My cheeks hurt from smiling so wide. My hair is a knotted mess as the wind slams into us while Hazel carries me. Flying over the top of the Earth Court woods, we pass mountaintops, meadows, streams, rivers, and endless green forests as we scout for the soul eater. I was hoping to have seen the Earth Court city from above, yet Hazel made a good point—the soul eater would hide in a dense forest, not near a bustling city filled with enough Fae to kill her. I’m surprised we haven’t come across a single Fae though; I suppose with some earth Fae being able to shapeshift into an animal form, I wouldn’t have known if I passed another one.
I know I should be looking below for the soul eater, but Hazel’s been flying for hours and I can’t help but savor the freedom I feel. I pray that while I’m here, I’ll have a chance to see if I have wings, that Hazel can teach me how to transform and fly.
I’m daydreaming what it would feel like to have stunning wings when Hazel drops. I let out a squeak as Hazel’s hold on me tightens. I’m surprised she’s not exhausted yet, from not only flying but carrying me for hours.
I open my mouth to ask what made her drop into the tree line when the sight before me answers my question. A gray and white texture shimmers in the distance, the sun making it sparkle.
A sickening chill runs down my spine.
Webs.
Large, trailing webs cover the trees in front of us for what appears to be miles.
“Oh my god,” Hazel exclaims.
“I think it may be larger than we thought,” I whisper.
“Are you sure we should do this?” Hazel asks hesitantly, as she flies over the long trail of iridescent spider silk.
I nod. “We have to. The mermaids saw this, and wherever the soul eater leads us to will answer our questions.”
Hazel takes a deep breath. “Hold on.”
She shoots up, higher than before, flying so high the canopy trees below look like small ants. It isn’t until we’re far enough in front of the soul eater’s webs that she won’t detect us, by sight or scent, does Hazel drop through a small opening in the forest canopy. Gently landing, she places me on the ground, my legs wobbling after being in the air for hours. I shake my head, trying to clear the fog before we rummage through our bags, pulling out our waterskins filled with white vinegar. Hazel hands me one of the bags containing cut citrus fruit.
“We need to be as quick as possible,” she breathes.
Wasting no time, Hazel and I take off in opposite directions at lightning speed. The trees fly past me in a blur. I barely register the snapping of branches beneath my boots as I sprint in a zig-zag pattern, my arms splayed beside me as I run. One hand sprays white vinegar while the other drops fruit. Hazel does the same, creating a wide berth for the soul eater to travel within. We change bottles as they empty until we reach a small round clearing in the woods. As if something was once burnt here, no trees grow in the circle. The only thing it contains is dead, brown grass while the lively forest surrounds it.
I meet Hazel in the middle, barely panting thanks to my new Fae strength and speed.
I smile at the thought. “How’d you do?”
Hazel holds out her bags. “Empty.”
I nod, looking around for a place for Hazel to hide. “I think you should fly above; we don’t know how good her senses are and there’s no point hiding in one of the trees because she clearly climbs them all,” I say, flailing a hand in the direction of the mile-long spider silk.
Hazel pulls her head back. “I’m not leaving you alone with that thing.”
“If anything happens to me, I need at least one person to know. That way, you can go get help.” I shake my head. “I mean no harm when I say this, but we’ve only just begun training. I have years of training with the newly added ability of a Fae body.”
Hazel’s voice softens. “I have magic.”
I shake my head adamantly. “No. I refuse for anything to happen to you.”
“Delilah, I’m a willing participant,” she presses.
So was Easton.
Hazel must see the pain flash across my eyes, because she huffs, but relents. “The second something goes wrong I’m dropping down.” Her jaw clenches. “I refuse to sit by.”
I understand why Hazel wants to stay; it’s the same reason as why I want her to leave.
I swallow. “You can fly overhead to make sure it’s alone and signal me if anything seems amiss.”
My spine straightens as the atmosphere in the forest changes, turning silent. A horrid energy swirls around us.
Hazel wraps her arms around me, squeezing tightly. “Please be careful,” she whispers.
“I’ll do my best.”
Hazel steps back, spreading her wings. I raise my protection shield, feeling as Hazel does the same, before she takes off skyward.
Every free moment I’ve had, I’ve been practicing protection shields, both around myself and other objects. Now, my protection shield doesn’t flicker or die; instead, it holds strong, as if made of steel.
Walking to the farthest point in the circle, I lean against a tree, unsheathing the small blade at my hip and begin cleaning my nails. I don’t have to wait long. Only a few minutes have passed before the otherworldly wrongness of energy slithers around my shield, probing, questioning my presence.
A dark shadow falls over the forest in front of me.
Long raven black legs are the first thing I see, the feet tipped with clawed talons that dig into the mossy earth as it crawls into the circle. The spider’s large body is shaped like a heart, the size of it as big as I am, the width wider than the tree trunk against my back.
I crane my neck to the upper half of a gorgeous female. Porcelain white skin, large breasts, round sparkling dark eyes, and chestnut brown hair greets me. The wicked smile on its face is purely ravenous as the soul eater’s eyes widen, turning into large black pits.
I wonder if the mermaids have sent me to my death.
A sensual laugh leaves its mouth, the sound making my stomach fill with dread. “You smell divine,” it purrs, its dark voice skittering down my spine.
I make my face a perfect mask of boredom, dropping my voice to a sensuous husky tone. “Thank you, gorgeous.”
Delight fills its features as eight legs crawl closer to me. “I love it when they’re feisty. The begging gets boring sometimes.”
I roll my eyes. “Men are babies.”
“My tales precede me. Fascinating.” It cocks its head to the side, smirking. “Why don’t you drop that precious shield for me?”
I smirk back, folding my trembling hands behind my forearms. “Show me yours and I’ll show you mine,” I purr.
Its bewitching chuckle is so loud the leaves around us rustle.
“Feisty indeed,” it taunts, standing in the middle of the circle. “What do you want to know, Fae?”
I arch my brow. Interesting indeed. “Where did you come from?” I ask. Perhaps the origin of the otherworldly beasts will lead us to the answers of what happened that dreadful night one hundred and forty-eight years ago.
Its chin tilts down, its eyes sparking with delight. “If I told you that, I’d have to kill you,” it breathes. Cocking her head, her smile spreads wide. “In fact, I think I will.”
Before I can blink it lunges, all eight gangly hairy legs flying across the field for me, curving in preparation to capture me. Its clawed talon aims straight for my throat.
I fling myself to the ground, sliding on my back leg as I unsheathe my blade, lifting it above my head. The underbelly of the soul eater flies above me. My blade plunges into its gut, the speed of its lunge doing half the work for me as I drag my blade, splitting her open.
My blade is halfway through her stomach when one of the soul eater’s legs knocks my head to the side. Pain sears through my pounding skull as stars shoot into my vision. I don’t dare stop and wait for my vision to repair. Jumping to a standing position, its pure instinct that has the long blade strapped to my back in my hand as I step forward and strike. Right as two of her legs swipe for me, my blade connects before they crumble to the ground. Black blood oozes down my sword as the soul eater shrieks, the very sound not of this world.
Her eyes go wholly black, rage like no other filling them as she lunges for me once more. I spin, the spare dagger in my hand flying as I do, meeting its mark in her neck. Before she can react, I’m spinning again. Standing behind the soul eater now, I jump, both my feet landing on its hideous backside. I plunge my blade into her human body. The sword slicing clean through her heart. I fling myself back, landing on my back as I drag my sword with me. The soul eater’s body drops to the ground, its chest unmoving as black blood gushes out of it beside me on the dead grass. Gagging at the putrid smell.
Whatever the mermaids wanted me to see or find is obviously useless considering our riddle and source just tried to kill me. Perhaps they were sending me to my doom. She didn’t go down without a fight, that’s for sure. I lift myself up onto my elbows and pant, giving myself a moment to catch my breath. I’m so focused on coming to terms with the fact the soul eater was real and indeed didn’t only eat men that I don’t hear anyone land behind me.
A dark sensuous chuckle fills the space around me, the sound sending a warm tingle through my spine and goosebumps down my arms. I stand, whirling around to find the most beautiful male I’ve ever laid eyes on. He’s nowhere near me and yet the mere sight of him sends electricity through my body. Sensual grace oozes out of him as he leans against an oak tree, his feet crossed in front of him. I do a slow sweep, watching as his muscles bulge, straining his clothes. He’s wearing black tailored pants and a white dress shirt. The top buttons are undone, the sleeves rolled up, showing off his muscular forearms. He should look ridiculous wearing a suit in the forest, yet it somehow suits him.
Reaching his face, I’m stunned into silence. He truly is the most beautiful man I have ever seen. Strong jawline, raven black hair, and a stunning smirk that makes deep dimples appear on his cheeks. His sapphire blue eyes twinkle at me with mischief. Not to mention how large his frame is; he looks to be almost a foot taller than me.
His sensual husky voice sings to a part of my soul. “Like what you see, Angel?” he purrs.
Another round of goosebumps run down my skin, electricity buzzing throughout my body by the sheer act of hearing him speak.
Why does his voice sound so familiar? I swear I’ve—
He juts his chin toward the dead soul eater. “Very entertaining,” he muses.
I click my tongue. “I’m delighted to hear you enjoy swordplay.”
“Oh no.” He places a palm over his heart. “It seems I missed out on all the fun; I arrived just in time to watch you murder my friend.”
My face blanches. “Your friend?”
His head turns, eyes calculating. “Have you got something against spiders, Angel?”
I’m utterly lost for words as I stare at his sapphire eyes sparkling with amusement.
I open my mouth to speak…gods knows what to him, when feet land behind me a moment before Hazel rushes in front of me, apologizing profusely.
“We mean no harm, Your Majesty. We had no idea the soul eater was a part of your cavalry.” Hazel winces on the last word. “It was an honest mistake, King.”
A phantom bucket of cold water pours over my senses. The warmth he brought me earlier leaves me entirely at the word king. My eyes turn cold and detached.
His brows furrow as he notices my sudden distaste. With his attention still on me, he asks casually, “How did you find it?”
Hazel takes a small step in front of me, partially blocking my body. “We flew around the Earth Court until we found the spider silk.” Her tone is strong, yet there’s no mistaking her fidgeting for nerves.
He smirks, turning his head to look at Hazel. “And why were you looking for it?”
Hazel’s gulp is audible. “That’s personal, Your Majesty.”
He moves to take a single step, no further than his shoe leaving the ground, does my protection shield snap around Hazel. His eyes widen, the humor and playfulness draining from his face entirely. In an instant he stumbles back, as if I physically struck him.
His eyes widen, voice wavering as he says, “You have access to your full powers.”
Hazel turns to me, her brows furrowing as white light encases us. My entire body tingles as I float through the light.
One moment we’re standing in the middle of a forest clearing with the soul eater’s mutilated corpse behind me, and the next my feet are on white tiles in a hallway.
“What the fuck was that?” I snap.
Hazel’s eyes widen. She yanks on my hand, scolding me like a child. “Delilah!”
The beautiful man is standing in front of us, humor dancing in his eyes once more as he smirks at me. “You’re welcome,” he purrs.
I scoff. “For what? Nearly blinding us?”
Hazel squeezes my hand again in warning, but I’m too riled up to tamp down my feelings.
He’s a king, they’re all corrupt and hateful. I would know best.
“The queen has spies everywhere. This is the safest space to talk freely.” He waves a lazy hand around the room.
I take my time looking around, taking the opportunity to calm my breathing and get a hold of my temper.
The room appears to be a foyer designed with marble tiles, and white walls painted with intricate gold details that line the windows and columns. The setting sun touches my face as the golden pink hue shines through the glass floor-to-ceiling windows behind the stranger.
I have to hand it to him, it’s beautiful. My heart skips a beat when I focus on the man once more. He looks like a beautiful dark god as the light shines behind him.
Hazel’s anxious voice drags my attention back. “Forgive her. She’s…um, strong-willed.”
I ignore Hazel’s apology, my attention solely on the king before me.
“How do we know you’re not one of the queen’s spies?” My tone drops, seeping with ice. “Your Majesty.” I try not to spit the words at him, yet from the small furrow in his brows and Hazel’s gasp of shock, I believe I was unsuccessful.
“I never lie.” He sounds genuinely insulted.
I roll my eyes. “I’m going to need a lot more than just your word.”
Before I can finish speaking, my breath hitches.
Memories flash through my mind, none of them my own. No, these belong to the stranger standing before me.
Quick enough to understand yet not long enough to dwell, each flitting memory is at a different location—some in the forest, various in this very room, a coastal city, and others in a study. Yet all the memories come to the same conclusion—he’s secretly trying to figure out what has been happening to the Fae over the years. Fae throughout the courts have been going missing and slowly dying.
By the look on Hazel’s face, he must have shown her the same snippets of memories.
I take a steadying breath, knowing exactly where the disappearing Fae went to.
“Believe me now, Angel?” he drawls coldly.
I narrow my eyes at him. That name…
“What business did you have with the soul eater?” he asks. Sliding his hands into his pockets, the epitome of calm and collected.
I cross my arms over my chest. “What business did you have with it?” I parrot, earning me a nudge in the ribs from Hazel.
“You can either tell me or I can watch for myself.” He grins deviously.
I narrow my eyes at him. “You wouldn’t dare.”
His grin spreads wider as his eyes shine, his deep sensual voice floating through my mind.
Oh, but I would.
My eyes are wild as I snap, “Get out of my head!”
Hazel takes a step forward, her hands up in surrender. “We’ll tell you everything!”
“Hazel!”
“We need him for information,” she whisper-yells.
I’m so focused on Hazel that I forget the most important thing I need to keep hidden from this man.
“You were a human,” he murmurs, his head cocking to the side as he studies me.
Fear like no other fills me. I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out. I can’t lie, he saw for himself my miserable life.
“Are you going to turn us over to the queen?” Hazel asks hesitantly.
The king before us straightens his head, fixing his impeccable clothing as he takes a step toward us. “No. I do, however, have a proposition.”
I roll my eyes. Of course he does.
Hazel answers before I can. “What do you propose?”
“We seem to be working for the same cause, each having useful information the other needs. I propose we work together.”
Hell no, I’m about to protest, when Hazel blurts, “Deal.”
“What?” I snap. Grabbing Hazel’s arm I whisper, “He will betray us the second he gets a chance. He’s only looking out for himself and his best interests, whatever the hell those are.”
And for all I know, the memories he showed me could be his imagination. You can never trust a king. No matter what kind of mask they portray to you.
The cocky bastard smirks at me.
“Delightful! This ordeal has been wonderfully entertaining; however, I’m parched. Let’s discuss matters over dinner,” he muses.
He strides directly to me, not slowing his pace until the tip of his leather boots touch my own. Bending, he lowers his face to mine. I’m transfixed as his soft lips brush the shell of my ear, sending goosebumps down my arms.
“My name’s Knox. However, I do delight in hearing you call me a cocky bastard,” he purrs.
My eyes widen as Hazel giggles beside me. Traitor.
He can hear my thoughts?
Knox straightens, adjusting his shirt before striding forward, leaving me with no choice but to follow him and Hazel.
I groan internally. I don’t want to work with this asshole.
“I might be an asshole, Delilah, but I’m the only asshole that can help you,” he calls over his shoulder.
“Get out of my head,” I growl.
