The Dark Fae (The World of Fae #1)(46)
The trackers looked in their direction, but instantly blackness swallowed Alicia and Deveron whole.
He was the worst sort of dark fae, all right, and every bit hers for all eternity—well, in another year.
And truthfully, it wouldn’t be soon enough.
The Deadly Fae
by
Terry Spear
The World of Fae
Book 2
PUBLISHED BY:
Terry Spear
The Deadly Fae
Copyright ? 2011 by Terry Spear
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
Discover more about Terry Spear at:
http://www.terryspear.com/
Dedication
To the world of fae and the delightful imagination. May you only encounter the good kind of both!
Chapter 1
Wearing male fae clothes, breeches and a tunic, all black that would blend in with the dark alleys or the woods on a moonless night like a master thief on a mission, Lady Sessily stalked her target. Her dark curly brown hair was wound in braids and secured to the back of her head, then she’d covered it with a wide-brimmed ebony hat pulled low over her eyes that shadowed her face in the low light of the alley. The hat had been her father’s when he went on a mission like this, and now she proudly wore it, the black plumed feather waving like an invisible flag in the light breeze.
She peered out beyond the ancient stone building and watched the man she was hired to assassinate, swaggering with his arrogant pride as he headed toward the gaming house.
Lord Davenport loved collecting new brides and their dowries and eliminating them as soon as possible so that he could court another fae heiress. But only in another fae kingdom so that no one knew what he’d done in the last one.
Some fae wouldn’t have cared. One less fae of another kingdom, no problem. Not until they learned that it didn’t matter which kind he murdered. Any would do as long as she was available and wealthy.
But this time, he had married the wrong woman. As soon as Lord Davenport had targeted Lady Marguerite, her brother had tried to learn everything he could about the fae. By the time he had discovered Lord Davenport had a string of former wives, all dead due to mysterious causes, his sister had already married the fae and was too in love to see anything but good in her new husband. Her brother could think of only one way to get rid of the lord before he murdered his sister. He contacted the Denkar Fae assassin guild to end the lord’s life, not that the brother knew who he was really hiring.
Sessily was certain Lady Marguerite’s brother would have said no to the deal.
Sessily had watched Lord Davenport’s movements for a day and a half, learning his routine, but not wanting to delay his demise. She wished she had longer to observe him, as she was most methodical when her researching the behavior of her intended victims. Any mistake and she could be dead instead of her target. And if she died, the poor wife of the lord would be next.
Sessily stayed to the alleyways, watching his progress as he stalked along the dim-lighted street to the gambling house where he would spend another of his brides’ dowries. He was handsome, as men go, a blond fae, dressed in the finest of clothes, his bearing noble, and a real charmer with the ladies. But he was the worst of beasts, if one could discern the true man beneath the clothes and the bearing. He was the devil himself with only one thought in mind—which fae heiress would he claim next for his own?
Sessily almost wanted him to attempt to ply his charms on her. She was an heiress also. But in his case, she’d like to see how he tried to woo her before she put him out of his misery.
She’d never had a man show any interest in her. Not that she wasn’t attractive, or appealing, or smart, but making friends was an occupational hazard. How could she tell a guy she was truly interested in that she had to assassinate someone tonight? Could they get together later?
Fae women just didn’t serve as assassins, not in the assassin-guild sense. So keeping her secret was extremely important.
Normally, she would have just stalked the murderous lord, poisoned him, and collected her gold. She would have felt good that she’d saved his current bride from an early death and rid the world of one really bad fae.
But tonight, Sessily was feeling out of sorts. She was tired of hiding what she was, of never getting out and being with her kind, of living in seclusion at her castle. She glanced down at her dark clothes. She wasn’t dressed as a lady, either. She couldn’t garner any man’s attention in these clothes, except to suffer his ridicule. And maybe she’d even get herself arrested. She looked like she was ready to steal the silver and jewels from an estate, not like she was a fae heiress.
She was moving like a shadow, getting ready to blow a poisoned dart at Lord Davenport, not making a sound when she heard someone behind her. He moved almost as soundless as she did. But not quite. His footstep was heavy, and he shuffled just a bit. She whipped around to see a huge bear of a man swinging a cudgel at her head. She ducked, thanking the goddess for her agility.