He wasn’t good enough for her but his brother was?
Scarlett’s brows narrowed as she clenched her jaw. She twirled her staff above her head and brought it down toward Cade’s legs. “I belong to no one.”
He jumped over the staff and sliced his sword at Scarlett’s head. She blocked it with her staff. His sword pushed against it and shoved Scarlett back. She fell to the ground.
“You don’t understand,” Cade said. “My people need me. Raith cannot become king.”
Scarlett stood. “He’d be a far better king than you ever would.”
Without thinking, Cade threw a ball of energy at Scarlett, hitting her in the stomach and sending her flying back into a tree, her body sprawled unnaturally on the forest floor.
He’d killed her.
Cade looked at his brother, still unconscious. He was a high fae. He’d heal, but the blow to his chest had been strong. Cade had never had such strong summer energy than in that moment. He raised the sword above Raith’s chest. Scarlett’s words from earlier replayed in his head. Whatever you’re willing to do to become ruler is who you’ll be as king. There’s no difference.
Would his first act as king be to kill his own brother? He’d already shed the blood of a mortal, because even if Scarlett had some fae blood in her, she was also human.
Raith had saved Cade from the waves as children. A life debt that Cade still owed his brother coursed through Cade’s veins. If he killed him, he’d betray his honor.
It was almost nighttime. The animals would be out soon. He’d let them finish Raith off—one less kill on his soul—and by not killing Raith himself, his debt would be paid.
Cade walked away from Raith’s body, the pulsing of the life debt gone.
He was king now.
Cade followed the bond to find Poppy trapped against a tree. He helped her out as she cursed Raith. When he told her he’d killed both Raith and Scarlett, Poppy shut up, surprise on her face.
She bowed to him.
He hadn’t actually killed Raith, but he’d be dead soon enough. No one needed to know the truth. It would be his secret. Cade grabbed Poppy’s hand and evanesced them back to the crowd.
The elation on his mother’s face was the first thing he saw. She grabbed the sides of her dress and curtsied to her son. The crowd followed, the male fae bowing and females curtsying. He returned a bow to them all.
He would be a good king to his people.
Chapter Thirty-Two
It was almost dark as Scarlett awoke. Her body ached from head to toe as if she’d been run over by a tank. She could barely move. With night so close, she knew if she didn’t move soon, she’d be eaten by something—or worse. An eerie silence swept through the forest. The banshee’s face appeared in her thoughts.
Scarlett remembered the pill Kaelem had given her. She reached into her pocket—it was still there. She hadn’t planned to take it. There would be a price to pay. But if she didn’t, she’d pay the ultimate price: death.
Before she could talk herself out of it, Scarlett tossed the pill into her mouth and chewed. It was fruitier than she expected. Delicious, actually. As she swallowed it, her nerves tingled. Within a minute, she could push herself up. Another minute passed and she felt back to normal. Then she felt different. Stronger. Even her vision seemed sharper.
Scarlett rushed to Raith, who had landed on his back, with his arms sprawled awkwardly at his sides. She could hear his heart beating. Wait, she shouldn’t be able to hear someone’s heart from this far away.
What had that pill done to her?
She didn’t have time to care. She bent next to Raith and placed her hands over the hole in his chest. His skin was covered in blisters where the energy hit him. He looked bad, so bad. Scarlett had been able to heal small wounds, but this was something else.
A new power flowed through her.
Scarlett closed her eyes and imagined the burn being sucked out of Raith. She felt the pain of the energy hitting him, the searing of his skin. She bit her lip but kept pulling the wound out of him. Her eyes grew heavy. She was almost there. Just a little more.
And then she passed out.
Raith gasped as he grabbed for his chest. He remembered Cade’s energy hitting him. Remembered the pain as it burned through his flesh. Then, nothing. He was out.
The hole in his skin was gone, though his clothing was still burned. Scarlett’s body lay next to his, her eyes closed. He could hear her heartbeat, otherwise he may have thought her dead. Somehow, she must have healed him. But to heal such a deep wound would require more power than she could possibly have as a part human.
Did Cade think Raith was already dead? No, Cade wasn’t stupid. For some reason, he’d left Raith to die instead of finishing the job. Typical Cade. Wouldn’t want to get his hands too dirty.
Whatever the reason, Raith wasn’t complaining.
Raith could hear the music coming from the castle. Cade had claimed his throne—even though he hadn’t killed Raith. No one thought to check?
With the night so close, Raith needed to get him and Scarlett out of the forest. After slinging Scarlett over his shoulder, he used the music as his compass to get close to the castle but instead went to his tree house. There, he got a portal door and thought of Silver Lake as he opened it. Neither of them was safe in Faerie now.
Raith found a park bench to lay Scarlett on. He glamoured them both invisible to the mortal world. He didn’t know where to take Scarlett, so all he could do was wait for her to wake.
He recognized this place. It was in this parking lot that he saved a human girl. Raith, thanks to his supernatural hearing, heard her tell the guy she was with to stop—she didn’t want to go any further. The guy called her a tease. The girl cried out for help as she struggled. Raith could feel her fear.
He had evanesced to the car, opened the door, yanked the asshole out, and told the girl to run. Then he showed the jerk what it felt to be defenseless.
Scarlett had been defenseless and he’d brought her into the battle. Guilt plagued him as he watched her lying still, only her chest moving as she breathed in and out.
What made him any better than the asshole human? Raith had taken away Scarlett’s choice in a different way.
Yet, she’d saved him.
He’d once saved Cade, creating a life debt between brothers. That debt had been paid. He could feel it now gone. But a new one had formed in his place, this time he the indebted one.
Scarlett awoke, eyes still closed.
Something new surged through her now. With heightened senses, she absorbed the sounds around her. A heart thumped close by. Further away, a bird chirped. And in the distance, a car honked.
Her eyes snapped open.
There were no cars in Faerie.
“You’re awake,” Raith said. He sat on the ground next to the bench Scarlett lay on.
She sat up and scooted over, making room for Raith. He joined her on the bench.
“What happened?” Scarlett asked.
“You tell me,” Raith said.
Scarlett remembered Raith getting hit with Cade’s magic. She remembered trying to fight him off and getting blasted. She’d awoken injured, night setting in.
Then she remembered taking the pill.
“I healed you.” She looked to Raith. He seemed healthy.
“How’d you do it?”
“I’m not quite sure.”
Raith just stared at her. She wanted to tell him about the pill she had taken and what it had done to her. But she didn’t. She was embarrassed she’d given into the temptation Kaelem had given her. He’d said there would be a cost. What would it be?
“Let’s get you home,” Raith said.
They walked to her house, which was empty. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been gone. Ashleigh was most likely back at school. The house smelled as if it’d been closed off for a while.
Though her house seemed plain by comparison to the Summer Court castle, Scarlett was glad she’d made it home. For a while, she had feared it would never happen.
Raith asked if he could stay the night, which, of course, Scarlett allowed.