Page 116 of Fallen Court

“You don’t understand. He can’t leave. Whatever magic binds them to the Hunt is like the memento mori, which as far as we know…” I swallowed past the sudden tightness in my throat. “There’s no way to remove it once it’s been given.”

She stopped walking and turned to face me, reaching up to cradle my face between her warm palms. “I don’t accept that. Fiona and Romy are working on it,” she said. “We’ll find a way. Somehow, someway, we’ll free you from this. I promise.”

I had no idea what I’d done to deserve her, how magic had deemed me worthy of her ferocious loyalty. I stared into her eyes, the bond between us exerting a sudden gravity that pulled my mouth to hers. She melted into the kiss, her fingers sliding up to grip my hair as if she would keep me here through her strength alone if necessary.

And when we finally broke apart, my shadows were wrapped around us protectively, shielding her as she would shield me.

“Marry me.” It slipped out of my mouth without thought. Words I hadn’t even considered but which somehow felt right.

But Cate was looking past me. I followed her gaze to find the streetlights along the walking path blinking ominously. Then they went out entirely.

Her eyes went wide with alarm. “Lach, look…”

We watched as the stars winked out one by one like candles being snuffed by an unseen hand. The night pitched deeper into darkness until even the moon vanished and the sky became an endless black void.

“What’s happening?” Cate whispered, her nails digging into my arms.

“It’s a nocturnal eclipse,” I said grimly. An omen.

As I spoke, I noticed a single point of light remaining—too bright and too low on the horizon to be a star. Cate saw it, too, and frowned. “What is that?”

Dread settled like a stone in my gut. It couldn’t be…

“Nothing good,” I said out loud. Taking her hand, I began walking briskly, pulled in the direction of the strange beacon.

“If that’s the case, shouldn’t we be going in the opposite direction?” Cate muttered.

I slowed but didn’t stop. “We can turn around…”

She grumbled something under her breath, speeding up her pace to match mine as we continued toward that singular light.

Unease crept under my skin as it became larger and brighter, a sure sign that we were getting closer.

“It’s an orb,” Cate whispered, her clammy hand tightening around mine as she saw what I’d hoped I was imagining. “Like in the graveyard.”

We slowed slightly as we approached the wrought iron gates of Jackson Square. Both of us were already dreading what lay ahead, even before the tang of iron filled the air.

A body was strung up from the bars, its arms hanging limply at its sides, the head lolling like a puppet with its strings cut. The corpse’s chest gaped open, revealing a hole where a heart should be. Blood dripped down the bars, pooling into a puddle on the ground.

Cate’s cry of shock echoed through the square. Her hand flew to cover her mouth, strangling the sound in her throat. “Oh my God…”

My feet dragged with each step I took closer to the victim, somehow already knowing that this murder was different. Cate stayed by my side, her clammy hand clenched in mine. I prodded at my shadows, trying to summon whatever light I could, but my magic didn’t respond.

“Here.” Cate fished her phone out of her pocket and swiped on the flashlight. She lifted it and gasped as it revealed a familiar face—one we’d seen only hours ago, now ashen with death. I took a stumbling step as she whispered his name. “Étienne?”

I was still staring as people began pouring toward the square, drawn to the shining beacon like moths to the flame—some creatures and some humans heading home after their revelries or looking for their next party. My blood ran cold as a group of vampires stopped. One pointed. There was no way to stop the truth from leaking now. It would spread like wildfire through the supernatural community, and once it did, all hell would break loose.

But it would be even worse if the humans found out about it.

I acted on instinct, magic unfurling from my fingers like spider silk as I wove a glamour, making Étienne’s defiled corpse appear as nothing more than a particularly graphic Halloween decoration to their eyes. But I could do nothing to conceal it from the preternaturally keen senses of the creatures now flooding the street. That was a whole different problem.

“Lach! Cate!” I closed my eyes at the sound of my brother’s voice, guessing who would be with him when I turned around and what state his friends would be in.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I snapped. “I thought I made myself clear—”

Shaw cut me off, crossing his arms. “Seems like you’re the one neck-deep in trouble. As usual.”

He’d discarded his mask, and judging from the glassy appearance of his eyes, they had found plenty to do since we parted ways a couple of hours ago.