Page 20 of Prince of Darkness and Deceit

Right now, he’s protecting me because it’s what everyone expects. But if he didn’t have an audience, I doubt he’d hesitate to hand me over to the creatures who murdered our human king.

Elder Whitestone rises and hobbles forward. “If someone in your party is injured, our healer will gladly treat them here in⁠—”

“No.” The Fae’s growl rumbles through the floor. Shadows surge over the lights, threatening to cast us into darkness once more. “Hand over your healer, or every member of this town will be arrested and tried for treason. And trust me, you do not want to discover the punishments the Shadow Prince allows us to enact in his name.”

I rock back on my heels, eyes wide.

No one evokes the prince’s name. Ever. To do so is a death sentence—a curse. King Marek is a monster, but his heir is rumored to be a demon.

Whitestone rears back. “We cannot⁠—”

He chokes, his hands clawing at the shadows tightening around his throat.

At the same time, Quarry convulses.

More shadows pour from the Fae’s body, wrapping around the necks of the Elders and General Ironheart. The formidable man falls to one knee, his face turning purple, but he doesn’t lower his fierce glare from the enemy Fae.

“Stop!” I shout, but it’s drowned out by the cries and screams surrounding me. I try to pull away from Lev, but he holds tight. “Stop!”

“Elara, don’t!” he hisses and tries to drag me down to the bench, tucking me out of sight.

But it’s too late.

Heavy, swirling pools of dark smoke land on me from across the meeting hall. I lock eyes with the pale Fae standing in front of the thrashing Elders, proud of myself when I don’t cower from the vitriol burning in his glare.

Be brave, my darling.

The faintest memory of my mother’s voice flows through my mind, giving me the strength to say, “I’m the healer.”

Those who hear me gasp. I ignore them.

My gaze slides to the olive-skinned Fae who now helps hold up the human rebel. A thousand storms rage behind his stare. I swiftly snap my attention back to the pale Fae commanding the room with his awful presence.

“I’m the healer,” I repeat, my voice shaking but firm, even as an overwhelming sense that I’m making the biggest mistake of my life tears through me. “And I accept your deal.”

May the Gods have mercy on my soul.

5

The most terrifying moment of my life came just after my tenth birthday, the day I almost killed my sister.

I should’ve ignored the other kids’ taunts when they called Ferria and me worthless, saying Kinless cowards didn’t belong in their town. But I didn’t. I wanted to prove we mattered.

Despite the warning about the velcrin with jagged teeth meant to shred flesh and the klarvs with claws as long as a grown man’s shin, I accepted their dare to enter the Forbidden Forest.

My heart pounds at the memory. The smell of rancid teeth fills my nostrils before a crushing grip grinds the bones in my hand together, and I’m yanked back to the present. Back to being trapped underneath the swirling, pointed stare of a powerful Fae.

Now this moment is, without question, the most terrifying of my life.

Lev snarls beside me. I tear my gaze from the formidable Fae as Lev attempts to push me toward the door, as if he can take me from the hall and everyone here will forget what I just said—what I just did.

Coils of dark power wrap around my wrists, snaking up my arms like a twisting vine, and yank me back.

A yelp flies from my throat.

“Gods!” Lev jerks, releasing me, glaring at his hand.

Blood drips from an open wound in the middle of his palm.