ENVY WAS SURPRISED that Goodfellow had been correct about the Fae.
The dark market on Silverthorne Lane was cleverly named for the creatures that sold curious wares and made cruel bargains with mortals either foolish or arrogant enough to believe they could deceive those who’d practically invented deception.
Most humans believed the Fae were incapable of lying—it was a tale they’d spun themselves, as they often crafted folklore that suited them best.
Only one myth held truth—iron did lay them low.
If mortals were half as smart and superior as they’d like to believe they were, they’d fashion their homes and prisons out of it. Envy knew for a fact that every dungeon in his brothers’ Houses of Sin was made of the material. Plenty of other lesser-known nasties roamed the realms, and iron did a pretty good job of holding them, too.
Shrewd vendors called out from the open-air stalls as he passed, trying to entice him to their tables.
“Memory stone?”
“Potion for never-ending lust?”
“Jacket to divert any foe and cheat death?”
Envy strolled along the cobbled street, glancing into each stall of questionable artifacts, hands tucked casually in his pockets. But inside, he was tense—sensing Fae magic pulsing all around, luring and tempting, like a song whose tune slowly sank into the listener’s subconscious until they hummed it without thought. It was subtle, a charge in the atmosphere, a scent that hung thick in the air like a heady mixture of spice and storm clouds, unmistakable: the Wild Court’s magic.
The Wild Court was the name given to the Unseelie kingdom, home to the dark Fae. As a species Fae were birthed into one of two courts. The Seelie—or the light court, who worshipped the sun and spring and summer—or the Unseelie court, the Fae who worshipped the moon and fall and winter.
Part of the island chain where both the Seven Circles and the Shifting Isles were located, Faerie loomed in the west, divided down the middle by an invisible boundary. The Seelie had settled in the east, where the sun shone the brightest, while the Unseelie had set up their court in the west, where the moon reigned supreme.
Of course, there were solitary Fae and exiled Fae as well, and each faced their own unique challenges. Being a member of a court was ingrained in their very beings, so parting from it willingly or unwillingly was difficult. Or so he’d been told.
Fae time moved differently even from other Underworld realms, too. A few days in the mortal realm could equal a few months in Faerie, though a few days in Faerie was only a week or two in the Seven Circles. Envy knew that personally, from a time he’d prefer not to think of. Yet, despite his ignoring the tricky Wild realms, over the years, rumors had reached the Seven Circles of discord in the Unseelie court.
It seemed that decades before, Prim Róis, the Unseelie Queen—legendary for her wicked games—had abdicated her throne for a time, delighting in the chaos her absence wreaked.
Mostly, she did it to needle the king. She was Discord, he was Chaos. Both as inconstant and changing as the moon they worshipped. Together they had ruled over the Unseelie, culling a court of nightmarish Fae for several millennia, twisted and gnarled and full of rot. The Unseelie kingdom itself had been broken into the jagged points of a star—with Prim Róis and Lennox ruling at the top and their wicked heirs overseeing the remaining four courts. Envy knew firsthand that the Unseelie were similar to succubi, feeding on emotions, most associated with passion. He knew, too, that they enjoyed toying with humans.
So Envy and his brothers had kept a close eye on them, especially once the witches and vampires began circling Faerie like sharks, drawn to the scent of spilled blood. Malice Isle—home to the vampire court—was a mere stone’s throw from the southeastern shore of the Seven Circles, granting them easy sailing to Faerie once they traveled west past the Shifting Isles.
Luckily, the Seelie at least had shown some sense, turning their attention to their own matters, unconcerned with their wicked brethren.
Envy drew himself from his dark thoughts, glancing around to be sure none of these strange, lone Fae might have deciphered where they’d gone.
Luckily, a stall on his left drew his attention. Paintbrushes made of gemstones glittered in the moonlight. One was carved from a single flawless emerald. Beautiful.
Envy plucked it up, feeling for any trace of magic or trickery, intrigued when all was as mundane as it appeared.
“Bag this up.”
Copper eyes flashed. Sharp teeth gleamed.
“A fine choice, Your Highness.”
His true title was nothing but a mere hiss on the wind, yet several pairs of ancient eyes turned to him. Before the Fae could spill any other secret, Envy’s dagger was at the Unseelie’s throat, the tip digging deep enough to draw its sparkling blood.
Envy’s blade glowed, pleased with the offering.
“Tell you what. Give me information and I may be persuaded to keep your head attached to your body. Lie and I’ll piss on your corpse’s pyre tonight. Deal?”
A demon blade was indiscriminate as to who or what it killed. No immortal could withstand a strike. Except for his brothers.
The Fae seethed but inclined its head. Wise enough to ensure that it lived to see another wretched day.
“Have you, or has anyone you know, sold information to a man called Pierre Antonius? Give details.”
“Yes. He wished to know of a way to travel realms.”
“How long ago?”
“Two years.”
“And?” Envy pressed. “What else?”
“We told him of realm lines.”
Just as Envy had suspected.
“Did your king give him a key?”
“I no longer belong to any king or queen. What they do or do not give doesn’t concern me.”
An exiled Fae, then, more volatile than a solitary Fae. Exiled Fae were either furious at being without a court, or happy to be free. This one seemed to lean toward the former.
“Political bullshit aside, answer the question. Did he have a key?”
“Yes.”
And Envy would wager that that was the object Camilla wanted to get back. The one she’d claimed held sentimental value. Given the secret tunnel and the passageways shown in Pierre’s art, Envy understood why she’d want it back, even if she wasn’t fully aware of what it did. That Vexley had it indicated he was more cunning than Envy would have believed. And almost certainly guaranteed he was a player.
“Why did he want to travel realms?”
“Same as all others. To live among his betters. To amuse us until we grow bored.”
Which was an arrogant way of saying the Fae didn’t know. Pierre could have been searching for a way into Faerie, or he could have been searching for shifters.
“Have you, or has anyone you know, bargained with a mortal named Vexley? If so, be specific as to what he wanted.”
“Yes. He wanted information. About a key.”
Envy’s grip tightened on his dagger.
“The same key?”
“I would imagine so. Not many portal keys to be found these days.”
It took every ounce of will he possessed not to go back on his word and stab the Fae.
“Did he secure information about this key?”
If so, then the odds of safely locating and retrieving the key were growing slimmer. Envy knew that if Vexley had had any inkling of what the key was worth, he’d have sold it to the highest bidder, easily lying about returning it to Camilla.
An argument broke out the moment before the Fae answered him, stealing Envy’s attention long enough for the Unseelie to vanish beneath his grasp.
Cursing, he glared at the mortal fighting with the proprietor two stalls down, feeling a little less murderous when he saw who was making all the ruckus.
Lord Edwards. Katherine’s husband.
Curious indeed.
Envy quickly considered all possibilities: Edwards could be another player. Or maybe he was one of the many who’d become addicted to Unseelie magic.
Envy could walk over, drag the man away from the fight, or he could watch from the shadows, see what other secrets there were to be gleaned.
Envy wasn’t the helping sort.
He called upon his own magic, cloaking himself in shadow before drifting closer to the furious lord.
“I’ll have you know that Peter did not take to the tonic as promised.”
The Fae dealer gave the mortal a blank look.
“The rooster, for God’s sake,” Edwards said between clenched teeth. “You promised it would sire golden-egged riches. I demand my money back.”
Envy briefly closed his eyes. Was Edwards really such a fool? Or was it possible he needed the rooster for his clue? Odd, but the game master did have a wicked sense of humor.
Though maybe Edwards was like any other mortal, wanting an easy way to secure more wealth.
Bored and disappointed, Envy continued down Silverthorne Lane, scanning the thinning crowd, trying to sort out the mystery of Camilla’s father and his fascination with other realms. What had lured him—Faerie or shifters?
Or was Pierre’s fascination simply that annoying human need for adventure?
Envy suddenly wanted to know more about Camilla’s absent mother; she might very well hold the answers he needed. Camilla had been quick to end the discussion when he’d asked about her, and now he very much wanted to know why.
