way I’m about to fuck you, Saeris Fane. I’m about to introduce you to all seven gods. When you meet them, don’t forget to tell them I’m the one you worship on your knees.”

“I’ll be grateful for every second that I can say that I belong to you, Saeris Fane. Eighty years or eighteen hours. It doesn’t matter to me. It’ll still be the highest honor of my life.

“I’m in love with you, Saeris Fane,” he whispered quietly into my hair. “And I’m already half-mad, anyway. What’s a little complicated thrown into the mix?”

Fear the shadows, bitch. I’m made of them. One night soon, I’ll climb out of one and slit your fucking throat.”

Feigning shock, I said, “Wait a minute. I think Death just remembered your name, Harron.” And then I snapped his neck.

“My name is Carrion Swift. But there was a time when I was known as Carrion Daianthus. Firstborn son to Rurik and Amelia Daianthus.”