Fae of the South (Court of Crown and Compass Book 3) by E. Hall (libby ebook reader .txt) 📕

“I’m trying to do this the easy way. But I have to take you back. You’re the face of the future.”

I pry his fingers off me.

“And you sound drunk on bad ideas.” Again, I start walking, more quickly.

He follows, trying out new ways to convince me to join him, just on the outside of pleading.

He grabs my arm, turning me toward him. I try to twist away, but his grasp gets tighter. Sophomore year slams into my mind. The attack. The knife. The threat. Emeric repeats my name and this time I feel myself getting pulled under, like a wave, a curtain, a veil of enchantment. Part of me begs to give in. But no, something’s not right. I swat his arms away, taking him by surprise.

“Let me go,” I bark.

“Only if you come with me.”

I kick him hard and take off running on the rain-slick ground. Branches whip my arms as I crash through the woods. I suddenly feel like I’m going the wrong way. I veer right, but the ground starts to slope. I’m lost.

Emeric limps behind me, quickly closing the space between us. His wet hair lashes behind him like angry snakes.

The thin trees and long windswept grass doesn’t look familiar. I keep running and gulping air. The wind stings my eyes as they become blurry with tears. Emeric closes in behind me. Nothing on land or in the sky orients me back to campus.

“Leajka. Stop now. Make this easier on yourself. One way or another I will get you.”

I don’t fully understand what’s at stake or the specifics of the game Emeric referred to, but I need answers.

I look over my shoulder and just as I take another step, my feet slip on loose rocks. My head hits the ground hard and everything goes black.

Chapter 16

Tyrren

Whatever was left of my heart broke when Lea fell into Emeric’s arms after the Rjoklund Games. I started wandering off to the dorm like a sad sack, but something sharp and sure stopped me.

I trailed them back to where Emeric was announced the winner. I hung in the shadows while Lea filled a plate with sweets. I followed them at a distance when he led her back to the woods. I listened while he filled her head with lies.

Lea has always been the smartest and toughest girl I know. Why would she buy into the garbage coming out of Emeric’s mouth?

There’s no time to try to understand. What I do know is that he’s behind the X-Crew crimes. He wants to recruit Lea and she’s in danger.

So that neither one of them saw me, I hid behind a rock then a tree as they argued. Now they’re on the other side of the island.

Silhouetted by a pair of headlights, Emeric carries Lea, limp in his arms, toward the vehicle.

I hurry after them until I can go no farther without being seen. He lowers her into the car. I have to stop this now or she could be lost to me forever.

“Emeric, whatever you’re doing, stop,” I shout.

He turns to me, eyes dark, muscles tense. I sense turbulence. Without hesitating, he grabs a handful of my jacket and tries to throw me to the ground.

Considering he has a car waiting, clearly violating RIP Jr rules, I brace myself for fae magic to blast me or whatever it does. Instead, he’s unexpectedly strong, as hard as stone.

He grips my arms as I move to get him in a hold. “Let go of me,” I growl, knowing my request is futile. Are fae usually this strong?

I manage to get a leg up and kick him hard. My toe hurts.

Our eyes meet. His are dark. Obsidian in the night. Familiar.

“You,” I snarl. “You’re not fae. You’re the vampire who turned me.”

His lips peel back in a grim leer. “Not as dumb as you look, are you, Tyrren?”

“Why? What do you want with Lea?” There’s no reasonable answer to those questions.

“This is much bigger than you can imagine. The violence and vandalism on the city streets? That was just me playing. Now that Lea is mine, the big show happens back in Borea.”

He moves to get in the car.

Pent up jealousy, righteousness, and anger funnel through me. A cyclone of energy pushes me to the edge of reason. I don’t answer. Instead, I swing. My fist crunches against his perfectly sculpted cheek. He drives his shoulder into my stomach. My back rubs up against the slick exterior of the car—a Jaguar. I push Emeric away from the vehicle and Lea, managing to land a punch to his jaw. With every blow, jab, and kick, I feel the pain doubly like I’m beating myself up. He’s been at this vamp gig a lot longer than me.

How did he trick the fae? Does the administration know? He’s right. This is bigger than I imagined.

Emeric clutches his nose, staring at me on unsteady feet. “Is this the part when you demand answers?” He tilts his head back and laughs.

My body aches. “You had Lea under some kind of spell,” I say. The vampire ability to mesmerize.

He wears a cocky smirk. “No, I just told her the truth. Won her heart. Became her boyfriend. The lucky guy who got the girl. The owner of this slick car,” he answers, goading me. “And who are you? No one. Nothing. Your body will wash up on the banks of the river and you’ll be forgotten. One less vampire to torment the poor people of Terra.”

I roll my shoulders. “You’re going down,” I say, startled by the sound of my own threat. I launch myself at him.

We go to war, grappling, holding, fighting. But we’re both vampires. It’s pointless.

Lightning strikes. Thunder claps. The headlights of the