far enough I couldn’t even hear the sounds of the party. The pressure left, and I had a moment to chastise myself that I was so far without backup or even weapons. That party was full of people hostile towards me and I go running off alone on the property?
I was smarter than that, but pain made us stupid.
Love made us stupid and grief blinded us. I was learning that all over again, and times four, as I was done with four relationships I’d cared for.
A few I more than simply cared.
I was about to head back when that foreboding feeling swarmed me fast, and my magic ramped up. I turned to find four men approaching me, goose bumps blossoming all over my skin.
And they had glowing eyes.
What. The. Fuck?
I’d never seen a supe do that. What else had I been missing about this world?
And why did I want to run from them? There were only four, and I’d dealt with way more without flinching. Something about them was… Off.
“What business do you have with me?” I demanded, giving a look that it would be their deaths if they came any closer.
They believed me, the one in front holding up his hand to halt the others when we were still fifty feet apart. “Stop trying to reopen Faerie. Your people are gone, and we will fight to keep it that way. This is bigger than you know, unknown. You cannot fight us like your humans or supes. Leave things alone, and we will not come for you.”
Oh, I didn’t believe that. I knew enough to know the moment I caved, bad guys thought they had me and would push or do more. I did what they wanted, and then they’d want the estates or something.
My magic quietly flared from my hand at my side, and I moved it behind my back, understanding somehow what I had to do.
“Why do you want Faerie closed?” I asked, giving myself more time.
“Deal with your problems you have with the supes and fight for your light fairy justice. Leave the rest alone. This is your only warning, or we will kill the last fairy and not care it will destroy all supes.”
I studied them, one in the back almost giddy. No, they wanted that. They weren’t sent to reason or negotiate with me. They were pushing me to fight so they could kill me.
Why? Why not just do it?
A treaty? A rule?
Great, something else I was clueless on.
I felt who I wanted respond to my call and stepped aside so they could see I had opened a temporary portal. “I’m not ever stopping until I save my people and fix Faerie. Apparently, you don’t know who you picked a fight with.”
The Alpha of the fae dog pack who wouldn’t swear allegiance to me came leaping out of the portal. He didn’t hesitate, flaming once he was a few feet away from me and going right for the main guy. The others in his pack were right behind him, all careful not to be too close to me with their flames before attacking.
And attack they did. The men instantly reacted to the fae dogs and tried to flee.
Except fae dogs are ridiculously fast, and they had no chance to get away. The dogs tore into the men, brutal and horrifically majestic in how they moved.
I gasped as the first man seemed to almost deflate and turned into… Something. Sand? No, more like ash.
Oh fuck. The dogs really can burn someone so fast they turn to ash instantly. Gross. Awesome, but gross.
I blinked and all four men were just gone. Holy. Fuck.
The Alpha came and sat in front of me, clearly wanting to talk to me. I turned on my telepathy, my knees going weak as he filled me in.
Demons. Those men had been demons possessing deceased humans.
Holy. Fuck. Me. Hard.
He gave me a quick history lesson that light fairies fight for justice while dark fairies hunt for evil, and that was both parts of the balance we brought to the world. It was also why they wouldn’t swear allegiance to me. They were meant to hunt with dark fairies as they used to.
The Alpha was going to fill in the other packs—especially the ones sworn to me as this wasn’t what they were used to—and let them know to be on guard. Also, that they’d be ready if I called on them again, and would always answer me as I must be protected from this