“Night, night.” Raith waved as Cade guided Scarlett down the hall without so much as a goodbye to Poppy. “Picks you as his second and still walks away with the human.”
“What game are you playing?” Poppy asked.
Raith leaned against the hall wall. “Whatever do you mean?”
“You're just going to get the poor girl killed.”
“You care about the mortal, too? How cute.”
“I don't think humans should get caught up in fae politics.” Poppy crossed her arms. “Now I'm off to get a good night’s sleep since apparently I'm being dragged into fae politics.”
“Sleep tight.”
Back in his room, Cade removed his shirt and chucked it across his room. God he hated his brother. Raith was always a thorn in Cade’s side, but now that thorn had morphed into a knife and jabbed Cade straight in the back.
Technically, Scarlett wasn’t Cade’s. She hadn’t given her allegiance to him or agreed to stay in Faerie under him for an agreed amount of time. But Cade found her and she should be his. Now she was bonded with Raith. Cade kicked the corner of his bed.
Scarlett had said goodnight and left to take a bath, likely still in shock from everything that had happened. A human in a Battle of Heirs. It was unheard of. She had every right to be scared out of her mind. Humans were weak and frail.
Cade tried to sleep but couldn’t. The anger coursing through him energized him. Instead, he closed his eyes and thought of Scarlett.
When he entered her dreamscape, she was walking around the castle gardens, smelling a rose. The sun shone brightly overhead in a cloudless sky. Cade thought of dark clouds rolling in and so they did, pushing away the warmth of the sun.
Rain poured down in huge drops. Scarlett ran toward the front of the castle, but Cade put up an iron fence blocking her way.
Then a creature stepped out from behind a bush—a banshee. That wasn’t from Cade. It must have been the conjuring of Scarlett’s own subconscious. But when had she seen a banshee?
The banshee stalked toward Scarlett, fangs exposed. “I told you we’d meet again.”
“Leave me alone,” Scarlett shouted.
“And why would I do a thing like that?” the banshee said. “You’re the one who doesn’t belong here. This isn’t your world.”
“I’ll…I’ll leave.” Scarlett backed as far as she could until she was pressed into the wall of the castle.
“But you can’t.”
Scarlett glanced to her wrists, a purple outline of the blessing rope tattooed to her skin.
Cade moved back into his own mind. The dream should be far enough along for his plan to work, a big thanks to Scarlett’s own fear. Cade went to Scarlett’s room. She was asleep in her bed, body curled into the fetal position.
He shook her gently. “Scarlett, wake up.”
When she awoke, she jumped at the sight of Cade.
“It’s okay,” Cade said. “You were having a bad dream.”
He could feel her fear, but he couldn’t feed off of her emotion, so he let it be. There were other ways for him to recharge his power.
“Come here,” he pulled her into an embrace and brushed the hair out of her face. “You’re okay.”
Her body sank into his as she sobbed. “I’m going to die.”
“Shh…” He rubbed her back. “No, you’re not.”
It might be a lie. Cade and Poppy wouldn’t be the only dangerous things in the battle.
Cade placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face. He gently pressed his lips onto hers. At first, she merely accepted the kiss, but then her lips kissed back. He lifted Scarlett and lowered her onto the bed and moved on top of her.
Scarlett’s breathing grew heavy. Cade could hear her heartbeat race. He took in the passion between them. The bargain kept him from feeding on her emotion, but Raith didn’t mention anything about sex not being allowed.
Since Scarlett’s pain had been so strong, Cade had never seduced her all the way. But now the power in him roared. If Raith thought he could stop Scarlett from helping Cade win the battle, he was wrong.
Chapter Twenty-Four
A moan escaped Scarlett’s lips as Cade lifted her nightgown and brushed his fingers against her stomach. When he touched her panties, Scarlett froze.
What was she doing?
He’d awoken her from that nightmare and then was kissing her and it felt good. She didn’t know if she’d live past the battle, and his lips on her neck helped dull her fear.
“No, stop.” Scarlett panted.
Cade’s lips touched her neck again and he jolted back, pressing his hand to his mouth. “What the…”
The bargain said Scarlett couldn’t be forced to do anything against her will. Somehow, its magic must have stopped him.
“I’m sorry,” Scarlett said.
Why was she apologizing? She didn’t want to fuck. So what? She didn’t owe him anything.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, his voice gentle.
“I just don’t feel like doing this.”
His eyes narrowed. “Typical human.”
“Excuse me?”
“You don’t appreciate everything I’ve done for you. You’d be sitting on top of that hill still mourning if it weren’t for me. What kind of life was that?”
“It was my life, and I would have figured it out eventually.” Anger boiled inside Scarlett. She pulled her nighty back into place.
“Pfff.” Cade got up from her bed and headed to the door, leaving without another word.
What an ass. He’d only been using her for the power she gave him, which, if Scarlett was being honest, she’d known all along. But he was right; she was weak. Running away was easier than facing it all, so that’s what she did—all the way to another realm.
She’d dug her own grave, but maybe, just maybe, there was a way to escape it.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Almost as if his feet had minds of their own, Raith walked down the unfamiliar path to the infirmary. There had been no war during his lifetime, and since the fae rarely got sick, he’d had no reason to come to this part of the castle.
Except once.
He and Cade had snuck into the battle wing after their classes one day. Their father had told them a million times to stay away until they were old enough to start training, which only fueled their curiosity. Raith was twelve, Cade seven. It would be three years until Raith was old enough to train. He only wanted to see what the battle wing was like. They’d be careful.
“We’re going to get in trouble,” Cade said as they made it into a room full of weapons.
“Not if you keep quiet.” Raith admired a set of daggers hanging on the wall. “These are amazing.”
Cade glanced over Raith’s shoulder. “Whoa. Real weapons.”
“Here, let’s fight.” Raith tossed one of the daggers at Cade’s feet.
Cade picked it up and twirled it in his hands. “We shouldn’t.”
Raith struck his dagger, making contact with Cade’s.
Cade didn’t swing back.
“Don’t be a baby,” Raith said. “Fight.”
Cade raised his dagger and gave a half-hearted swing at Raith. “This isn’t a good idea. Mom wouldn’t like it.”
His mom wouldn’t like it. Kassandra was not Raith’s mother. “Awww, momma’s boy, are you?”
“Shut up,” Cade said.
“Does she still rock you to sleep at night.” Raith hit Cade’s dagger again.
“Stop,” Cade said.
“Gonna go cry to mommy?”
“I said stop!” Cade screamed as he sliced his dagger at Raith’s face, the orb on the dagger’s handle glowing green.
Raith lunged backwards as the dagger came toward his eye, scraping the top of his eyebrow. “Ow.”
“I’m sorry.” Cade dropped his dagger and stepped to Raith.
“Get away.”
Even with Raith’s enhanced healing power as a fae, the wound wouldn’t close. He would have to tell his father what happened. As he pressed his sleeve into the cut, he saw the panic on Cade’s face. So, when he found his father, he lied. He told him he snuck in alone and was throwing the dagger in the air when it came down and sliced him. His father gave him a long stare, but said the cut was punishment enough.
Raith had to go to the infirmary to have a nurse look at his wound. She told the king that it had been done with a blade enhanced with summer magic. She could make the bleeding stop but there may still be a small scar.