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I throw out magic with abandon, trapping those who dare to chase me. Darkness trails behind me like the train on an elaborate wedding gown. But I’m not anyone’s bride.
Sebastian betrayed me for the crown, and now he has what he wanted, while I have become that which I despised for so long. A faerie. An immortal.
I hate all of them. The fae are liars and manipulators. If it weren’t for their cruelty and political scheming, I could be home with Jas right now instead of here. Alone and aimless.
Now the shadow fae can use their powers without sacrificing their immortality. At least something good came of Sebastian’s betrayal.
Now that I’m fae, my power feels endless, like a constantly refilling well.
The prison is an iron cage. The queen has caged the children like animals.
I let my rage grow, feed it like the beast I’m preparing to unleash on my enemies—for these innocent children, for every member of the courts whose lives were cut short because of the golden queen’s curse, for every human who was tricked out of their life when they bonded with a shadow fae, for myself and my own broken heart.
I use their voices to target my power—using all my focus to home in on the Seelie guards through the blackness and lock them in cages of darkness, one by one.
I knew that Finn’s people were helping to move Unseelie refugees from the queen’s land to the Wild Fae Lands, and since this male’s story matches up with what I learned from Finn’s people, I take a chance and decide to believe him.
I focus on the guard and thrust him into his worst nightmares.
But my wrists—iron manacles shackle them, and everywhere the metal touches me, my skin burns.
Sleep, Abriella. No. I can’t. But the voice in my head sounds like my mother’s. Sleep, and let the shadows play. The call is too sweet to resist, my body too weak. I close my eyes and sleep.
The orcs are still around the fire, but instead of snarling at me the way they were last night, they’re . . . dead. Bloodied and gruesome, their guts spilling out onto the forest floor. And on the ground before me is my dagger—the one I keep wrapped in shadow on my thigh, but it’s unsheathed and bloody.
I want to go back to that lonely, tiring existence. I didn’t have many people who cared about me, but at least no one was pretending to care. At least I got to believe that the little I had was real.
“THIS IS THE GREAT BEAUTY Oberon’s sons have been fighting over?”
“Why should I trust you?” The male chuckles. “Oh, you shouldn’t. In fact, you should stop trusting anyone. That’s a dangerous habit around here, and you’ve made quite a mess.”
“He’ll be able to find me.” The goblin doesn’t reply, but his companion nods. “Yes, but he won’t be able to reach you without starting a war—one he cannot afford right now.”
Are you happy? Of all the things he could’ve said or asked, he wanted to know if I was happy. A lesser male would’ve gloated about the mistake I made when I trusted Sebastian.
“Who are you?” His slow smile stretches across his face and makes his eyes light up. “I am Mishamon Nico Frendilla, but you may call me Misha.” He bows at the waist. “Pleasure to officially meet you, Abriella.”
You want some time to gather your thoughts and figure out how you feel without Prince Ronan trying to influence you. I’m offering you that time.”
“Oberon gave you his crown and his power, and in doing so, he tied your fate to the fate of his kingdom. You weren’t given a choice. But neither was I when I was born to rule these lands. Neither was Prince Ronan or Prince Finnian. You are not the only one who’s been dealt a difficult hand, and feeling sorry for yourself won’t change the fact that your actions will have an impact on my family, my people, and this entire realm.”
“What do they do?” I ask. And why would Sebastian give one to me? “Probably to ensure you were strong enough to survive the transition. Not all humans who’ve taken the potion have lived to speak of it.”
“You’re thinking too much,” Misha says. “I’ll explain everything soon, but you need rest.”
“He must be with Finn. Ronan’s still jealous of the shadow prince even after getting your bond. What an insecure child.”
“You can learn to mute what you’re receiving from him, but it will still be there when you let your guard down.”
“How does this bond work?” I ask. I’m a fool for not asking more questions before I accepted it. A fool for trusting a faerie.
“It’s more like an impression. A strong empathic connection between the two of you. So if what you’re feeling translates strongly into a word or a phrase, he might get the impression of that word or phrase. But usually it’s more of a feeling.”
“The only cure for immortality is death. There’s no reverse Potion of Life. Not anymore. Though it might surprise you to learn that you’re not the first to desire such a thing.”
He swallows hard. “I carried you to bed, and when you clung to me in your sleep, I knew I couldn’t do it. I knew I’d rather watch my mother die than betray you. But I ran out of choices.”
“It is I who should be thanking you,” she whispers. “For what?” “For breaking the curse.” She keeps her gaze on the door. “I lost a dear friend from the golden court. He was attacked by a shadow fae in his own home. He . . .” “He couldn’t defend himself,”
“As we speak, two of the most powerful males in our realm are fighting over you.” He waves a hand up and down. “Now that you’re cleaned up, I can see why. Perhaps I’ll let them destroy each other and keep you for myself.”
“This isn’t the mortal realm. Marriage doesn’t come with the same expectations here. Especially not among the royalty.” “Right. Those silly peasant mortals expect love and trust from their life partners. That must seem so ridiculous to you faeries who put power and status above all else.”
It’s tempting to feel flattered by the attention, but I resist. It’s undoubtedly some sort of manipulation.
“I’m being an insensitive brute, but I promise you I mean well. It’s simply that it’s been many centuries since two such powerful males fought over a female. Millenia since two brothers did, and this time seems no less significant than the last.”
This was all about the crown—about who is the rightful ruler of the shadow court—not about me.”
Without the crown, Finn’s rule would’ve been no more legitimate than the false king’s. As long as I wore the crown, no one else could lay claim to the throne, but now Sebastian has the crown because of me, which means that Finn will never sit on the Throne of Shadows.
“The princess woke and didn’t take too kindly to her dear prince’s manipulations.” They’re still calling me princess, even now. Though I supposed I proved them right when I chose to bond with Sebastian, despite their warnings. I’m a fool.
Lark smiles up at her mother. “He can’t take the throne. It won’t have him.”
If she shows up there, give her whatever she needs.” “Why?” Jalek asks. “The princess doesn’t have the crown anymore. She’s nothing to us.” Finn spins on him, eyes narrowed, and Jalek straightens and retreats a step, contrition on his face.
“Queen Mab made the throne with her very magic. Magic isn’t free. There are rules,” Lark says. “Sebastian isn’t following them.”
“Sebastian can’t take it without Abriella’s power.”
She was right. I lost everything the moment Sebastian betrayed me.
“So why do you hesitate, Ronan?” Finn asks, folding his arms. He cocks his head to the side. “Sorry—do you prefer Bash, as Abriella called you? Though I don’t suppose she’ll be calling you that anymore.”
“I know you have her hiding in Misha’s palace.” Finn smiles, and if I hadn’t spent all those hours training with him, I probably wouldn’t recognize the anger and impatience behind that smile.
“If she wanted to see you, she’d be with you right now,” Finn growls.
“Because Brie isn’t likely to forgive you as it is, but if you harm Finn, she may truly hate you forever.”
“Oh, I’m angry all right.” Finn’s eyes glitter. “But she didn’t choose you. She chose the work of fiction you created for her, the pretty little story you wooed her with—the poor golden prince with the dying mother and the dream of uniting two kingdoms after centuries divided.”
Our courts exist to balance each other. They cannot be joined without the blood of Mab, and your people saw to it that her line was killed off long ago.”
“Was anything you told her true?” he asks, spinning the mirror in his hand. “Funny how you gifted her with such a precious artifact but completely neglected to mention its inaccuracies.”
“You knew she’d see what she hoped to see. You knew her well enough to know that she was full of hope. And you did nothing to warn her.”
