Prisoner of Darkness (Whims of Fae Book 2)(3)

He couldn’t worry about her now. If he wanted answers, he’d have to stay here and humor Kaelem. If Raith left, Kaelem may never share the secrets he said he had. The fae were stubborn, if nothing else.

Kaelem swallowed a bite. “Delightful.”

“Completely.” Raith didn’t hide the sourness to his tone. It was what Kaelem, who had the former Summer Prince in need of information, wanted. Raith had known Kaelem long enough to know that games were fun to him, and his best chance to learn what he needed was to play along.

Although Raith grew impatient, he was under the protection of the Unseelie King for now. Should his brother, Cade, find out he was still alive, Kaelem might keep him safe for nothing more than adding fuel to the fire of brotherly rivalry. That and nothing angered a fae ruler more than someone coming in and killing his guests.

So, for now, Raith would be a pawn in Kaelem’s chess game. Until he got the information he needed.



Kaelem devoured the last bite of the cheesecake on his plate. Its delectable flavor lit up his taste buds. Dessert was by far the best part of any meal.

He watched Raith grimace in his chair. The Summer Prince was too easy. Kaelem could get under his skin with just a look. Oh, the fun. He’d been rooting for Raith. Cade was too boring to be a fae king, all serious and moral.

So much so, he’d made the mistake of leaving his brother alive for someone or something else to take care of. Sure, to most it seemed a merciful deed, but to Kaelem, it showed his cowardice. Royals did not have the luxury of showing mercy. It made them weak and easy targets.

It was a mistake he’d only made once, and that one time haunted him every day.

Two brownies came into the dining room and cleared the table, careful not to meet Kaelem’s eye. He wasn’t sure why they feared him so much. Most likely an effect of his father’s ruling tendencies. Kaelem didn’t see the need to incite terror in everyone around him like the late king had done.

“I take it I won’t be getting any answers tonight,” Raith grumbled.

“Not tonight, Summer Prince.”

Kaelem laughed at the anger pouring off of Raith. The Summer Prince really needed to get his emotions in check, but that would take away the fun, which would be no good.

“Then I’m leaving.” Raith paused, waiting for an objection.

If Kaelem refused, he’d stay. If he asked Raith to dance like a drunken chicken, he’d do that, too. For as much as Raith pretended to be uncaring, Kaelem had seen inside his mind when his mental shields were down. Raith would do whatever it took to learn more about his mother. Well, almost anything. Kaelem had read his thoughts of the human girl. Those feelings would be the one line he may not cross, even to know more about his beloved mother.

Which made Kaelem want to push that particular boundary even more.

When Kaelem didn’t respond, Raith got up from the table and left the room without another word.

Kaelem smirked. That human girl had both Summer Princes intrigued. Only, she was never truly human. Kaelem had sensed the fae in her the first time he saw her.

And he’d felt her transition the moment she took the pill he’d given her.

Now she wasn’t human at all.

A soft wind blew against Kaelem’s skin. Someone had evanesced into the room, which, thanks to the boundary spell, only a few could do. The palace barriers prohibited evanescing for most fae. Only Kaelem and a few of the Unseelie guards could.

And the Fates, who appeared in front of him.

Their raven hair contrasted sharply against their pallid skin. All three stared at Kaelem with deep set, obsidian eyes so dark it was impossible to distinguish between iris and pupil.

“Hello, King of Darkness,” they said in unison.

Kaelem slouched back in his chair and lifted his feet onto the table. A visit from the Fates—how interesting. The last prophecy he heard landed him the position of king. “To what do I owe the pleasure of the presence of such beauties?”

It’s wasn’t a lie, the three sisters were beautiful, in a harsh way. Big eyes, with thin rose-colored lips, and flawless pale skin. Had they not had the habit of bearing bad news, they might have been more likable.

“As proud as ever, we see,” they said. “We come to share news of a great power.”

The Fates were nothing if not dramatic.

“Don’t brush us off, King, or you may just suffer the same fate as your father.”

Kaelem kept his face still, but the jab got to him. His father had been warned of the threat the Seelie Queen posed, but he’d swept the warning away.

“Our words are never true or false,” the three voices sang in perfect harmony. “But we speak the outcome we see.”

And they were almost never wrong. Their visions were legend. Fae kings and queens taught their heirs to believe or regret it.

Except Kaelem’s father. He told them to go to hell, and that’s probably where he was that very moment.

“I’m listening,” Kaelem said.

The Fates cocked their heads in unison, like crows perched on a fence. “Trouble bubbles for the fae world. A power, long undiscovered, awaits those brave enough to search. But only two parts of a whole and one part of another can free it from its chamber. That is the key.”

Mumbo jumbo, as usual. The Fates never spoke plainly. Riddles were their game. But Kaelem liked games, and he liked power.