Prisoner of Darkness (Whims of Fae Book 2)(54)

Cade kept his face calm. She was fishing for information. Did she think Cade had come to their rescue? “I wasn’t there. I do not know how they escaped.”

It wasn’t completely a lie. Cade wasn’t in the dungeon, but he knew they received reinforcement when Raith and the warrior woman showed up.

“Where were you, son?”

“Poppy and I were attending the ball, as we’d come to do.”

Kassandra’s eyes searched his expression for signs of dishonesty, but Cade let nothing show. He knew his mother didn’t like Scarlett and would lose no sleep if she were to die. But if she knew Raith had survived, Cade wasn’t sure he knew what she would do. He was ruler now, not her, and only he would decide the fate of his brother.

He’d wondered if letting Raith and the woman in to help and allowing everyone to leave without a fight were the right choices. When he’d seen his mother lying on the ground, he worried she’d been killed and it was his fault. But they’d spared her, a kindness he doubted she’d have shown them.

The bond between Cade and Poppy was as strong as ever. With Raith still alive and not conceding his right to the throne, the Battle of Heirs still continued. But he couldn’t let Kassandra know that.

“I need more rest.” Kassandra closed her eyes.

Apparently, the conversation was over.

Cade left, retreating to his chambers. There, he was greeted by three women he’d only heard legends about: the Fates.

“Hello, Prince,” they said in unison, their dark hair hanging over their pale faces.

He shut the door behind him so no passing ears would overhear.

Why were they there? And they’d called him prince, which must have meant his suspicions were accurate. He wasn’t actually king.

Yet.

“Why are you here?” He watched them suspiciously.

“We’ve come with a warning: war is fast approaching. The fae world is shifting. New alliances will form.”

“With who? What will happen to the Summer Court?”

Their heads cocked to the side, dark eyes watching him curiously. “That is yet to be decided.”

“What can I do?”

“She who is one of many will hold the power. Betray her, and rain will fall. Help her, and the sun will rise again.”

“Who?” he demanded.

A cacophony of laughter burst through their lips. “We have no answers, only advice.” Their eyes fluttered with knowledge, knowledge they wouldn’t share with Cade, not today. “The Summer Court will need a ruler or it will fall.”

“But I am its ruler,” Cade tried to tell them, but before the words escaped his lips, they had vanished.

Who was the woman they spoke of? How could Cade get her on his side if he didn’t even know who she was?

They denied him any real answers, except for one; Cade wasn’t truly king.

He couldn’t protect his people without being the leader they needed.

Next time he saw his brother, he couldn’t let him go.





Chapter Twenty-Seven





Scarlett stood in front of the window in her room in the Unseelie Court, staring out into the bright lights of the city sparkling in the everlasting darkness.

It had been a week since they’d escaped the Winter Court. With the help of Unseelie magic and, most of all, Scarlett’s healing abilities, Aria was on the road to recovery.

Scarlett, too, had regained her energy, but she had yet to gain the courage to face her new truth: she could never have a normal human life.

A knock on the door caused her gaze to move.

May I come in? Kaelem’s words spoke in her head.

Since learning of her mind powers, he’d spoken to her a lot that way. He said it was to help her practice at gaining control.

Sure.

Kaelem entered, a mirror in his hand. It was the mirror that held Ashleigh. He’d offered to release her the day they’d returned to the Unseelie Court, but Scarlett asked him to wait.

She’d wanted to regain her energy first. Once she had, she wanted time to decide what to tell Ashleigh. Day after day passed, and still, she couldn’t bring herself to tell her sister the truth.

Scarlett was officially a chicken. After everything she’d been through, nothing scared her more than telling Ashleigh the truth about everything.

“You can do it,” Kaelem said aloud. “It won’t ever be easy, nothing ever is, but you’ll work it out.”

Scarlett glared at him. Who was he to tell her what would happen? It was his fault. He trapped Ashleigh, stealing her from her human life. She could have been left alone, cuddled next to her boyfriend watching Netflix. But instead, she’d been missing from her life, failing her college classes, and Scarlett didn’t know how to explain to her that she couldn’t go back. That world was no longer safe for Ashleigh.

But neither was the fae world.

“I am sorry,” Kaelem said. “I shouldn’t have taken her like that and blackmailed you into helping me. I was desperate.”

Scarlett stared at the mirror.

Kaelem continued, “But she wouldn’t be safe in the mortal world anymore. Not once Kassandra found out you’d survived and were now fae.”

He was right. Scarlett’s decisions hadn’t just altered her own future, but they’d altered Ashleigh’s as well. Crying and fuming about it wouldn’t change anything.