Page 15 of Shadows of Fate

Walking along the cobblestone, I kept to the shadows of my streets. I wasn’t worried about anyone noticing me or even recognizing me. I’d never been one of the court rulers who preferred the limelight. Most of the citizens who had been brought before me, and knew what I looked like, were dead now. I preferred it that way.

I wondered how many more men she’d killed since Rogan; if this was something she was used to doing. She seemed to have a plan and a routine with it. I felt as if seeing her in action up close, working beside her, would be something special. Watching from the end of the alleyway wasn’t enough for me.

If anything, not seeing her made my obsession worse.

There had been quite a few more dead male vampires throughout the court, but I wasn’t sure if they’d been killed by her or not. The chances were high, however, that it was my ice queen.

Nevertheless, not laying eyes on her was starting to mess with my brain. Had I truly seen her in that alleyway? Maybe stress and boredom had me imagining the entire encounter, and she didn’t exist at all. Could that even happen to vampires? Truly, I wasn’t sure. My mind hadn’t been in the best of places recently.

Walking through the gates toward the manor, I nodded toward the guards on duty. Looking up at my home, I felt peace washing over me. The manor was a large estate that sat on the edge of Darkmoor. Land was something it didn’t lack. The building itself matched all of the original Gothic architecture of the city with its tall, pointed towers and dark-colored brick. Vinery and vegetation ran up the walls and along the bridge that linked the cobblestoned streets to the home itself.

Somehow the Fates always left the manor covered in thick fog, as if that was another defense my magical home had lined up for itself.

I walked toward the front door when the scent hit me—raspberries and honey. I quickly turned around toward the smell, only to find another woman in her place.

She was young, maybe sixteen, and standing in the middle of the bridge—watching me. Dressed in a loose green dress with a blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders, she looked bright-eyed but exhausted. Her hair was short and chocolate brown. Her equally brown eyes appeared distant, but alert.

Now that I was focused on her. I realized the scent I was after wasn’t coming from the young woman herself, but the clothes she was wearing. Normally, I’d leave this human alone, but she smelled likemyfemale, and she was standing on the bridge to my home. I needed answers more than I cared about not scaring this woman.

Slowly approaching her, I stopped a few steps away from her. I pulled a small number of shadows around us to give our conversation the bit of privacy I desired. I didn’t need my men rushing out and scaring her—although I did need to know how she passed the ones at the gate. A question for after I’d gathered my information.

She eyed me suspiciously.

“I have no desire to hurt you. What’s your name?” I asked, doing my best to imbue any amount of tenderness I possessed into my tone. Scaring her wouldn’t get me the information I craved tonight.

She tilted her head to the side a bit, blinking a few times. “Allie.” Her voice was clear and stronger than I expected it to be.

“Allie, I wish to know where you obtained your dress from.”

She smirked. “I’m sure you would.”

“Please,” I replied quietly.

Allie looked back down toward her clothes before glancing around. “They can’t hear us,” I said confidently.

“There were these men… vampires like you. But the woman showed up and saved me. She gave me these clothes, helped me clean up, and then dropped me here with a message.” Allie shrugged a little before continuing, a small look of confusion gracing her face. “They kept saying I would make a good addition when they turned me. I didn’t get to tell her that… or thank her. Maybe you can tell her for me now.”

“The woman, did she tell you her name?” I asked.

She smiled then, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “She told me to tell you that they call her the angel of feminine retribution.”

Oh, my little ice queen. The layers of this female made me feel—well, everything.

“She is also a vampire, like you. Although she has ice magic. Are you going to let her rule with you? I think she’d be good for the Court of Shadows,” Allie said, her tone quiet but still steady, if not a bit distant. As if she saw something I didn’t.

I shook off her questions, mostly because I also thought she’d be good for my court, and for me. Although I couldn’t explain why I thought a raging female serial killer would be a practical addition to my ruling here.

“You said she dropped you off here with a message? What was the message?” So much was running through my mind. Did she know I saw her kill Rogan? Did she know I’d been looking for her?

“I’m to tell you that you have no concept of the wrongdoings happening in your own court, so the least you can do is stop searching for her and protect me. She said you should have your men investigate a group calling themselves the Eternal Outcasts, instead of searching for her.” She smiled sadly. “That’s what she said, of course, however, I know you have no intention of ceasing your search, My Lord. Don’t fret. I’ll be safe here.” She nodded toward the manor.

“How do you know I don’t plan on stopping my search?”

“Sometimes, My Lord, I just look at someone and know things about them. I know you rule the Court of Shadows, although many speculate on what you look like. I know you have more magic than you’re aware of, for now. I know the woman who saved me was in pain, deep inside her soul, but doesn’t know why yet. I know I can trust both of you—though not many do so. I know where you can find her now, and I know you’ll leave me here with Micah, and I’ll be safe.”

I stared at her for a moment and realized many things all at once.

I know what she is, why the vampires wanted her, and that my ice queen just saved many people by saving Allie’s life tonight. I wasn’t sure exactly what those vampires were up to, but it couldn’t be good if they were trying to kidnap and change Allie.

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