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Kaylin pulled a candy bar out of his pocket and pressed it into her hands. “What happened? Did you cut yourself? Lainule said there were vampires up here…” He glanced around. The guards had already spread out through the house, making sure the coast was clear.
“The vamps are gone, for now.” I let out a deep breath. “Geoffrey and Leo sent them. Luna…they…” My gaze went to the bandage on her neck.
Kaylin followed my look. “Those fuckers drank from her?”
His eyes grew dark. He was Chinese, and his long hair was pulled back in a ponytail. He looked our age—around his mid-to-late twenties—but in reality he was more than a hundred years old. With a night-veil demon wedded to his soul, Kaylin walked in shadows. He played in the dark.
“Yeah,” I said slowly, standing so I could stop him if he tried to follow them. His eyes flashed dangerously, lighting with a fire I had seen only once or twice. “She’ll be okay, Kaylin. They didn’t feed enough to endanger her life.”
Waiting for a moment till he calmed down and sat beside her, I turned to Luna. “Can you tell us what happened?”
She shuddered. “I was on my way to the market—I wanted to make apple pie, but they didn’t have everything I needed at the Barrow. I thought I’d be fine. If anybody had to worry about going out alone during the day, I thought it would be you and Rhiannon. I argued with the guards until they let me go alone.”
“Right. I heard.” I’d vouched for her, told Lainule she’d be okay. I hung my head, sorry I’d ever opened my mouth. “You left around four, right?”
“Yes. I wanted to stop in at the bookstore to see if a book I ordered last week had come in. It felt so good to walk down the sidewalk without being afraid that the Shadow Hunters would be hiding in the alleys.” She grimaced and stretched her neck, wincing from the pain of the bite. Vampires could make you come by drinking from you, but the aftermath? Not so much fun. Kaylin and I helped her sit down again.
“I guess you should have taken a guard with you.” I stopped, realizing I’d just spouted off the same advice Rhia and I had refused to take. With a sigh, I shrugged. “What happened?”
eginning
So in time, the Court of Rivers and Rushes and the Court of Snow and Ice rose once again. Their beginning was bathed in blood…The blood of the innocent, the blood of the guilty. The blood of the holy and the blood of the damned. The old ways were passing, as new traditions and alliances emerged. Enemies became allies, and the Lost Ones came in out of the Wild to dance at the feet of the new Queen of Snow and Ice. It is thought that by joining with the civilized world, the Courts of Fae became more feral and primal than ever. But still, Myst, the Usurper, lingered, regrouping her forces, for the final battle yet to come…
—From The Return of the Summer and Winter:
A Historical Study of the New Courts of Fae
Chapter 1
As I stepped out from the forest, under the open stars, the dark silhouette of the Veil House warmed my heart, but it was a bittersweet moment. The house stood silent against the night sky, but signs abounded that it was slowly returning to life. The walls had been rebuilt, the roof repaired, and it was beginning to look like a house again rather than the bombed-out shelter that it had been. But it would never again be my home. After too many years on the road as a child, I’d returned to New Forest, Washington. I’d come home to my aunt Heather and the Veil House, only to lose both of them for good.
So much had changed over the past few weeks since I’d rolled into town. And so much was still in flux. Literally caught up by a whirlwind, I barely recognized myself now. Everything I’d ever thought about my childhood and heritage had been turned upside down.
A light flurry of snow fell softly, drifting flakes clinging to my shoulders like frozen butterflies. My breath hovered, a pale fog in front of me. Over the past weeks, I’d learned to hate the snow. Myst had destroyed my love for the icy months of the year.
“You’d better learn to love the cold,” I whispered to myself. “Soon enough, winter will be your permanent home.”
Standing on the precipice of a transformation, I would soon enter the realm of snow and ice forever. Today…today I was still Cicely Waters, Wind Witch and owl shifter. But soon, I’d be…
Who am I becoming, Ulean?
Are you afraid? Do not worry. The initiation will change you—make you stronger.
Again, I shivered. That’s what I’m afraid of. Will I still be me afterward?
Ulean’s laughter surrounded me, a gentle breeze that swept by, almost warm in its touch. The Wind Elemental had been with me since I was six years old. We were bound, and she guarded my back.
You will always be who you are. You’ll just know more about yourself. You’ll learn to control your emerging powers better. You’ll be you, but you’ll also be a queen. And I will always be with you. Lainule bound me to your service before you ever knew who or what you were to become. Her visions guided her. I will not leave you.
And then she fell silent, leaving me with my thoughts again.
I kicked a pile of snow, wishing for spring. Wishing for any season that involved green growing things. Myst, Queen of the Indigo Court—the Vampiric Fae, upstart winter queen—had brought the eternal twilight to town, determined to spread her ice and chill across the land. Her Shadow Hunters fed on bone and gristle and marrow and life force. Once we finally defeated Myst, the seasons would return to their normal ebb and flow. Until then, we were caught in her unwavering grasp, even though we’d driven her into hiding.
“Any sign of Shadow Hunters?” Rhiannon, my cousin, emerged from the wood to stand beside me. “I’m sorry I’m late—the Summer Court has been keeping me busy.” She didn’t sound exactly thrilled about the whole thing, but I knew that it was just her nerves.
I shook my head. “I don’t see any. But they’re out there. Somewhere. I doubt if they’ll show themselves until Myst regroups her forces. Who knows how many of them managed to escape? And there were plenty of others scattered around the country. They’ll come to her aid when she calls. She’s just biding her time until she rebuilds her army.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Rhiannon glanced over her shoulders. “I wish I felt it was safe to go out alone. Do you think we should bring a couple of the guards?”
