Page 62 of Midnight Reign
Before anyone can say anything else, the shadows deepen. A chill runs through my soul as I sense a presence, unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. It’s like a wet blanket that has been thrown over my head and is smothering me.
“He’s here,” Zephyr says quietly.
From the darkness emerges a figure that can only be Zephyr’s father. Tall, imposing, with eyes that seem to hold the depths of the void itself.
“Hey, Dad,” Zephyr says.
The Dark Fae King looks around at all of us but ignores everyone except for me. His eyes lock onto mine, and I find it impossible to pull away. My soul withers, and even Crimson is quiet and trembling in the corner, which makes no sense. Shouldn’t she be more powerful than him?
I feel frozen in place as Zephyr’s father approaches, his gaze never leaving mine. The air around us seems to grow colder and darker. He stops in front of me and grips my chin. Zephyr’s hand comes up to shove him away, but his dad holds his hand up to stop him.
“Adelaide Black,” he says. “It’s an honour to meet you.”
“S-sir,” I bleat out, so terrified I’m about to wet myself.
His eyes narrow, and he purses his lips, looking a little irked. “Crimson. How are you, dear? Been a while.”
I blink and wonder for a split second if I should let her deal with him instead of me.
Tell him to get fucked.
“She says to tell you to get fucked,” I blurt out and then wish the earth would open me up and swallow me whole, spitting me out, preferably somewhere very far from here.
Zephyr hisses, but his Dad snorts with amusement. “I bet. That little bitch is not our biggest fan.”
“Little bitch,” I snicker as Crimson hisses and snarls in my head. “He’s got you pegged, doesn’t he?”
“I am Malachar, King of the Dark Fae,” he says, letting go of my chin and dropping into a deep bow. “I am at your service, my Queen.”
27
ADELAIDE
I stareat Malachar in shock, my mind reeling. “Queen? What are you talking about?”
Malachar straightens, a slight smirk on his face. “You don’t know yet, do you? Crimson hasn’t told you.”
“Told me what?” I demand, glancing at Zephyr, who looks just as confused as I feel.
“She is Queen of the NetherRealm. Bound by a magick so old and so ancient, we were confident she would never rise. However…” He looks at me with those eyes that seem to suck up any light around us.
“However, what?” I whisper.
“You raised her.”
“I did no such thing!” I snap, indignant. “I looked in the mirror of the bathroom where MistHallow roomed me. That is not my fault!”
“No, that would be your father’s fault,” he muses. “Randall Black always was a loose cannon. Slightly unhinged and not in the good way.”
“There’s a good unhinged?” I squeak.
Malachar chuckles darkly. “Of course there is, little one. The kind that keeps your enemies guessing, that gives you an edge. Your father’s brand of unhinged is more reckless.”
I feel Zephyr tense beside me. “Dad, what exactly are you saying?”
Malachar’s gaze sweeps over our group, lingering on me in ways that I want to say creep me out, but it’s not quite there. “I’m saying that your little friend here has unwittingly set in motion events that have been brewing for nigh on a millennium. Crimson’s awakening is just the beginning.”
“The beginning of what?” Corvus demands, stepping forward.
