1. Finn

ONE

Finn

F OUR MONTHS AGO

I slide the scarlet mask onto the bridge of my nose and draw back my shoulders, flexing my wings. My muscles twitch and tense with anticipation.

Because I know I am finally going to see her.

After all these years, I will be within touching distance of the woman who will change everything.

And she has no idea what's about to happen to her.

Crouching by the stream, I trail a long, lithe finger through the gently flowing water. My upper lip curls into a smile as I picture Lord Eldrion, my master, my keeper, pacing his chambers.

"Tonight is the night, Finn. Find her for me. Bring her here."

His entire body was vibrating with tension. He too craves Alana. But it would never occur to him that I am already plotting to steal her from him.

Tonight, he has given me a slice of freedom and he believes that, like a well-trained hound, I will return to him with the prey he sent me to fetch. Tail wagging. Tongue out. Desperate for his approval.

He thinks I will drop Alana at his feet and let him claim her for his own.

But he has always underestimated me.

The all-powerful Eldrion. He looks at me and sees my impotent wings, the way they almost disappear in the sunlight, their shadowy veins betraying the void inside me where magic should beat, and sing, and live.

He sees the way I bow my head, and nod, and clasp my hands behind my back as if they are physically chained there. He hears the bells that chime when I move, and thinks I will bow to him forever.

But he does not see inside my mind.

Despite all his games, and his power, he does not own that part of me.

He does not know the thoughts that have tormented me for centuries. He has no idea that I remember what he did.

I was only a child when Eldrion shattered my entire world and planted the seed of vengeance in my soul.

My parents were brave, courageous leaders amongst the Shadowkind. They dreamed of a better life for our people, free from the tyranny of the Sunborne. In secret, they gathered allies and planned a rebellion.

But they underestimated Eldrion's reach. The night before the uprising, his forces descended on our home like a plague of locusts. They dragged us from the Shadowkind Quarter, through the city, to the citadel. And made us stand before Eldrion to face his wrath.

I remember the cruel curl of his lip as he looked down on my parents, the way his eyes glittered with malice. He wanted them to suffer. He wanted to make an example of them.

I have seen that look in his eyes so many times since, I truly believe that inflicting pain is at the core of his being. It is what he lives for. The thing that makes his heart beat faster and his blood run quicker.

My mother was first. Eldrion's guards held me in place, forcing me to watch as he tore the wings from her back with a force that ripped a sickening scream from her throat.

Her screams echoed off the stone walls of the citadel. I have remembered it for centuries. I still hear it in my sleep. But it's not her scream that ricochets around my mind when I am sleeping; it's my father's.

Watching her die broke him.

With a cruel smirk, Eldrion slit my mother's throat, letting her blood pour out onto the cold flagstones, filling the crevices between them, painting them scarlet as her entire body drained of colour and life.

I remember bracing myself to witness him do the same to my father.

But with him, Eldrion took his time, savouring each moment of agony. He shattered my father's limbs, the crack of bone mingling with his anguished sobs. Still crying for my mother.

In front of the watching crowd of traitors, who'd be summoned to observe their fate should they try again to rebel against him, Eldrion gouged out his eyes, condemning him to darkness before finally ending his life.

I was left kneeling in a pool of my parents' blood. But Eldrion wasn't done.

He had their broken bodies strung up on the city walls, and he took me as one of his slaves. A living trophy of his triumph.

I still remember the agony as they bound my wings, the feeling of my very essence being crushed and confined. The pain was excruciating, but it paled in comparison to the hatred that began to thicken around my heart.

Eldrion raised me as his pet, his jester, a source of amusement for his twisted court. Every day was a new humiliation, a fresh reminder of my powerlessness. But as I danced and tumbled for their entertainment, I nurtured the embers of rebellion in my soul.

I swore on my parents' memory that I would make Eldrion pay for what he did, that I would see his empire crumble and his life bleed out at my feet.

I vowed I would take back everything he stole from me, from all of us.

It's a vow I've carried with me every day since, through every indignity and abuse. It's the fire that has kept me going.

Biding my time.

Waiting.

Eldrion thinks he broke me, and that he moulded me into an obedient plaything. But he has no idea he has been nurturing a viper and keeping it in his nest.

Soon, very soon, he'll learn the true cost of his cruelty. And I'll be there to watch the light fade from his eyes, just as he watched the light fade from my mother's.

On that day, my vengeance will finally be complete. And the Shadowkind will rise from the ashes of Eldrion's tyranny with me as their leader.

All I need now is Alana and her power. She's the final piece in this game, my ultimate weapon.

Is there a part of me that feels sorry for her? Perhaps. But would she treat me any differently from Eldrion, given the chance?

No.

To every other fae in this land, Shadowkind are vermin.

Alana Leafborne is no different.

So, I'll use her and break her, just as I was used and broken.

In the end, she'll be nothing more than a stepping stone on my path to revenge and glory. A sad little footnote in the tale of my triumph.

For what are the feelings of one girl compared to the vengeance I've nursed for a lifetime? She's a small sacrifice to make for the greater goal.

I spot her across the clearing, a vision in a shimmering purple dress that clings to her curves. Even with the mask concealing her face, I know it's her, the empath Eldrion sent me to find.

I do not know why he wants her.

But I know why I need her.

She is my ticket to power and revenge.

I adjust my own red mask and saunter over, flashing her a charming smile. "Beautiful dress. Let me guess. Tonight, you will be changing into a peacock. Blues, purples, and golds. Strutting through the forest like a queen."

She tilts her head, intrigued. "A peacock? Is that what you think of me? A preening, strutting, princess?"

Her voice is like honey, and I let my eyes roam appreciatively over her body.

"We have not even had a conversation, and already you are insulting me? Does that usually work for you?"

I chuckle, moving closer, letting my energy brush against hers. "I'd have to spend more time with you in order to answer that question."

She smiles coyly, a blush colouring her cheeks. Perfect. I extend my hand. "May I ask your name?"

"Varia," she lies, placing her gloved hand in mine. I bring it to my lips, holding her gaze.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Varia."

I can practically feel her curiosity and longing, even through the magical defences of her dress. This will be even easier than I thought. Eldrion's pet empath is so starved for genuine connection, for someone to truly see her, she's falling right into my hands.

Poor little bird. She has no idea she's flying straight into a trap, so desperate to spread her wings she can't see the bars of the cage closing around her.

But while Eldrion thinks he'll be the one to clip those lovely wings, he's wrong. I've spent decades as his slave, bowing and scraping, enduring humiliation and abuse, all the while plotting my revenge. And now, thanks to Alana, I finally have the means to get it.

Her magic will be the key that unlocks the door to Eldrion's downfall.

I break away from Alana with a wink. "I will seek your company later, when the dancing begins."

Weaving through the crowd, I watch her from the shadows, admiring the way the moonlight glints off her hair, the dreamy expression on her face as she thinks of me.

Eldrion can have his petty victories for now. Let him think his faithful dog is doing his bidding like a good little pup. He'll never see the dagger concealed behind my back until it is buried in his heart.

And as for Alana? I'll take such exquisite pleasure in making her fall desperately in love with me, all the while knowing it's nothing more than a means to an end.

There's a twisted thrill in deceiving something so pure.

An even bigger thrill in tricking someone who should be able to read my thoughts with a blink of her big, beautiful eyes.

By the time she realises it was all a lie, it will be too late. I'll have everything I need from her. And she'll be broken; a pretty little songbird with her heart carved out.

Such delicious cruelty. I can hardly wait to taste it.

But all in good time. For now, the dance is about to begin, and I have an empath to seduce.

I straighten my mask and stride back to Alana, bowing low and extending my hand in invitation.

Let the games begin.