Page 27 of Dark Master's Redemption

His dark eyelashes blink closed. When they open, the crimson of the Revenant has died, replaced by his red and gold Dark Summer Fae fire as it blazes in his eyes.

That fire is cold, though, as a terrible, marble-like chill takes Quinn.

Death in his eyes, as he stares at me from so far away now—like he’s seeing only murder.

“I am lost to terrible things, Ariana,” Quinn states. I smooth my fingers over his austere cheeks, hollow with everything he’s been through recently. As I nod, feeling where he is right now through our bond, Quinn slowly reaches up and takes my hands down from his face. As Lucca gradually eases his iron grip as well, Quinn stares at me with that terrible look, before he kisses my fingers gently.

His deadly gaze flicking to Devina.

“The day is lost. Where is your safe house? We must retire there and spare all the people we have. Let them recover.” Quinn is like a war general now, as I see a calculating, militaristic side of him I’ve never seen before.

“It’s in the human world, like I said, on the other side of Florence,” Devina says as we come into a circle again. Lucca steps to Quinn’s side now, as Quinn finally calms. I see how Lucca keeps an arm loosely around Quinn’s waist, though.

Ready to hold him back from doing I-don’t-know-what if he dives towards his Revenant again.

“Our safe house is actually…” Alleno’s emerald gaze flicks at me as he pauses, like he’s about to drop a bomb on our conversation. “At Ariana’s parent’s house. In the country.”

“Excuse me?” I blink in a sudden astonishment at Alleno, as Lucca and Quinn do the same. It’s the last thing I expected that Devina, Alleno, Curio, and all the other Dark Fae we know would have a relationship with my parents.

“Ariana. You already know your Summer Fae adopted parents have been Dark Fae traffickers for centuries, rescuing Dark Fae from King Archivolio Bellari and the Vampire Council who would kill them.” Devina turns to me, no bullshit in her chocolate-iron gaze as she addresses this new, shocking piece of information. “They only recently moved their operations into the human world to keep you safe when you were born; I’ve been working with them for a while, and Alleno and Curio have also, though Quinn and Lucca knew nothing about it. Our operations had to keep them out of it; Quinn and Lucca were too high-profile to bring into our Dark Fae trafficking without risking everyone. Now that everyone is in the know, however, Adicus Briarwick and Illyria Amati will come clean with you, I’m sure.”

I’m gaping at Devina, hearing all this for the first time. But I’m not staring at her as hard as Lucca is staring at Alleno, and Quinn is staring at Devi, then Curio. Devi lifts an eyebrow defiantly at Quinn as Alleno stands tall, staring his cousin down in an extremely sober standoff. Curio just smiles, slouching against the nearby tomb and crossing his arms as if he doesn’t care we’re all shocked at this revelation.

“How have you kept this hidden from my mind this entire time, Devina Scarlotti and Curio Silverfrost?” Quinn asks now, as I feel him wonder if his two top lieutenants somehow belong to some other Master.

And have this entire time.

“Dark Fae have strange abilities; you know that, Quinn.” Devi tosses her head defiantly, then examines her somehow still-perfect crimson nails. “I simply have more ability to hide my thoughts from others?—”

“And I get plenty of enigmatic Dark Fae abilities from my most heinous father,” Curio adds. “If you haven’t figured it out, I was a plant by my father in Emiliana’s Dark Haven. He had me Kiss to her, thinking she had Sired me, then spy on her every move, establishing our Dark Fae-saving operations in Florence all the while. I hated my post, and the charade, obviously. Emiliana and her sick brutality were far more than I could ever stomach. But we saved a lot of Dark Fae, setting up our operations here, right beneath King Bellari’s nose. He never suspected us using the ancient Vampire tunnels beneath the city to get people out. He thought no Vampire would ever care, of course.”

“So that’s why you hate your father so much.” It all comes together for me as I stare at Curio, understanding. “He forced you to come here and play Emiliana’s games, for centuries.”

“He knew what was happening, and everything she was,” Curio says with venom now as his pale blue eyes flash. “Yet he did nothing. Only told me I had to endure, for the sake of our people. He stood by as a demon used his only son, figuring out no other plan for us to help our Dark Fae here in Florence. Letting me rot in her abusive enclave until there were days, weeks, years that I wished she would just get it over with and kill me. The only thing that kept me going were my secret outings, to save all the Dark Fae I could. That, and Quinn’s stalwart friendship, and the love he had for all of us even back then when things were darkest. Until Quinn killed her, of course.”

“All this time,” Quinn’s voice is soft now as he looks at Curio, then Devina, in a new light. “You both hid this from me all this time.”

“Don’t look at us like that, Quinn.” Devina snaps now as her eyes challenge him with heat. “Curio and I are your most loyal warriors. And if you doubt it, I will gut you in the night.”

This last finally makes Quinn smile. A genuine smile, as he shakes his head at Devi. “You will never cease to amaze me, Devina Scarlotti.”

“And we will never cease to be yours.” Devi lifts a stern eyebrow at Quinn now. “So let’s not waste time with bullshit. We need to get going to the safe house. Florian’s forces can and will use whatever resources the Vampire Council has given them to break all your wards down here and find us. Adesso.”

“You have a way through Bello’s pizzeria to the human world? An escape portal for Dark Fae, right to the safe house?” Lucca is still watching Alleno. Though he’s said nothing in front of Quinn’s people, I feel through our bond how much Lucca and Alleno are going to have words later.

“We do, but there are no direct underground tunnels from this location.” Alleno nods at the secret stairwell at the back of the tomb, that goes up to an old Fae cemetery in the center of Florence. “From the cemetery, it’s just six short blocks to Bello’s. He’s got a portal to the human world, right to our safe house from the back of the pizzeria.”

“I know how far it is to Bello’s shop from the cemetery.” Lucca snaps at his cousin, though he closes his eyes, gathering himself from losing his infamous temper right now. He opens his eyes again. “Six blocks is a long way with so many injured, and sentries from the Vampire Council, or Quinn’s nemesis crawling all over Florence. They may not have taken the city yet, but I’m sure they’ve got people here already, watching the streets.”

“Everyone here has obscuration talismans.” Devi holds up a small golden amulet on a thin chain around her neck now, a tiny ruby in the center glinting dark like blood. “Dark Fae made. They hide our Mentale Dark Fae signature from foes during battle; it’s how so many of us lasted this long, with everything the Council threw at us in the halls. Here.” Reaching into a zipper pocket of her tactical wear, Devi pulls out a spare amulet, handing it to Quinn.

“What about Ariana and Lucca?” Quinn puts the amulet on without a fuss, tucking it in behind his silk and fur jacket from Novakitsk.

“I can take you both under my power,” Alleno says now. “Just stay within five feet of me as we walk. I’ll get us there smoothly.”

“Fine.” Lucca is still terse with Alleno, though just like Quinn with Devi, he doesn’t give his cousin any guff. I feel the hard demeanors of generals in battle from Quinn and Lucca both now, as they understand the day is lost. We need to use all the talent we’ve got now to escape.

I feel a sudden shiver in the air.

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