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They were larger than I’d expected and shaped similarly to a pixie’s wings, only sharper and more chaotic with too many hues to count. The oranges, reds, coppers, and golds were mixed with a sea of darkest black. There were three wing sections on either side all moving independently of each other. The longer I stood there with an ironclad focus, the more easily I was able to move them with thoughts alone.
“Kyre, Kyre, the faerie with wings like fire,” Haelo said musically, coming to stand behind me.
“I’ve never seen wings like this before.” I forced them to flutter, fold, and flap. “How are these things supposed to lift me? They're so thin I can see the light right through them.” The hearth on the far wall was blazing, filling the room with warmth. Every flicker of the flames cast light through my wings, sending light dancing in strange shapes along the walls.
“You’d be surprised at their strength,” he said appreciatively. “In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a more impenetrable material than faerie wings.” Reaching out, he lightly stroked a finger over the edge of one and my entire body shuddered. His lips pulled up into a half grin. “Did I mention that touching a faerie’s wings can be…” His eyes darkened as his fingers continued to caress them. My eyes wanted to roll back in my head. “Sometimes even better than sex.”
I pulled away, turning to face him. “Maybe you’ve just been doing it wrong.” I grinned wickedly, my body still tingling and flushed from his touch.
He stepped closer. “I’d be happy to test out that theory right here and now.” Eyes dipping, he scanned the length of my body in a distinctly predatory way before licking his lips. I eyed his forked tongue, suddenly finding myself wondering exactly how that tongue might feel on certain parts of my body.
Tilting my head to the side, I asked, “Perhaps I'll ask Vazden again instead. I’m sure he knows his way around a set of wings.”
“Oh I have no doubt he’s already made you scream,” he said in a low purr. We were nearly flush now, chest to chest, though I only came up so far. Placing a crooked finger under my chin, he raised my face so that I was looking directly up at him. “I think I like this new confidence. I knew that fire was in there somewhere, we just needed to coax her out.”
“Or maybe I’m just smart enough to know that I’m no longer disposable to you,” I said confidently. My eyes dipped to his full, wide lips. “You need me, and that means you can’t touch me.”
His eyes flared with a white light, and one hand snaked over my hip, pulling me closer to his front. “I definitely need you, pet, but somehow I don’t think we’re referring to the same thing at the moment.” His lips grazed mine, but I was still unwilling to be the first one to back down. They were soft against my skin, warm and plump enough that I could gladly sink my fangs into them.
There was a new sort of energy flowing through me. I felt stronger than ever, and not a single part of my body hurt in any way. In fact, I felt like I could probably leap from these tall trees and land safely on the forest floor without breaking a sweat.
“I’m not touching a single one of you bastards again until someone tells me what’s actually going on. Collar or no.”
A heavy silence hovered between us, full of contemplation. Would he actually tell me the truth? Would I have any kind of choice? Something told me I already knew the answer to that question.
“I think you’ll find your collar has been off the entire time we’ve been speaking,” he said, gesturing to my throat. My hand flew to it, feeling nothing but bare skin. My eyes widened and he smiled. “You want to know the truth? The real truth? I have no problem filling you in, Kyre.” I blinked in silence, still reeling from the fact that my collar was gone. The dampener was gone. “You’ve heard of the Sluagh, no doubt,” he said, pulling away first. Turning on his heel, he headed for a set of leather chairs on either side of a clawfoot table and gestured for me to sit in the empty chair.
Joining him, I nodded, still in a daze of confusion. “I thought they were just a legend. My father read me a story when I was little. It was about a witch on the run from a band of smugglers who wanted her dead. They bribed the Sluagh with gold and jewels in exchange for her head, and they hunted her down all the way into the human realm and dragged her right back. I always thought it was just a scary story parents told their children.” I blinked at Haelo with a pit in my stomach. “It wasn't just a story, was it?”
“I’m afraid not,” he said flatly. “The Sluagh have been roving this realm for a millenia, taking any bribe they can get their greedy claws on. You think the Wild Hunt has no limits…” He shook his head. “The Sluagh don’t just hunt on behalf of kings the way we do. They’ll hunt anyone for anybody, as long as the price is paid. They’re unstoppable. Neither alive nor dead, but somewhere in between, but they're always hungry, always searching for new souls to add to their host.”
A chill fell over the room. The Sluagh sounded like a nightmare. So, what did they have to do with my being here?
I asked him as much even though a very small part of me didn’t want him to answer the question. A pit opened up inside me, swallowing up any euphoria I might have felt moments ago.
“It’s not that simple,” Haelo said with a sigh, running his palm over his face. For once, he seemed genuinely frustrated, like he couldn’t quite find the right way to come clean with the truth. I waited patiently. He cursed under his breath, and this time, it wasn’t a part of some act as he leaned forward, brows furrowed with his elbows perched on his knees. “I asked you about your mother before…”
I sat up straight in my chair, throat bobbing as I swallowed thickly. “What about my mother?” What did any of this have to do with the faerie who left me in the human world without any guidance? His face was like stone as he searched my eyes. “Is my mother alive?” I needed to know. If she was alive, then I was going to find her and demand answers. “I need the truth now, no more of your fucking games.”
“It’s not that simple,” he repeated with a heavy, aggravated sigh.
“So, simplify it,” I gritted out through my clenched teeth. “It’s not that hard, Haelo.”
“Your mother is Kirsi. Commander of the Sluagh. A queen in her own right, Kyre." His words hit me like a clap of thunder. My ears were ringing, my mouth dried up, and my chest ached with the force of my own beating heart. I shook my head as if to deny it, but he didn’t leave it at that. “When Riven told you that we’d known exactly who you were from the moment your blood hit the Veil’s soil, he was not lying to you. Only, it wasn’t because you were the daughter of some human king. It was because you have the blood of the Sluagh in you. There’s a power in your veins that rivals any mage or faerie no matter how ancient.”
“You’re lying to me,” I said. Shaking my head, I stood from my chair and walked in a small circle, raking my fingers through my hair. “Stop lying to me!” Propelled by my wings, I moved towards him as he stood, too. I raised my hands as if to grip his collar, but a sudden force pushed me backwards.
I choked, staggering before I reached him, feeling a pressure around my neck. Bright light flared from it, glowing white-hot as it squeezed. My hands shot up,trying to rip it off of me, but it wouldn’t budge, even as my nails transformed into claws, trying to rip through what I realized quickly was only light. Where Cadoc wielded his shadowy smoke rope, Haelo wielded a whip of fire.
“Do noteverattempt to attack a prince of the Wild Hunt, you foolish girl. I’ve been merciful thus far, but youwillshow me respect. Believe it or not, I have every intention of trying to help you.”
“Fuck you,” I breathed out, using the very last of my air. My vision became spotty as the darkness began to close in, but he released me before there was no turning back. The white glow dulled, and the collar loosened, allowing me to suck in a deep lungful of precious air.
He sauntered forward with a feral grin and a light in his eyes that told me he enjoyed every second of this. Before I could move, his hand was around the back of my neck and my back was pushed up against the nearest wall. “If you want me to, I can fuck you right here. Just say it again…” I clamped my lips shut tight as I tried to pry his fingers from around my throat, but they wouldn’t budge, even with this newfound strength pulsing through my veins. His thumb ran over my pulse, and his eyes followed. Then he dipped his lips to my skin, flicking out his tongue and running it along the vein. “I beg you to say it again.”
“That’s why Riven put a dampener around my throat,” I said, the answer suddenly dawning on me. “Because he was afraid of what would happen once I crossed over into Faerie. He was afraid of what I would do once my powers manifested.” It all made sense now. Who knew what I was capable of? If Kirsi was my mother, then the same power she used to wield the host of the undead…must also flow through my veins.
“Yes and no,” he said, his voice a little softer than before. His palm gently cupped my cheek, cradling my face so softly that for a moment, I was rendered immovable.
