Night Fae by Meg Xuemei X.
Chapter 1
“What if something goes wrong?” I asked as I stared hard at the Night King and the Summer King, my heart pounding, my mouth parched.
In my experience, things always went wrong.
“It won’t,” Baron said with his usual cocky attitude. His eyes held mine, summer light swimming in their amber shades and adoration and protectiveness burning in their depths.
But his broad shoulders remained tense.
Inside the armored Cadillac Escalade limousine, a ray of sunlight spiraled around him, his signature power. The golden sunshine waltzed toward me, caressing my skin with a tease, trying to comfort me.
“How can you be so sure?” I asked, almost accusingly, and waved away the sunshine. “If we fail to kill the Dawn Queen, my brother’s life will be forfeited.” A lump choked my throat at the dark picture, and terrible heartburn shot through my chest.
Brigantia, my sister and the current queen of the Dawn Court, had placed a bounty of ten million dollars on my head. Protected by the Fae kings and their knights, I’d survived several assassination attempts, but my human family had been caught in the crossfire. In the last battle, Brigantia sent an army of demonca to my house, slaughtered the platoon of Summer and Night knights who guarded my family, and took one of my brothers.
She no longer even bothered to cover her trail, and she had left me a message on a patch of human skin. The letter was scripted with my brother Nox’s blood: “Agree to the trial of the Wild Hunt next moon or your brother dies.”
I’d barely slept since Nox was taken.
Rydstrom covered my hand with his large one, the contact soothing the anxiety roaring within me. The Fae kings’ touch always had that effect on me. “We’ll prevent that from ever happening, Eve,” he said, then rose and moved to the cocktail bar behind us.
The king’s limousine was designed to host over two dozen guests. It had a full set of luxury amenities—a stargazing moonroof, the finest surround sound, extremely comfortable seats, and a full bar.
Rydstrom took out a bottle of sparkling water from the ice chest then returned to park himself across from me while Baron lounged beside me with an arm around my shoulders. The Night King twisted the lid open and handed me the water.
“We’ll have to take the risk as we discussed,” he said, starlight shining in his sapphire eyes that often shifted to raven blue.
The Night King was clad in a dark blue dress shirt, his sleeves rolled up, and black pants hugged his long, powerful legs. He carried no weaponry, but then he didn’t need to. The Fae kings could summon their longswords out of thin air, which was unfair to those who couldn’t, including me. It never got old to watch the legendary blades that represented their court power pop into their hands out of the mist.
In the spirit of competition, Baron wore a sangria silk button-down shirt with leather pants. He hadn’t abandoned his flashy, flamboyant playboy look—I doubted he ever would—but he always pulled it off like no one else.
I watched the dancing ray of sunlight streak along his claret hair, which flowed down to his armored shoulders, and took comfort that at least the Summer King was no longer a playboy for real. He was thoroughly committed to me.
Yet I didn’t let my eyes fool me into believing that the Summer King carried only golden sunshine and niceties. He was lethal as hell, and one of his most deadly weapons was his sunbeam. It could blast lesser opponents into a pile of dust in a breath.
My Night King’s starlight was equally formidable. I’d seen it rip the flesh from his enemies’ bones. But when it caressed me, it was beyond gentle.
I guess every coin has two sides.
Baron interlinked his fingers with mine, his other hand stroking my shoulder. A shiver of pleasure slithered up my spine in the wake of his touch.
Dire situation or not, my body forever responded to the Fae kings. I used to have all three of them, but the Winter King had betrayed me and now consorted with my immortal enemy.
I no longer blamed myself for my weakness for them as my eyes roved over Baron’s bedroom eyes, which bore a predator’s power. My pulse picked up further when I shifted my gaze to Rydstrom’s sculpted lips that promised carnal pleasure.
But now wasn’t the time to indulge in imagining or actually climbing onto their laps for a wild ride. They wouldn’t mind, though. My Fae kings were always ready to go.
“We won’t allow the bitch to thrust you into the Wild Hunt,” Baron hissed viciously, a muscle twitching on his strong jaw. “For thousands of years, no one has ever survived the game. I’m not going to risk losing you. She schemes to sacrifice you as the tithe to the hunt? She can fucking offer herself. So we’ll take the fight to her first and put her down before she ever touches my mate.”
I nodded. I wanted to look less worried, but fear for my brother’s safety churned in my gut, and a bone-deep ache thrummed along my shoulder blades.
Rydstrom saw the shadows in my uncertain eyes. He leaned forward, the pad of this thumb stroking my cheek. “We’ll bargain for your brother first. If that fails, we’ll move on to slaying the usurper.”
“We have everything under control, my king,” Drake said from the driver seat. “Our teams are in position. They’ve surrounded the area and are fired up to go to battle.”
The Captain of the Night Court addressed his king, but the message was meant to calm my nerves. Drake had warmed up to me after I refused to leave him and the last standing warriors behind in the battles. It wasn’t in my heart to preserve only myself, especially when so many of them died to defend me.
Another elite Night knight rode in front. He had the same dark hair and tanned skin as Drake. Most of the Night knights had dark features.
Two Summer knights perched on the rearmost seats, their eyes scanning outside the tinted windows for any potential threats. Eden was one of the surviving Summer knights who’d guarded my house. Vidar, Baron’s Captain of the Guards, was a new addition to this operation. He’d been overseeing the Summer Court while his king stayed in the mortal realm. Now he’d also joined us, ready to jump into the fray.
“We’re approaching the Silver Circle’s headquarters.” Rydstrom regarded me with warmth and concern. “Drink your water, Eve, and you’ll feel better.”
The sparkling water Rydstrom provided for me was actually Fae drink, meant to strengthen warrior Fae when they were in the mortal realm. I lifted the bottle, brought it to my lips, and took a swig. As the pure, ice-cold liquid streamed down my parched throat, my anxiety receded further.
I drank another mouthful of the Fae water as I peeked outside the window. Escorted by four armored SUVs packed with knights from the Summer and Night courts, our limousine rolled along Georgia Street, which curved from the north end of Stanley Park on Lions Gate Bridge.
Brigantia had finally agreed to meet the Fae kings at the headquarters of the Silver Circle, run by the mages in Vancouver—neutral ground. Baron had explained that only the Night King could draw her out. She’d been lusting after him for centuries. The intel wasn’t pleasing to my ears, but Rydstrom vowed that not in a million years would he ever fuck her.
As our limo cruised through the downtown core, an old memory swept over me. I’d lived here in Vancouver, in this metropolis of sunlight, greenery, and ocean for four months as a kid. My parents had constantly moved us around to throw our enemies off our track. We never stayed in any city for over six months, except for Pasadena. I wondered why, since Pasadena, the slow-paced, boring old town, would never have been my top choice of cities.
My parents had let their guard down after I packed and left for college, and then they just vanished without a trace, leaving me and my six siblings behind. I jerked myself out of the memory of pain and grief. I had a battle to fight and a brother to rescue. I couldn’t allow myself to wallow in self-pity.
The Escalade pulled into a colossal square in front of a gleaming twelve-story building in the West End. The mages’ symbol of a silvery circle containing half-shade and half-flame was etched on the glossy glass façade.
The Silver Circle was a powerful guild comprised of mages that served as the supernatural police. It had chapters in every country and on every continent. I was no longer completely ignorant when it came to the supernaturals, as both Rydstrom and Baron had competed to hire court tutors to shove all their knowledge of the magical world down my throat.
Mages were still mortals, though they had a longer lifespan than humans. Shifters were the next power player in the mortal realm. Every region had its own pack. Vampires were also spread all over the continents in covens. The creatures of the night were generally shunned by other supernatural species.
While the Silver Circle allied with the Night King, the dark mages stood with Brigantia. They had become more and more of a problem for both the Silver Circle and us. I’d battled many of Brigantia’s dark mage minions.
“Ease your mind, Eve,” the Night King said, his rich, husky voice coiling around me as he pulledme across the space onto his lap. “Wherever you go, I’m forever your shield.”
My need for him slithered up my spine, and I threw my arms around his neck. The wild desire in his eyes mirrored mine.
Baron cleared his throat to pull my attention back to him. He and Rydstrom had a long history of feuding. He’d mostly let it go and tried his best to put up with the Night King, but sometimes, he couldn’t help being jealous when Rydstrom and I got too cozy in front of him.
I slanted a sideways glance at the Summer King. Judging from the regretful glint in his eyes, he was blaming himself for not acting sooner than Rydstrom to seize me. I could have perched on his lap, stretching my torso against his perfect, hard body.
I desired them both equally, if maybe a bit differently. Even as danger loomed ahead, lust for both of them still scorched my blood.
“Keep in mind how we should proceed today, Rydstrom,” Baron said in a brusque tone. “We’ll provoke Brigantia to attack us if she rejects our terms. When she makes the first move, it’ll be within our rights to counterattack. And we’ll give everything we have to take out the bitch.”
Rydstrom gave Baron a glare, mostly out of habit, then nodded curtly as he dropped his gaze to me, his look softening, especially when it lingered on my lips.
“Who do you take me for?” he snapped. “I know who I’m dealing with. We’ve all dueled with her individually and lost, but this time, we’ll combine our forces to combat her.”
My heart skipped a beat before it drummed with worry. This was the first time Rydstrom had admitted that my evil sister was more powerful than him.
The warning of Asmodeus, the dark prince of Hell, chimed in my head. “What your dear sister will do to you will be so much worse. She’ll turn you into the ultimate tithe. None of the Fae kings can protect you. The Dawn Queen is more powerful than all the kings combined due to her lineage and unspeakable experiments with black magic.”
Baron must have noticed a cloud of fear darkening my eyes. He leaned in, stroking my wrist with his callused thumb. “It’ll work, my darling. We’ll take her out before she can hurt you again.”
I inhaled sharply. I really wanted to believe him. But it wasn’t just me and the kings putting our lives on the line. My brother’s life was in jeopardy. Yet there was also my innate need to put my faith in the Fae kings. I’d seen the three of them create a vortex in battle, and their combined forces had vanquished a host of demons that poured out of the Veil.
However, we no longer had the Winter King in our ranks. It was just Baron and Rydstrom now.
“What if Rowan shows up and aids Brigantia?” I asked. “He’s chosen to sleep with our enemy.”
At the thought of the cold-blooded king, bitterness twisted through my veins, and frost chilled my skin. I hated that I might not be over the Winter King yet.
Baron and Rydstrom traded a quick glance and maintained their careful expressions at my mention of their old rival.
“Don’t mind my half-brother,” Baron said. “We don’t need him. He’ll think twice before going against us.”
“The Winter King still has his uses,” Rydstrom said reluctantly, as if he knew something but was unwilling to share. “I hope,” he added.
What were the Fae kings hiding? What other dark secrets did they have? Why was I the only open book and they opened only a few pages of theirs?
You aren’t exactly forthcoming with your darkest secret either. The voice of conscience chose this moment to chime in my head.
I cringed. Well, I just wonder why relationships have to be so complicated, I protested silently.
I quickly raised an eyebrow to cover my troubled feelings and challenge the Night King to explain the Winter King’s possible usefulness.
But Rydstrom only held me to him, his heat radiating from his chest to my back, and a rush of peace and contentment washed over me. I forgot about my protests, a primal need for him throbbing in my veins.
To rein in the mating fever that coiled within me, I swept my gaze outside the window.
The Captain of the Night Court had been right about our teams being in position. I spotted the Fae knights from both the Summer and Night courts melding into the shadows of the wide streets around the mages’ building.
The armored black SUV ahead of us stopped at the curve of the square, and the van spilled out five heavily armed Summer knights, who shared the trait of golden hair streaked with shades of maroon, in contrast to the Night knights, who had darker skin and Indian ink hair. All the knights had their longswords strapped behind their backs in the broad daylight and glamoured themselves to stay inconspicuous.
The SUV to our right blocked the bystanders’ view from the streets. While the Night knights poured out of the van and scanned for threats, the Summer knights hurried to our limo to guard our exit.
We filed out of the limo smoothly.
Three mages in their trench coats marched in our direction. I bet they had an array of weapons, potions, and spells hidden inside their coats. The Fae knights gave our escorts clearance. The mages nodded at the kings respectfully and ushered us toward the side building through a blooming garden, the sounds of fountains trickling and birds chirping indicating minimal danger.
The mages, a dozen Summer and Night knights, Baron, Rydstrom, and I stepped into a secluded glass elevator that faced the prosperous downtown district. As I stared down, I could see our other teams spreading out while four knights guarded the elevator from beneath, their eyes darting left, right, and up.
My mind eased a little, and my shoulders relaxed a notch. Just as the kings had promised, our security was airtight. I lifted my gaze and surveyed the blue ocean, basking in sunlight under the cloudless sky. If it weren’t for the looming conflict with Brigantia, I’d love to go for a stroll with Baron and Rydstrom.
The elevator chimed and glided open to reveal glossy silver floors adorned with circles within circles. The mages strode out. The Summer knights followed, checking out both sides of the hallway and giving us a quick nod.
The Fae kings accompanied me on either side, their shields coating me like double armor.
The Night knights brought up the rear.
Operating like a well-oiled machine, we streamed toward the grand hall at the end of the hallway. Four war mages parked outside the metal double-doors and bowed slightly at the kings. Two mages from the inside swung open the heavy doors, the Silver Circle’s symbol etched on top of the doorframe.
I peeked into the grand hall of glass and steel. I bet that spells and runes were engraved on every inch, considering who owned the building.
We strode past a dozen war mages in silver trench coats stationed along the glass sidewalls. Other than their fashion choice, it seemed every single one of them favored a crew-cut hairstyle, quite the opposite of the Fae knights’ preference for long, flowing hair.
Our knights peeled away from us and joined the security detail of the mages, following protocol.
Suddenly my breath caught, and I stopped cold at the sight of a large figure standing by the far window that overlooked the peaks of the snowy mountains in the distance.
The Winter King swirled his icy gaze toward me, his power searing with icy fire, his cold masculine beauty reflecting the winter sun and outshining everyone, except the other two Fae kings, who sauntered toward him on either side of me.
My heart bled all over again at seeing my former lover, now enemy, who had once called me his mate.
I shook off the frozen weight pressing down on me just as a splash of Baron’s golden sunlight dashed intimately over my skin and Rydstrom’s starlight embraced me with its nightly caress.
