City of Fae

“You don’t believe them.”


“No, I don’t.” Drawing a hand across his chin, he cast his gaze high and started to pace. “The queen bespelled Miles. What if the FA are working for her too?”

I opened my mouth to deny it, but couldn’t bring myself to say the words. The FA had been tracking Reign since I’d met him. I assumed because of the murders, but what if they wanted to take him to the queen, or just keep him behind bars and out of the way while the queen had me terminate Warren? She hadn’t seemed convinced of Reign’s loyalty when I’d seen them together. She’d tasked me with his death. She’d told me he’d failed. Although, in the end, he hadn’t failed her. Fate really was a bitch. There are worse things than fate. Reign was right.

An ache bloomed behind my eyes. Rubbing my forehead wasn’t helping. “I don’t know. Maybe. Warren said they were independent. They train for years and are elected by the fae population …” A fae population who were tired of living in the shadows, who coveted the light. What if all the London fae wanted her to escape? Reign had said they were a predatory race, constantly at war. What if this was just the beginning?

Andrews dropped onto the edge of his couch and bowed forward. “They’ve been working on this for years.” He rubbed his hands together, tired eyes glittering. “It’s all been one massive PR campaign. We love them. What they are, what they do. Kids want to be them. People pay to look like them. Even with the laws to protect us, it’s like we just can’t help ourselves. I told my superiors everything and they looked at me like I was insane. We should have seen this, should have prepared for it. The bespellment. It’s not natural. They’ve always been poisonous. But we’ve all fallen under their spell. Nobody wants to believe the fae are anything but wonderful.” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I don’t know what to do.”

I wanted to reassure him, but after what I’d seen, the things Reign had told me, I couldn’t bring myself to say the words.

Reign’s image on-screen caught my eye. “Andrews, turn that up please.”

“… has confirmed the concert on Saturday at the O2 Arena will proceed as planned.” The news footage cut to a live feed of Reign leaving his Kensington apartment, shades on, hood up, hand out to fend of the swarm of paparazzi trying to get a clear shot of his face. “Sovereign, is it true you’ve been linked to the accidental deaths of four prominent fae officials?” “Reign, your fans want to know who the mysterious woman is? Are you in a relationship?” “Where have you been for the last week?” “Do you have anything to say about the recent death? It’s understood you were seen with the deceased hours before he was found …” The barrage of questions went on, and Reign ducked them all, before slipping into a sleek Mercedes. The feed cut back to the studio where they went on to speculate how his recent PR would be good for ticket sales.

He had looked okay. A little pale, lips pressed into a determined line, but otherwise, more Reign-like and less terrifying-hound.

Andrews watched me closely, reading my expression. I swallowed and rested my chin on my knees. “I don’t think we can trust Reign.”

“I assume he killed Warren,” Andrews said softly.

I didn’t want to admit it. Admitting it made it real. And what I’d seen … I didn’t want that to be real. “It’s just us.”

He mustered the smallest of smiles. “A detective and a ghost.”

“You can’t trust me either. I’m okay now, but … I’m fae, Andrews, at least I think I’m more fae than human. And like Warren said, I’m closer to her than anyone—anything— else.” So close that I’d done something to Reign, somehow summoned his deadly secret. But why then? What had been different about that encounter? Was it the kiss? Reign had said the sensation I felt when we touched was fae draíocht mingling. If I was part queen, then my draíocht was too. In his apartment, when he’d pushed me away, his eyes had bloomed red. He’d been close to turning. The FA had used iron shackles to tame him. Iron hurt the hound. It helped trap the queen. Iron was a weakness, but how could we exploit that?

“You can get to her.”

I chewed on my lip. “Yes.” All I had to do was go to Chancery Lane and let myself into Under. I’d find my way to her, like a compass needle finds its way to magnetic north. I knew it in my blood.

“How close?”

Pretty damn close. “Close enough.”

“Could you kill her?”