Page 28 of Riot of Autumn

“Considering the only humans you’ve probably ever met were enslaved and subjected to serving the pampered asses of the Fae, I don’t doubt that.” Ruby smiles sweetly at him.

Fuck, we might get murdered tonight. But I’m not about to stop Ruby. I love listening to her mouth off, even if we’re just digging a deeper hole for ourselves. I’ll grab another shovel and we can dig together.

“You look familiar.” The Duke shifts his leg off the arm of his chair and leans forward, planting both feet firmly on the ground. He steeples his fingers and taps his joined hands against his lips. A slow, icy smile creeps up his lips. There’s an oddly sharp quality to his teeth, and the need to protect Ruby surges up inside me. “Ah, yes. Now I remember. There was this pathetic little drudge who made the best whipping post. She used to cry so sweetly. That’s who you remind me of.”

“What is it you wanted with us?” I bark out before Ruby jumps across the space and claws this bastard’s eyeballs out.

I cross my arms over my chest, letting my eyes scan the room. Even though the other Fae backed up, they’re still essentially circling us. Any of the humans here are fucked out of their heads. I don’t know if they’ve been drugged, glamoured, or magicked in some other way, but they are not conscious of their surroundings.

“You’re the one who entered my home. I could ask the same of you.” When neither Ruby nor I respond, the Duke sighs and sinks back into this throne.

His hands dangle limply off the arms of his chair, and I know immediately he wants to appear bored, and non-threatening. But I smell the magic that buzzes off his skin. It’s different from the magic I sense on Ruby and my friends. It has a bitter, metallic scent I can taste in the back of my throat. Even Anthony’s magic has a sweeter, more natural essence. The Duke is wrong. Whatever the hell he’s doing to his magic is tainting it.

“We were just out for a stroll.” Ruby shrugs, her arm pressing into mine.

“Well then, I suppose I should be honest about our little gathering since you’ve been so forthcoming.” The Duke looks down at his nails. He picks at a finger before tilting his head to inspect me and Ruby. “Did you know that all humans have a touch of magic in them? The barest, most pathetic sampling, but it’s there, nonetheless.”

Obviously, no, I didn’t know that, but I keep my face expressionless, wondering where this is all going.

“All of these weak-willed humans are coming to my home willingly. Why shouldn’t I take back the magic that rightfully belongs to the Fae? I’m not doing anything they aren’t begging for.”

“They have no idea what they’re walking into. I highly doubt a single one of them is aware they have magic at all. And they definitely didn’t plan to go to a party and have it sucked out of them. Besides, if their human magic is so pathetic, why not just stay in Fairy? Then you can suck off all the Fae you want,” I bite out.

The smile flattens on the Duke’s face, but then the corner of his mouth lifts. “Right now, you”—He gestures lazily at Ruby and me—“are a means to an end. I can’t siphon out your magic yet, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have a little fun.”

That’s all the warning I get before he flicks his wrist. Pain lances through my body, shooting out from my chest in a shockwave of misery. I lose control of my limbs and go down to the ground, hard. All the bones in my body must be shattering. There’s no other explanation for this torment.

As though through a fog, I hear Ruby screaming my name somewhere nearby, but the agony of my body shifting without my permission blocks out all other sounds.

11

RUBY

Ezra collapses to the ground, screaming and writhing in pain. It happens so fast it takes a moment for my brain to catch up. What is this piece of shit bastard doing to him?

I drop to my knees by Ezra’s side, powerless to help him. I touch my hand to the back of his neck and his skin is on fire.

“What the hell are you doing to him?” I shout, wanting to change my superpowers from making food appear to having laser eyeballs that can slice through assholes.

The Duke throws his head back and laughs as Ezra starts to shift. He shreds his clothes, turning into his massive black wolf form.

“I have all kinds of tricks you can’t even imagine.”

Did he just force Ezra to shift? The wolf is unsteady on his feet as he stands, backing up from me a few small steps. Why? Wolfie Ezra snarls, his lip lifting to display vicious fangs. Good, I hope he chomps into the Duke and rips his throat out.

My eyes dart back and forth between the Duke and Ezra, not sure what the whole point of this display is. It’s the Duke’s grin that sends shivers down my spine.

“So weak willed.” He laughs, and then flicks his finger.

Ezra’s growling face swings toward me. He takes one step in my direction, swaying. It’s as though he doesn’t want to be moving. Is the Duke forcing him to come after me? I stand up slowly and take a few steps back, but I’m blocked by the Fae circling us. My palms sweat, my nerves getting the better of me. How much control does Ezra have?

“This is fun.” The Duke cackles, waving his hand again.

Ezra takes another step forward, his entire wolf body shaking with the effort to stay back. I hold my hand out, more afraid now than I’ve been all night. If Ezra hurts me, he’ll be gutted with guilt. The Duke watches us with excited energy pulsing around him, all but bouncing in his fucking throne as he waits for Ezra to attack me.

The wolf stares at me, the eyes exactly the same as Ezra’s. A warm brown with cracks of gold streaking through the iris. They’re the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen, and right now I recognize the pain in them. He doesn’t want to do this, but he’s helpless.

His legs tremble as he forces himself to take a step back, but the Duke hisses in displeasure.

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