Shadows of the Heart

1. Reine-1

1

Reine

"'Ello, sis," the scarred Fae prince greeted me.

"Oh, no. It's my brother," I murmured to Lawrence before forcing a smile and exclaiming, "Rhys!"

Sir Raleigh's weight disappeared from my shoulder. I knew the cat would be back, so I didn't think anything of it and instead turned my attention to my not-so-long-lost brother. If this was my mother's idea of help, I had to question whose side she was on.

Rhys moved up the hill toward us, his actions lithe and precise. He'd still not learned to move like a human. It was like watching the difference between a domesticated dog and a coyote. I made a mental note to mention that to him—he'd need to blend in.

Oh, Hades, this was a mess. But it wasn't like I could send him back.

The ground under our feet rumbled, and a shock of electric energy went through me. “Welcome, sister and brother,” the spirit of the hill said, more clearly than I had heard it previously. “I am honored to host two royal Fae.”

Interesting. Even exiles deserved honor, I guessed.

Rhys and I both bowed, which meant I had a confused gargoyle by my side. In fact, as soon as Rhys had greeted me, Lawrence's brows had drawn together and his lips had tightened in a perplexed frown. I'd have to tease him about his stoneface later. If he would accept teasing.

I'd left things in a mess earlier. He didn't know I'd been about to head back to Faerie without saying goodbye.

"How did you get here?" I asked Rhys.

Instead of answering, he raised his eyebrows and inclined his head toward Lawrence. "Who's your friend?" His nostrils flared, which I knew was for show. Rhys could tell what kind of paranormal creature someone was by reading their energy, like I could. "Your gargoyle friend?"

Lawrence tensed, and I squeezed his arm. "This is Doctor Lawrence Gordon. He's part of the Center for Paranormal Disease Control and Prevention. Lawrence, this is my brother Rhys."

Rhys narrowed his eyes. "You look familiar, mate. Have we met?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Lawrence replied, his voice low and tense.

Neither of them moved to shake hands. The air between them held the repellent tension of two magnets turned toward each other with the same pole.

"Well, then, we'll have to catch up later," I said to Rhys. "We have a problem."

"So I hear."

Rhys fell into step on my other side from Lawrence as we descended the mountain. I decided to skip the gondolas. It seemed a bad idea to have the two men in the same enclosed space. We'd deal with the hotel elevators later. Plus, at least at this early time of the morning with the rising sun still making long shadows on the path, we were alone. I couldn't sense anyone else, human or paranormal. Even the ghosts had cleared out. Or maybe they'd gone dormant. Every creature, living and dead, had its own rhythm, and even a Fae wouldn't know all of them.

Or… Rhys's energy had a certain wildness to it, as he hadn't embraced life in the human realm as I had. I'd had it easier, but what had I lost touch with?

"You're lost in your thoughts, Sis," Rhys teased. "You going to tell me what we're up against?"

Before I could respond, Lawrence stopped, and I skidded to a halt beside him.

"You two go ahead," he said. "I'm not feeling up for this right now. I'll take the gondola down. Meet you at the bottom?"

"I have a car," Rhys said. "I'll take her back to the hotel since you're too weak. Go on ahead and take a nap."

Lawrence advanced, his right hand clenched into a fist, and I put a hand on his chest.

I looked over my shoulder at my brother as I held Lawrence back. "Gods, Rhys, you can't help yourself, can you? In the past few days, Lawrence has been poisoned and then attacked by the soul-eater. If he's not at his full strength, he's got reasons."

"Soul-eater, eh?" Rhys shrugged. "Fine. I take it back. Well, except for the part about bringing my sister back to the hotel." The glare he gave Lawrence would have made for a comical, "I'm defending my sister's honor" in any other circumstances. I bit my tongue—literally—before I could tell Rhys that Lawrence and I had spent the night together. True, nothing had happened, but he didn't need to know that. He didn't need to know anything, really. In fact, the less he knew about my current life, the better.

At that moment, Sir Raleigh, my kitten-shaped grimalkin, reappeared. He had an aura of cold around him, and his fur chilled my neck as he draped himself over my shoulders.

"And where have you been, wee lad?" I asked. He didn't typically go away for so long when he disappeared. I'd have to ponder that later.

"Are you all right with this plan, Reine?" Lawrence asked. Poor guy, he did have dark circles under his eyes. He put a hand on my upper arm, and I sensed his reluctance to leave me and concern I'd disappear again.

Yeah, that had been a d**k move on my part, sneaking out of his bed. Even if I didn't have a d**k, I could act like one sometimes. Like my brother.

"I am. I'll see you back at the hotel. I promise."

"Right, be careful."

Half-hoping he'd reappear and ask me to come with him, I watched until he disappeared around a bend in the wooded path.

Rhys didn't wait even a minute before he asked, "A gargoyle? Really, Reine? You know—"

"Yes, I know. Traditional enemy. One helped maim you. Blah blah blah." I put my hands on my hips. "But this one is a good one."

"No such thing." He shrugged and started walking down the mountain again.

I followed him. "I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this one." Like most everything else.

So what was my mother up to? Most obvious explanation—this was a way to get my brother in on my chance to return home so my grandmother would make an exception to the "perfect Fae only" rule and allow him with his scarred cheek back into Faerie. Mother had always liked him better.

But then, wasn't there always another layer with the Fae? We didn't just do subplots and subterfuge—we wove in hidden motivations, loopholes, and a good measure of deception.

Whatever her motivation, I had no doubt Rhys would only get in my way.

The sun had risen further and added a dappled overlay to the rocky path. We focused on where we put our feet until we got to a smoother stretch.

Be nice, be nice, be nice… "So if you're going to help me, you need to know what's up."

"Apparently, especially since you're keeping company with a gargoyle and a grimalkin."

Sir Raleigh chirped, and I smiled and scratched him behind one ear. His purr rumbled into my shoulders and reminded me to relax them.

"There's a soul-eater on the loose. It first attacked me in my cottage and followed me here. It's getting stronger, has already taken over and killed a couple of people."

I expected Rhys to make some sort of wisecrack or dismissive statement, but he thought for a moment and asked, "How could it have attacked you in your cottage? You have strong wards around it."

"It took over a bird I was feeding, and I invited it in."

"Rookie mistake, sis."

"It was a bird, Rhys."

"Human mistake, then."

My cheeks heated with a blush. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"No wonder you're in trouble. We Fae don't trust anyone or anything. What about that ridiculous creature on your shoulders?"

Sir Raleigh had twisted so his chest faced out, and he hung with his paws stretched over his head and alongside his tail. I resisted the urge to take my phone out and take a cat-stole selfie. Instead, I rubbed the soft gray fur on his chest, and he kneaded the air. His one white paw, the front left one, revealed sharp claws.

"I don't know. He came to me the same day I was attacked, but before. He can sense it even when I can't, so he's helpful."

"Do you know who sent him?"

"No." And I wondered whether his relatively long absence indicated he'd gone to give someone a report about Rhys appearing. "But he defended me, so I think he's on our side."

Rhys didn't appear convinced, and I read the censure that I hadn't been Fae enough in his expression. "You're going soft, sis."

I put on some Fae speed and whipped around him, placing one hand on his chest and the other at his throat. His momentum made me slide backward, but I held on. "Don't ever say anything like that to me." I squeezed, and he put his hands to mine, but I gathered energy from the mountain I stood on and paralyzed him. His face turned red, and his eyes widened. Although I didn't match his height, I was not a small Fae. Nor was I a weak one, even though being so far from home attenuated my powers. He'd made the mistake to insult me in the one place where I could act closer to my full strength.

"And while I have your attention," I continued, "this is how things are going to go. I'm in charge. Every time you've gone off and done your own thing, it's ended in disaster. So you take orders, don't argue, and behave. Is that clear?" I loosened the spell and my grip just enough for him to nod. Then I released him and stepped aside as he fell to his hands and knees. He gasped in a few breaths, then looked up at me. Respect and fear had replaced the skepticism in his eyes, but his next words made me feel worse, not better.

"You remind me of Mum sometimes."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "I'll accept that as a compliment just this once."

He staggered to his feet and gripped a tree, taking another couple of breaths before straightening all the way. I could tell his powers were also less than usual, likely for the same reason I struggled—Fae were tied to place as a source of strength, and ours was the underground caves in Scotland.

"But I do need to warn you of something," Rhys told me. "I do know that gargoyle from somewhere. And I haven't seen that many."

It would be my bad luck if Lawrence had somehow been involved in Rhys's maiming, but I shrugged, not letting my fear show. "Let me know when you figure it out."