Page 31 of Riot of Autumn

“What are you talking about?” Ezra asks, his hands digging into the arm of the chair he’s sitting in.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I see Rhys and Zara following our back-and-forth like we’re prime time drama.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” I frown, shaking my head in confusion.

“You mean…the closet?”

“What?” I practically screech, my foot flailing and kicking one of my boots halfway across the room. “No. Seriously? No.”

Ezra exhales noisily and sags back into the chair. Rhys sits forward, a grin on his face.

“I, for one, am very interested in what happened in the closet.”

Zara slaps the back of her hand against Rhys’s chest. He captures it and pulls it to his mouth to kiss her palm. Gross.

“What are you talking about then, Ruby?” Ezra huffs.

“The fact that the Duke forced you to shift, and then you were apparently under his control.”

There’s a sharp inhale of breath from Zara, but I don’t look at her. My eyes are fixed on Ezra. There’s a flicker of guilt, uncertainty, and embarrassment that rush over his face. He leans forward again, dropping his head. “Yeah.”

I stand up, still too amped up to sit still. Even with the exhaustion riding me hard. I pace back and forth in front of the TV. Spotting a hair tie on the coffee table, I grab it and throw my hair up in a high, messy bun.

“Did he have control over you?” Anger is starting to simmer in my veins again. The idea that the fucking Duke could have power over any of us, over Ezra is disgusting.

“He did. There was this push of magic commanding me to attack you, and I could barely fight it.”

Zara makes another shocked sound, and we all turn to look at her. Even among friends, she hates being the center of attention and shrinks under our gazes. Rhys cups the back of her neck and, just like that, her spine straightens.

“Some Fae have the ability to compel. Again, it’s rare. Many of the old magic has faded from Fairy. The Duke, the Queen, and many other High Fae have been distorting their magic for years somehow. I don’t know what they’ve been doing, but it’s possible the Duke could have the ability to compel. Which is terrifying.”

“I have a pretty good idea how they’ve been fucking with their magic,” I say, wanting to rub my eyes, but not wanting to smear my eye makeup all over the damn place.

“How?” Zara asks without a moment’s hesitation.

“There were a ton of humans out at the house tonight. The Duke did something to them. He told us that all humans hold a little bit of magic inside them. I think he’s sucking it out somehow. Like a magic sucking Fae vampire.”

Zara pales, looking a little sick. “That’s forbidden magic in Fairy.”

“But it’s a thing?” Rhys asks, his leg back to bouncing.

“As far as I know, any Fae who steals the power of another Fae is to be put to death. It is one of the worst offenses a Fae can commit. It’s dark, dark magic.”

“Well, it seemed like an everyday occurrence for the Duke. He didn’t even have any special ritual shit. It was just a touch of his hand, and the humans went down.”

“He likely wouldn’t need to do any of the ritualistic parts any longer. If he’s been doing it for as long as I suspect, then the dark magic in his veins would be enough.”

“He smells wrong. His magic.” Ezra looks up, staring off at a spot across the room.

“You could smell his magic?” I inhale, like maybe I can smell it too.

Ezra nods slowly. “His is wrong. The others don’t smell nearly as bad, but their magic is still not the same as ours.”

“They would not have had the means to pull magic from other Fae like the Duke had, if they were on this side of the veil. Now that the Duke is outside of Fairy, his options are limited. He has to use humans, unless he wants to suck out the magic from his companions. And then where would that leave him?”

“As fascinating as this is, what the hell am I going to do about his ability to control me? And is it just me? Or will he be able to control the rest of you as well?”

Zara sucks on her bottom lip, lost in thought, as she stares at the coffee table. “I think it’s because of your shifter magic. Even though the Duke is from the Summer Court, he’s always had shifters around. His magic shouldn’t allow him to shift, but like you said, his magic is wrong. Whatever he’s done, it may allow him control of shifter magic.”

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