Page 24 of Prince of Darkness and Deceit

The Fae face forward.

“You don’t understand. There are beasts out here. Monsters!”

The pale Fae snorts.

“Don’t you know?” He slowly turns, and hate-filled eyes lock onto me. “We are the beasts.”

Tremors wrack my body.

“Knock it off, Draven.” Jaxon jabs his side.

I wait for the pale Fae, Draven, to dig his sharp canines into Jaxon’s neck like an animal, but he merely stares at me for a moment longer, then rolls back his shoulders and faces forward.

Jaxon shoots me a smile, but no amount of gentle expressions will reassure me. Not in the presence of Fae.

The tan Fae hasn’t slowed his pace, and now my feet work double time to catch up.

I keep my mouth shut as we continue to walk farther into the Forbidden Forest. I jump at every gust of wind that rustles leaves and gasp when twigs snap. Aside from our group, the woods are unnervingly silent.

Where are the buzzing insects? Where are the growls and howls that echo through the trees every night?

I look at the Fae’s cloaked backs. Are the monsters in the forest scared of these creatures?

The tan Fae steps over a rotted log, and his companions follow with ease. I’m tall for a woman, but my legs aren’t long enough to clear the obstacle. Pulled by the shadows, I don’t have time to debate whether or not I should step on the unstable surface.

Wood cracks, and the rotted bark gives in under my weight.

“Ah!”

My foot crashes into the hollowed-out log, and shards scrape my shin when the shadows continue to yank me forward.

“Stop!” I hiss a curse as hot blood flows from my skin. “I’m stuck!”

“Easy there, human.” Jaxon appears in front of me.

He bends down, grips the sides of the hole, and rips the bark wide open.

The freedom of movement has me falling forward. I stumble, then grasp his muscular shoulders when my injured leg threatens to give out.

“Steady,” he says.

A growl rolls through the air.

My heart stops. Flashes of the monster chasing me and Ferria through the woods all those years ago fill my mind, stoking my panic into a roaring fire.

Jaxon steps away, and I fall onto my hands and knees, wincing when my shin digs into twigs littering the forest floor.

It’s not real. I breathe deeply, digging my fingers into the cool, soft earth. The Onyx Wraith isn’t here. You’re safe.

Heavy-looking boots appear.

I lift my chin and lock eyes with a different sort of monster, one I’m sure is just as vicious as the monster from my nightmares, but far more cunning.

The tan Fae holds out a gloved hand. “Get up.”

I ignore his hand, hobbling up and shifting my weight to my uninjured leg.

“See what I mean?” Jaxon’s quiet chuckle reaches my ears. “Feisty.”