Yasmine Galenorn - Night Seeker

Curious, I glanced over at Peyton. Listening rapt to her father, her eyes glistened with tears.

“I can’t go now-I’m needed here. But afterward, if we get through this, I’ll be ready. Will the pride accept me, though? I’m half-magic-born.” Her lower lip trembled and I thought of the Lupa clan and how much the werewolves hated the magic-born.

“There is a big difference between wolves and cats,” Rex said, glancing over at me as if he could read my mind. “We are magical in nature, the wolves not as much. They fear magic, where the puma clans revel in it. As do all the big-cat-shifters. That’s one of the things that attracted me to your mother to begin with. I’ve told my people about you, and the Elders have offered you a place in the pride. But first, you must go through your vision quest. Pass through the fire and you will forever be one with my people. Your people.” He leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed across his chest. “But you need to know there’s a chance of dying. There’s always a dance with death when you go in search of the fire.”

Peyton nodded, staring at the floor. “I will try. I want to know more about your people-my people.”

I happened to glance up at the clock on the wall. It was barely nine thirty. “Today, I’m meeting Ysandra at three P.M. Kaylin and Rhiannon-you come with me. Chatter, would you and Peyton and Rex help Luna do whatever you need to in order to make us more secure in this place?”

“What do you want me to do, my love?” Grieve stood at the doorway. As he joined us, sitting on the table next to me, I reached for his hand but he shook his head.

“Before you continue, I’d like to have things out in the open.” He looked at the others. “I touched on this before but let’s talk about it. None of you really trust me. Not even you, my loyal Chatter. And you have every right to feel that way. After all, I belong to Myst-she turned me. But please know, I’m doing everything I can to keep control of my darker nature. I was not born this way…” He hung his head, wincing. “I was not born to this. I love Cicely. She is my all. I’ll do anything to keep her safe.”

Rex tilted his head, frowning. “I’m still kind of fuzzy on the facts surrounding the Indigo Court. Fill me in?”

I sighed. “Long story short: Geoffrey-you know who he is?”

Rex nodded, a somber cast across his face. “I’ve had several run-ins with him long time back before I left New Forest. He’s dangerous. I believe he was a warlord before he was turned?”

“Yes, and he is still a warlord at heart. A thousand or so years ago, Geoffrey got it into his head to turn Myst-who was one of the Unseelie. They were lovers, and they hatched a mad scheme to turn her into a vampire and then the two of them would conquer the land. Typical delusions-of-grandeur crap, except for one little problem. When he drank her down and then gave her his blood, she didn’t die.”

“Let me guess-something to do with her Fae nature?”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh yeah. Myst recovered insanely fast, able to use both her Unseelie powers and the vampire powers she gained from Geoffrey. And as an added bonus, she was able to breed children with her dual nature. When she realized how strong she was, she turned on Geoffrey and tried to destroy him. The vampires managed to drive the Vampiric Fae into obscurity, but the Indigo Court spent the following centuries breeding and waiting. A great war between the two factions was prophesized by their freak-show Blood Oracle-Crawl-and apparently Grieve and I were to be the catalysts in it. And it seems we were.”

I paused, glancing at Grieve. His eyes were the black of the void, shining with stars. He cleared his throat. “In another life, Cicely was Myst’s daughter-her name was Cherish. I was one of the Cambyra Fae, named Shy. I wasn’t a wolf-shifter then, but instead I belonged to the Ursiasidhe, the bear-shifters.”

“I didn’t know that you were a bear-shifter then.” I stared at him.

“It’s never come up. Anyway, against all odds, we fell in love and, betraying both our peoples, ran away together.”

“I bet that went over really well.” Rex gave me a sad smile.

Frowning, I narrowed my eyes. “They chased us down. We ravaged a swath through the countryside in our attempts to escape. Or… I ravaged. Somehow I have a feeling I caused most of the damage.”

Grieve took my hand. “We both did, love.” He lifted my palm to his lips and kissed it gently. “In the end, we were cornered. I had a potion I’d bought from a sorceress. The drink was deadly, but fashioned to bind our souls together into the afterlife. We drank it knowing that although we would die, we’d find each other again in a new life. And so we have.”

“Romeo and Juliet.” Peyton said, her voice sad.

“Yes…only this time around, I’m also part Cambyra Fae. And Grieve…though he was born a Prince of the Summer Court, is now one of the Vampiric Fae. And once again, we’re on the run.” My words drifted away and I turned to my love. “This time, I want to end the cycle. I want to live my life with you…for you.”

My lip trembled as Grieve pulled me into his arms. My heart pounded, a drum in the night, echoing my love for him as we stood there. I rested my head on his shoulder, his lips pressed against the top of my head. The warmth of his body made me want to cry.

After a few moments, Rex broke the silence. “So, does Geoffrey know you are Myst’s daughter?”

“Yes. And he wanted to use me to get back at her-to turn me like he turned her.” I pulled away from Grieve, but as I did so Ulean came sweeping up beside me. Trouble. There is trouble brewing outside. Hurry. Enemies. Wrath says they are whispering about Rhiannon.

Instantly, I jumped aside. “Ulean says there’s trouble outside. Wrath warned her. Rhia-you stay in here. Grieve and Luna, guard her with your life. Don’t ask questions, either of you.”

I pulled on my jacket-my blade and fan still in the pockets-and headed for the door. Kaylin, Chatter, Peyton, and Rex followed me into the blinding snows.

Ulean guided us out one of the side exits, where we found my father, leaning against the building, waiting.

I ran up to him. “What’s going on? Who is it?”

“Day-runners. And no, I didn’t see Leo among them, but they look well armed and out for trouble.” He brushed a swath of snowflakes off his hair. “They’re around front, looking for a way in.”

“Split up, then. Peyton, you take Chatter and Rex and head that way. Kaylin, come with me and my father.” I pulled out my fan, getting it ready. I preferred working with the wind rather than with a blade. It felt more comfortable.

“What do we do when we find them?” Peyton began to shimmer, and I knew she was about to transform.

“Catch them if you can-we need to know what the fuck they want. If they put up a fight and we can’t take them down without harming them…kill them.” I shivered at the cold streak in my voice, but we were at war.

They nodded and headed off to the left. We swiftly crept along the building to the right, crouching as we went. My father pulled out a wicked-looking dagger-brilliant silver flashing in the eternal whiteness that shrouded us. Kaylin held his shurikens, and I readied my fan.

The warehouse was a long, gray metal skeleton stretching out under the silvery sky. With the snow on the ground, it blended, a blur that reminded me of staring out over the ocean on one of those days when the sky was the same color as the water. The snow mimicked cresting waves on the surface.

As we came to the end, I called Ulean. Is there anything directly around the corner?