Night Fae by Meg Xuemei X.
Chapter 13
Claws, Fangs, and Fiends closed the business for the first time since it’d served its purpose. Rydstrom had found me.
Right now, only those in our inner circle hung around in the club. Indira still worked behind the bar. Instead of mixing poison for the patrons, she brought drinks to the mages, my parents, the kings and their knights, and me.
I’d cried on her shoulder for our fallen warriors and Adele, my supposed future lady-in-waiting. Indira had patted my back and warned me not to use her shirt to blow my nose. She’d been a wreck after she heard of K’s death, and now she was terrified of losing me to the Wild Hunt.
Rydstrom sat with Baron, Northton, and my parents on a pair of russet leather sofas in his glass office. I perched between the two kings. Rydstrom had coaxed me into strip dancing for him here, and now it felt like ages ago.
“We have a day to figure out how to get my daughter out of the Wild Hunt,” Dad said urgently.
“It’s also time to prepare Princess Ileana for the hunt,” Northton said regretfully. “The Seer I consulted remains silent. It might mean the Wild Hunt is inevitable.”
“The worst part is that the Fae kings could lose themselves to the force of the Wild Hunt magic and hunt Evie. The usurper queen was so sure of that,” Mom said, giving both Baron and Rydstrom a pointed, worried look.
“No way will I hurt my own mate, even in the arena of the Wild Hunt,” said the Summer King. His lion peeked out, lethal and predatory. Only when his gaze fell on me did a softer look iron out his ferocious features.
He’d healed in his Summer kingdom. My jaw clenched as I regarded the long, thin scar above his amber eyes. Brigantia had nearly blinded him.
“We’ll be compelled by the most potent, ancient forces to hunt her in the game,” Rydstrom said, his fingers interlinked, his knuckles white. “We’ve both hunted many others in the Wild Hunt. We were driven by bloodlust. In the arena, we felt nothing but the overpowering drive to hunt our prey. With the ancient force beating through every inch of our bloodstream, we might not even see Ileana as our mate when the force takes us over and blinds us.”
Baron glared at the Night King. “So we just give up?” His voice turned vicious. “We give up and hunt our mate whom we’ve been waiting for all our lives?”
Rydstrom bared his teeth. “You did not wait for her for centuries. I did. I alone did everything to find her. And you came along for an easy ride.”
“An easy ride?” Baron hissed.
“Kings, please. This isn’t the time for that,” Northton cut in, an amused light dancing in his otherwise gloomy eyes.
“He’s right,” I said, jerking a thumb at Northton before the kings glared at him. “Director Northton is right about your unfriendly banter.”
Mom darted a gaze between the kings and me, worry creasing her brows. Fae kings were infamous for being ruthless, cruel, and violent, and Mom feared that I might not be able to handle them.
“Perhaps we should go over the rules and tricks of the Wild Hunt with Princess Ileana one more time and brainstorm a better tactic?” Northton offered, trying to cut through the tension.
Ever since I’d answered the call of the Wild Hunt, both of my mates had tensed up nearly to breaking point. It was obvious they were deeply concerned, no matter how hard they tried to conceal their fear and anxiety.
Losing a mate was unthinkable to a Fae.
“I got this,” I said, rubbing my temples. “I can actually recite the rules backward. My head will explode if any of you drill any more of the rules and traps of the Wild Hunt into my poor skull.”
Everyone already knew that at this point no amount of training could help me become more prepared for the hunt. While everyone else remained terrified for me, I was relatively level-headed.
“I’m not sure how effective these amulets will be inside the Wild Hunt,” Northton said, pulling out a ruby amulet and a black opal amulet, intriguing runes etched on each talisman.
I’d heard that a magical amulet was often commissioned to confer protection upon its bearer. It was invaluable.
“My best mages and I imbued spells of protection into the talismans to fight off any outside influence and compulsion,” Northton continued. “We made the spells compatible with the elements of your courts. The ruby amulet is for the Summer King, and the black gemstone is best suited for the Night King. We’re unable to test them, since none of us has ever been inside the Wild Hunt. This is the best we can do in such a limited time.”
My eyes moistened. “Thank you, Director Northton.”
I owed a lot of debts.
Dad nodded his appreciation at his boss, worry lines etched around his eyes. The last time I saw him, he hadn’t had so many gray hairs.
“The mating bond is the most powerful mystic magic,” Baron said, bowing slightly to Northton. “Naturally, we won’t harm our mate. Even so, I’ll take every precaution. Thank you, High Mage; I won’t forget this debt.”
“The mages are known to be the best spell casters,” Rydstrom said. “I’ll wear this. Thank you, Jett. I won’t forget that the Silver Circle aided my mate and me in our time of need.” He accepted the black opal amulet from Northton and hung the silver chain around his neck.
“We have a common goal and a common enemy,” Northton said.
Rydstrom turned to Baron. “When and if it comes to the worst, we must incapacitate ourselves inside the game before we succumb to the ancient hunting force.”
“Believe me, Rydstrom,” Baron said, “I’ve considered all possibilities to protect my mate.”
A feeling of foreboding washed over me, and cold fear turned my blood to ice.
“I won’t allow you to sacrifice yourself for me,” I said sternly. “If you die, there’ll be no reason for me to continue.”
I wouldn’t want to live in the world without them, and I could afford to do that, now my parents had returned and my siblings had shelter.
My mates squeezed my hand on either side.
“We won’t die, love,” Rydstrom said.
“We’ll do this together,” Baron promised.
I took a deep breath to calm my nerves before I turned to Northton. “Is there anything we can do to slow down the spread of Pestilence at least?”
A bleak expression instantly darkened the director’s hard face.
“The USA and France are in the grip of Pestilence now,” Northton said. “Nothing can slow down the plague. Humans are dying in droves. Riots and looting and even murders have started breaking out everywhere. Civilization is collapsing. I’ve already talked to our connections in the White House. I warned them to put California in quarantine, but there’ve been political battles in the United States. The politicians are more afraid of the mass panic it would cause and how it might affect their careers. The ones in office also don’t want the public to know about the existence of the supernaturals in the human world, let alone a fairyland that exists in a parallel realm. Canada, Australia, and the UK have acted faster. They’re about to seal their borders.” Northton shook his head. “We can’t rely on the human governments, and human scientists have no clue what they’re dealing with. It’s up to us to figure out how to contain the magical plague, find the cure, and preserve the human race.”
The mages of the Silver Circle prided themselves on being the last defense of humanity. Before them, there was the Order of the Brotherhood, but the Brotherhood had become corrupted when they gained too much power, and had finally imploded.
“For all the good we’ve done, one virus can erase all the progress we’ve made and return the human race to where it started. Humans will become cavemen again.” The director looked out the window with a heavy sigh before he turned to the Fae kings. “Any news in Elfame?”
“Terrible news,” Rydstrom said gravely, his fingers interlinking again. He often did that when he was upset or deep in thought. “Brigantia’s hybrid armies are marching toward the borders of all the courts. They can’t get into my realm, as I have an army of nightmare creatures guarding my territory, but the Summer Kingdom is in danger.”
“My realm is all open fields next to both the Winter and Dawn courts,” Baron said, his golden eyes burning. “My scouts have spied demon and darkfae activity along the fringe of my domain. We know they work for Brigantia. They’re polluting my land.”
“The Winter King has joined Brigantia,” Rydstrom said, a dark cloud passing over his face. “He’s officially allowed her hybrid army to establish an outpost in his kingdom.”
Pain lanced through me at the confirmation of Rowan’s final betrayal. He had indeed fallen too far for any of us to ever reach him. All we could do now was to go to war with him and his usurper bitch. If I perished in the Wild Hunt, my mates and the mages would continue to fight them.
Before starting an all-out war between the courts, Brigantia would try everything in her power to erase me before my Turning, just as Asmodeus had warned me.
The archdemon had also said that he was the only one who could help me. Maybe I should take his offer. But being enslaved by Hell was another worst-case scenario, and I’d hurt my mates greatly in the process. But then, we might also stand a chance against the usurper by allying with Hell.
So perhaps, against all wisdom and out of desperation, I should summon the dark prince of Hell.
