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

at the lines of shadow fae with their eyes clouded over. “There is just one little hiccup. Count Vlad is posing a problem, hidden away somewhere in the realm and I’m relying on the three of you to lead me to him.”

“Why would we do that?” Val asks.

Glandias tilts her head with feigned curiosity. “Cooperate or your friends will pay.” She approaches me with sure footing and her nasty smile wrinkles her scarred cheeks.

The fire within blisters and burns. I don't do anything to extinguish it and glare at her.

“The others know better than to try to fight me, Lea. But I suppose you can’t be blamed for your behavior, considering you’re little more than shadow. Now, let’s see. There’s Soren the fatherless son of the fallen Raven Kingdom.” She paces past him. “We have Callen, who’s little more than a cursed wolf shifter.” She sneers at him.

“Do you mean a night howl?” Tyrren asks.

By the grim expressions of the others in response the answer is yes.

“Learned about them in class at RIP Jr. There’s a sanctuary to break the curse in Concordia where the Alpha Guardians are.” Tyrren shrugs.

Glandias dismisses Tyrren’s interlude. “Of course, the newest member of your little crew, the vampire, Tyrren. We’ll finish our tests later. This leaves me with the three fae sisters. There’s really no sense in prolonging this scenario. Ineke, Valora, and Leajka, I command you lead me to your father.” Glandias uses our true names.

Kiki and Val slouch and their expressions slacken. I recall Emeric using my name, how I bent to his will, feeling a pull that I couldn’t resist. This time, I don’t feel the fog or the sense that I’m slipping into a dream.

Kiki reaches into her pocket and produces the compass. “I need the stone from your crown.” Her voice is robotic.

Glandias’s eyes widen and she snatches the compass, quickly removing the stone from the crown and popping it into the empty spot indicating south. She turns in a circle as though trying to make sense of the spinning needle in the middle. She flashes a glare at Kiki. “Make this work.”

My sister holds out her hands. “Only one of us can use it.”

“I don’t trust you.” Glandias puts it in my hands likely because I’m already in shadow.

I blink slowly, keeping up the ruse.

“Leajka, use the compass. Lead me to your father.”

I force myself not to flinch when she says father. Doesn’t she mean Count Vlad?

I study the compass as though reading something important. When we first met, Kiki explained that the compass served four purposes. It can take you where you’d like to go, lead you to your heart’s greatest desire, to the location of the four missing stones in each of the pockets, and to its owner.

I turn in a slow circle like Glandias did moments before. The needle lands on Tyrren. “He knows where to go,” I say robotically, mimicking Kiki.

“The scab?” Glandias scoffs.

I extend my hand to his. “Tyrren, the iron bracelet will take us where we want to go.”

He tilts his head slightly and his lip quirks like he understands.

With one finger, I subtly trace the rune of passage on the bracelet around his wrist, the one I gave him and he used to get back to the RIP Jr campus when I went on the fool’s errand for Jurik—who was actually Glandias.

The mage steps closer, peering over my shoulder. Meanwhile, the others link hands.

Although Glandias will figure out where we went since she gave me the bracelet, it’ll buy us time. That is if it works.

But she can’t be touching me or we’ll take her with us.

I draw on the taste, the texture, and the essence of my light. I feel for it in the ether. There’s a silver thread. I grab onto it in my mind, pulling it closer, hand over hand. The more I pull, the brighter it gets, turning golden, blinding. I inhale and then whirl, using it to blast Glandias back.

I press my finger against the rune and shout, “Now.”

We slip into nothingness, spinning, swirling, lost to space and time.

I keep hold of the golden thread, not willing to let it go. I want my entire fae-self back, light, shadow, and whatever is in between.

Darkness fills my vision as I land on stone and hit my head.

Chapter 30

Leajka

Voices float into my mind. They belong to my sisters.

“No, don’t think about it as running away. Rather, we’re delaying the fight. We need to find our fourth sister,” Kiki says.

“What was that about our father?” Val asks.

“Whatever. Glandias doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Kiki says dismissively.

But I do.

I wiggle my fingers and take a deep breath. I feel lighter somehow even though my body aches.

“I think she’s waking up,” Tyrren says.

My eyes flash open and land on him. I wrap my arm around his neck, pull myself to sitting, and then sink into his arms. I feel the fullness of his worry, his fear, and his strength. He holds me tight. Almost too tight, considering his vampire strength, but right now I don’t mind. It’s the one thing keeping me from floating away on what are sure to be crystalline fae wings.

Throughout my body, I feel the light is back. It’s like rubies and emeralds, silver and gold. It’s the richest feeling—one I never realized I had until it was gone.

Tyrren pulls back and rakes his hand through his hair. “You okay?”

I have the notion there are students watching this spectacle here on the RIP Jr campus. The riddle of fear and reverence threads through the crowd. Like petals of a dry flower, the events in the Southlands unfold, returning to me like a dream. A combination of dread