Dark Court: Fire Fae (Complete Boxed Set) Read online

  “You okay?” Gregory called. He was through the passage and waiting for us in the cavern on the other side.

  The cut smarted, but there didn’t appear to be too much blood. “Yeah, just a scratch,” I called back, slipping on my gloves.

  I started moving again and managed to make it through without further incident, Sienna only a few steps behind. I blew out a long breath. The temperature inside the cavern was noticeably lower than outside. But there was no wind, so that was a bonus. Not that it would matter soon.

  “We still have wood. Good,” Gregory remarked, gesturing to a pile of sticks and tree limbs in the corner.

  “And snacks,” Sienna added, grinning broadly. She bent and began untying her boots.

  “Wait. Let me start a fire first,” I told her.

  There was still a ring of stones with charred wood in the center from our last late-night outing. Gregory piled fresh sticks inside the ring. Once again, I removed my gloves, this time summoning my magic. Two baseball-sized fireballs appeared, one in each of my palms. I tossed them both onto the wood pile and stepped back, watching as bright-orange flames cast dancing shadows on the rounded cavern walls. The air temperature increased instantly.

  “So much better,” Sienna said. She finished removing her boots and placed them against one wall, away from both the fire and the frozen pool in the center of the cavern.

  I knelt beside the pool, placing both palms flat against the ice. Even with the fire, it was dark enough to see the faint orange glow on my hands as the skin heated. It took several minutes, but eventually I melted two holes in the top layer of ice.

  “How much longer?” Sienna asked, teeth chattering.

  I scowled at her over my shoulder. Sienna had stripped down to her underwear already, her clothes piled on her jacket at her feet. Beside her, Gregory was still partially dressed in socks, long underwear, and a thermal undershirt. He leaned over and rubbed his hands up and down her bare arms to create friction. I shrugged out of my jacket and rolled up my sleeves.

  “I’m going as fast as I can,” I said, plunging my arms, up to the elbows, into the holes I’d made.

  Closing my eyes, I tilted my head back and felt the power build in my belly. One of the reasons we preferred this cavern, over the several others we’d found, was the small opening directly above the center of the pool, like a skylight. Some nights, the moon was just barely visible through the crevice. Tonight was one of those nights. I imagined the fire moons giving me strength, intensifying my natural abilities.

  Steam warmed my face and arms as the water heated and thawed the rest of the ice from below. I opened my eyes and smiled. Mist hung in the air over the pool. I pulled my arms out of the water and sat back on my haunches as Gregory’s undershirt landed on my head. Water splashed over the side of the pool and soaked through the knees of my pants when he and Sienna leapt in.

  “Jerks,” I teased, laughing as I undressed hurriedly.

  By the time I slid into the steaming pool with my friends, the water was gurgling and bubbling like a hot tub. But this wasn’t due to jets or natural hot springs, only an air fae—Sienna. The warm water felt amazing swirling around my tired muscles. I stretched my arms out along the edge of the pool and sighed contentedly.

  “Glad we came?” Sienna asked, splashing water playfully toward my face.

  “You know I am,” I replied grudgingly.

  “This is the life,” Gregory mused.

  The pool wasn’t big enough to swim laps, but it was plenty big for the three of us to move around without knocking into one another. An interior rock ledge circled the perimeter at waist height, providing seats. They were needed since the pool was too deep for Sienna and me to stand. Gregory could manage on his tiptoes except in the very center.

  After a while, we busted out the snacks and made smores over the fire. We drank spiced avocado wine from ice goblets that Gregory made. Every time one of us grew cold, I summoned my magic and reheated the water.

  “There’s no way that’s true!” Sienna exclaimed, smacking the water and splashing Gregory.

  He’d just finished telling us about the fae girl his older brother had supposedly met at the last Freelands Fair—an annual bazaar where people came from all over the Americas to sell and exchange goods. Each year, the elders selected an envoy to go on behalf of the canyon. I’d always hoped to go, but my father thought it was too dangerous.

  “I swear.” Gregory made an ‘X’ over his heart. “George told me that she told him that the fighters in the capital are treated like royalty. So are the palace fae, the ones who serve—or should I say, service—Queen Lilli.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Living under a dome doesn’t sound so bad to me. You get to live in the sunshine, eat fresh meat and vegetables, and hang with a royal family? Sign me up.”

  Sienna laughed. “Me, too. Except I’d want to be Prince Kai’s personal fae.”

  I shook my head. “Not me. I’d much rather have freedom than fresh salmon or whatever.”

  “It’s different than serving just any caster family, Brie,” Gregory countered. “There’s a big difference between being just any old fae under the dome and being one of the fae who gets to entertain or serve the royal family.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “Is it? Just because palace fae live in a castle and get pretty clothes and fancy food, that doesn’t make it any better. They aren’t free to leave. Witches and warlocks need us—our magic anyway—to live. That’s why the monarchs of the Americas created the Fae Fidelity Act. They had to force fae into service as magic feeders. No one wants to be a Caster power source, that’s gross.”

  Sienna’s eyes went wide. “Wait, what? That’s what the Fae Fidelity Act is?”

  “You really need to start paying attention in school,” I said dryly.

  “We aren’t forced to share our magic,” Gregory argued.

  “No, you’re right,” I conceded. “The domed fae are just forced to choose between sharing their magic with casters and cleaning toilets for them. Either way, fae under the dome aren’t free to come and go as they please.”

  Our night of risky frivolity suddenly didn’t seem like so much fun anymore. Fae Canyon was in the Freelands of the Americas—areas not under the rule of caster kings and queens who held court and made laws from beneath their biodomes. Only fae and shifters lived in the Freelands. Casters were delicate and unable to survive the cold on their own. Vampires could live outside the domes, though most just chose to keep their residences inside of them.

  In the Freelands, government officials didn’t journey from door to door to force fae and shifters into service like what happened in the kingdoms. We might live in a frozen wasteland, but at least we were free to use our magic how and when we pleased.

  “George said the girl—”

  A thump from above cut off Gregory midsentence. All three of us fell silent. My heart thudded painfully in my chest. I looked up. The natural skylight was clear, nothing and no one obstructing the moonlight. That fact did not make me feel any better.

  A shower of small rocks and ice came through the opening, sizzling when they hit the hot water. Sienna, Gregory, and I exchanged glances.

  “We need to go,” Sienna mouthed. No further discussion was necessary. We hurried from the pool, not bothering to be quiet about it. There was no point; if someone was outside the cave, they already knew we were inside.

  I pulled my shirts over my head in record time. My pants, however, proved a little more difficult. Between my wet skin and the fact that my pants were still wet from earlier, I had trouble getting the material up my legs. So much so that I didn’t bother with more than one pair before wedging my feet into my sneakers.

  “Hello,” came a cold, flat voice from the cave’s entrance.

  In the canyon we called them cowboys, but the name never made much sense to me before that night. They didn’t ride horses. They didn’t wear spurs. Their hats were not of the ten-gallon variety. Cowboys were a type of vampire who hunted
fae and shifters and sold them into service to the casters.

  “What’re three faelings doing out here all by themselves?” asked the cowboy.

  Five feet from where I stood, his ghostly white face split into a grin. The vampire’s fangs looked particularly ghoulish in the fire’s glow.

  Too late, the clink of metal against metal reached my ears. My heart leapt into my throat.

  Vampires were fast—so extremely fast. But Sienna was no slouch either. Even as the vampire’s chain-link rope swung toward us, she unleashed a gust of wind so powerful that only she was left standing. The metal rope missed my friends and me, but the vampire was back on his feet in no time.

  “Ahhh!” Sienna shouted as she unleashed another powerful blast of air.

  This time the vampire was ready. He stumbled but didn’t fall. And when he struck out, the chain-link rope found its mark: me.

  My knees nearly buckled from the impact. Gregory was on his feet, charging the vampire. The fanged cowboy laughed as he backhanded Gregory so hard, he flew into the cave wall.

  “No!” I screamed as his body crumpled to the ground.

  Sienna gasped as she hurried to Gregory’s side.

  Fight. You must fight.

  Two fireballs appeared in my palms.

  “Fire fae,” the creature sang, voice soft and seductive like the opening notes of a romantic ballad. “You will be worth all the rest combined. Fighting will be pointless, girl. Come now. It would be a shame to harm such a beautiful fae.”

  The vampire’s unnaturally green eyes glowed expectantly, dimming slightly when his charms fell on deaf ears. As he realized that the vampiric ability to compel prey into submission wasn’t working on me—thanks to Dad’s potions—his grin turned to a snarl. One of my fireballs streaked toward him. My aim was dead on, but I was no match for vampire speed. Yanking the metal lasso, he dodged the assault gracefully. The ice was slippery from the water dripping off me, and his tug had the desired effect.

  “Ahhh!” I cried out as I lost my footing.

  I released the second fireball a split-second before my knees smacked the wet ground. Sharp rocks sliced my leggings.

  The vampire gave the lasso another yank, dragging me toward him. The rocky terrain tore the exposed skin on my knees and calves. His pale nostrils flared. If there was any doubt whether I was bleeding, it vanished.

  No. No. This can’t be happening.

  Gritting my teeth against the pain, I let the vampire reel me in like a fish. Bloodlust turned his eyes crimson. Like a teenager convinced he was about to get into his date’s pants, the fanged creature was no longer thinking sensibly. The way he held my gaze made it obvious he’d already forgotten his first attempt at compulsion hadn’t worked. I waited until he bent down and grabbed my arm, intending to pull me to my feet.

  Flames erupted in my hand, and I slammed my palm into his stomach. Those crimson eyes flashed back to green an instant before the fire consumed him. Gasping for breath, I stumbled out of harm’s way.

  “Not so smug now are you, you fanged bastard?” I sneered.

  The vampire twisted in agony as he retreated through the opening. I didn’t follow. There was no need; he’d be a pile of ash before ever reaching shore.

  Sienna choked on her tear-filled laugher. I wiggled out of the metal rope and rushed over to where she knelt next to Gregory.

  “Is he alive?” I asked hurriedly.

  She nodded. “He’s got a pulse.” She stroked his forehead softly.

  Gregory stirred, eyelids fluttering open. “I’m alive,” he croaked, trying to sit up but unable to manage the small movement. “Probably not for much longer.”

  “Don’t say that,” Sienna pleaded.

  “My right leg is definitely broken,” Gregory grunted. “Possibly the left, too. I’ll only hold you back.”

  Tears still glistened in Sienna’s eyes. She shook her head defiantly. “No. We’re not leaving you.”

  Gregory met my gaze over her head. “Brie. Tell her. We have to split up.”

  “No. We can’t. We’re better together,” Sienna insisted. She turned to look up at me, positive I’d side with her if she gave me her puppy-dog eyes.

  One look at the bloody remains of my pants, and the flicker of hope on her face died a swift death.

  “Are you bleeding anywhere?” I asked Gregory.

  “Does internally count?” he tried to joke.

  “I’ll burn away my blood in here, and then run toward the shore. That should keep the others away from here until Sienna can get you help,” I replied.

  Honestly, I wasn’t sure burning the blood would be enough. I could only hope that with my open wounds, my scent would lure other vampires astray before they entered the cave.

  “Others?” Sienna asked, a fresh wave of tears falling down her red cheeks.

  “Really? Promise me that you’ll start taking school more seriously if we make it out of this,” I said, this time with no teasing undertones. “Cowboys hunt in packs. Usually three or four of them. Our barbequed buddy has friends out there, and his bonfire is going to draw their attention.”

  Summoning my magic, I directed a spray of fire at the swatches of my blood on the ground. At the same time, Gregory sent a stream of water from the pool to douse the fire, something we probably should’ve done as soon as we sensed trouble.

  “I’ll go first, lead any other vampires away,” I said without meeting my friends’ eyes. “Sienna, wait a few minutes and then go. Run for the canyon. Don’t stop for any reason.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I won’t make it alone.”

  Spinning to face her, I placed my hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes. “You will only make it alone. Gregory is too badly injured. I’m bleeding. You are the only chance we have. Promise me that you will not stop until you sound the alarm. Promise me. You have to get back and send help.”

  Sienna responded with several hiccupping sobs before gaining enough composure to say, “Okay. I promise.”

  “I love you both,” I told them, hugging Sienna quickly.

  There was a lot more I’d have liked to say. No time for sentiment, though. So, turning my back on my friends, I shimmied through the narrow opening and out onto the ice. The small smear of my blood from the cut on my hand caught my eye.

  You idiot, I chastised myself, burning away the lure that had hooked the vampire. Speaking of the vampire....

  He must have been very old, because he’d managed to make it all the way to the sand before collapsing. His burning remains formed a magnificent bonfire.

  Ice cracked beneath me.

  Don’t have to tell me twice.

  I darted for the beach and headed left. My heart hammered against my ribcage as my sneakers beat a frantic rhythm on the frozen sand. My knees throbbed, and my breath was ragged. I didn’t hear any telltale signs of a pursuer. Nonetheless, vampires were pure stealth. Between the wind and the pounding of my pulse in my ears, it was impossible to hear much of anything.

  Forty yards down the beach, I chanced a glance over my shoulder and nearly wept when the coastline was still clear. “Oh, thank Gaia.”

  Well, sort of clear. Orange flames danced in the wind, a bizarrely beautiful ballet that seemed choreographed, like the vampire’s death was destined for this moment and his pyre planned in advance. But it was the turquoise and amethyst smoke swirling like ribbons in the air around him that made me pause.

  I crouched in a bed of seagrass and watched the fruits of my magic unfold. Soon, emerald and ruby wisps wafted up from the fire to join the production. The sight should’ve disturbed me. Vampires were evil, but they were living creatures—sort of—just like fae or shifters or casters. Still, I found myself unable to look away from the fascinating rainbow of smoke.

  Children in the canyon whispered to one another at slumber parties that the color of smoke from a vampire fire was determined by his victims’ auras. I didn’t know if that was true, but the number of different colors of smoke w
ould’ve suggested this vampire had claimed a lot of souls in his undead lifetime.

  Off in the distance, I thought I saw a shadow moving on the frozen ocean. Sienna, I thought and said a prayer to the Goddess for my best friend.

  The fire burned out moments later, the wind carrying the jewel-tone smoke out over the ocean. It was only then that I noticed the lights on the highway. I held my breath and tried to remain as still as possible, expecting the beams to grow larger as they neared. But they remained stationary.

  It’s his caravan, I realized.

  Cowboys may not have ridden horses, but they did travel from area to area in large trucks. Once they trapped a fae or shifter in their lasso, they stuffed the victim in the container on the back for transport.

  Stupid, Brie. Why did you stop moving? I chastised myself.

  The other vampires were no doubt scouring the beach for the fire fae who’d killed their associate. Just because I couldn’t see them didn’t mean they couldn’t see me. The cowboy’s last words played in my mind: You will be worth all the rest combined.

  “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid,” I whispered.

  Okay, think, Brie. Sienna and Gregory are counting on you. You need to distract the vampires, keep them away from Sienna.

  I inhaled deeply and summoned my magic. Instead of calling forth flames, I simply heated my right palm and placed it on the ground long enough to melt the ice. Sand stung my cuts, but the pain was nothing compared to what would come next. Once I was satisfied the scrapes were clean enough, I bit down on my jacket sleeve and ran my hot hand first over one leg and then the other to cauterize the wounds.

  Stars blotted my vision. Tears pooled in my eyes and froze on my cheeks. For several long moments, passing out seemed like a serious possibility. The sensation passed. I blew out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding.

  Okay. That’s over. What’s your next move?

  I squinted into the darkness, scanning the beach for signs of life. I didn’t need to look far. In a blur of motion, a tall, slim figure sped from the highway to the pile of vampire ash on the beach.