Chapter 53

Axel

The darkened mass eased its way through the forest, hovering between the trees and underbrush as it slowly swallowed the stretch of land before us. Strangely, it did not rise above the treetops, as if it were hiding from the harsh daylight or the prying eyes of humans. Not that there were any humans around. The forest consisted of miles and miles of protected greenery preserved specifically for nature conservation and Dire Mountain, along with its jarring mountain ranges, were either privately owned or inaccessible altogether.

When the darkness finally reached the edge of the treeline, at the base of the mountain, it stopped.

The silence was deafening; thrashing unnaturally in the grip of whatever deemed it its master. Even the wind had died down as though mother nature was holding a breath, or suffocating.

A dull uncomfortable throb started growing in my head. It felt like pressure was building up in my inner ear, so agonising and tormenting, I craved with every fibre of my being to claw at myself, to rip whatever it was scraping against my skull to come out. To release some of the painful pressure.

All of us stared at the thicket below. Unblinking. And from the darkness beyond it, three large pitch-black beasts emerged.

The creatures moved with feline predatory, their black paws so silent upon the earth, not a sound emanated as the beings prowled out and lifted their hideous heads towards the heavens. Towards us.

They seemed to be crafted from the same eerie blackness which occupied the forest, only, theirs appeared more concentrated, dense. Like a thick fabrication of smoke. Their bodies were slightly larger than that of an alpha wolf’s but shaped like a lion’s. They had black manes which wafted behind them, leaving trails of smoky blackness trailing as they crept out of the vegetation.

Although their bodies were frightful, what unsettled me most was the broad horns curling around the backs of their heads like a large goat’s and the bright, glowing red eyes which peered up, slicing through the space between us. Space which now felt incredibly small. Too small and too close.

One of the warriors behind me vomited and I had to swallow a few times to try and steady my own nerves. To still my trembling hands.

Instead of charging at us, the creatures remained stationary. Staring up at us with those infernal, blazing eyes. Contemplating. Studying. Sizing up.

As if summoned, all three of the creatures lowered their massive bodies to the ground, laying with their bellies pressed to the floor and their shoulders high, ears alert and scanning.

Movement rippled from within the darkness of the forest very close to the edge. A moment later, a man stepped out. He was standing between the creatures and immediately followed their gaze up towards us

Power emanated from him. He moved almost the same way as his beasts. Graceful yet promising violence. Arrogant, lethal and smooth. Black smoke was also trailing behind him like a phantom breeze was pulling it out of his skin and drawing it back into the forest.

Another warrior vomited somewhere behind me.

I blinked and a second later, the man stood before us like the king of demise himself.

Curses and scrambling sounded behind us, but the front line stood steady. Me, Alpha Blake, John and Dorian. Unmoving. Fierce.

The man regarded us for a moment, giving us time to assess him in return.

He had dark-brown tousled hair, pale skin, a strong jaw, thick dark eyebrows, and piercing hazel-honey-coloured eyes. Beneath his pale skin, faint lines of black swirled and moved. Like tendrils of blackened smoke was trapped inside of him, moving underneath his skin, yet never mixing with his flesh. A substance neither alive nor dead. Like it had a life of its own, but it chose to dwell inside of him. A strange sort of symbiotic relationship.

“Nether fae,” he said and dipped his chin by way of greeting.

The voice that came from him was not what I was expecting. He sounded, well, human. His voice was low, smooth and sensual.

Alpha Blake cleared his throat, stepping forward, “Alpha Blake, Dire Mountain Pack.”

A feral smile spread over the man’s face, black wafts of smoke fluttering behind him. His three beasts came crawling up behind him, positioning themselves around his feet.

Alpha Blake took a small step back.

“Coyne, Shadows and Whispers,” he replied, sounding quite bored and scanning the warriors behind us. “I am looking for Light and Lightning.”

Alpha Blake’s brows shot up. “In connection with?”

Coyne’s eyes flared, his blackness slightly spreading out behind him. From deep within the forest, murmuring erupted. Voices. Strange and unnatural. Hundreds. Some sounding more animalistic than human.

An uproar of growls, howls, scraping, clattering, speaking and a screech somewhere amongst the chaos.

Alpha Blake started to speak again, but Coyne held his hand up to silence him, cocked his head to the side, closed his eyes and said, “silence.”

Instantly, it went quiet. Deathly, penetrating stillness fell over the forest once again.

He lowered his hand, open his eyes, “do continue, Alpha.”

Alpha Blake’s mouth was hanging open, but he quickly snapped it shut and masked his features. “We have sent word to the kingdom of Lighthaven, they should be here shortly.”

Coyne dipped his chin again and dug his hands into the pockets of the black pants he wore. His clothes were very plain, basic. Nothing extraordinary like Locke’s, not even a brand name on his dirtied white dress shirt, which was also creased, slightly unbuttoned and smelled like it hadn’t been washed in a while.

The Kingdom of Shadows and Whispers, Locke had said was the kingdom the entity came from that attacked us when Lily and Ray had visited.

This fae must surely be some kind of messenger sent from their king. Or a deserter maybe?

His pointy ears twitched, and his jaw clenched, the only indication that he noticed something we didn’t. A moment later, the King of Lighthaven himself appeared with three of his sons in tow. Locke included. All of them were armed from top to bottom.

When King Gaute’s gaze fell upon Coyne, his lips parted and his eyes widened, “I-It cannot be,” he breathed, fingers trembling.

Immediately he stepped forward, eyes brimming with tears, “Your Majesty,” he said and flung his arms around Coyne, who remained rigid and visibly uncomfortable.

A faint, stiff smile tugged at the corners of Coyne’s lips as King Gaute pulled away to study the young man. Your Majesty, he had said, almost as though, no? Was this?

“Please welcome the King of the Fae Kingdom, Shadows and Whispers,” King Gaute said, half turning to face us.

Locke and his two brothers fell to their knees, bowing their heads in respect.

“My King,” Coyne said, his eyes darkening, “I bring news from the south.”

“What news?”

Coyne’s eyes scanned us swiftly, his muscles tensing, “war is coming. We need to ready your men.”