Neela

Neela

This was nothing like the Docklands. It was dark and terrifying in a way no human place could ever be.

I led the way because my trusty fae guide was shaking like a leaf in a thunderstorm, and somebody had to be brave. But it was all for show. If she wasn’t here, I’d be running and hiding.

Dread infiltrated my body, emanating from the stone walls around us. Moss grew from cracks in the old buildings, all light and joy sucked out of the world.

“What is this place?” I whispered, tugging Liz’s hand.

“Thousands of years ago, the mood masters ruled Verda all alone. Their reign ended in a terrible war. This was their castle if you can believe it. Apparently, it was magnificent.”

“What happened to it?” It was hard to picture this place as anything but desolate, dark, and dreadful.

“The mood masters’ reign ended in a terrible war that decimated the fae population. This was thousands and thousands of years ago, and the destruction prompted the five current Houses to rule together, so we would never suffer such a terrible and brutal war again. Our population is so small that our realm wouldn’t survive another one.”

“Holy shit.”

“As their last living action, the mood masters imbued the castle walls with dread and horror so their enemies could never live here in peace.”

I took another step into the castle as the walls closed above me, imagining monsters staring from the walls as I passed, feeling like I was walking to my death.

“It feels like when I crossed through the barrier from the human world. I thought I was going to die.”

She squeezed my hand and pressed closer to me, so we walked shoulder to shoulder, stumbling forward. “The ancient mood masters spelled that barrier too,” she whispered, her voice barely audible above the pounding of my heart.

I couldn’t take another step forward. I knew I wouldn’t die—I hadn’t when I passed through the barrier between realms—but the feeling was unshakable. If I took another step forward, I would never take another breath.

We turned and fled, and the dread lessened as we moved away from the center of the crumbling castle, but we didn’t stop running until it was a distant speck on the horizon, and I could finally breathe easily.

“That would be the perfect place for humans to hide,” Liz said. “They’d be safe from the fae. Nobody goes in there.”

I shook my head. “No way. Humans would never live there. It’s bloody awful.”

I had this all wrong. Humans wouldn’t live in the worst part of the fae world, they’d live in the most boring part. Somewhere that nothing ever happened. No magical rivers filled with delicious wine, no friendly bushes that caught you when you sat down, and definitely no dread-imbued ruins.

“Where’s the most boring part of Verda? That’s where they’ll be.”

Liz knew exactly where to take me. It took us hours of walking and navigating moonways to get there, but we finally emerged into a broad grassy field of nothing.

“It’s perfect,” I beamed. We explored on foot and finally saw some houses in the distance. A town. A run-of-the-mill, houses-made-out-of-bricks-or-wood village. No color-changing walls, no mood-altering furniture, it could be a town in the middle of Hebes.

It was like entering a medieval village but with a few fae luxuries. And these were definitely humans. None of that eerie fae stillness and the wild-colored eyes. These were my people.

I relaxed for the first time in days. This was my Plan B. I would build a little cottage on the outskirts of town and make new friends here. This was the life I’d planned.

A gravelly voice snarled, startling me. “What are you doing here?”

I whirled around. Ronan. Ronan fucking Mentium. He wore a black T-shirt that hugged his torso, and I had to grit my teeth to stop myself from checking out what he was wearing down below.

I kept my gaze planted firmly on his scowling face. “I’m exploring my new world.” This was bad. Ronan had caught me looking for humans. This had better not blow my cover.

His black-hole eyes stared into my soul, assessing and calculating my words. “Is that so?” he said slowly, suspiciously.

Shit, I had to turn the tables and get his attention away from why I would come to the most boring part of the fae realm. “What are you doing here?”

The question hit home. The tall male faltered, then ran a hand through his raven hair. “I was curious about humans after…the other night.”

The other night. Was he referring to our evening of intimacy? Our public fuckfest? That was probably a first for him, bedding a human, another notch for his bedpost.

I cocked out a hip. “Are you upset you didn’t actually bag a human?” I played the fae card for all I was worth.

He stepped forward so he was in my face, his broad chest blocking my view and forcing my neck to crane up to meet his gaze. His coal-black eyes blazed with anger. “No. Nothing about you is surprising or interesting,” he snarled. “And it never will be. Your family was always the weakest among the ruling Houses, and you’re even weaker than them.”

He flicked my shoulder with his forefinger with enough force that I staggered backward and landed on my ass in the dirt. I grazed my palms, and a shock rang up my coccyx. That bloody hurt.

Rage filled me, and I clambered to my feet, feeling like a damn fool. I hated that. Nothing was worse than being made a fool; this male had now fooled me twice. Broken my ankle, then shoved me into the mud.

Looking around for support, I realized every human had scuttled indoors. Bloody cowards.

I dusted the dirt off my hands and shoved Ronan’s hard chest, but he didn’t move an inch. “Such a big man, picking on me when my fae powers haven’t returned. You better watch out because when I’m at full strength, I’ll bring you down.”

He snorted.

“Who Ascends first, asshole?” He blinked twice, making me smile. I was getting to him, so I pressed on. “You used to be stronger and faster than your buddy Leif until he Ascended, right? My Ascension is next month. I will be stronger and faster than you, and I’ll kick your ass all over town in front of all your buddies. Until then, stay out of my face.”

I stalked away, heading back toward the moonway we’d arrived through, and Liz trotted along behind me.

When she caught me up, I turned on her. “Thanks for your help back there,” I hissed sarcastically.

She wasn’t fazed by my venom. “Ronan Mentium comes from the strongest fae family, there’s no point interfering. You guys need to work out your hierarchy bullshit among yourselves. That’s the fae way.”

“Well, I’m not fucking fae,” I bit back.

She shrugged and walked beside me in silence while I thought obsessively about ways to take Ronan down.