Page 4 of A Heart of Midnight (Dark Fae Academy 2)

Chapter 3

Bree

Taveon’scurrent state could cause a hell of a lot of trouble in the Court. He’d told Bree as much, though he didn’t need to say a word through their bond for her to understand the truth of it. The crown always went to the strongest, fiercest male fae in the realm. Thathadbeen Taveon. But he certainly wasn’t that right now. If wordspread…

And word wouldspread.

Frowning, she pushed open the door to her quarters and strode inside to change into her fighting leathers. It had been a long day, but she yearned to train. To punch something. To curl her hands into the sharp claws of her beast. Anything to work out the tension that clung tightly to herbody.

But when her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, she had to bite back a scream. There, in the center of her bed, lay a raven. One with bright red blood pooling around its openbeak.

Revulsion build up inside her, and she stumbled away from thebed.

“Hello, Bree Paine,” a familiar voice said as a shadow shifted out from the depths of her darkroom.

Bree choked out a cry of alarm, though hardly any sound passed between her lips. She stumbled back, eyes widening. Fillan, the assassin, stood before her now. And he was just as she remembered. He still wore his crimson mask and matching jacket, and his glittering sword hung from his waist. Bree’s gaze locked on the golden hilt, the one that looked like a lion’s roaring mouth. Her heart beat out a franticrhythm.

Before Fillan could say a word, she took two steps back toward the open door. But just as soon as she turned, she slammed face first into the middle of his massive chest. She let out an oomph and staggered back again, fisting her hands by her sides. How the hell had he managed this littletrick?

“If you don’t let me go, I swear to the forest, I’ll scream so loud that the entire Court will hear,” she said through clenched teeth. Inside, she was trembling in fear, but she couldn’t very well let the assassin see that she wasscared.

“You will not scream because it would be bad for your King if youdid.”

She raised her eyebrows, her breath catching in her throat. She shouldn’t be surprised that Fillan knew about Taveon’s state. Still...it left her more than a tad uneasy. “Is that some kind ofthreat?”

“No.” He lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “Just the truth. You need to keep up appearances while he is in his predicament. If the Court discovered that an infamous assassin is sneaking around the castle, in addition to the King beingindisposed…”

“You did this. Didn’t you?” She wanted to punch the smug fae right in the nose. “You put Taveon in that trance, and you left a dead raven in my bed as some kind of dementedwarning.”

“Alas, I did not.” His gaze flicked to the raven on Bree’s bed, and he wrinkled his nose in distaste. “That is not mystyle.”

“You’re lying.” She narrowed her eyes. “Who else would have done something like this? You’re clearly after something, and you’ve been stalking the Prince forweeks.”

“The King,” he corrected. “And while I may have been ‘stalking’ as you so politely call it, I cannot take credit for whatever ailment has befallen Taveon. My methods are much more…to the point, shall we say. And I do not wish to see the Kingdead.”

“Well, if it wasn’t you, then who was it?” She glared at him, and then shoved a finger right into his rock hard chest. Bree fought back a wince from the pain that radiated through her hand. “And why the hell are youhere?”

“I can only answer one of thosequestions.”

“Youcan’tanswer both? Or youwon’t?”

A strange smile flickered across the assassin’s lips. “I am here because you owe me a debt. And, as I told you in my note, I intend tocollect.”

“Honestly.” She huffed out a breath. “You want to force me to pay you back for something I didn’t even ask for? Now, of all times? You say you don’t want Taveon dead, but you’re certainly not making things easier onhim.”

“Now, especially,” he said quietly. “The realm currently sits on the edge of a very thin blade. One push either way, and it will fall. Which way would you prefer to see it go? Down into the very depths of hell itself or toward thelight?”

“I…” Bree furrowed her eyebrows, frustration battling with curiosity. “What the hell are you talking about? You’re speaking inriddles.”

“I am speaking of Taveon’s current state, of the Tithe, of the warcoming.”

Bree’s heart thumped. “Whatwar?”

“The one that will no doubt descend upon your Court if Taveon does notrecover.”

Bree’s face paled, and her heart roared in her ears. While Taveon had warned her what might happen if the Court discovered he was out of commission, he had not mentioned war. The mere thought of it chilled Bree down to herbones.

“It is notmyCourt, Fillan. Not really.” She loosed a breath. “But you’re right. Are you really telling me that you’re here to fix what happened toTaveon?”

---