Feel My Power: The Iron Fae book 2 Read online

  I let go of the queen’s hand and stood. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

  With a final look at the dead queen, we headed out of the door and into the tunnel beyond.

  The compass told us we were headed south. Good.

  A set of steps greeted us, wide enough to allow us to climb side by side. The screeching intensified. It was right behind us. We hit the top of the stairs and ran into a wide corridor lined with faded and worn tapestries that looked like a single touch would cause them to disintegrate. The compass pulled us left. We broke into a run, danger scraping its claws at the back of my neck. A tall pointed arch loomed up ahead. We were almost through it when the air behind us erupted in screams and the tear of fabric.

  “Don’t look back,” Slade ordered.

  We broke into a sprint through the arch and through the room beyond toward the next arch, lit up with amber light.

  The scrape of claws on marble was too close at our backs as we entered a rectangular chamber bathed in thick shafts of sunlight. I skidded to a halt, heart pounding like an insane drum as I scanned the hall.

  No exit.

  Nothing except the slender apertures in the wall, too high for us to reach.

  Behind us, the snarls of the beasts hungry for our flesh spilled into the hallway.

  I turned, ready to fight as the creatures from the first dome pushed into the room, claws clicking against the ground.

  We were trapped.

  No choice but to fight.

  The creatures hovered by the arch, clicking and screeching, but they didn’t come in. Why weren’t they coming in? Had we ventured into the den of another tentacled monster? But the room was empty except for us and the monsters edging their way around the perimeter, trying to get to us. One of them pushed a limb into a shaft of light. A sizzling sound drifted into the air, and the creature pulled his limb back with a screech that was part pain, part anger.

  Oh shit. “The light is keeping them at bay.”

  Slade looked up at the windows. “They’re too narrow to get out of.”

  “But this has to be the way out.” I held up the compass. “It’s as south as it gets.”

  “Unless we’re on the wrong level of the city.”

  Fuck. “We can’t go back. There’s no way we can fight all of those things.”

  I turned my back on the monsters to search the room for some clue, confidant that they’d stay at bay while the sun was up.

  While the sun was up… Crap. “How long until sunset?”

  “Not long,” Slade said. “The angle of the light and the red tinge tells me it’s close to setting.”

  Shit. There had to be a door, some exit, something. I mean, the world was out there beyond this fucking wall. But there was no door. Just a rectangular room housing a table and chairs, and a wardrobe.

  Wait a second.

  What was a wardrobe doing in what looked like a dining room? I slipped past Slade, who hadn’t taken his eyes off the creatures, and set to examining the ornate piece of furniture.

  Locked.

  It was a long shot but… I pulled the key the Autumn scholar had given me from my pocket.

  “Danika, the sun’s dipping.”

  Sure enough, the creatures were moving farther into the room as the sunlight retreated.

  I shoved the key into the lock. It fit perfectly. But would it turn? I twisted, and the damn thing snagged. Fuck. No.

  It had to work. I twisted it the other way and it turned smoothly, disengaging the lock with a soft snick.

  I yanked open the door to a gust of cool air and a set of stone steps. This was it; it had to be the exit.

  “Slade, I got it.” I turned to him. “Come on.”

  The world went dark as the sun made a dive for the Earth, and the final lances of light melted away.

  Slade and I locked gazes, then he made a dash for the wardrobe. A monster lunged at him, spindly arms coming out to grab him. My heart jumped into my throat, but Slade was clear. He was almost to me, so close I could have reached out and touched him, but then he jerked to a halt. His eyes grew wide with shock, and he was whizzed away from me, tugged back into the mass of hungry monsters. He swiped and fought, blade winking in the gloom, but there were too many.

  “Go!” he shouted. “Get out of here.”

  But I was already running toward him, battle cry blasting through the air to clash with the creatures’ screeches of excitement. My body tingled and tightened. The world slowed down. I was aware of every shadow and pool of darkness in the room and my connection to them, as if they were a part of me.

  Mine.

  I tugged, and the shadows rushed toward me, spinning together into a tornado of chaos before spreading outward toward the creatures. They smashed into them, knocking them back and holding them at bay. Slade lay on the ground, bloody and wounded. I grabbed his collar and tugged.

  “Up. Get up.”

  He shook his head. “It’s too late for me. Just go.”

  What was he saying?

  What?

  He looked down at his abdomen, and I followed his gaze to see the wound where the creatures had torn into him.

  It pooled and pumped blood. Too much blood.

  I scanned his pale face and noted his bloodless lips.

  He was bleeding out. Oh god. No.

  “I can stop it. We can fix this.” I pressed my hands to the bloody mass. “Slade, please.”

  My mind knew it was futile, a wound like this…But I had to try. I had to… My eyes burned with impotence, and my brow broke out in a sweat. I couldn’t hold the shadows for much longer, but I had to. I had to help Slade. I needed to save him.

  Slade pressed a bloody palm to my cheek. “Stop. Just look at me. Please.”

  I bit back a sob and looked into his eyes.

  “You’re special, Danika. I don’t know how or why, but you are.” He coughed, and blood coated his mouth and lips. “You need to live. Go.”

  Leave him here to die? No.

  “I’m done,” he said softly. “You know it.”

  I shook my head, vision blurring, hot and angry. This couldn’t happen. He didn’t deserve this. I didn’t deserve this. I needed him. I wanted him. Oh god. My chest ached, and a fist clamped itself around my heart and squeezed.

  His eyes fluttered closed.

  Wait. No.

  I pressed my lips to his in a crushing kiss as if I could hold him to me. As if I could stop time with my mouth on his. He tasted of copper and cinnamon. He tasted of Slade, and he was slipping away; I could feel it. I squeezed my eyes closed, cupping his face and holding him to me.

  “Please don’t go.” My mouth moved against his in a desperate plea. “Please, don’t leave me.”

  His breath stopped mingling with mine, and his chest was still.

  Gone.

  No. No, no, no.

  You can bring him back, child. Open yourself to the possibility. Let the power take control.

  Mab?

  Trust it.

  Her words were a key to a secret box hidden deep inside me. It opened with a snick, and cold fire flared to life in my chest. It shot up my throat to stain my lips and seep into his. The world was a faraway place—distant, cold, and unimportant.

  Only this mattered.

  Only bringing him back mattered because Mab was right. I could do that. I could bring him back. The knowledge was a sudden addition to my memories, as if placed there by stealth hands when my attention was elsewhere.

  I could bring him back. All he needed was a piece of me, and I’d give it willingly. I pressed my mouth harder against his and offered myself to him. A spark passed between us, and a magnetic force unfurled and tugged at his soul, pulling it back into his body. The spark wrapped around him and something pulled deep inside me before clicking into place. It was a connection to him, and a fracture inside me, but I didn’t care, because he was gasping against my mouth.

  He was breathing.

  He was alive.

  Oh god, h
e was alive.

  I pulled back and looked into his honey eyes, then down at his healed torso. Relief was a tsunami of emotion in my chest, shattering me and crashing into every sense.

  I kissed him again, urgent and deep, and this time he kissed me back. In that moment, there was no one else but him. My traitorous heart felt no guilt because no one else mattered but him.

  A soft buzzing registered behind me, almost imperceptible beneath the snarls and screams of creatures as they remained the shadows’ prisoners.

  “Danika?” Slade broke the kiss, looking up at me in awe.

  I shook my head and pushed words past the tightness in my throat. “I don’t know how, and I don’t care. Let’s just get the fuck out of here.”

  This time when I stood and offered him my hand, he took it.

  19

  “Where is he?” I strode into Aspen’s quarters. “Where’s Slade?”

  Aspen arched a brow. “Airm Marfach? Do I look like his keeper?”

  We’d been met by Autumn scholars outside Baile Sidhe and separated. I’d been shoved into a carriage and brought here. Slade wasn’t in his chambers. He wasn’t in the guards’ room. I’d sought out his friends, but they hadn’t seen him either. But they’d seen the footage of the Autumn blood trial.

  They’d seen us kiss.

  The damn buzzing had been a drone. It must have gotten in through the wardrobe exit and filmed the kiss after I’d healed him.

  Thank god it hadn’t got in sooner. Thank god it hadn’t seen me manipulate the shadows or heal him, but… The kiss.

  No. Slade’s kind were highly sexed. The cold ones needed to know that. They couldn’t attribute his actions to mean an emotional connection with me.

  My pulse was an erratic beat in my throat. “I need to see him.”

  Aspen’s eyes narrowed, and his mouth thinned. “He wasn’t transported back with you?

  “No. Autumn guards separated us.”

  Aspen cursed under his breath. “Typical Autumn move.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, they’re trying to keep him from you, so you can’t use him for the Spring blood trial.”

  “You can get him back though, right?”

  “I can. And I will.”

  I exhaled, relief rushing through me in a wave.

  Aspen smiled tightly. “What did you think had happened? Hmmm?” He filled his goblet. “You thought Slade’s disappearance was a result of that emotional kiss between the two of you?”

  Oh fuck. I forced a confused frown to my face. “What kiss?”

  Aspen rolled his eyes. “Don’t play dumb, Danika.”

  Danika, not Winter’s Blade. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “I know you do. You know about the feelers, and I know about your deal with Airm Marfach.”

  Ice ran through my veins. “What are you talking about?”

  “Your deal to get him and his friends out of Middale, and your deal with Sector B’s commander to hide your family.”

  Oh fuck.

  “You’re immune to the drug. You’re…different.” He sipped from his goblet. “It’s why I chose you.”

  My pulse fluttered in my throat like a trapped hummingbird. “Chose me?”

  “Sit, and let me lay my cards on the table, so to speak.” He indicated a chair.

  It wasn’t like I had a choice. I gingerly lowered myself onto the edge of the sofa, and he took the seat opposite.

  “Not much happens in this Keep without my knowledge. Yes, there are certain areas that are out of bounds, even for me. Your sister, for example. I can’t get to her, but I know she’s a lost cause.” He waved a dismissive hand. “Forget about her. You can’t save her, but you can save others from being taken. You can save humans from being needlessly killed.”

  What was he talking about?”

  “My father, the Winter King, has ruled for too long. He should be dead, yet he and the ancients continue to thrive. I have no idea how, but I suspect it’s something to do with whatever was stolen from the red zone a week ago. There’s been a buzz of panicked activity ever since, but that’s no longer important because I’m done with waiting for my father to die so I can take the throne.”

  “But… Palamon is the crown prince.”

  “Palamon is a fool. We have an understanding. I let him live, and he steps aside and gives me the throne.” He shrugged.

  “Your father needs to die first, though.”

  “Not if I take the throne by force.”

  “You want a war?”

  “There won’t be a need for war.” He snorted. “All I need is allies. I may be the bastard prince, but I’m also the cog behind many wheels. The guard is almost mine, and with your help, I’ll have the support of the people, human and Tuatha. They already see how deadly you are, how invincible. You bring pride to the human race, instill fear into the hearts of the Tuatha, and you belong to me. My blade. To use as I wish.”

  I’d thought as much. “And what will you do once you have the throne?”

  “I’ll usher in a new order. No more hunts on humans. No more execution of Tuatha with emotions.”

  It sounded too good to be true. It made no sense. “Why?”

  His eyes darkened, and his mouth twisted wryly. “Because we deserve to live too.”

  We… as in… “You’re a feeler?”

  He shrugged and sipped his drink. “Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

  Fuck. This changed everything. This meant we could turn the tide internally. If I stayed… If I stayed, I could use Aspen, and he could use me, and we could both maybe get what we wanted.

  “You can’t leave,” he said. “I’m not sure how you intended to get away. That part, my spies couldn’t source, but don’t. In turn, I will keep your family safe, and I’ll do everything within my power to get Slade back.”

  “And my sister?”

  His jaw ticked. “I don’t have the authority to get to her…yet. But I will do all I can to find out what’s happened to her.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner? Why pretend to be an—”

  “Unfeeling bastard?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I needed to be sure about you. I needed to be sure you were the one.”

  “And now you’re sure.”

  “You entered Baile Sidhe and came out unscathed. I’m sure.” He set his goblet down and leaned his forearms on his thighs. “So, Danika, will you work with me?”

  Killion was coming for me in three days, but this… This was a better plan. I’d tell Killion. He’d understand.

  “Yes, I’ll work with you.”

  Aspen’s lips curved in a smug smile. “Now, let’s go get our Lethal Weapon back.”

  * * *

  Rose showed me to my new quarters. I’d requested to be housed on the domestic floor, and my room was three times the size of the box I’d been in on the lower floors. There was an actual window with a view of the city, tinged red as the sun set, and lying on my bed, waiting patiently for me, was my sword.

  Aspen had left me with a promise to travel personally to Autumn tomorrow morning and bring Slade home, but for now, I needed to do my part and play the game by attending a celebration dinner with the Regency. Turned out, I was in demand now that I’d completed two blood trials. I was the human who’d bested the dead then navigated a mountain city filled with horrors and emerged unscathed.

  Aspen was an expert at marketing me. He was turning me into a legend, and if we were to succeed, then I needed to play the part.

  My gaze flicked to the outfit hanging on the wardrobe door. The corset was a shade of blue so dark it was almost black. And the tiny gems studded to it winked in the errant rays of sunshine that hit it. There were dark blue slacks and black leather boots to go with it.

  “I’ll draw you a bath, Mistress,” Rose said.

  My instinct was to tell her to leave, that I could manage. But I was playing a role. A legend, a master, and I needed her to fear me.

/>   “Make sure it’s not too hot this time,” I snapped.

  She looked at me sharply, then nodded curtly. “As you wish.”

  I took a deep breath and stripped off my clothes. The sooner this meal was over, the sooner I could sleep, then it would be tomorrow, and Slade would be back.

  I needed him back.

  * * *

  “The blue color suits you,” Aspen said as he led me toward the Regency quarters.

  “Thanks. Shame it has to be so tight.”

  “What’s a little discomfort to get what we want, hmmm?”

  He had a point.

  “My sources confirm that our Airm Marfach is alive and well and an unwilling guest of the Autumn Court.”

  He was safe. “Thank you.”

  “You care for him.”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you…love him?”

  When I thought of love, Killion came to mind. He’d been my rock and my protector for so long. I loved him, not Slade, didn’t I?

  “Don’t worry,” Aspen said. “Emotions are complicated, and love is the most convoluted of them all.” We were at the doors to the Regency dining room now. “Brace yourself.” Aspen leaned in, lowering his voice. “I’m about to slip back into bastard mode.”

  My gaze whipped up to meet his and his moss-green eyes crinkled with mirth. Wait, had he just made a joke?

  But then the door opened, and we swept into the room beyond. All eyes turned to us… To me. They were all looking at me. Then the Winter King stood and began to applaud.

  The scrape of wood on tile filled the room as every Tuatha mimicked their liege. They were applauding me, and for what? For not fucking dying in some stupid trials they’d agreed to throw me into.

  Anger was a bitter surge up my throat, but I swallowed it and inclined my head, accepting the praise.

  Aspen guided me to the table. Winter King sat, and we all took our seats.

  Palamon looked across the table at me and smiled slightly. Then his gaze flicked to Aspen, and he ducked his head.

  He really was afraid of the bastard prince, and I didn’t blame him. Aspen might have been a feeler, but that didn’t stop him being ruthless and cutthroat, and it wouldn’t stop him killing Palamon to take the throne if the crown prince got in his way. I should have felt bad about that, afraid even, but I needed Aspen on the throne. Humanity needed a feeler ruling, and even though my gut told me Palamon was a feeler too, he didn’t have the strength of character to rule. At least he was wise enough to know that.