Glamoured (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 6)

“Winter!” I choked out as we arrived at our destination, clearly deciding to overuse the nickname now that I could.

“Winter is your nickname for me?” he asked, a flicker of emotion darkening in his as the skin across his forehead tightened.

“It’s been on my mind too,” I said in a rush, before adding, “Does it bother you?” I focused on the fae, ready and willing to stop using the name if it upset him.

I mean, nicknames were cute for me, but maybe it was an insult to a Faerie prince. Maybe I’d only ever thought of him as Winter and never used it out loud.

To my relief, he shook his head. “Not at all, I’ve just never had anyone give me a true nickname. Do you have any memories of why you called me Winter?”

Tabitha leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, as if she were offering comfort. Len’s eyes darkened, until they were silvery winter storms.

“I don’t remember, but I know the reason. Before and now, it would still be the same,” I managed to say without revealing my emotional state. “When you’re feeling strongly about something, the ice in your silver eyes swirls and rages, and it’s mesmerizing. Just like the wintery power you spill. When it hits my skin, it’s… nice.”

Nice was a vast, vast understatement of how it felt, but I’d already made a fool of myself. No need to let the fae prince know that already in our short time together, I’d started to develop quite strong feelings toward him.

Len’s expression as he watched me closely stirred strong feelings inside, so I quickly changed the subject. “This is your kingdom,” I said, taking my first look around. “Is that a crystal bridge?”

We stood just a few paces away from the purple bridge, which curved and twinkled in the low light of their sun.

“The gateway,” he told me. “It’s the bridge between the royal holdings and the rest of the Silver Lands.”

Looking beyond it, I could see houses and buildings spanning out for… well, ever. There was no visible end in sight of the floating, connected, silver and purple structures, many of them joined by crystal bridges and walkways.

A floating silver city.

“Everyone has their own home that they design,” Len continued. “We don’t own anything, but we do borrow for our time in this realm. The bridges are made of reven, our sacred stone. Its protection prevents other royal houses from trespassing without permission.”

“Am I about to get zapped?” I asked, only half joking as I looked around at the multitude of “amethyst-like” reven stones.

“I have given you permission,” Len said. “You have all the rights of a royal in the Silver Lands. A fact I will ensure is spread within the next day or two.”

Whoa. Rights of a royal? That was… a lot. “I don’t need special treatment,” I told him in a rush. “Just don’t zap me. That’s all I ask.”

He shook his head. “You’re my family. You get the royal treatment. No debate.”

Sometimes the prince in him was very apparent.

I decided not to argue further, since there were sure to be more important battles between us in the future. Instead, I focused on my many pressing questions. “What exactly do the fae do with their lives?” I asked as Len started to move toward the royal territory. “I don’t imagine you have painters or vets and such here? You don’t require the same careers as shifters or humans, which makes sense, but what do you do?”

He paused briefly, tilting his head. “What is this need that you have on Earth to do? Why did you create a society that never allows its people to just be. What is it you’re striving for?”

A small snort of disbelief escaped me. “Uh, usually money. Most of us enjoy food and a roof over our head, and even with the packs keeping us safe so to speak, that doesn’t come without a price.”

Len considered it for another second, and I had never felt the vast differences between us so strongly as I did right now. “Faerie has rules,” he murmured. “We have ways that all contribute to our energy and upkeep of the territories. But in general day to day, most pursue their areas of interest. Some head to the solid lands and dig for stones. Some examine the power grid and try to find ways to improve what we have. Others are scholars, studying the past and predicting the future. And there are a few that tend to fields of food which is shared freely. If a fae is born, on those rare occasions they are welcomed into their royal lands with a home and comfort and food. The rest they figure out as they explore their interests. There’s always at least one fae who shows an interest in an area of need.”

Sounded fake, but okay. “What about trash?” I burst out. “Surely there’s not a fae who loves collecting other people’s shit?” Literal and figuratively in this instance.

Len’s smile grew. “We don’t really generate a lot of trash, so to speak. But whatever waste is left from our lifestyle, we deal with ourselves. It’s our creation, after all, right?”

For some stupid reason I felt offended, and like I had to step in for Earth. Even if what he was saying sounded like the sort of evolved civilization we should strive to be.

“This is not a slight on your kind,” Len said suddenly, and fuck if this asshole couldn’t read my mind. “We do not judge how others live. What works for us isn’t designed to work for anyone else. It’s just the way of Faerie, and since we are billions of years more ancient than Earth, it makes sense that we would have evolved and developed a different way of life.”

My brain was still grumbling like a cranky old man with hooligan kids on his front lawn, but I let it go because I could tell he really wasn’t judging Earth. In this instance, different didn’t mean anything other than different.

“Okay, that’s fair,” I finally said. “And I’m looking forward to seeing more of the inner workings of Faerie.”

“I’ll show you anything you want to see,” he promised, and those words dripped down my body and into my gut, making it swirl as I fought the urge to breathe heavier.

Thankfully, before I embarrassed myself by moaning, we reached the huge gates at the entrance to Len’s home. It didn’t escape my notice that they were a larger, grander version of the ones at his garden. They too opened before he touched them, and I found myself holding my breath as I passed through the threshold. I could feel the power swirling, almost as if it were draping over my skin, holding me still for a moment and then finally releasing me.

“Sorry about the scanning,” he said. “I didn’t think you’d feel anything, but your eyes narrowed. They do that when you’re uncomfortable.”

Damn his observations. “It felt almost like walking through a web that wasn’t quite ready to let me go.”

His gaze lifted from mine to examine the gates, which were silently closing behind us. “Only fae feel the energy. We definitely need to get to the bottom of what your mind is hiding from us.”

“Yours too,” I reminded him.

Len didn’t argue, giving a slow nod. Almost a bow. “Mine too.”

My throat was tight, so I turned away and attempted to get myself together. This fae was wreaking havoc on my composure and internal stability. Part of me wished that he’d step away so I could breathe freely, while another part knew that already I craved his presence.

The juxtaposition of my feelings right now was boggling my mind.

And my soul.

Len ended up being the distraction I needed, odd considering he was what I needed a distraction from, but as he fell into tour guide, I found myself relaxing.

“This is the main royal courtyard,” he said as we walked forward. “We use it for large banquets, celebrations, and morning energy renewals under the sky crystals.”

The courtyard was huge and round with light stone pavers lining the floors. Pillars, looking very sentinel like, surrounded the circular boundary. There was no ceiling, just the pillars and some crisscrossing structures high up. As we moved closer, I could see the pillars had carvings across them, depicting what looked like fae performing various tasks from meditation, to painting, to eating in large groups. At the peak of each pillar was a reven stone.

“You use those stones to recharge too?” I asked, scanning the twenty-foot-high structures. “And you also consume food?”

“Some do,” he replied. “Some exist just on stone energy. Our young require extra sustenance, but once you reach a certain age, you have the choice.”

He chuckled suddenly, and I realized I’d screwed my face up. Relaxing all the muscles, especially those wrinkling my nose, I forced out a strangled laugh. “I just cannot imagine living without food. I’ve been forced to a few times, and it was the absolute worst.”

He was no longer laughing. “Who withheld food from you?”

The question sounded innocent, but his eyes were swirls of darkness as he met and held my gaze. “My dead true mate,” I breathed.

Len’s expression hardened. “It pains me that fucker is already dead and I cannot kill him.”

When he made statements like that, I really, really wished that I had my memories and could explore this connection between us. Since none of that was possible, all I had was a racing pulse and damp panties.

Needing a second to pull myself together, I paused near a pillar. Just as I was about to follow, a tingling sensation caressed the back of my neck, and I turned to find a fae nearby, watching me. Light, aqua colored eyes met mine, and I found myself examining him just as closely.

Not as tall as Len, he was still a head above me, with broad shoulders and ashy blond hair that touched the bottom of his ears. Expression amused, he straightened and tilted his head, gaze running along my body. “You don’t belong here,” he said in a smooth tone as his gaze returned to my face.

“I’m with Len,” I said quickly.

He quirked a brow as he straightened. I noticed he was wearing an ornate silver breastplate, looking like a warrior. Was he part of this land’s armed guard?

“Len?” he queried, as if he’d heard wrong. Or shit, maybe it was always Prince Len here and I’d just made a major fuck up. Before I could correct myself, Len wandered back into view, Tabitha waving her arms around as she bathed in the crystals’ light.

“Eyes off her, Tyrin,” Len drawled. “Or I’ll take great pleasure in removing them.” He sounded casual, but only a fool would think he was joking.

Not that the threat deterred Tyrin, who stepped closer to me. He had a similar icy wash of power to Len, just less intense. “Aw, come on, brother,” Tyrin said. “You leave your gorgeous woman standing out here in the open. Seems you want me to step in.”

I waited for Len to correct him about your woman, but he did no such thing.

“Brother?” I queried, unsure if it was literal, or more how Shadow and the others used the term. Brothers of choice, not blood.

“Oldest friend,” Len said shortly, giving me the answer I needed. “Though he might be relieved of that duty if he doesn’t back away from you.”

It was a warning. And damn if that possessive timbre to his tone didn’t have me feeling a little hot under the collar. Tyrin’s grin was huge, but as he pulled his gaze from me to face Len, he finally noticed Tabitha. His smile faded near instantly as he stilled, mouth half open, hands listless at his side.

“How is this possible?” he finally said in a near whisper. “A child? A royal child has been born.”

As if that had been an official announcement, the gems above us burst into life. Purple filled the air, and as the power surrounded us Tabitha started to cry. The first, real baby cry I’d ever heard from her, and it terrified my heart.

Was bringing her here a mistake? Maybe her half-fae side was not strong enough to withstand the energy?