“No, you just want to kill Raith,” Scarlett said.
“It must be done.”
Scarlett hovered close to the tree. “And I’m what, collateral damage?”
“I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to. You had me thrown into the fucking dungeon.” Scarlett’s tone was full of venom.
“I just needed to stay focused,” Cade said. His mother knew that Scarlett had gotten under his skin. Cade needed some distance so he could concentrate on preparing for the battle. “After the battle, I can be myself again.”
“It doesn’t work like that. You can’t blame this on the battle. Whatever you’re willing to do to become ruler is who you’ll be as king. There’s no difference.”
That wasn’t true. He would do what he needed to do to win and then he could be the king the Summer Court needed.
The orb in the middle of Scarlett’s staff caught Cade’s attention. It shined purple. But that wasn’t possible. It would only glow if the wielder were fae.
Or part fae.
No. It couldn’t be. Scarlett glanced at the glowing orb and back to Cade.
“What did Raith do to you?” Cade asked. He’d heard of ways for human to become fae, but they were complicated, dangerous, and dark.
“Raith did nothing,” Scarlett snapped. “Except treat me like an equal, unlike you. You knew I was weak. I was just a fox in your trap.”
Fury bubbled inside Cade. “Was I so bad for wanting to help some petty human escape her mortal worries? I brought you to a castle. I didn’t treat you like a servant.”
“Then I got tossed into a cell.” Scarlett clenched her jaw.
“How is that glowing?” Cade gestured to the orb.
“I don’t really know,” Scarlett said. “Things have been different for me ever since I came to Faerie.”
Could Cade have missed the fact that Scarlett wasn’t entirely human? Her emotion tasted better than any mortal’s he’d had before. Was it because she wasn’t fully mortal?
If she was part fae, what other powers did she possess? He couldn’t risk her getting in the way of him winning this battle. His mother was right. He was too attached. The only way to end it would be to end her.
Cade felt the summer energy building in his palm. Before he could change his mind, he hurled it at Scarlett.
Her eyes widened as she twirled the staff and hit the magic back at Cade. He wasn’t expecting it to fly toward him. As he lunged out of the way, it hit his shoulder, burning a hole through his jacket.
Scarlett’s footsteps echoed as he grabbed his wound.
With his daggers strapped to his back, Raith hurried toward the bond with Scarlett. She couldn’t hold her own against either Cade or Poppy, and Raith was the genius who got her into this mess.
Her blood would be on his hands.
He’d never cared to be king, but he’d always had too much pride to just give Cade the crown. But now that his father was actually gone, something in him had changed. He didn’t know if Cade would be a good king, not under the influence of Kassandra. Throwing Scarlett into the dungeon had the queen’s name written all over it, and the fact that Cade would just let it happen—well, that said plenty.
An arrow sailed past Raith’s head. He tumbled behind the cover of a tree. “Well, I know my younger brother didn’t choose a bow and arrow as his weapon.”
“Hiding, are you? What kind of potential king hides behind a tree like a coward?”
“A pragmatic one,” Raith said. “Where’s all this hostility coming from? I thought we were friends.”
“You leave your friends to fend for themselves in a bar full of drunk assholes?”
Yeah, Raith knew that decision would come back to bite him. He and Poppy had spent some time together a couple of years ago. She had left her training session in a particularly bad mood and nearly ran Raith over. He suggested they get out of Faerie and have a little fun, and, to his surprise, she agreed.
“I couldn’t exactly turn down the Unseelie King’s invitation.” Raith peeked around the tree. An arrow flew at his face.
“None of it matters now. What matters is I’m obligated to try and kill you. Nothing personal.”
Raith pulled his daggers out and stepped out from the cover of the tree. Poppy slung another arrow at him. He blocked it with his dagger.
“I thought you were supposed to be the best in the army. Or do people just say that because they’re scared of your daddy?”
Poppy snarled and shot another arrow. It missed Raith’s shoulder by less than an inch. Raith glanced at Poppy again. She stood a few feet in front of a large tree. He hid behind another tree and closed his eyes, inhaling the energy of the forest around him. He pictured the tree branches swooping down and pulling Poppy into the tree trunk.
“What in the hell?” Poppy yelled.
Raith stepped from behind the tree and toward Poppy. “Don’t bother fighting it. It isn’t the forest’s mind magic.”
“How’d you do this?” She struggled but didn’t budge.
“My little secret.” Poppy’s bow had fallen to the ground next to her. Raith picked it up. “Guess you’ll have to kill me another time.”
“Don’t leave me like this,” Poppy yelled.
Raith ignored her. He blew her a kiss and sprinted away until he found Scarlett hidden up in a tree.
“Finally,” she said as she hopped down. “Cade might be close. I ran into him earlier and sent one of those energy balls back at him.”
“I’m sorry I got you into all of this.”
And he meant it. He never thought that much about the fragility of human life until now. Or that he’d actually care about the treatment of a human. The anger that radiated through him when he heard they locked Scarlett up had surprised him.
“My older brother apologizing to a human?” Cade stepped into the clearing. “Never thought I’d see the day.”
“I always knew you were a momma’s boy, but I didn’t think you were completely whipped.” Raith stood in front of Scarlett and whispered. “Go hide. I can handle my little brother.”
“No,” Scarlett said. “I’m part of this, too, whether I like it or not.”
Raith sauntered toward Cade with his daggers raised; Scarlett stayed a few feet behind him. Cade held his sword in front of him, pointed at Raith’s chest. Raith made the first move. He lunged at Cade, swooping his daggers through the air, which were met with the cling of Cade’s sword. The two swapped swing for swing, always blocked by the other. Raith needed to get under Cade’s skin.
“Even human girls like me better than they like you,” Raith said.
Cade swung his sword at Raith’s heart. Raith’s daggers crossed and blocked it.
“Ah, but Scarlett’s not totally human,” Cade said. “She’s a mutt of some sort.”
“Such hostility in your words, brother.” Raith sauntered around Cade. “But I’m glad to know any feelings you had for her are long gone. It won’t bother you that I slept with her, then.”
Rage boomed from Cade. Normally high fae kept their emotions to themselves, so for Raith to feel Cade’s anger so strongly must mean he let his shields down. Good.
Then a blast of summer energy shot from Cade’s left hand, hitting Raith square in the heart.
Chapter Thirty-One
Cade watched his brother fall to the ground. A gaping hole in Raith’s vest burned through to his skin. Raith was knocked out cold, his body limp on the ground. Cade held his sword above Raith.
“Stop.” Scarlett ran at Cade with her staff in her hands.
“Leave, Scarlett. This is none of your concern.”
He couldn’t believe that she would sleep with Raith after she turned him down. Cade was the one who had tried to help her. Raith must have done something to her—erased her memories or manipulated them—to change her feelings toward Cade.
When she reached Cade, she swung her staff at him. He blocked it easily with his sword. She couldn’t do anything to hurt him, at least not physically. “You fucked him?”
Scarlett’s face dropped. “I… we… got lost in a moment.”
Cade’s anger resurfaced. “You were supposed to be mine.”