The Shadow King (12 page)

“Done.” Keeran looked completely un-fazed as he proceeded to do something behind the counter that she couldn’t see. He was intent on his work, and Violet was not only shocked that he was willing to create something so outrageous, she was a little put out that he hadn’t even batted an eye at the request.

Rainbow chocolate was a fae treat that possessed all the types of chocolate from white to dark, and in which you could individually taste each one with every bite. It was a spell-created delicacy that cost a small fortune, even for the Tuath. The fact that she’d asked for it sugar-free was just her attempt at making it ridiculously difficult. As to the pixie dust – that didn’t really exist. And the candy butterflies? She’d asked for simply because they sounded both beautiful and challenging.

As he worked, Violet approached the counter, hoping to get a peek at what he was doing. But by the time she’d fully reached it and was leaning forward to peer over the edge, he was straightening to place a drink in front of her.

She backed up and looked down at it.

It was a mountain of a drink, lovely beyond compare.

“Holy wow,” she whispered. It was exactly what she’d asked for, though she was only guessing that it was also sugar-free. The rainbow chocolate, she recognized at once by its scent. The whipped cream was a perfectly formed cone of creamy white, and there were tiny butterfly sprinkles all over it. They were Monarch butterflies, brightly colored with miniscule precision.

But most amazing to Violet was the delicate shimmer of gold and green that looked like glow-in-the-dark micro-glitter all over the whipped cream.

Pixie dust.

Chapter Fifteen

If actual pixie dust hadn’t existed before, she supposed it did now, whatever it was. As far as she was concerned, it was simply magic made tangible. That’s what it looked like, too.

Her lips slid into a soft smile.

The coffee smelled divine, like the best kind of coffee and the best kind of chocolate and a warm, welcome flavor on the bitterest of nights. Before she knew what she was doing, she’d grabbed the mug and lifted it to her lips to inhale. She closed her eyes, stuffed her face right into the whipped cream, and dug down until she found hot, steaming liquid.

She was fortunate that the coffee was neither too hot nor too cold, because without giving pause to a possible burn, she took a great big gulp of it. It slid over her tongue in a spectrum of flavors that caressed her taste buds and sent signals of bliss directly to certain areas of her body. She suppressed a shiver of deliciousness and took several more deliberately slow swallows.

When she finally pulled the mug away and licked her lips, she found the Shadow King leaning against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest, smiling like the cat who’d just eaten the canary.

“This… this is amazing,” she said. But the words were not as effective at imparting how delicious she found the coffee as was the tone of her gluttonous voice.

He chuckled. “I’m glad you approve.” Then he straightened, pushing off the counter. “You… have a little something,” he said, touching his nose.

Violet’s eyes grew wide. She ran her hand over her face, and it came away smeared with whipped cream and pixie dust. She laughed, and without really thinking, she used her magic to clean both face and hand. It was easier than it normally was, as if it took little to no effort.

It’s that other magic inside me
, she thought, staring at her hand.

“Violet?”

She looked up. The Shadow King was watching her intently, and by the look on his face, it was clear he’d noticed something was on her mind.

“I need to go after my sister.”

Just like that, it came out. She was here with a king, drinking coffee in a deserted Starbucks. She was wasting time – while her sister was possibly injured. Maybe dead.

No, she’s not dead. I would know it if she were dead.

All of the nonsense that had been flitting through her mind until then took an obedient back seat. “Are you coming with me?” she point-blank asked.

His expression didn’t change, and secrets skirted behind those intensely dark, reflective eyes.

A new, high-pitched and crackly voice suddenly asked, “Pardon me… your majesty?”

Violet jumped at the intrusion and spun to face the voice. The magic within her leapt to attention, flooding her palms for further use.

But there was no need for magic. “Good evening, Pi,” Keeran greeted calmly.

The fire elemental in the hearth across the room was barely visible from this distance, he was so small. But she could tell that he attempted a bow.

“I’m sorry to disturb you,” Pi said politely. “But an emergency meeting has been called.”

The Shadow King’s brow furrowed. He straightened, his look darkening all over. Violet could imagine why. She’d been an acquaintance of sorts with the Unseelie King, Caliban, for years. She knew that “an emergency meeting” referred to an urgent meeting of the Thirteen Kings, and it was never a good thing when they were suddenly called to the table like this.

It meant there was a crisis of some sort.

“Pi, what’s happened?” she asked, hoping she could trick the elemental into answering her straight out.

But the living flame looked from her to Keeran and back again, remaining mute.

“Inform D’Angelo I’ll be there shortly,” the king responded. His tone had changed, taking on a note of authoritative calm. The flame vanished with a small puff of smoke, and Violet’s gaze narrowed.

“Violet.”

She turned to face him, but failed at keeping the scowl off her face. She’d allowed the king to distract her from her task, she’d been dragged back to the mortal realm, and now she was going to be abandoned for a meeting concerning something secret, something big – something she
really
wanted to know.

“Can you wait a little longer before going after your sister?” he asked.

“I’d rather not –”

But Keeran’s look was resolute and dark, and with sudden comprehension, Violet understood what he had done. She understood what all of this was for. And it didn’t help her mood.

“You tricked me. You brought me here to the mortal realm, plied me with coffee, and then locked me out of the Dark. Didn’t you?”

“You’re perceptive.” He took a deep breath. “I can’t stop you from attempting to head into the Dark alone, however I can promise you that you won’t get far before I catch up to you.”

“Oh?” she ground out.

“How fast do you think the dark moves, acorn?” he asked. His smile was the devil’s. “As fast as light, if not faster.”

Violet swallowed hard. It was like swallowing bricks, she shoved down so many swear words. The heat she’d been feeling since she’d awoken in his chamber turned into a full-on inferno, one not of desire, but of rage.

“It will also be more difficult for you the second time around,” he explained, gesturing to the coffee shop and the mortal world beyond it, which it was now obvious he really had pulled her back into so that she’d have to start all over again. “Which will slow you down. Because I won’t lie; if you start out again without me, you’ll find a few more obstacles in your path.”

Of course I will
. She swore internally. He’d sealed off not only his realm, but any chance she had of heading into the Dark without him. And he’d done it all without batting an eye. She should have known one of the Thirteen would be capable of something like this.

Violet chewed on the inside of her cheek ferociously to keep from saying something she shouldn’t. It was beginning to get sore.

And then she let go of her cheek, because she frankly didn’t care. “You had no right,” she accused with an acid tone. “She’s my only family.”

“I have every right,” he said calmly. “Those who pass through my realm are my responsibility. I am accountable for their safety.” He moved around the counter and approached her with the sleek grace of a black cat, but his boots echoed his approach with clear warning.

She tried not to retreat when he stopped within a hair’s breadth and leaned in. Their encounter in the Underground came slamming back into her. The shadows, the mystery, the danger in his hooded secrets and mirrored eyes. She held her breath when he raised his hand, and his fingers brushed her collarbone as he pulled the chain of her pendant gently out from under her clothing. At the contact, something zapped through Violet, hot and hard, and it met up with the magic inside her as if positive and negative ions were connecting at last.

He held the acorn diamond up with a knowing smile. It sparkled madly against his fingers from the light from the fires in Starbucks’ fireplaces.

He was too close. For the first time in her life, she truly understood what it meant to be caught in someone’s gaze. She was held immobile in the stark, unusual beauty of his eyes. From this distance, she could at last see past their mirroring magic. She had the odd sensation that she’d been the first to do so in a very long time.

His eyes were not black, but dark, sparkling gray, surrounded by a ring of silver that burned like molten mercury. They were hypnotic; she was literally unable to look away – un
-allowed
. She was suddenly burning up, her head swam, and she felt dizzy. It had been forever since she’d taken a breath.

But he was relentless, and his beautiful smile told her as much. He drew even closer still, and when he spoke again, she felt his words brush her lips. “I’m afraid, my very precious acorn, that goes
especially
for
you.”

Chapter Sixteen

The Shadow King turned away from her, strode to the shadows along one wall, and stepped right into them – leaving Violet alone and breathless with unspoken retorts and unanswered questions. Rage warred with self-restraint, which warred with fear for Dahlia. She’d never felt so much the fool.

Son of a bitch.

Beside her on the counter top, her coffee cup began to boil over. She glanced down to watch the liquid inside rise with more and more vigor until it began jumping out of the cup. The whipped cream instantly melted, running like lava onto the counter, along with pixie dust and tiny butterflies.

Violet stepped back. Anger surged through her, but warning bells were ringing softly, like a distant church announcing service. Now that she paid attention, she could feel a crackling at her fingertips. She glanced down to see lightning jump from nail to nail, and her eyes widened. She shook them, as if to dislodge a bug or dirt, but the lightning only intensified, riding up her arms.

What’s happening?

It’s the magic
, she answered herself.
It’s Lovelace’s magic. You have to get ahold of it!

Behind her, Starbucks’ fire places
whooshed
, and she spun around, hair flying like a thick, golden spray. The flames had built impossibly, bypassing their metal and glass covers to begin climbing up their casements.

Oh gods!

Violet took a deep, deep breath, shaky though it was, and forced it slowly out through her clenched teeth. Her body tensed painfully and began to tremble, like a turgid garden hose with no outlet for its water.

The smoke detectors beeped a few warning beeps, and the fire alarm sounded, sending more adrenaline coursing through her blood stream.

Control it!

She concentrated with fierce, determined tenacity, and compelled the fire alarm to go quiet. It was probably too late to forestall a visit by the fire department, but at least it would stop screaming at her.

Now the fire!
She turned a narrowed, angry gaze on the licking flames trying desperately to catch and spread in the material surrounding the fire places. On a wild whim, she imagined them icing over.

And that’s exactly what they did.

She gasped, taking another step back. That was impossible. She’d never been magical enough to turn one basic element into another – fire into ice was fire into
water
. That was something
no one
she knew could do! Not even Lalura! At least… she’d never
seen
Lalura do it. Nevertheless, it was a nearly epic ability, and one only the most formidable and commanding mages could perform.

Mages like Lovelace?
her inner voice prompted.

Violet shut her eyes. She exhaled, and the violently tremulous sound echoed loudly in the new silence.
Okay
, she thought.
Okay. Breathe again.

She opened her eyes.
Now, clean up the mess.

She’d learned long ago, as a fledgling mage, that sometimes voicing what you wanted to do helped focus the power you were using in a spell. So she looked at the frozen fire and said, “Evaporate.”

At first, nothing happened. But she held her will steady and did not look away. Within seconds, a tendril of steam could be seen rising from the mass of orange-white ice. That tendril became two, then three, and soon the ice was diminishing in size. Before twenty full seconds had passed, the frozen fire was gone.

Violet let out the breath she hadn’t known she was holding and turned to the spilled coffee on the counter. That, she simply decided to relocate and deal with later. Using a very basic spell she’d known most of her life, she waved her hand over the mess and thought of her kitchen sink in the apartment she had in downtown Seattle.