Chapter 36

36

T he second night of King's Fair starts at sundown with a tradition called "the Hunt."

The king selects a trove of treasure to be hidden somewhere on the grounds, and it's basically a big scavenger hunt to find it. Whoever is successful in uncovering the treasure gets to keep it.

Like last night, the partygoers are dressed daringly, myself included. I wear a soft golden sarong that flashes an obscene amount of leg and a black bandeau bra knotted around a gilded brooch. Fingerless gloves cover my arms from wrist to bicep, and my hair is pulled up into a chic updo held together by two long, spiky chopsticks.

We are gathered on the sprawling lawns for the start of tonight's festivities. I stare out at the hundreds of lit torches lining the manicured expanse. Kylian sits between his mother and King Derek on a small dais that has been erected on the lawn. He leans in to say something to Derek while Ilspeth, garbed in a tight, long-sleeved red gown, oversees the crowd with her typical distaste .

The booming war drums pound three times, signaling the start of the Hunt, and the sea of fae breaks off, scattering like ants in all directions. Kai and Dover spring into action—a clear strategy already in place.

"We'll search the maze first—Sorscha knows her way around," a thankfully sober Kai says in the voice of a war general.

He and Dover lead the way, and the rest of us rush to keep up with their determined pace.

"You people take this way too seriously." Cece rolls her gold-dusted eyes beside Zadyn. She seems to be glued to his hip as of late. I haven't bothered to ask him if their dalliance has continued—mostly because I truly don't want to know the answer.

"Everyone loves a winner, Ceec," Dover calls over his shoulder. Marideth hangs back with me, noticeably more quiet than usual. She hasn't had much to do with Dover the past two nights, probably still shaken by the news of the wedding.

"The maze is massive. It could take us all night to search," Sorscha points out, gathering her skirts.

"Captain, you're awfully quiet. Isn't this sort of thing your area of expertise?" Kai drawls.

"My area of expertise involves a bit more than strategizing to find hidden treasure, Kai," Jace says mildly. "But if we split up, we can cover more ground in a shorter amount of time."

"Brilliant." Kai claps his hands together, pivoting to a stop.

Marideth slides her arm around mine. "Dibs on Serena."

"I'll go with you," Dover says to her, his tone falling short of casual and landing on hopeful. She huffs a loud sigh, not bothering to look at him. "Fine."

"As will I. Captain, do you think you can handle the rest of this riff-raff?" Kai gestures to the remainder of the pack.

"I'll manage," Jace says flatly .

"Tick tock." Kai taps an imaginary watch and waves us onward. I cast a quick look back at Jace, whose attention is on Sorscha.

I roll my eyes internally, embarrassed by my own simping.

The entrance to the maze appears as stars begin to dust the sky. We split almost immediately, branching off in opposite directions. Dover falls into step with Marideth a few feet behind me and Kai. I can hear him struggling to make small talk with her. Trying not to eavesdrop out of respect, I fix my attention on the prince.

"How are you feeling tonight?" I ask, pebbles crunching beneath my heels.

"Good as new, thanks to my little savior." He flashes me an ironic smile that doesn't quite touch his eyes. "I have to say I'm flattered that you felt so inclined to help me. Shows how much you care," he teases, exaggerating a down-turned pout.

I chuckle and throw an elbow into his ribs lightly.

"You've grown on me." I sigh. "Like a fungus."

It's his turn to laugh, throwing his dark head back to the night sky.

"Kai, about your brother," I tread carefully. His gaze lowers to the ground as we round the corner of a perfectly groomed hedge.

"I'm sorry you had the misfortune of meeting him last night. Although, I think you left quite the impression on him." His eyes slide to me. "No one has ever dared to stand up to him, let alone speak to him the way you did."

"You didn't exactly kiss ass either," I point out.

"That doesn't count—we're family, as much as that fact shames me." He shrugs. "I learned from a very young age that word holds no real meaning to my kin beyond heirs and lines of succession."

A dark look crosses his features .

"Kylian was a ruthless child with a sadistic streak. One which my father not only condoned but also rewarded. When I was thirteen and Kylian seventeen, he decided I was a threat to his imminent reign and that he needed to be rid of me. One night, he beat me senseless and tried to take off my head with a hot poker. He missed, luckily." Kai points to the slight scar beneath his left eye.

"That's horrible," I whisper. "Kai, I'm so sorry."

"I'm used to it. I've taken his abuse my entire life. Anytime things didn't go his way, I'd get a beating. If I ‘ embarrassed ' him somehow, I'd get a beating. If I took an interest in politics or even combat, I'd get a beating. Eventually, I became so used to it that I stopped feeling the pain altogether. It wasn't all for naught, though. Ladies do go wild for the scar." He waggles his brows suggestively. I don't acknowledge his attempt at diffusion.

"No one saw? No one tried to stop it?"

"My father and mother both knew. They encouraged it, actually. Said it was good practice for the future king to instill fear in his enemies and that I needed to toughen up. Kade was far enough apart from us in age that Kylian barely even noticed his existence. It spared him from being on the receiving end of Kylian's fits, which I was thankful for."

He's quiet for a moment—the only sound that of our footfalls. He stares at the ground as he continues softly, "I tried to fight back. But he was always bigger, always stronger." Kai shakes his head, sliding his hands into his pockets.

I pull him to a stop, forcing him to look at me.

"Kai. You are a thousand times better than him. Than all of them."

"Beautiful savior." He smirks sadly. "Don't I know it?"

It dawns on me that there is more to Kai than I realized. I was so quick to judge him as a roguish party boy with no real cares or responsibilities other than bedding females and getting high. I wonder if he adopted that role to avoid his brother's beatings, worried that if he took an interest in ruling and court matters, his brother would see it as a threat and make another attempt on his life. But the unserious second son, the debauched frat boy with a penchant for drugs, drinks, and females, would be of no threat to his brother's crown. This act could allow him to keep his life. My heart aches for his sorrows, for his pain. For the times his parents neglected to save him. For the times he was met with a brother's fist rather than any semblance of love or affection.

I lean in and plant a light kiss on his cheek. When I pull away, his expression is perplexed. He opens his mouth to say something when a scream erupts from deep within the maze. We freeze, turning back to Mar and Dover a few feet behind. Then the four of us break into a simultaneous sprint, led by the growing screams.

Cece and Sorscha suddenly spill around the corner, clasping each other tightly, their dresses torn and hair disheveled. They fall to the ground, panting.

"What happened?" Kai grips Sorscha by the shoulders, helping her straighten.

"Something—" She gasps for air, pointing in the direction they came. "There's something in the maze."

My stomach drops.

"They attacked us," Cece finishes for her. Jace and Zadyn's faces flash through my mind.

"What attacked you?" Kai urges, but I shout over him.

"Where are the others?"

"They told us to run, to get help." Sorscha's terror-ridden eyes snap to mine as she shakes her head and clutches Kai's arms. "They're still back there. We have to go back. "

"Where is Ilsa?" Marideth steps forward. Cece and Sorscha whirl to face each other, then spin around frantically.

"She was right behind us," Cece breathes dumbfounded.

"Dover," Kai snaps, "go with them. Get them to safety and send for help." He passes Sorscha to his friend, but she wrenches herself free.

"Sorscha," Mar starts.

"I will not leave them!" she shouts, her voice panicked. "Jace is?—"

Another shrill scream interrupts her protest. I break into a run, no longer able to refrain from going after them. My heart thunders inside my chest as I will myself to go faster and faster, praying I get there in time. The others are close behind. We burst into the epicenter of the maze, a circular space with a towering fountain in the center.

We find Jace and Zadyn locked in combat with the most disturbing creatures I've ever seen.

They stand well over seven feet tall on the thick hind legs of a horse. Their heads are a perverted twist on a wolf's with an elongated snout and curling horns. Long arms extend from their humanoid torsos, ending in razor-sharp talons.

I spot Jace inside the massive fountain, sword slicing through the air as water sprays around him. I hold my breath as three creatures rush him. Jace slits their throats with a single swipe of his sword and sends them flying back on one of his winds.

"Jace!" Sorscha cries. He whirls momentarily, his eyes landing on me. My heart snags in my throat.

"Go!" he shouts before surging back into battle. A quick glance around, and I know we are severely outnumbered.

"Get the girls out of here!" Zadyn bellows at Dover before shifting into a massive OrCat . Cece gasps loudly, skittering back as Zadyn tackles one of the creatures to the ground. Their jaws snap at each other threateningly as they fly through a thick hedge. I don't have time to panic, knowing that every second counts.

This is what Jace has trained me for. I am not helpless.

I am a Blackblood and a warrior.

I call forth my magic, reaching into the deepest, darkest parts of myself. When I force my eyes open, I rip open that well within me and bring forth all the raw power I can muster.

Fire bursts from my palms in a wild display. I throw my hands out, casting my magic toward the two beasts charging from either side. Their matted manes catch fire first before the flames engulf them entirely. Sorscha and Cece scream from behind me as the smell of burning flesh cuts through the air.

A loud splash has me whirling to find Jace on his back inside the fountain. My throat locks up as one of the creatures lunges for him. The water surrounding him begins to collect like a cloud in the air above. It bursts forth in a massive tidal wave that sends the creature flying back into a nearby hedge. Water bubbles and pours from its mouth as it tries and fails to stand. My eyes snap to Kai and his outstretched hand as he drowns the creature. Clutching at its windpipe, it keels over, still vomiting water.

Kai looks at me. He doesn't pause to ask questions about my flaming fingers. Instead, he presses his back against mine, and we fight methodically, hurling our power out in tandem as our assailants attack.

When my magic begins to sputter out, I dip a hand into my skirt, ripping free the dagger sheathed at my thigh. I move through the swarm of locusts smoothly, reminding myself of all Jace taught me. I am a whirlwind of violent death as I take down one monster after another. But for the amount Kai and I alone have killed, there are still so many.

Something doesn't add up .

The problem, we realize as the first creature Kai drowned rises and charges at us, is that they aren't staying dead.

"Fuck," I breathe.

Kai's head snaps over his shoulder to where Dover is doing everything in his power to wrangle the females back through the maze to safety. They won't budge.

"Dover, go! Get them out!" he shouts, gathering his water affinity.

"No!" Sorscha rips her arm out of Dover's grasp. I don't wait to see what happens next.

Three creatures rush at me simultaneously. I blast them back with what's left of my fire as another materializes before me. It knocks the blade from my hand before I sweep its legs out from underneath. As the creature rises, I rip the golden chopsticks from my hair and dig them into its meaty throat. Blood spurts out, spraying across my face as I kick it back, freeing my makeshift weapons.

Jace is almost entirely surrounded now, fighting with a deep gash to his arm. Despite the injury, he is a cyclone of relentless fury. I can hear Zadyn's growls, but he is nowhere in sight. Kai is now a few feet away from me, hurling out miniature hurricanes to incapacitate the crazed, undying beasts.

But my friends and I are growing tired. I realize that without aid, we will not survive. We cannot win against creatures that won't stay dead.

Past the point of frustration, I turn and bellow at the girls, "GET HELP NOW!"

My voice is laced with pure command. Their eyes go wide as they shift to something over my shoulder.

A snarl sounds from behind me. I turn to be met with a set of knives to the face, scarcely missing my right eye. Searing pain explodes across my cheek. Blood drips from the creature's razored talons as I fall to my knees, clutching the face I'm quite certain is ruined. Tears leak from my eyes, and as they do, I feel my flesh knitting together.

I'm healing myself.

I glance up as the beady-eyed monster drives its heavy hoof into my stomach with alarming force. The air leaves me. I try to drag myself away, but the creature pins me beneath its crushing weight. Its jaws snap at my neck, coating my face with thick saliva. I grunt, holding it at bay with all my might as I call forth my magic.

But nothing comes. I am tapped out.

"Serena!" Jace bellows, barreling through the fountain.

He leaps across the space in one impressive move, driving his sword through the creature's neck as he lands. The beast collapses on top of me, its blood pouring out in a hot rush of liquid. Jace looses a war cry as three more attack. He slams one of them face-first into another and skewers them both on his sword. They collapse as he wrenches his blade free and spins toward the remaining one. With a clean swipe, he takes off its head. It falls to the ground moments before its body follows.

Jace turns to me. Blood-soaked and panting.

He drops to his knees, pushing aside the monster crushing me. His hand kisses my face where I was sliced.

"Serena," he breathes.

That's when I see the beast materialize at his back.

"Jace!" I gasp. "Jace, behind you !"

He whirls as the creature lifts his discarded sword above its head. The trajectory threatens to slice Jace clean down the middle. There is no time for him to move.

The blade swings downward.

And the scream that erupts from me is earth-shattering.

The ground rumbles beneath my feet as a massive gust of wind bursts from a place lodged deep in my chest. It flattens the nearby hedges and blasts apart the fountain. It explodes, raining heavy chunks of marble down on us. Water sprays everywhere, coating the pebbled ground. I stand like a goddess of chaos and destruction as I unleash my anguish on the world.

Only after the calm has settled and my vocal cords have given out from roaring Jace's name, do I open my eyes.

I blink a few times, adjusting to the vibrant colors that skate across my vision. My sight is sharper, picking up on beautiful hues I didn't even know existed.

My friends are huddled together on the ground, Kai and Dover using their bodies to shield the ladies beneath them. Peaceful silence surrounds us as they slowly rise.

I can smell them—their scents. Each and every one distinct.

I scan for the creatures, but they have vanished without a trace. There are no bodies.

I obliterated them. And I don't even know how.

Jace sinks to his knees, his eyes level with mine. I grasp his shoulders as blood trickles from my nose.

Black blood.

"She's a banshee," Cece breathes from across the way, dumbfounded.

"She's a witch." Kai stares at me reverently.

"The glamour," Jace whispers, clutching my arms tightly. "You shattered the glamour."

I don't have time to worry about it before I spot Kylian standing at the opening of one of the tunnels, staring directly at me, his expression intrigued. I quickly turn my face away as King Derek's command rings out.

"Guards! This way!" His voice booms as he stalks past a wide-eyed Kylian into the dilapidated mess. He spots Sorscha trembling violently in Marideth and Cece's arms and rushes toward her, nearly crushing her in his embrace.

"Are you hurt?" he asks hurriedly, looking the princess over. She shakes her head, speech evading her .

Kylian stands stone-faced, taking in the blown-out hedges and the shattered fountain. Behind him, a handful of Kingsguard rushes in. Zadyn shifts back into fae form and bounds toward us. Kylian clocks his every move.

"Take them back to the castle. Do not leave them," King Derek orders a few of the guards. "I want the watches doubled until further notice."

They quickly hustle the princess and the rest of her ladies toward the exit. I mark their shocked faces, staring at me over their shoulders as they are escorted back toward the castle. Dover and Mar clasp each other's hands tightly as they disappear.

Before Kai can follow, Kylian grabs him roughly around the arm and bites out, "What happened here?"

Kai wrenches his arm away, but it's Jace who answers, breath coming hard.

"We were attacked. They came out of nowhere. It was an ambush." Jace slowly gets to his feet and reaches down to help me up. I notice the gaping wound on his arm. I brace my hands over the gash.

"You're not healing," I breathe. He nods, swallowing.

"Our bodies are depleted. I'll have Gnorr look at it later," he assures me, eyes drifting suspiciously toward Kylian.

"We heard the screams." King Derek walks toward us tensely. "Are you alright?"

We nod, still numb. Derek does a double take when he looks at me, his eyes widening at my appearance. I have no idea how different I look with the shattered glamour. I detect a hint of sharp caution in his expression as Kylian approaches. Picking up on it, Jace pulls me against him quickly, pressing my head into his shoulder.

"Cry," he whispers into my ear as Kylian stops before us.

He's trying to hide my face, I realize .

He smooths my hair as I will my body to shake. I suck in short, uneven breaths as I clutch the material of Jace's shirt. Kylian reaches into his pocket slowly, eyes burning into the back of my head, and pulls out a white handkerchief, extending it to me.

"You're bleeding," he says, his voice twinkling with disturbing delight.

Fuck.

Jace takes the handkerchief from him and stuffs it into my hand. I remain facing away from Kylian, discreetly wiping the mess of black liquid off my lips and chin. I ball the material in my fist to conceal the thick black marring the pristine white cloth.

"She's in shock," King Derek says tightly. "Come."

He ushers me toward the exit hurriedly, my face still buried in Jace's shoulder. Zadyn, Kai, and Kylian follow silently behind.

I stop short, turning back to the king.

"Ilsa. Ilsa is out here somewhere," I choke.

"My men will find her. Jace, take her back. All of you, stay together," the king says as he turns back toward the few remaining guards to search the maze. Kylian casts one last glance at the four of us, then reluctantly tears his eyes away and follows Derek.

None of us says a word as we head back, battered and bloody. Jace holds me close to him, his expression tight with worry. I look up at him as he stares ahead.

"Do you think he saw?"

"I don't know," he bites.

We head straight for Sorscha's chambers, where the guards stationed outside her door are doubled. Inside, we find the three females huddled close together on the settee, Dover seated tensely in a chair beside Mar .

They all look up expectantly as we enter. Sorscha and Cece have clearly been crying, their pretty eyes swollen and wet. Marideth does not cry; she sits holding their hands with quiet strength.

Sorscha shoots to her feet, her eyes on Jace. He moves forward to take her hands.

"Are you alright?"

She nods, her lower lip trembling. "Ilsa?"

"The king and his men are searching for her," I answer. She peers at me, her expression shifting as if remembering how my blood leaked black when I obliterated the creatures that terrorized us.

"You look different." She swallows, looking over me.

Shit. The glamour.

"You destroyed those creatures with nothing but your wails." She steps around Jace and stops before me. I hold her gaze as she wipes the tears from her eyes. "You bleed black."

"Sorscha, I'll explain everything. Let's sit."

She reluctantly moves back to her seat, and I catch Marideth's steely eyes. She gives me an encouraging nod.

I stand before a room of skeptical, somewhat fearful faces as I take a steadying breath.

"Up until a few months ago, I thought the fae only existed in fairy tales. Then, one day, I found myself thrown from my world into yours. Jace found me in the Bone Forest and brought me to the castle. I had been glamoured since birth, living in the human world. My name isn't Serena Accostia."

I slowly glance around the room.

"It's Serena Avery. And I am the last Blackblood witch."