Courting Darkness (Fae Revealed, #1)

by Katie May

A gasp is ripped from my lungs as the most enticing scent I’ve ever encountered bombards me—chocolates and strawberries and campfires combined. It nearly sends me falling off the seat. Holyyy fuck. My eyes widen as I scan the restaurant eagerly, hoping to find the source of the scent. Devyn, beside me, has gone rigid, his hand curling into a fist on the table. “Do you feel that?” Kian whispers, but before he can finish speaking, I’m already out of my seat and moving in the direction of the smell.

Gage is a big guy, broad and muscled from his time in the gym. His black hair is spiked from him running his fingers through it, and a heavy scruff decorates his jaw and highlights eyes so green, they’re basically black. His leather jacket conforms to his muscular frame, somehow making him appear even more imposing and intimidating.

Serafina is ethereal in beauty. I imagine gazing upon her is the equivalent of staring into the sun. It’s blinding, intense, and all-consuming, but you find that you can’t look away. You’d rather lose your sight than peel your gaze away from the brilliance that makes up Serafina.

If he ever lost his shit, he could rival the force of a hurricane.

“Who’s Maddox?” White-hot jealous rage burns a hole inside of me.

Suddenly, his head whips up, his eyes going wide as he gapes at me. He pushes his chair back, stumbling to his feet as he leans forward, bracing his hands on the table and taking big gulps of air.

“I get it,” I tell him sincerely. “You don’t have to explain. I don’t like talking about my medical stuff either.”

Suddenly, he moves around the table and lunges for me, grabbing my arms to pull me towards him, and on instinct, I flip him over my shoulder, sending him crashing to the floor and following up with a knee to the chest. I pin him in place as I press my hand against his throat, barely holding back from slipping the latch on my ring. “Or you could just be psycho…” I declare, staring in shock at the boy who’s now beaming at me, his chest rumbling with laughter as he rubs his face against my hand as though he’s marking me. Yeah, I’m going to go with psycho.

Medical stuff? My brain latches on to what she just said as unease gathers in my gut, coiling together like a nest of slithering vipers. I don’t like talking about my medical stuff either. Is she sick? Or did she mean that generically? The thought of this little spitfire being ill bothers me immensely.

I’m distantly aware of her saying something to Tristan and Foster, but I can’t focus on that right now. I need her blood sugar to reach a normal level before I lose my shit.

He stares moodily at his tray of food, his lips compressed in a straight line and his eyes shooting fire.

I watch Serafina’s face carefully when a particularly pretty female steps up and begins to discuss a party she’s throwing next week. I think her name is Jessica? Maybe? I can tell Tristan is gauging Sera’s reaction too out of the corner of his eye, seemingly displeased when not a spark of jealousy appears in her gaze. Instead, she pulls out her phone and shoots off a few texts, smiling at whomever she’s talking to. Or maybe she’s scrolling through social media? Typing out a post? Texting a boyfriend? Jealousy swarms in my stomach like a nest of angry gnats, but I push the irrational reaction away.

“Hi.” I wave at the man, who simply stares at me, seemingly too stunned to speak. “I’m Serafina.”

“Maddox?” Devyn’s rumbling voice reverberates through me. “Who the fuck is Maddox?”

His pain radiates through the air, so pronounced and prominent that it fuels the vampire inside of me. No one was surprised when my Revelation revealed myself to be an empath vampire, and an Unseelie one at that. I’ve always been perceptive of people’s emotions, so it made sense that my supernatural form would feast on them.

Blood?!

A light sheen of sweat pops up on her cheeks as she blushes. “Well, it seems you can use a listening eye. I wanna be.”

“Colonel Mustard, in the ballroom, with the rope,” I manage to grit out. It’s completely ridiculous, but I want her pawn beside mine on the gameboard. I know it’s irrational thinking, a product of my misplaced jealousy, but I also can’t deny that it’s the truth.

He’s the most dangerous of us all.