Princess of Shadows: A Dark Fae Fantasy Romance Read online

  “And Bastian and I are different. I don’t do the dream thing very well. I can do it, but it’s a pain. He, on the other hand, doesn’t have the natural beauty that I do, and he can’t control himself as well. It’s a lot of give and take, but almost everyone agrees that it’s easier to be a succubus, but incubi are much more powerful. That happens to be why there are so few of them left.”

  “And remember that Bastian is only half incubus. I assume that you’ve experienced his powers in dreams?”

  I nodded, feeling a blush come over me. “Hon, stop getting embarrassed around me. There’s no need. I feed on sex and desires. I have been the literal fantasy of nearly every desire the human race has come up with. Talking about sex with me is like talking to your doctor about a scrape on your elbow.”

  “Anyway, a full-blooded incubus can twist a person while in dreams, and they’ll wake up different. Even the Fae are vulnerable to the words spoken by a full incubus. Women have murdered their families after being compelled. Kingdoms have been ruined. They’re some of the most powerful and most dangerous beings.”

  “So they’re hunted?”

  Astriel nodded. “To the brink of extinction. The last Queen of the Dark Court tried to stop it. Her consort was an incubus, and she knew that just like other dangerous beings, they needed to be punished for crimes, but not punished for their existence.”

  The waitress came to the table and set our plates down. Massive plates of food. The waitress glanced at Astriel and began to get a strange look in her eyes as she stared at her.

  “Thank you,” Astriel said. “You can go now. Don’t come check on us.”

  The girl nodded with a smile and walked away.

  “You used magic on her, didn’t you?” I whispered accusingly.

  “Sweetheart, I use magic on everyone. It’s what I am. It just doesn’t work quite as well on you fairies if I’m not expending a significant amount of energy. Yet another good reason for me to steer clear of you.”

  “So you could whisper in my ear all sorts of things, and I would do what you say?”

  “No, I’m not a siren. That’s out of my realm of possibility when dealing with full Fae. Humans are easy to control, and half-bloods are possible with enough power.”

  “I have so much to learn,” I said feeling more and more lost. There were so many different kinds of Fae. So much to learn about magic. So much to learn about myself. I felt like all I did was ask questions and try to learn as fast as possible.

  And something inside me told me that I wasn’t learning nearly fast enough. I didn’t know why, but it pushed me to be ready for whatever was coming.

  “Yes, you do,” Astriel agreed. “But it’s okay. At least for now, you have Bastian to lean on. He’s one of the few people in the world that I would trust to save my bacon. On that note, how about we eat a bit because if I have to look at a pretty girl like you wearing a paper bag like that any longer, I might start throwing things.”

  I looked down at the illusion of the little black dress. “You can see through the illusion?”

  “Of course, I can see through my own illusions. Wouldn’t be very helpful if I couldn’t tell what I’d glamoured, would it?”

  Just one more time where I felt stupid. I was beginning to get used to being an idiot. I looked down at the breakfast and wondered how anyone could eat all this. “That’s a lot of food.”

  “You’ll be surprised at just how much food you need now that you’ve claimed your magic,” Astriel said as she began to eat.

  I picked at the food, not used to this kind of unhealthy eating. Two links of sausage, two fried eggs, some kind of beans, hash browns, several slices of grilled tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, and what looked like burnt sausage patties.

  Astriel picked up a sausage link and began biting pieces off it, not bothering to use a fork and knife.

  I reached out to pick up the fork, and it felt like I’d just touched a hot stove. “Fuck,” I whispered.

  “It’s steel, sweetheart. Use your fingers or start carrying around your own silverware. You’re a fairy now that you’ve got wings, and you can’t go around holding steel or iron.”

  I blinked at her. “Seriously? I can’t touch metal? How am I supposed to drive? How am I supposed to function?”

  She grinned. “Carefully. Or wear gloves. It’s one of those few cons that comes with being able to do things that humans couldn’t dream of doing. And not aging. That’s a pretty big plus in my book, so I’m happy to wear gloves and carry my own silverware.”

  I nodded. “I guess that’s true.” I picked up the paper napkin and tore it in half, wrapping one half around the fork handle and the other half around the knife.

  “There you go,” she said as she continued eating her food.

  I dug into mine, and though it was one of the greasiest breakfasts I’d ever had, I felt like I couldn’t get enough. The more I ate, the more I wanted. I could have eaten another plate with how hungry I was.

  “I’d skip the black pudding,” she said pointing at the burnt looking sausage patties. “It’s an acquired taste, and you’re American.” She said it as if that was a good reason.

  I glanced at them and shrugged. I was hungry. They were food, and I wasn’t going to turn down food right then. I cut a bite off one and put it in my mouth and began to chew. The flavor was stronger than I’d expected. Like a heavily seasoned steak with the texture of a soft sausage.

  Astriel stared at me with the hint of a smile as though she expected me to make a disgusted face. “Not half bad,” I said as I cut another bite of the black pudding.

  She shook her head and finished her plate, leaving the black pudding untouched.

  Standing up, she pulled out a stack of money and put several bills on the table. I had no idea what anything cost here. Not only was I having to deal with all of this fairy magic stuff, but we were in a country where I didn’t understand anything. Even the breakfast had been strange.

  As we walked, Astriel began to talk. “This area of London is known by the immortals as being a gathering place for those of the Fae. Many of the shops are owned by immortals, and they cater to the less human needs as well as the human side of things.

  She pointed at a clothing boutique. In the corner of the door, a strange symbol had been drawn in black paint. “That means clothing with the added notice of dark,” she said. “The Court of Light lives during the day, and so they’ll only shop during daylight hours. This one caters to the Dark Court and will open at twilight and stay open all night long.” She opened the door, and we stepped into a room that looked like a costume shop.

  A silver bell above the door rang signaling our entrance, and a middle-aged woman wearing a beautiful silver dress that brought to mind the image of a starlit sky stepped out of a backroom behind a curtain.

  The shop was exactly what I’d thought a tailor’s shop would look like. Mannequins held men’s and women’s clothing in various styles that looked distinctly out of today’s social norms. Capes and cloaks hung from the walls. Dresses that looked like they would touch the ground. Tunics and trousers like something that Robin Hood would have worn.

  The walls were plain and unadorned except by the clothing. There was no computer to keep track of sales. I didn’t even see a cash register. Just a counter with a notepad and pen.

  “Astriel,” the woman said, seeming to flow across the floor, “here for another set of lingerie? I’ll have to order more spider silk if that’s the case.”

  “Not tonight, Elora. My friend here is looking for a brand-new wardrobe.” Astriel pushed me forward a step, and Elora glided to me, her feet making no sounds on the wood floor.

  “I’d say so if that’s what the rest of your clothes look like.” Her voice reminded me of a wind blowing through trees, and when I looked in her eyes, they were almost void of color. At the same time, they seemed to burn just like everyone else that had magic.

  “What kind of clothes are you looking for, my dear?” she asked softly.


  “She needs mostly traveling clothes, but throw in a dress or two as well.” Elora glanced at Astriel and then turned back to me.

  It was hard to look her directly in the eye. That lack of color made me think that she was dead. “Is that what you’d like, child?”

  I nodded. “Yes, please. Do you need to take my measurements?”

  She shook her head, her head moving just a little slower than most people. “I’ve been doing this long enough that I can tell your measurements from looking at you.” She paused before saying, “Though that sack you’re wearing makes it slightly more difficult.”

  She turned to Astriel and said, “Give me two hours. Her clothes will be ready by then.”

  Astriel nodded and took my hand. A sense of dread had fallen over me the longer I’d been near Elora, and when we stepped out of the shop, I felt it fading. “What is she?” I whispered.

  “She’s a Draugr. Extremely sad story, actually, but she’s made the best of things.” Astriel took my hand in hers as she began to lead me through the streets.

  “She was a dark elf that was killed when she made her Mistress an unfashionable dress and embarrassed her to an extreme level. It wasn’t actually unfashionable, but her Mistress was an idiot who thought they were laughing at the dress when in actuality, they were laughing at the fact that her husband was sleeping with her sister.”

  “Because she was unfairly killed for a crime she did not commit, she didn’t leave to go to the void. Instead, she stayed to feed on her Mistress, slowly making her weaker and weaker until she died. Afterward, she decided to stay a part of the world and to continue her trade.”

  “Well, she kind of creeped me out,” I said softly, still shaking off the effects of being in the room with Elora.

  “The Dark Court is filled with all sorts of magical beings. Most of them are the creatures that fill the nightmares of humans. We aren’t the good guys, but neither is the Court of Light. We just don’t try to hide who we are.”

  I nodded. I thought that I could accept that. Maybe. There was nothing in the world that was black and white. No clear-cut good guys and bad guys. But was the Dark Court even remotely close to being “good”? I glanced at Astriel and knew that she had killed men while she fed. Just as Sebastian had killed women. Was that too far?

  I needed time. Time to think. Time to try to wrap my head around the fact that nothing in my new world was as simple as my old world had been. Somehow, I doubted that I would get that time. Things were moving too quickly.

  “Come on, little fairy. I think you could use a nice hot shower, and we’ve got two hours to kill.”

  “That sounds like a good idea.”

  Chapter 15

  Rose

  I stepped out of the shower and felt like a brand-new woman. I dearly hoped that the Dark Court was up to human standards in terms of showers if I was going to end up spending any time there. I wasn’t sure there would ever be anything as refreshing as a good hot shower.

  Astriel had laid out a set of clothes that she thought would fit me. They wouldn’t. At least not in the bust area since she must have been two or three cup sizes bigger than me. They were still a lot better than the linen tunic of Sebastian’s that I’d worn.

  I put on the top and was pleasantly surprised to see that it mostly fit. It was certainly not a Fae top since it was made of a stretchy T-shirt material that seemed to fit no matter what the shape of the person wearing it. It was a simple black. I put on the matching black yoga pants and finally felt like I wasn’t running around looking like a homeless person doing a walk of shame.

  I quickly brushed my hair, realizing just how wild my hair had gotten. When that was done, I felt alive again. The feeling of it all being a fantasy mixed with a nightmare had faded, and after thirty-six hours on this adventure, I finally felt awake.

  Long black socks and a pair of running shoes were the last pieces of the ensemble. Now I wouldn’t have to worry about where I stepped. Who knew that a good set of clothes and shoes could make such a difference in the way you viewed your situation?

  I looked in the mirror and smiled. I didn’t look half bad. Even with wet hair, I looked better than I ever had when I’d been human. Yes, I was ready for the adventure now.

  I stepped out of the bathroom and found Sebastian talking to Astriel. She had a look of horror on her face, but Sebastian seemed nonplussed.

  “Let’s try this necklace on you,” he said.

  He walked up to me and pulled a ridiculous necklace out of a pocket in his trousers. I looked at the necklace that had to have been worth more than most cars.

  “Turn around,” he said sternly. There was definitely something going on, and he was trying to remain calm.

  I turned around and lifted my wet hair for him. As Sebastian’s fingers brushed my neck, I recognized the feeling for what it was. Lust. With just a touch, he had turned my mind away from the situation towards him and what he could do to my body.

  With a soft, almost inaudible click, he latched the necklace in place. “That should keep your scent hidden from everyone,” he said softly. His fingers trailed down my neck, and I shivered before he stepped back.

  “Let’s see it on you.” I turned around and looked down at the wealth of gemstones wrapping around my neck.

  “It’s gorgeous,” Astriel said. “Though, I doubt that it’s worth the cost.”

  I ran my fingers over the central diamond, surprised at just how big it was. It was at least as big as my thumbnail. The smaller sapphires were the size of my pinky nail. They were all so massive.

  “This must have cost a fortune,” I said softly.

  “More than a fortune,” Astriel said with a snort.

  Sebastian crossed his arms and assumed a defensive stance as he glanced at Astriel before turning to me. “It cost what it cost. You needed it, and there was no getting around the price.”

  Astriel stomped towards the stairs. “She may have the right bloodlines, Bastian, but is she really worth this? Is she worth the risk?”

  “Anything is worth it if she is what I believe her to be.” Astriel turned to him, one foot on the first step, and they stared at each other for a few seconds, neither of them willing to accept the other’s argument.

  The tension in the air was thick enough to cut, but then something interrupted it, shattering the silence.

  A cracking sound. Beginning as a soft crack, like when an ice cube is put into a glass of water, it grew, and I glanced down at the diamond. A tiny crack in the center slowly grew outward, and both Astriel and Sebastian’s eyes were trained on the stone.

  The crack slowly grew until it finally reached the surface of the stone, and with a resounding pop, the stone broke in half, both pieces slipping out of the setting and falling to the ground.

  The scent of a campfire began to fill the room. I could almost hear the crackling logs. A scent of power. My scent. This was what I smelled like?

  Sebastian and Astriel’s eyes both got wide as they stared at the stone on the ground.

  “What does that mean?” I whispered, my voice the only sound in the room.

  “It means that you are more powerful than anyone I’ve met other than High Queens,” Sebastian said, a wry smile crossing his lips.

  “It means you could be the next Dark Queen,” Astriel said softly.

  I didn’t know how that was possible. I was just a girl who happened to have parents that were fairies. I couldn’t even do magic.

  “I can’t be a Queen. I’ve seen what you can do, and I can’t do anything like that. A Queen is supposed to be powerful, isn’t she?”

  Sebastian nodded. “You need training. That’s all. You’ve had magic flowing in your veins for less than two days. You just need training and time to understand your powers.”

  Suddenly, the scent of a smoldering fire wafted into the room, and both Sebastian and Astriel’s bodies went tight. This was nothing like my scent. This was polluted by the faint scent of rotten eggs, of sulfur. “Get
her clothes and get her to the portal. I’ll meet you there.” His tone was commanding, and Astriel ran to me, pulling me across the room to a cabinet next to her dresser, and when she opened the door, I saw stairs leading down.

  “Come on,” she hissed, pulling me into the hidden stairwell.

  “Whose scent is that?” I whispered back as I followed her, closing the door behind me.

  “Nyx.”

  Chapter 16

  Sebastian

  I walked down the stairs where Barbie smiled at Nyx in his assassin’s cloak. A cloak exactly the same as the one in the pack on my back. She was a nice girl, and she knew a few things about immortals, but she didn’t know that she should have run and hid the moment that anyone in this cloak walked into the room.

  Nyx turned away from her, ignoring the fact that she was still trying to talk to him.

  “Sebastian.” A greeting. A warning. “Where’s the girl?”

  “Gone.” I reached into the pack and pulled my own cloak out. Tossing the pack aside, I pulled the cloak on. I may not have been part of his guild, but he respected me enough to give me the professional courtesy of allowing me to dress for the occasion.

  “Where?” The people in the bar stared at us. One man started laughing so hard that he spit his beer out. “Nyx,” I said softly, but he didn’t respond. Instead, he turned to the man.

  He didn’t use magic. He didn’t need to. He simply walked up to the man, and as the man stood up, he slipped the dagger out of its sheath in a reverse grip, and, in a single graceful movement, sliced the man’s neck clean to the bone. Without saying a word, he turned and walked back to where he was standing.

  For just a few seconds, there was silence other than the gurgling of blood as the man tried to breathe through the blood that blocked his windpipe. His hands tried to clamp around his neck to stop the bleeding, but then he fell over.

  When he hit the floor, everyone began to scream including Barbie. They all ran out of the bar while we stared at each other. A human life was nothing to Nyx. Truthfully, it barely mattered to me.