City of Fae

One last time.

One more chance.

“Prove your worth.”





Chapter Twenty-seven


Music assaulted me, battered from all sides, below and above. I stood motionless, faced into it, as though staring into a storm of sound. Adrenalin, pure joy, and raw draíocht surged through my veins. It was wonderful, alive, and so was I. The beat pounded, the guitar, the piano, the bass … and his voice. I’d heard Sovereign playing to the crowd on TV, but this … this was worlds away. His voice rode the waves of music, lifting the rhythm, plunging it deep, swirling it into a frenzy, and the crowd of twenty thousand surged and screamed and rode the wave too. Lights rained down on the stage, as though the stars themselves had fallen from the sky. Goose bumps spritzed my light-dappled skin. Breaths came short and fast, my heart raced. There was magic here, human or fae, maybe both.

At the front of the crowd, pressed against the barriers, I soaked the wonder of the concert into my pores, tasted the thousands on my lips, and awaited the queen. I’d failed her before. I would not fail again.

Crossed daggers burned against at my lower back. My fingers itched to curl around the weapons. Soon. Touched would take a break, and the support act would have its moment. That was my time. Sovereign liked to venture into the crowd, sign autographs, touch those that asked … I’d be there. Waiting. He had served his purpose. The Keepers were dead. The hound was volatile. Time to end the beast by the twin points of my daggers. It was her wish.

Time meant little while I stood and watched. Hours bled into minutes. I listened to the beat of the music and the beat of my heart; her heart. She created me. Her draíocht flowed through me. And the beat of her poisoned heart throbbed in my ears. I had no heart of my own. I wasn’t human; not even close. My flesh was hers to command, my mind hers to mold. I lived only for her.

My moment arrived. Screaming fans wept and surged around me. They cried Sovereign’s name as he descended stage-side steps and waved flyers, shirts, bare flesh. They didn’t know him like I did, didn’t see the hound behind his quick smile, or the killer looking back at them through dazzling fae eyes. All they saw was a being they wanted to touch, to love, because their weak human minds had no choice. He strode down the steps, flashed a deadly smile, raised his arms, and the crowd erupted. All but me. Inside my coat—his coat—I clutched the daggers. People jostled, sweeping me up in their lust. My smile too was a hungry thing. Soon. Come closer. Die for your queen and live for eternity in infamy. That is what you want …

The band members followed behind, enticing in their own right, but lackluster compared to Sovereign’s brilliance.

“Reign, we love you!” “Sovereign, sign this … When’s the next album out? Reign!”

He trailed his fingers across their outstretched hands, defying the Trinity Law in full view of the live camera feeds, because he could, and his fans simultaneously sighed and squealed. He could have any of them; a second touch, a third, and they’d follow him anywhere. It was how he hunted. How they all hunted, feeding on us like the leeches they were.

Wait … Us? But I wasn’t human. I was … unhuman. Something in between. Not alive. Not dead. Not real. I shook my head, ridding myself of the peculiar thoughts, and with a snarl I sent them to the back of my mind.

Sovereign’s sly smile and quick glances reeled his fans in. Here, he was predator. He scanned the countless anonymous faces, searching for his next victim perhaps. How could they not see the predator in him? His gaze slid over me. The noise of the crowd faded away, and the touch of surging bodies no longer mattered. His gaze seared mine. His smile froze on his lips. And he knew I was there to kill him. I’d expected him to run, but he lunged forward, plowing into me and the barrier like he had the fae at the café. I should have known Sovereign didn’t run from anything but himself. We tumbled in a tangle of barrier and those who’d had the misfortune of standing beside me. Momentarily pinned beneath the barrier and Reign, I struggled to lever the daggers out.

“You don’t want to do this,” he hissed against my cheek.

“She’s got a knife!” Screams erupted, and Reign was yanked away, swallowed by the crowd. I wasn’t here to hurt the people. They were hers. Food. She needed them alive.