Bad Fae | romantasy | Bad Fae #1

Chapter Twenty-Three

The next afternoon, Dain pulled his horse up at Henmar's border, his eyes scanning as though he could see that very border. His wrist casually rested against the hilt of the sword at his belt, belying the agitation I saw in the tension of his shoulders. Camoren shifted as though he could sense the agitation of his rider.

"Get it over with," Phin said, humour tugging at her voice. I saw Dain's eyes flicker to me.

"Give him a minute," Ninleyn said quietly.

Venali laughed as he lounged in his saddle. "I don't know why he always leaves it until here. The Darkrealm denizens love it when you go–"

"Shut up," Phin sighed, shoving him with glamour.

I looked between them and wondered what in the hell was going on. Dain shifted in his seat and Camoren mirrored the movement, like the horse was nervous of what was about to happen.

Dain was glaring at that invisible wall where the Darkrealm flora started turning into Henmar flora. "Come," he said, then crossed the line.

Phin smiled at me, though the action was pained, her eyes tight. She nodded to me to follow. I nudged Legacy forward, who suddenly reared in panic. My hands gripped the reins as my knees tightened against his flanks; I wasn't landing on my arse in the Darkrealm again.

Leaning my hand to Legacy's neck, I soothed him until he settled. To a minor wriggle, at least. Then, I finally saw the reason why Legacy had reacted like that. The reason that the Darkrealm and the Henmar wood had suddenly gone deathly silent all around us.

Because Death himself, astride his mighty steed of shadow and darkness, was waiting for me across the border in Henmar. His knuckles were tight on his reins, and he looked at me as if to say, 'are you afraid, mortal?'

Was I afraid?

No. Not of him. But there was a trickle of fear chilling my spine as I looked at him. Fear for the world if this sidhe were ever given free reign. For he was magnificent and beautiful and deadly, and I no longer doubted that he had the power to destroy the entire universe if he wanted to.

Shadows writhed across Dain's skin. Across his hands, up his chest, licking at his neck and up his face. His eyes were pitch black, no sign of white left in them. His dark hair fluttered on an imaginary breeze as though it too was made of the shadows that slithered agitatedly over his body. And over the shadows were thin, intricate knots, shimmering a dark silver as they traced a never-ending intertwining pattern like a cage to keep the shadows contained.

My hand went to the knot at my throat as I remembered his words the day that he'd given it to me; knots have meaning. What did his mean?

His eyes were pinned to mine, as though daring me to look away. Daring me to prove that I was too human – too weak – in the face of this power. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Even when I could imagine invisible shadows crawling across my own skin under his scrutiny, I held his gaze.

Then, Dain simply shook himself out and the shadows were gone. The knots were gone. He was, once more, simply Dain of the Voidsworn. All haughty, inhuman arrogance, but ever so less crawling with dark power.

"What was that?" I heard myself ask.

"The borders of Henmar strip all glamours as you cross them," Ninleyn said.

Glamours. So that... That had been what Dain truly looked like?

"Most of us can't then reshape them, though," Phin grumbled.

"There are some perks to being Dain," Venali agreed, and Dain shot him a warning look. Venali held up his hands as if to say, 'that's all I was going to say'.