Chapter 1
MORRIGAN
The glow of the candlelight brings out the blue in Jason’s eyes. He looks handsome tonight with his short brown hair, a wide smile that highlights the sparkling white teeth and deep dimples framing his smile. His black t-shirt stretches across his wide shoulders, contrasting against the paleness of his skin. He’s the only person I’ve ever met that has the same skin tone as me on this side of the realm.
Jason raises the champagne flute in the air, tipping the glass slightly towards me as he dips his head. “To you, baby girl. Who would have thought the lack of rental options in this town would lead to this?”
A smile blooms across my face at his words. So simple, but they hold so much meaning. Five years since we met. Five years being in the mortal realm. It’s hard to wrap my mind around it. Growing up, everything was so mapped out for me: my role, what I wore, who I spoke with, but now, I do not know what the next hour will bring. Would we go home and tear each other’s clothes off in celebration? Or wander the streets and enjoy the crisp fall air?
I pick up my glass and clink our flutes together before taking a small sip.
“Here you go. We have the fettuccine Alfredo with shrimp,” the server says, setting down a plate with steaming noodles piled high in the centre. Thick sauce coats the nest of noodles, with pockets of sauce sitting between the yellowed strands. The aroma of garlic hits me as the fragrant steam floats up.
I look up at the waiter, who is dressed in all black. “Thank you.”
He smiles back briefly before turning his attention to Jason. “And the steak with baked potatoes for the gentleman,” he says, placing the plate down in front of Jason.
“Can I get you guys anything else?”
Jason smiles up at the man. “No, this is wonderful, thank you.”
The server leaves us to our meals, but I don’t dig in, and neither does Jason. We can’t seem to look away from each other. Both of us are trapped in this moment. Not a single person in the restaurant is paying any attention to us. It seems like yesterday we were sitting in the rental office of our apartment complex, arguing over who was going to get the last unit available when he suggested we share the apartment.
“I need you to know that whatever comes next for us, these last five years have been a whirlwind, and I wouldn’t change anything.”
I pick up my fork, breaking the moment with Jason. It’s not that I don’t appreciate him; I do. I love him and the life we built here, but would I change anything if given the chance?
Probably.
We eat in silence for the next few moments, savouring every bite of our meal. We normally stay away from fancy restaurants or places like this, but Jason wanted tonight to feel special, and according to him, there’s nothing special about ordering in and watching reruns on cable television.
The waiter comes by and clears our dinner plates, replacing them with a thick slice of chocolate cake in the middle of the table, two small spoons on either side. Before he disappears, I’ve already scooped up a large bite and popped it into my mouth. My eyes close as the thick chocolate melts on my tongue. Is there anything better than chocolate?
The answer is no.
My eyes meet Jason’s across the table. Jason is smiling at me, but he still hasn’t touched the dessert. I tilt my head, swallowing down the moist cake. “Are you okay?”
Jason’s smile brightens, but his eyes dart around the room as if he’s looking for an escape. “Just nervous.”
I set my spoon down on the napkin. “Why are you nervous?”
He exhales, rising from the table. He takes two steps before he’s at my side. There’s a fine tremor to his hands as he wipes them along the black material encasing his thighs.
What is happening right now?
Eyes still scanning the room, Jason digs something out of his pocket before he gets down on one knee before me. Holding the little black box between his hands, he finally looks at me.
A soft chime, though quiet, slices through the room. The silver pendant around my neck warms as the chime gets louder. I stare at Jason, my body frozen. His eyes flick to the silver circle resting between my breasts, then back to my face.
“Your necklace is ringing?” His mouth moves, forming the words, but it’s like he’s speaking down a tunnel. The sound of my blood rushing through my ears drowns out everything.
My hand wraps around the scathan, the normally cool metal warm. I stand up, the chair crashes to the ground, but I’m already weaving through the tables toward the back of the restaurant where the washrooms are. People are staring at me, or at least I think they are, but I don’t have time to feel self-conscious.
Dread tightens my stomach.
Only one person could contact me using the scathan. The person who gave it to me when I was born, the person whose blood runs through the device just like mine.
I push through the bathroom door, one hand twisting the lock and the other yanking the chain over my head. The small silver disk hums with ether as it continues to sing in the palm of my hand. My hands shake as I fumble with the small clasp. Finally, the scathan opens. The top part holds a mirror, the bottom part a small, sharp needle. Not once since arriving in the mortal realm has my mother called, so why now?
Without wasting another moment, I press my thumb onto the needle, hissing at the pain. A bead of blood slides down the needle, pooling in the small area below before being absorbed. The surface of the mirror ripples as the mirror awakens. I slip my thumb between my lips, the taste of copper coating the tip of my tongue.
My mother’s face fills the small surface of the mirror. Her long, black hair falls over her shoulders in waves. A glittering black crown sits upon her head, mocking me. If things had gone differently that night, that crown would be on my head. Her skin is so pale it’s translucent. The small blue veins are visible beneath her flesh. The bright blue of her eyes serves as an unwelcome reminder of how different my deep brown, almost black eyes are.
“What took you so long?” she asks, her eyes burrowing into mine across realms.
“There were mortals everywhere.”
She leans forward, lips curling. “I don’t care when I call, you answer. Perhaps you need a little motivation.” My mother’s gaze flicks downward as the image pans out to encompass her throne and the man curled at her feet, his body wrapped around her legs. The man is naked, but thankfully, the way his body is curled on itself hides anything scandalous from view. Bruises paint his pale skin in cruel shades of purple and blue. His blonde curls are red with blood. My breath hitches in my throat as the promise of tears stings my eyes.
Oisin.
My heart aches at the broken form at my mother’s feet. The man at my mother’s feet looks nothing like the man I saw two days before I left the court.
“What did you do?” I ask, unable to tear my eyes from Oisin’s bloodied flesh.
“I did nothing.”
I search the mirrored surface desperately, begging for a twitch of his fingers, the rise of his chest—anything to tell me he’s still alive.
“Then who?”
“Aiden.” My eyes snap to hers. Aiden? My Aiden? No. Impossible. Why would he hurt someone like this? “He wouldn’t—”
“Wouldn’t he?” she murmurs. “Maybe you simply never saw what he could become?”
My stomach twists.
“Oisín is merely… leverage,” she continues lightly. “A reminder. Aiden wants you to come home.”
“I’m not going back.” My voice cracks, but I force the words out anyway. “Not for him. Not for you.”
She leans forward. “You will.” Her left hand reaches out to Oisin, coming to rest on the top of his head. Her fingers comb through his blood-streaked curls. He doesn’t move away from her touch, and it twists my stomach. Is he one of her playthings now?
“You ran,” she says softly. “You hid. You pretended you could be something small, something human.” Her fingers tighten in his hair. “But you belong to me. To my court.”
“I don’t belong to you.” I shake my head, my gut twisting with dread. Sweat drips down my back. The room closes in around me. I can’t go back. There’s no way I can step into the Unseelie Court again. Not after…
“If you refuse,” she interrupts, her voice turning sharp as a blade, “the next body I lay at your feet will be your pet.”
My blood runs cold.
“…Jason, isn’t it?”
My eyes lock onto hers. I swallow around the lump in my throat. “You’ve been watching me.”
A quiet, humourless laugh. “Of course I have.” Her lip curls. “You are the heir to the Unseelie Court. Did you truly believe I would allow you to rot among mortals without eyes on you?” She shakes her head, rolling her eyes at me. “You’re even more foolish than I thought.”
The mirror goes dark, leaving only my reflection staring back at me. My heart slams against my ribs, panic clawing up my throat. Tears spill over before I can stop them, dotting the surface of the compact.
I snap it shut and shove it into my bag.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Once my breathing calms, I turn towards the bathroom door and unlock it before stepping through. Sounds from the restaurant surround me: the clink of silverware, muted chatter, and a soft melody playing in the background.
Jason is sitting at the table, turning the ring box over and over in his hands. The cheque book sits on the edge of the table with the bill poking out the top.
Mother of all darkness, what am I supposed to say to him? Oh, sorry for interrupting you and running off to the bathroom without a word. My mother, the Queen of the Unseelie, called me after years of no contact, and now I need to go back home…
The urge to flee rushes through my veins. He’s not looking at me; I could make a run for it. Leave this restaurant and just keep running. How far could I get before Mother Dearest found me? Would she drag me back herself and put me in the cell beneath the Sidhe she liked to keep me in as a child?
Did it even matter at this point? What options did I have? Stay here with Jason and risk his life. Lie to the only man who liked me for me and not because I had a title attached to my name and return home only to be trapped there. While I might not be in a cell, the weight of the crown is just as confining as those four-by-four iron bars. Then there’s the last option, which is the most tempting but least practical. Run away from it all. Leaving everything behind isn’t that big of a deal. I did it before, so I know I can do it again. But how long until they found me? If Aiden needs me back to take the throne, did that mean the next call would be from him? What would he do next if he’s willing to torture someone to get me back? And why now? Why not five years ago when I first ran?
“Miss, are you okay?”
I’m jarred from my spiraling thoughts as a pretty blonde waitress stops in front of me, her eyes looking up at me with concern.
Heat rises to my cheeks. How long have I been standing here? My eyes flick to Jason, who’s now facing me, his brows furrowed as he watches me.
I can’t believe I bailed on him mid-proposal. That isn’t something a couple recovers from. Then again, neither is leading a double life, so I guess that doesn’t matter now.
“Do you need me to call someone for you?”
I turn my attention back to the young woman in front of me, plastering what I hope is a reassuring smile on my face. “I’m good, thank you,” I say, brushing past her on my way back to Jason.
He stands as I approach, his eyes scanning my body from head to toe.
“Can we go home?” I ask once I’m within earshot.
Jason audibly gulps, his eyes flicking briefly to my necklace before nodding. He wraps his hand around mine, and I let him lead me out of the restaurant. It’s like I’m in a trance on the way home. The cars blur past, city lights shining into the car, highlighting Jason’s profile as he tries to sneak glances my way, but everything seems far away, like I have already disconnected from this world.
“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”
His words tug at something inside me. I know I need to tell him. Putting it off isn’t doing us any favours. The air is thick with so much tension I’m suffocating on it.
“My mother called me.”
Jason’s eyes flick down to my necklace, then back to the road. I wait for him to mention something, ask how my necklace rang, why I left for the bathroom without my phone if that’s what I was doing, but he doesn’t. He keeps his eyes on the road as he continues to drive, waiting for me to explain.
“I need to go back home.”
“When?”
I nibble my bottom lip. “As soon as we get home.”
Jason’s hands tighten on the steering wheel. The leather creaks under his grip. “So, you take a call from your mother, who you have never spoken to or about since we have been together, in the middle of me trying to propose to you, and now you need to leave immediately.” Jason shoots me a look. “Do I have that right, Morrigan?”
“Yes.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“I don’t know.”
Jason scoffs and shakes his head. I push back the irritation. I don’t have any right to feel it. If the roles were reversed, I imagine I would be pretty upset as well.
“Are you leaving because I proposed?”
“Absolutely not!” I say, leaning across the console to rest my hand against his bicep. Which is true. While I am not sure I would have said yes—can you say yes if you’re already contractually obligated to bind yourself to another male?—it definitely is not the reason I am leaving, and I hate that it’s even in his mind.
“Say you will marry me when you get back.”
I squeeze his bicep and lean my head against his shoulder as we drive the rest of the way home. “I wish more than anything I didn’t take that call.”
Jason tenses underneath my touch but doesn’t say anything else, and neither do I.
