Prisoner of Darkness (Whims of Fae Book 2)(5)

Raith would be wise to follow his own advice. The desire to know about his mother burned through him, a thirst needing quenched. But bargaining with Kaelem? He knew it was a bad idea.

“You won’t be able to help her like I can.” Kaelem pulled his legs from the table and straightened his posture in his chair. “She’s part Unseelie.”

“How do you know?”

“If she didn’t have Unseelie blood in her, the pill wouldn’t have worked,” Kaelem said. “I could sense it in her the moment I met her.”

But Scarlett could heal and that was a Seelie Court gift.

Seelie and Unseelie? The two courts despised each other. It was unheard of for a member of either court to mate. It didn’t surprise him that an Unseelie fae would break the rule, but defying the rule of the Seelie court never ended well for the fae who dared. How had Scarlett ended up with the blood of both in her system? Maybe the Seelie Court didn’t know. Somehow, Scarlett’s abilities had been masked from her until she entered Faerie. Had it kept her powers hidden from the Seelie Court as well?

Raith considered telling Kaelem about Scarlett’s healing gift, but decided against it.

“So what will it be, Summer Prince? You get what you came here for and I’ll help Scarlett learn her new gifts. Do we have a deal?”

If Kaelem wanted Scarlett, he’d find her, especially if she had Unseelie blood in her. Raith could attempt to leave now and find Scarlett and, what, go on the run? Summer fae had powerful magic, sure, but since their magic had been bound, it was limited. Raith didn’t know how much Scarlett had now. Kaelem would be a better teacher for Scarlett.

If he truly wanted to help her.

But why did he want to teach her? That was the part that had Raith bothered. Kaelem never did anything out of the generosity of his heart. It was always a game or a ploy. But this was Raith’s chance. Every inch of him longed to learn more about his mother. Kaelem played games, but he wasn’t a liar. If he said he could lead Raith on the right path, then Raith believed him.

“I’ll tell you where she is, and you’ll tell me what you know about my mother?”

“Yes.”

Raith could come back for Scarlett. She could learn what she needed from Kaelem and, eventually, Raith would find her again.

“Deal.”



Scarlett sat at her computer desk and stared at the pen sitting on her closed laptop. She imagined it rising into the air, flying toward her bed, then landing gently on its fluffy gray comforter.

Nothing happened.

Ugh.

She gave a frustrated scream. The pen flew across the room until it hit the colorful mandala tapestry pinned to the wall then dropped to the ground.

“Having problems?” a familiar voice said behind her.

Kaelem.

Scarlett twirled her chair around. Kaelem stood in front of the door, wearing lavender dress pants, a white shirt with its sleeves rolled, and a gray tie. His navy hair was waved perfectly, still chin length on one side, the other now shaved. The Christmas lights hanging around the room illuminated Kaelem from above, making him look almost angelic.

What perfect hair. So luscious and…

Stop. God. Not this again. Scarlett pulled her thoughts in.

“Still think I’m pretty, I see.”

“Get out of my head.”

“I will, for now, but you need to learn how to keep me out.”

“What do you want?”

Kaelem smirked. “No, ‘Hi there, thanks for the pill that saved my life?’ I’m hurt.” He placed his hands over his heart and puckered his lower lip, tilting his head downward to look up at her through his thick, dark lashes.

He was right. The pill Scarlett took had given her enough strength to heal herself then Raith. Without it, they’d have been banshee food. “Thank you. But I imagine you had your reasons.”

She wasn’t an idiot. She’d known he’d find her someday. There was no way he’d given her the pill for no reason. That wasn’t how the fae world worked, and from what Cade had told her, the Unseelie Court was the most selfish and ruthless of them all. The chances that Kaelem had helped her solely out of the goodness of his heart were slim.

“Smart girl,” Kaelem said. “I like to make things interesting, and you are quite that.” He sauntered to her bed, sat down, then lounged back against her pillows. “I have a feeling you’ve been feeling powerful lately.”

Scarlett crossed her arms in front of her chest to hide the effect seeing him in bed had on her. Dirty thoughts kept sneaking into her mind, but she kept throwing them out. What was he talking about? Oh, yeah. Her feeling powerful. “Yes.”

“You’re fae now, whether you like it or not, and you need to learn how to control your power.”

She had been practicing. She’d learned how to glamour her ears on her own. If he’d really wanted to help, he’d have come to her sooner. Why the sudden interest in her well-being? “I’m managing.”

“You wanted that pen to fly into the wall?”

“Yep.”

“It’s only going to get worse. Your magic is still growing. Your power will get stronger. You need my help.”

Scarlett wanted to argue, but she remembered the pizza incident. She hadn’t consciously tried to get the pizza to move. She’d been so angry with the guy, it just happened. Her moods were more volatile all the time. What if she wished something really bad? What if Ashleigh made her mad? Scarlett and Ashleigh had gotten along great lately, but, heaven knew, they were capable of arguing.