Page 7 of Faerie Trials

Selene nodded. “Apparently so. The details were not given to me as a reporter but I managed to insert myself into the last crime scene without anyone the wiser. There were tear marks on the body parts they found, deep enough for the authorities to finger a shifter instead of a glamoured Fae claw. The guards do not want anyone to know these details because…well, let’s face it. It would incite a mass panic.”

Claw marks. Body parts. Terribly, disgustingly similar to the bodies I’d stumbled upon—literallystumbled upon—at the Fae Academy for Halflings, and there had definitely been a half-shifter responsible then. I’d stepped through the portal to Faerie, leaving the wolves going wild on the other side.

I drew my knees up to my chest.Please. I sent a prayer skyward.Please don’t let the same problems have followed me here.

Except apparently they had. The last few months had been peaceful in terms of lack of vicious murders, but my luck had just run out.

“I’d like to set up a schedule of patrols around Eahsea. We should help however we can, because although we know the responsible party is not one of us, that does not make us any less responsible.” Selene stared around the fire at the ten of us. “As this is a half-shifter crime, presumably, the Claw & Fang should step up to help keep the village and its inhabitants safe.”

I found myself nodding. The group certainly valued keeping those with our bloodline as low-key and out of the spotlight as possible. Onyx Grimaldi, my unlikely mentor teaching me how to control my transfiguration power, and I had discussed it at length. Our safety depended on our ability to hide and blend.

I was the only one stupid enough to flaunt myself around the castle. Onyx didn’t even want to leave his house.

If the pure-blood law enforcement working under King Tywin found out half-shifters existed in such numbers in Faerie, there was no telling what might happen.

We could all be deported, and for many of us, even those living in other towns, this land was the only home we’ve ever known. Worse? The king might decide to eradicate the shifter threat completely and have us wiped out.

I wouldn’t put it past him.

“I’ll be tapping other Claw & Fang members across this world to get them here. Consider it an outreach,” Selene said. She bent closer to the flames and balanced on the balls of her feet. “Tavi, Bronwen, I’d like the two of you to start tomorrow. You’ll take the first patrol at twenty-one bells.”

“We’re honored,” Bronwen answered immediately for the two of us. And when I glanced over at her, I saw her gaze was hard, eyes shining with zeal. “Twenty-one bells it is.”

“Bells” was a Fae term for time, I’d learned. Instead of am or pm, the clock began at midnight and each bell strike signified one hour. I liked to think it was equivalent to fairy naval time, but it didn’t make it easier for me to learn and remember.

I have a terrible memory. Have I mentioned that already?

Staring around at the rest of the group, they looked as scared as I felt though many tried to hide it. Lisbet bit her lower lip and Reginald could not stop tapping the top of his knee. The others were in similar states except for Selene. She remained cool and composed. She had an image to maintain and had had plenty of practice keeping her reactions to herself.

I needed to take a page out of her book.Don’t let anyone see you sweat, no matter what troubles you face.

We stayed around the fire discussing battle plans until well past midnight. By the time Bronwen and I flew back to the castle, I was ready to pass out, and did so the moment my head hit the pillow.

The next morning after my shower I slipped my school blazer over my shoulders and prepared myself for the first day of the new term. The girl in the mirror staring back at me looked pale and beaten down. There were dark circles above her cheekbones and lines around her lips I hadn’t seen before. I tried not to think about this latest batch of murders.

I’m a girl on the edge.

On the edge of flunking out of the Elite Academy.

On the edge of not being good enough for the Trials.

On the edge about murders that seemed to follow me from the mortal realm, and how even after the debacle with Madam Muerte, I was somehow involved yet again with more death.

More death. Why did it keep happening? This wasn’t what I wanted my life to be.

I stared at my pale reflection a little longer, thought about the physical similarity with the murdered girls. “Can it be true that you are the real target? And if so, what are you going to do about it?” I asked the person I saw. She didn’t have any answers for me.

Another hour and classes at the Elite Academy would begin anew. Their semesters worked a little differently than what I was used to at my old schools. Here, we went to class all year round. Except they always punctuated the semesters with something interesting and deadly. Such as the Summer Games I’d narrowly survived and the Elite Trials that Counselor Wicks assumed I would not.

My reflection continued to stare back, brows drawn down and lips pursed in a scowl. Well, I’d certainly do my best to prove Wicks wrong. I was nothing if not resilient, I reminded myself. I was the daughter of an alpha, and had I not run away from my arranged marriage, I would have held the title myself one day.

These people thought I’d give up and walk away with my tail tucked between my legs? Time to do the opposite.

I fixed a fierce look on my face and almost had myself convinced until a sudden knock sounded at the door. My jangled nerves shot adrenaline through my body and my arms flailed about in a protective instinct, knocking bottles of lotion and cosmetics to the floor. Glass shattered and when I glanced up, trying to catch my breath, my reflection had gone pale with surprise.

On edge much?

Onyx would be pissed at me for reacting without thinking. He’d taught me a lot about self-control, muscle memory, and defense.

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