Page 5 of Fallen Court

I muttered something uncharitable, and he chuckled. Offering his hand, he clasped mine in a solid grip. “In all seriousness, Gage, it seems like you have an enemy a lot closer than London.”

“Men like us always have enemies.”

“That’s why we have to remember who our friends are.” He clapped one hand on my shoulder, his eyes locking with mine. “Stay alive.”

We made our way into the main bar, where a few of the vampires were stirring back to life.

“They didn’t kill anyone.” Durant sounded surprised as he looked around.

The Hunt had inflicted plenty of damage, though. Liquor dripped from broken bottles onto the floor, tables and chairs were overturned, and bullet holes riddled each wall. “Maybe I should stick around.”

Behind the bar, Veronica started to push up, her scarlet hair now matted with blood.

“I think you better get out of here before she sees you,” Durant said as she moaned. “She’ll hand you your ass without your magic.”

I doubted that, but I gave him a grateful nod.

Night air stung the wound on my neck as I pushed out the door. No magic meant it would take its sweet time healing, and the iron in the slug wouldn’t help matters. But it had finally stopped raining, and the moon shone brightly in the cloudless sky. I melted into the night, tugging the collar of my coat higher to hide my pointed ears. Not that anyone would notice in the bedlam of New York. With the Hunt temporarily incapacitated, there was little danger in the city tonight.

The Hunt had overplayed its hand. If Durant followed through and dumped the ones who’d attacked us in the river, they might drown a couple of times before they made it to dry land. And I doubted more would show their faces now that they had pissed off one of the most powerful vampires in New York.

Between the blood I’d spilled and the task before me, I had to think before making my next move. But there was precious little time before I needed to act.

Durant was right—I had an enemy a lot closer than London. Maybe someone at his place had called the Wild Hunt, but doubt gnawed at me. First, the tainted clover. Then MacAlister had made it past my security at the Nether Court after his invitation had been rescinded and attacked Cate. Was there a snake in my own garden?

Raindrops hit my face, along with a dozen new questions, each more chilling than the last. It wasn’t over. The storm was just beginning.

Chapter Two

Cate

War.

The word hung in the air before its weight plunged to the pit of my stomach and began to churn. Bile rose in my throat, my mouth watered, and the staccato beat of my heart flew into a sprint.

Oberon wanted to start a war.

The prince of the Hallow Court, the oldest of the ruling families, the man who had hidden in a corner with me and made jokes at the Midnight Feast—was not my friend. His warm smiles had tricked me. Already dressed for the day in a tailored blue suit, he was still handsome, but now cruelty shadowed his eyes. The lines of his face seemed sharper, deepening despite the unnaturally sunny day surrounding us. A breeze whispered over me, seeping through my thin cotton nightgown. Its coolness crept through me and deepened until my fingers and toes went numb.

Next to me, Titania groaned. “You are so dramatic,” she said to her twin, her rich brown hair and amber eyes the feminine mirror of his own dark features. She grabbed a scone from the platter and began smothering it in clotted cream, somehow managing not to drop it down her silk blouse. “She’s been here for days. Can we finally kill her?”

Days? I’d been here for days while Lach was being hunted. The realization made a dull pain radiate through my chest even as my heart continued to race. No one knew where I was. No one was coming to save me. I barely suppressed a gasp as another pang followed like a silent warning that Titania meant business.

“At breakfast?” Oberon glanced at the linen tablecloth like he was imagining my blood splattered across it and frowned.

Say something. I fumbled for words, trying to think past the onslaught of realizations, thoughts, and fears now crowding into my brain like a panicked mob. My gaze darted past him to beautifully manicured gardens, the hillside peppered with gold flowers beyond the grounds. There was an entire world out there—wild and unknown and potentially as deadly as my companions. But right now, it seemed eminently more survivable, whatever secrets it held. After everything—after Lach had sacrificed his own soul and had been marked by the Wild Hunt—I had to try. To run, to fight, to stay alive. I was going to save myself.

Not that I was going to make it past two centuries-old fae intent on killing me.

“Plotting to run?” Oberon asked. His dark eyes assessed me shrewdly as if he knew exactly what I was thinking.

Adrenaline shot through me, my hands gripping the arms of my chair, my body poised to spring and make a run for it. But a deep, hard-earned sense of self-preservation locked me in place and loosened my tongue. “I don’t even know where I am,” I said through gritted teeth, trying to keep the tremble out of my voice.

“Let me draw you a map,” he offered. He flicked a finger toward the hills. “Over there lies certain death.” His hand shifted to point over my shoulder. “If you go that way, I’m afraid not even a god will hear you scream.”

“And I’m safer here?” I looked between the two of them, wondering which one would do it—or if they were too important to get their own hands dirty.

“She raises a good point.” Titania dabbed the edges of her mouth with a napkin. Dropping it next to her plate, she reached under the table and produced a 9-millimeter, but she didn’t point it in my direction. Instead, she fiddled with it, ejecting and checking the magazine as if she wanted to make sure it was loaded before shoving it back in place with a harsh click.