Page 32 of The Nightbound Soldier

“I don’t know, Fleur. These things are flying our way.”

“Don’t be alarmed. A fate visited me just now.”

“And?” Evie bites her bottom lip.

“And…” I can’t say we talked about the Nightbound Soldier because Evie might think I’ve finally lost my stones. “And she invited us to the Winter Court for the season. This must be the delegation that’s going to take us there.”

“What?” Evie looks nervous.

“We’re leaving for the Winter Court.”

Evie blinks. “On bats?”

“Those aren’t just bats.” I point out the window.

The flock of bats descends, and as they touch the ground, the animals transform into a convoy of seven obsidian carriages. The edges of the carriages are sharp, almost like horns, and dipped in red paint. The doors are unmarked.

Identical twin males step forward, tall and packing muscle under the red coats they wear over all-black uniforms. The one with scars on the right side of his face looks up, and his eyes immediately find Evie. There’s a moment when time pauses, and all I hear is her heartbeat speeding up, rushing blood into her face, flushing her cheeks.

“You’ve always been a sucker for damaged bad boys,” I tell her.

“Says the kettle to the pot.”

“The Winter Court has those in spades,” I say.

“I need a husband, not a bad boy, and definitely not a notturno bad boy.”

“Winter fae are in season. You need a fae that’s in season, or you lose everything.”

“But the Winter Court is Unseelie.” She clasps her hand over her mouth as soon as she says it. “Sorry, Fleur.”

My mother was an Unseelie, which makes me half Unseelie. “They’re Unseelie, I know, and if you bring an Unseelie husband back here, your family will think twice before trying to take away your property. If we don’t try in the Winter Court, we’ll ask my brother to force your family’s hand. But if Et’enne gets involved, it’s out of my hands. He’ll appoint you a husband of his choosing to secure power for the court.”

“Better to choose one for myself, then.”

I nod.

“What if they’re all ugly over there?”

I chuckle. “We have alcohol for that.”

Evie laughs, then bites her lip again, looking down. “The batshit-crazy carriage awaits.”

14

FLEUR

Since Evie and I had planned to depart her estate for the Summer Court, most of our trunks already carried our belongings. The staff added a few more thick furs for the colder climates, but other than that, I’ll hire Augusta’s tailor and most definitely her shoemaker, who I heard was apictorra.

She draws outfits on mirrors, and we can view them on us before we commission them. Besides, Winter Court fashions differ from ours, and other than the short trip I recently took to the lycan mountains, I haven’t worn thick furs or leathers in many turns.

Outside, Evie’s stepmother and cousins rush out of the houses on the estate, glowing in delight that Evie is leaving.

“They think you’re leaving for good,” I say. “That because these vamps came to fetch us, means you’re joining the vampire houses.” When a fairy petitions to join a house, the notturnos send carriages, and once a fae becomes a notturno, they lose the memories of their fae life.

Naturally, if they run into their family or someone else they know, the other party speaks of their previous life, but the vampire houses are pretty good about keeping their people away from their fairy homes and families. Additionally, fae families tend not to bring up the past in case a vampire they knew from when he was a fae comes into their orbit again.

This rarely happens, which is why Evie’s family is descending and saying goodbye to her.

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