Dark Promise by Annika West

48

Maybe Hawk had been part of those connections Oz had talked about. He’d had dragon materials in his warehouse, hadn’t he?

My stomach twisted. This was so, so sick.

He nodded and turned back to his brother. “What happened next?”

Voice hollow, Oz said, “There were a few higher-ups that got away and hid before I could kill them. I did what I could, and in my slaughter-fest, Adair found me. Apparently, I’d been making a stir in the circles of fae hounds. They were going to kill me, since dragons are technically fae, and Adair offered his protection.”

“Why did you stage your death?” Hux asked evenly.

Oz replied, “It offered an opportunity. Just like one Little Miss Vampy is taking now.”

We turned around to find Willow sleeping in a seat across the way.

Oz snorted. “Oh, come on, Willow. You’re far too still to actually be sleeping.”

Her eyelids flashed open. “It’s your fault for talking too loud.”

Oz scoffed, giving a weird sort of soft smile. “I imagine you’ve got something to say. Go ahead.”

Willow rolled her eyes. “You’re a fucking idiot.”

He leaned back on his hands and stared at her, thoroughly entertained despite the awful story he’d just told. “You’re probably right.”

She lifted her chin. “What opportunity did faking your stupid death offer you?”

“To hide.”

She clearly wasn’t expecting that answer.

“Woah,” I said on an exhale. “That’s the first time I’ve ever seen Willow look truly and honestly surprised.”

He shrugged. “It’s true. I was ashamed. Still am, but no point in dwelling on that now. I’m learning to move forward. That’s why I wanted to tell you,” he said to Hux. “I didn’t want you to know. You, with your judgement and your general… well, you-ness.”

Yup. I totally know what he means. Hux has way too much in his control. He’s so put-together that it’s probably hard for Oz to admit mistakes to him.

Hux’s hands curled into fists. His throat glowed with fire, even as he hung his head down.

“Oh, shit,” I sighed. “Please don’t blow up the plane. I’ll be so mad.”

“You… asshole.” Hux’s voice shook with anger.

Oz wasn’t even surprised. His brilliant blue eyes took on a dull color, but his expression remained unchanged.

He’s trying to pretend the anger doesn’t hurt. But he’s been preparing for this, I think. Expecting it.

Hux’s hand shot out. But instead of closing around Oz’s throat or striking at him, it closed around Oz’s hand.

Hux’s head remained down. “I thought I’d lost my family that day. All of you. All of you were just gone.”

He lifted his eyes, and they shone with emotion.

Oz leaned back, so surprised that he was visibly reeling. “Huxley?”

Hux closed his grip tighter and yanked.

Oz jerked forward and found himself crushed in Hux’s arms. Now both of their eyes took on that suspiciously shiny effect.

Hesitantly, slowly, Oz returned the embrace.

Willow had shut her eyes again.

I got up. They clearly needed some time and space.

What I found next was almost just as shocking.

Dad and Adair were… talking. And smiling.

Mom was sitting across from them, her arms knotted across her chest. Frown in place, she watched the two men chatter.

I approached slowly, like I was trying to disarm a bomb with my tiptoeing alone.

“What’s happening?” I whispered to Mom.

“They’re bonding,” she growled. “Over food. Apparently, they both have a similar interest.”

“Well,” I reasoned, “Adair has had quite a bit of time to develop an array of talents. I imagine he could bond over macrame and hoop skirts too.”

She glanced up. “Hoop skirts?”

“Hoop skirts.”

The two men paused.

Adair said, “Now that you’re here, I want to take this time to apologize.”

“Apologize?” I said in unison with my Mom.

“Apologize. Alice, I abandoned you. For that, I am very sorry.”

Mom’s laugh was more of a bark. “Oh, stuff it in your ass, faery.”

Adair looked nervous for the first time.

Mom leaned forward. “I don’t care that you left me. You were one night, Adair. One. Don’t act like it was something special. What I didn’t enjoy was the fact that you left your daughter to wonder about who she was and have the nerve to tamper with her power and memory for most of her life. You think we didn’t know she was different? You claimed to be something you weren’t, and we were forced to lie to her and pretend like we knew she wasn’t more.”

My jaw dropped to the ground. Mom had… suspected?

“You used illusion to hide your pointy little ears from me, but I knew you were different. And I don’t think I’ll ever forgive you for stealing her from me and taking her to Faery. Yeah, you and Marigold are on my Forever Shit List. Deal with it.”

The rest of the plane ride was uneventful. I fell asleep on a couch in the back and woke up with a blanket around me that had a smoky, sweet scent to it.

August had a pow-wow with my parents and Marigold, reviewing our plan.

I ate. Like, a lot.

We landed to refuel and were up in the air within two hours. We slept. Sort of. The sun rose. We drank coffee and went over details a dozen more times. I practiced some small illusion magic, but not enough to overwhelm the plane and the pilot.

I didn’t want to admit it, but I was seriously getting nervous. That was the only way to describe it. No use sugar-coating this one.

Somehow, a Long Beach warehouse didn’t seem as scary as a fucking pyramid surrounded by fae armies.

Nope. Didn’t quite have that ring to it.

But eventually, inevitably, we landed.

Let the final battle begin.

* * *

Two Hours Later

Blood dripped from the stone pyramid and puddled at my feet. The world was painted in colors of the magical imprints, but Willow and August were nowhere to be seen.

Something is horribly, horribly wrong.

“I thought you were giving them backup,” I hissed at Adair, who was escorting me toward the port. “What’s the point of having immortal fae on your side when they’re letting my friends die?”

The entrance to the pyramid was completely unmanned. There should have been soldiers from the Spring Court here to help Willow and August hold the territory.

But all I could see was blood. So much blood.

They can’t be dead. The fucking better not be.

The glow of magic around us was so thick that I had trouble seeing.

“They’re going to expect me to have the crystal,” Adair stated, not answering me. “I should have let you come alone. I apologize in advance.”

“What does that have to do with —”

Adair shoved me.

It’s impossible to fall in this realm, so the effect was different. I shot to the side and continued floating toward the pyramid wall.

I twisted to see behind me.

My heart sank.

Adair faced not one, but three fae opponents.

With a spear impaling his chest.

Oh, fuck, gramps. Now what are we going to do?