Authors: Penelope Fletcher
“
Rae, you remember what I
told you?” Tomas asked urgently. “I never knew it would happen. I
didn’t know I would love you.” He stared hard at me, eyes begging
forgiveness. “
Believe me
.” He reached out and his pale fingers curled in the air as if
he stroked my face.
Opening my mouth to give him what he
needed my words caught in my throat. I ran forward and clasped his
hand, pressed it to my chest over my heart. “I can’t say it,” I
sobbed. “I can’t give you a lie.”
I cried, unable to express what I felt
for him, knowing that was not enough, not what he needed to hear.
Breaking, my heart was breaking, and the sound that choked from my
throat was inhuman. No, I could not give this demon my heart
because it did not belong to me anymore. It never would again. And
I could not give him a lie to give him peace.
However, I could give him a truth.
“But I believe you,” I whispered.
From Tomas’ red rimmed eyes –
bottomless puddles of black ink – flowed contentment. He was saying
farewell. That I would be safe and that this was the end of him.
“Quiet now,” he murmured and brushed away a tear. I memorized the
feel of his cool hand, knowing this would be the last time he
touched me.
Standing, I let his hand slip from
mine. I locked eyes with Breandan who worked his jaw, expression
stony. He would not relent, nor would he back down when there was
breath left in his body. Breandan’s life for Tomas’. It was a trade
… one I was not willing to make.
This time I could not be the one to
save my vampire.
It was over.
Backing away from them both, I kept
Breandan’s gaze; summoned the last of my strength to endure the
finality of those steps, but in the last moment I broke, and
watched it happen.
Watched, as my fairy gripped Tomas’
head in hands that glowed with silver light.
Then ripped it off.
Epilogue
I remember flashes. Pain. Screams.
Blood-curdling shrieks razed across my eardrums, and drowned my
cries of terror. My heart took stabs of emotion, splinters of pain.
I had been braced, prepared, yet still my world rocked, trembled,
crashed down. Then I was sprawled on the ground as my legs failed
me, buckled, the strength knocked away by shock. It did not matter
how hard I screamed, how wildly I shook my head, how quickly my
wings fluttered.
Breandan’s bellow as he dropped Tomas’
head was savage and triumphant. Now the lightning silhouetted him.
Thunder rumbled across the sky and he roared back, but the end was
tinged with misery and sorrow.
Gwendolyn’s grief-stricken wail seemed
endless, hollow, as she crawled to Tomas’ side. She grabbed at his
clothes and pulled his headless body toward her, draping herself
over him. Her body shook as she extended a hand to the head that
lay face down a few paces away.
Daphne stood still, head bowed, lips
moving in silent prayer.
Breandan stepped over the vampire
Queen and crossed the distance to loom over me. He scooped me up
and cuddled me close. His nature was sated and rolled over mine in
comfort.
I stopped screaming, and stared into
his face still struggling … no … unable, to comprehend what I had
witnessed.
The absence of Tomas’ darkness was
stark. The cold clarity of his demise reached me and I shook. My
eyes landed on the headless body sprawled beneath Gwendolyn. She
stared at nothing, face slack and dazed.
Tears blurred my vision and I gasped,
chocked on the air, on my own tears. I could not breathe. I could
not think. The darkness on the edge of my vision ebbed. Like clear
water washing a stain, a silver-blue glow bloomed, and I shook my
head to try and stop the purge. I sobbed, but it caught in my
chest, a bubble of pain that bloated, and pressed down on my heart,
restricting its erratic beat. It hurt. Oh, Tomas. A numbing
disbelief crept through my legs and arms, sucking away all feeling,
all hope. My eyes burned so I clenched them tight, and tucked my
fisted hands into my stomach – holding myself together.
“
The Queen,” Breandan
muttered, weary. “I must–”
“
No,” Daphne murmured.
“She’s no danger to us right now, and besides, Cael won’t let her
live long once he discovered Rae was here. Is she alright?” She
asked and it sounded as if she spoke from down a long windy tunnel.
“I’m out of practice with this kind of thing, being immortal and
all, but she looks feverish.”
“
We should not have
lingered here,” Breandan said quietly. Sighing, his chest heaved
against my body. “It is too much for her. Let me pass.”
There was a faint and cool pressure on
my forehead. “She’s burning up.”
“
It is how we grieve.” His
arms tightened around me. “Her body and mind are fighting to accept
the loss. She will bear the pain and live. Now let us
pass.”
“
I’m coming with
you.”
Breandan was quiet before saying in a
curious voice, “You stopped the Nest Queen from hurting my Rae.
Why?”
“
Saw that did you?” she
asked dryly.
“
Why?”
“
Tomas told me all about
her as she slept off the effect of his feeding.” Her dainty hand
pressed against my forehead again, trying to cool me down. “She is
special, isn’t she? Even if he had not explained who she was, I
would still feel the need to help you. He told me it was likely you
would follow her here, and that you would challenge him. He knew
the chances of facing you and surviving were slim. He wanted to try
and protect her as best he could, so, he gave her me.” Daphne
sighed heavily and I could imagine her white-blonde braids falling
over her shoulder as she titled her head. “And as for why I am not
attacking you … I understand what has happened here. I accept it.
Tomas knew despite Rae’s promise that when the blood tie formed it
was likely the end of him. She had a high fairy mate; of course, it
was over for him. He brought her here to try … to just … try and
see if there was even the slightest chance he could make it work.
But you and I know it was nothing but a matter of time before
Gwendolyn killed her. Even with Tomas’ protection added to my own
we could never hold back an entire Nest, and Rae can’t use magic in
this city because of Cael’s enchantments. It was best you came for
her.”
Breandan was quiet for a long time. I
slipped deeper into the darkness. “I am her protector,” he
said.
“
Yes, and I am not trying
to steal that from you, but I swore that I would guard her body
with my own. Tomas is…. Tomas is gone but I will honor my promise.
I have never been one to believe in destiny, but I think it might
be my calling to protect her. And that is what I’m going to do
whether you like it or not.”
“
I have no quarrel with
you.”
“
Despite what you think I
have none with you because she doesn’t.” Daphne touched my cheek
softly.
“
The day she does?” Was
that humor in his tone? Breandan talking to a vampire and sounding
amused?
“
On that day I hope you’re
ready to see how a warrior of my kind fights. But the way Rae feels
about you … I don’t think I’ll have to hurt you for a long while
yet.”
“
If you betray
her–”
“
Never,” Daphne replied
fiercely then urged in the same breath, “but I don’t have time to
convince you of that. We must go. We cannot be here when the Nest
returns. We must get Rae out of the city. Cael will be furious when
he discovers she was here and Gwendolyn kept her from him. He’ll
send the Nest to find her, and we must be far from the city. Safe,
so she can rest. We don’t have much time, and I’ll need to find
somewhere to rest for the day.”
“
Her safety is my main
concern but I–” Breandan cursed the gods under his breath. “I must
find the grimoire. My brother needs it.”
Daphne breathed out sharply. “I have
the grimoire.”
His body tensed. “How did that
happen?”
“
Who do you think captured
the High Lord?” Daphne sounded proud, fierce. “I am the Nest
hunter. No other of my kind can match me in a fair
fight.”
Breandan was quiet for what seemed an
age. “He gave her your protection. He gave her his immortal life.”
The hold he had on me tightened as he burrowed his face in my neck
and breathed in deeply. “He loved her.” It was not a question, but
a sadly spoken statement of fact.
“
Yes. Yes he
did.”
Breandan rubbed his cheek on my
temple. “I tried to warn her,” he murmured. “I didn’t want her to
see him … he left me no choice.”
Daphne’s cool hand swept my hair back
from my face. Shuddering at the cold, I scrunched my eyes tighter
together and curled myself into Breandan’s warmth.
“
Words will never make what
you did less painful for her,” Daphne said sharply. “Remember
that.”
My fairy cupped my face with his hand
and pressed kisses to my eyelids, my cheeks, and forehead. I
gripped his wrists, feeling his pulse beat steady and strong
beneath my fingertips.
Tomas had loved and betrayed me. He
lured me to his Nest so his family could feed from me – to become
revived as I faded. The demon had broken my heart in two. He tied
himself to me in blood then turned his back on the trust I gifted
to him. He was a vampire, a dark predator who was never mine, he
had always belonged to another. No matter what he felt for me, he
had made his choice.
In the end he had chosen them, his
family … and rightly so.
I cannot keep you with me,
Tomas. Should you stay it would end me. I would not be able to
breathe through the pain of your loss. I cannot hide in shadows of
your dark. And I choose not to.
The darkness dissipated with a
sigh.
The glow pulsed; filling me with
warmth and love so luminous, it threatened to blind me. For the
briefest of moments, my eyes fluttered open and I glimpsed eyes of
liquid silver.
“
I am with you,” I
breathed.
Breandan’s mouth brushed across my jaw
and the tip of his tongue gathered my tears, as if losing them to
another caused him pain. “Beyond forever,” he murmured and pressed
his lips to mine.
The sound of vampire shrieks drawing
nearer had my heart thumping erratically.
After that there was only a memory of
darkness.
*
THE DEMONS
The High Fairies
**Rae (
Priestess
) – *Breandan
Devlin
(
High Lord
) –
Wasp (
High Lady
)
Conall
Lochlann
(
High Lord
)
*Maeve
Northern City Vampire
Nest
*
Tomas
– Gwendolyn
(
Queen
)
Daphne
Shifter Pride
*Alec (
Omega
)
Amelia
Nimah
Byron (
Alpha
)
Blackthorn Witch
Coven
~Cael (
The Father
)
Ana
Slum Vodoun
Papa Obe
(
Houngan
)
Alex (
Zombie Mambo
)
Roland (
Bokor
)
The Goblin Horde
~Runt
(
Horde Origin
Unknown
)
–
Mated pair
Name
Deceased
Title
Dethroned
* Mated demon with a special
bond
~ A half-breed; half human and half
demon
A NOTE FROM PENELOPE
Thank you for reading book number two
of The Rae Wilder series. I hope you enjoyed delving to Rae’s world
in more depth, and learning more about the supernatural creatures
in the dystopian society.
If you have read book one
you will know this is an Independently Published series, and
feedback is greatly appreciated. Please leave a review, as I like
to hear opinions on my work. Remember you can always come talk to
me in person on the
Facebook Fan Page
or
Twitter.
To learn more about me you
can see my
Independent Authors Network Page
. My writer’s blog
Fiction
Fierce
, or my Author Website
PenelopeFletcher.com
I hope you will continue on to read
the third and final chapter in Rae’s story, Demon Dark. Read on for
the blurb.