16

HAWK

ONE of mine was dead, his body swept back to Avalon without so much as a warning to me, and yet I was more jealous of the would-be-Queen and her little make-shift family.

My heart thundered as I slipped from the shadows of the hallway and made my way back up to the main deck. There was nothing they needed from me, and I knew I’d do better where I could be useful.

I didn’t know what it was about seeing Ivy smiling while surrounded by Grey’s team and those children, but it left a bitter taste in my mouth. I had a family; one I’d created with my team. A team I’d essentially abandoned for...I sighed as I hit the main deck. The sun had fallen, the sky changing from yellows and oranges to deep purples and blues.

“Nash of the Aither Court! Your presence is very welcome here aboard my ship,” Captain Vale said, clapping me on the shoulder as he came up beside me. “It’s nice to have another of the Courts aboard my ship.”

I snorted and crossed my arms, eyeing the Winter Court Fae warily. He truly was an odd sight; a Seelie Fae male captaining a vessel capable of travelling between worlds. “Even one of Unseelie?” I asked, crossing my arms.

The captain shrugged. “Fae is Fae when you’ve been doing this long enough.”

Most didn’t think the way he did, but I refused to comment on it. After years of working beneath Sir Ya’Dahir and Queen Greer, I understood that there really wasn’t a difference between the different Fae when you were working under Nyx and her kingdom. But Fae politics demanded otherwise.

“The Queen is settled? She likes the cabin?”

I stiffened. “From what I gathered, she and her family are taking it well. I’m sure they appreciate everything you’ve done for them.”

The captain smiled and there was a glint of pride in his eyes as he motioned to the quarter deck, where you could see the entire passage and the magic that shifted the realms. “Care to join me as we cross worlds?”

~

The jump between the human realm into Faery turned my stomach, but I gripped the ropes as we blew through the remnants of the Old World, its torn apart lands forever enclosed in darkness, mist curling at the edges of shores we would never step foot on again. Light flashed across the sky, like the ones illuminating parts of the human world in the northern skies; but these were golds and purples, pink and silver, and they illuminated the dark seas and guided us through the next world.

Unseelie bordered one side of the large stretch of ocean, while Seelie took up the other. The two were as different as night and day, yet both as deceptive as each other. Somewhere behind us, on a large island between the Fae worlds, sat the old palace—with its tall spires and dark towers. The old building was bones and nothing more, not like how it used to be. I remembered there were talks of turning it into an academy for our Fae young to rival that of Oberon, but it never came to be.

The children of Fae preferred the new academy out in the old Summer Palace now, or they vied for a place at Oberon like the rest of the creatures under Nyx.

From the wheel, Captain Vale asked, “Miss it?”

I turned away from the shores of Unseelie, where a pod of Sirens perched on rocks lining the cliffs. I couldn’t help but think of the young children below deck, their own connection to the Fae of the Abyss.

No. I pushed that aside and instead attempted to give the captain all my attention. “Sometimes. Though I will admit, the Aither Court really couldn’t keep me tethered.”

The captain chuckled. “No, I doubt someone like you could stay put.” He navigated the ship through the rather calm sea towards the next break between worlds. The one between the courts and Avalon were thinner and easier to cross, not like the one between the human world and here. “But then again, they couldn’t keep me contained, either.”

I watched him from the corner of my eye and didn’t respond, not as the sky danced with those same colours again, and Captain Vale guided us through the next barrier between worlds. My hold on the ropes tightened as magic swept over us; thick yet almost featherlight, it brushed over my skin, sparkling as the ship pushed through the thin veil between the Fae Courts and Avalon. If I looked at the ocean, I was sure I would notice the colour of the water change, perhaps even catch sight of different creatures diving through the waves.

A door on the lower deck opened with a crash, and the sound of little feet, followed by heavier footsteps, carried up to where I stood with the captain. He smiled as Ivy’s siblings carefully climbed the stairs up to the quarter deck to stare out over the ocean.

I could barely stop myself from turning towards the soon-to-be Queen. Her dark hair was washed and shining under the golden sun. Her cheeks, tinged pink, pinched with a smile as she took the hand of the smallest kid to help her see over the edge. I tried to ignore the sudden tingle of electricity lifting the hairs of my arms, and the way my body reacted to her presence. I could almost smell her on the breeze; coffee and coconut and everything I shouldn’t want, but craved.

My jaw clenched, nails bitting into my palms as I forced myself to look away from her as she gasped. I knew what she was seeing, almost like the landscape was ingrained in my mind: the tall cliffs of the northern shores of Avalon, once home to monsters long since extinct. One wrong step, and the rocks below could tear you apart. There was a small outcrop of islands just off of it, nothing that could be inhabited, but the water between them was commonly known as the Graveyard—and for good reason.

“Wow!” one of the kids gasped, and I found myself turning towards them despite my best efforts. Grey’s entire team was on deck now—the vamp included. I didn’t expect the bite of jealousy that struck me, but it hit me full force. I’d suspected some change in her, but as I observed her with Ivy, I realised what had happened immediately.

While I’d been fighting to protect them— her —Grey and Ivy had completed a mate bond.

I drew in a breath and released it slowly. “Grey, shouldn’t you be inside?” I asked casually, slowly releasing the ropes in my hand. “Wouldn’t want you to burn up.”

The vamp turned to me slowly, her eyes narrowed, and a dark look flashed in them. “Something you want to ask, Nash?”

I shrugged. “Funny how you were allergic to the sun last week, but you can suddenly walk in it fine today.”

If my words were getting to her, she didn’t let it show. There was a quiet anger simmering in her, but she didn’t let it out. Probably because of Ivy, who was less careful about hiding her emotions.

The soon-to-be Queen huffed. “Way to ruin a moment,” she said. “Couldn’t give us ten minutes to admire the island?”

Almost like she was the sun, I was a planet in her orbit. I couldn’t help but step towards her and give her all of my attention. “Weren’t you hesitant about Avalon? Afraid of it before?” She bristled, but I took another step towards her and motioned towards the forest-heavy island. “Look upon your kingdom, Your Majesty.”

Her jaw ticked as she clenched it, and her chest heaved with a harsh breath. “You’re an asshole, Hawk Nash.”

I couldn’t help but smirk. The urge to reach out and run my fingers through her wind-swept hair nearly consumed me, but I fisted my hands and shoved them into my pockets. “Don’t worry, Princess, you’ll be free of me in no time.”

“You could literally just fly away. Would make everyone happy,” she muttered, turning her back on me. “Now, can we please enjoy the mermaids and the weird looking sea monsters?”

“Mermaids?” the little one asked, her eyes wide with disbelief, as she pressed herself into Ivy’s side. “Are there really mermaids?”

And like that, I was no longer a thought in their minds. The children were enamoured by a pod of mermaids swimming alongside the ship, while Grey’s team quietly discussed their next steps.

Captain Vale chuckled under his breath, capturing my attention. When I spun to face him, he shook his head. “You’ll never find what you desire by scaring her away.”

I made a sound in the back of my throat and turned to face the island, which we approached slowly. “You know nothing, Captain.”

“I know more than you think,” he replied, voice darkening, “and I know what you are doing. It won’t end well for you, my friend. It never does.”

I refused to respond to that, and instead focused on Avalon. We were following the coastline now, making our way south towards the Witchelm peninsular, where the ship would dock, and we’d go inland to the palace. Soon, I’d be reunited with my team and be free of these people, and this mission I no longer wanted any part in.

But was that the truth? Did I believe that, or was I lying to myself?