Character Names:
• Tarik — T-air-ik
• Reagan — Ray-gan
• Nevaeh — Nev-eye-uh
• Mordecai — Mor-di-kye
• Alec — Al-ik
• Benji — Ben-gee
• Haven — Hay-vin
• Leilani — Lay-lon-ee
• Jocelyn — Joss-ill-in
• Sebastian — Seb-as-tee-in
• Elias — Ill-eye-is
• Micah — My-kuh
• Malachi — Mal-uh-k-eye
• Caspar — Cass-per
• Akeno — Ah-ki-no
• Flynn — Fl-in
• Callie — Cal-ee
• Umnia — Oom-nee-uh
• Kyan — Key-an
• Siya — See-uh
• Ezra — Ez-ruh
Location/General:
• Nathra — Nath-ruh
• Daranil — Dar-uh-nil
• Myralis — Meer-uh-lis
• Genesa — Gen-ee-suh
• Gaia — Guy-uh
Creature/Animal:
• Wendigo — Wen-dee-go
• Ramiel — Rah-mee-el
The Language of Daranil
Jarnala — Jar-nal-uh
"Ugh" (sound of disgust)
Yanwe — Yawn-way
"Hurry"
Rafke — Raf-kay
"Good"
Draknis — Drack-nis
"Darkness"
Ponde reasso tulla —
Pon-day Re-ah-so Too-la
"It's really her."
Rohukii — Ro-hoo-key
"Angry one"
“Take chances, make mistakes.
That’s how you grow.
Pain nourishes your courage.
You have to fail in order to practice being brave.”
— Mary Tyler Moore —
Once, a long time ago, I had dreamed of escape. I would listen to the epic melodies humming through my earbuds while planning out the day I could raise both middle fingers to the two dragons that kept me on a tight leash.
And I would be free.
Even if I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant. Mordecai, my adoptive father, had always withheld details about the world outside of Nathra City. Probably because he didn’t want me tempted enough to flee. Regardless, leaving was one dream I had never actually hoped to accomplish.
But here I was, gearing up to do just that. If this situation wasn’t strange enough, I was now surrounded by Fae—a group who had accepted me with open arms despite who I was to them. The mighty Night Enforcer, right hand to the Great Dragon Mordecai, the matched pair to his son Alec, the Day Enforcer. We were creatures of Fae nightmares, even if I had never intended to become so. My stomach wrenched at the thought.
Nevaeh’s soft voice punched through my guilt. “You ready?”
I watched a red lollipop twirl in her fingers half a heartbeat, then studied the ruins around us, where we had spent most of the afternoon. My gear was already packed and hidden in this crumbling corner of the city. So were theirs, our Fae allies—Sebastian, the twins Micah and Malachi, Caspar, Akeno, and Tarik.
My gaze lingered a few seconds too long on the last one, on Tarik. On my . . . well, I supposed we were still figuring that out. My shoulders relaxed though, in a way that they only did when he was around. He was gathering the others, and I glanced away, up to the darkening sky above.
I looked down and sighed. Nevaeh’s brown and silver eyes were still on me, her gaze etched with concern. My heart thundered against my ribs, but I managed, “As ready as I can be?”
She nodded and reached out to grip my hand. Lavender strands of hair fell onto her light brown cheeks as she said, “At least we have . . . help?”
“Yeah. Help.” I took a long breath, trying to ease my nerves. “I only have to smuggle all of you through The Pit without drawing too much attention. No problem. Easy peasy.”
“You’re not very convincing.”
“I’m not very convinced.”
Nevaeh rolled her eyes, twirling the lollipop between her fingers again. “We’ll be fine.”
But I didn’t believe her. Deep in my gut, even as I pulled my pack onto my shoulders, even as I closed my eyes and loosened my blue and black hair around my shoulders, I couldn’t shake the fear weighing on my chest.
As though he could sense the tension in my limbs, Tarik looked my way. His emerald eyes met mine and he offered a small, reassuring smile.
Regardless of my concerns, we had a mission, so I tried to shake them off. I focused on my hair, letting the colored strands shift into white. Unfortunately for me, I was too recognizable around Nathra City. Everyone knew the Night Enforcer. And to make matters worse, Mordecai had plastered reward posters with my face on every wall and bulletin board.
But despite what the bounties said, I hadn’t been abducted by Tarik. I wasn’t being held against my will by the Fae, and I certainly wasn’t being brainwashed and manipulated.
Not anymore.
Still, the cost of the Fae offering me shelter had been great. When Mordecai and Alec discovered the Fae Safehouse, they had murdered men, women, and children all for a chance to win me back. I don’t know why they thought slaughtering innocents would work.
There were children there.
Children . . .
My heart plummeted into my feet.
The fault was mine and it was a heavy price to bear.
Tarik asked me to join this mission, to help them. It seemed like the least I could do, and I needed the distraction or I would wallow again. Sinking into the dark was easier than facing it.
“You ready, kitty cat?” Caspar nudged my arm with his elbow. The heavily muscled Fae studied me with honeyed eyes, bright against his dark brown complexion.
I tugged on one of the amber-colored locs that fell around his shoulders, plastering a self-assured grin on my face. “Of course I am. We’re wading through a pit full of shifters—the adopted daughter of the Great Dragon, a rat shifter who paints graffiti all over the city but is also secretly a spy, and a group of Fae fugitives who are on Mordecai’s most wanted list. What could possibly go wrong?”
“Well, with an attitude like that, everything,” Sebastian scoffed. “This is simple enough. Get through the drunken crowd of shifters, sneak out of the hidden entrance, and escape the city. How hard can it be?”
Theoretically, it wasn’t difficult. I sighed. We would see.
Tarik sidled up beside me. My attention shifted to his pointed ears, framed by shaggy, bright red locks of hair. I considered them for a long moment. “You should probably cover those. And maybe the hair too.”
He nodded, flicking wayward strands out of his face. “Too bad I can’t bleach it white like you can. Anyone have a hat?”
“I have this.” Akeno held up a hand, shaking a black beanie in Tarik’s direction. “Want it?”
With a muttered thanks, Tarik accepted the cotton hat and jammed it on over his ears. Wispy ends of his hair still showed beneath, but that would have to be enough.