Liars (The Devious Fae Book 3) Read online

  LIARS

  The Devious Fae, Book 3

  KATERINA MARTINEZ

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Afterword

  Also by Katerina Martinez

  About the Author

  CHAPTER 1

  Silvan.

  That was his name.

  Silvan, Viscount of Emerald Hall, Fae Noble of the Kingdom of Spring. I couldn’t believe it had taken this long for me to learn his name, then again, he wasn’t the most forthcoming person in the world—or was it, the worlds?

  Given the madness that had been the last few days, I hadn’t had much of a chance to process this new information… or the kiss we’d shared a night ago. Rell was dead. I had barely been able to think about much else since we had left the clearing.

  That back-talking, sarcastic, unnecessarily hurtful, overgrown iguana was gone. I wasn’t going to hear him in my thoughts again. He wouldn’t be able to laugh at any more of my stupid decisions. He would never get to eat those bacon wrapped chicken cutlets he liked so much.

  And to make everything just a little bit worse, the path Rell had left for us had burned out a while back, and we were lost.

  At least, it felt like we were.

  Rell had given up his life for us, had sacrificed himself so that we could escape the trap that had been set for us by the Sprites of Darkwood Forest. In his death, he had left little burning lights for us to follow, so that we could find our way back to the edge of the forest, but I hadn’t seen any for a while, and neither had the Viscount.

  We hadn’t talked in a while, either. Not since waking. We had instead marched in silence through the gloomy, hooting forest, alone, hoping the Sprites wouldn’t come after us again. Was there anything even stopping them from attacking us if they had wanted to?

  Maybe they were waiting for us to get tired of walking around in circles, because that’s what it felt like we were doing. The forest looked the same no matter where you went. The same dark trees, the same withered limbs, the same knots, flowers, the same dirt.

  Maybe the path we were following hadn’t been left by Rell at all, but by the Sprites.

  Maybe we were heading into another trap.

  “Do you know where we’re going?” I asked, finally breaking the silence.

  Silvan didn’t reply. He was walking a few paces ahead of me, marching diligently through the trees, occasionally stopping to look around and get his bearings. I wondered sometimes if he could see things I couldn’t, or smell them, or taste them in the air. He was Fae, and I was human, so… probably.

  “This trip would go a lot faster if you talked to me,” I said.

  The Viscount glanced at me, his deep, shadowed eyes sparkling despite the gloom. An eyebrow arched. “Why is that?” he asked, his voice a low rumble in his throat.

  “Conversation masks the passage of time.”

  “So does immortality.”

  “Well, I’m not immortal and it feels like we’re lost. I could use some reassurance that you know what you’re doing.”

  Silvan’s lips pressed into a thin line. He gestured with his head. “That way.”

  I looked over at the direction he had indicated. More trees, more shrubs, more wet dirt. “Alright,” I threw my arms up, “If you say so.”

  He walked on, and I fell into step behind him. Together we waded, in silence, through the forest, trying to find our way to its edge. I suspected he had no idea where in the world he was going. This was a forest of shifting trees, a literal moving maze. It was designed to make the Fae lose their sense of direction, so they would never get out.

  Rell was the only reason we had made it to the forest’s heart, but Rell was gone. What made the Viscount think he was going to be able to get us out? Especially when I had a strong, gut feeling that we were meant to go toward the sun, and not away from it.

  I stopped and spun around, eyes narrow, scanning the forest. There was movement in the shrubs, in the bushes, up in the trees, but I was never able to lay eyes on exactly what caused the rustling. It was as if the creatures that lived in this place existed only in my periphery.

  “Wait,” I said.

  The Viscount kept walking—I could hear him breaking down shrubs as he barged into them.

  I turned my head to the side. “I said wait,” I called out, a little more forcefully.

  The rustling stopped. “What?” he asked.

  “I think we’re going the wrong way,” I said.

  “We aren’t.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because I do.”

  I clicked my tongue. “Sorry, not good enough.”

  He started marching toward me. “What did you say?”

  I turned to face him. “I said, not good enough. You expect me to believe you know the way out of this place when we both know it’s supposed to keep you locked inside. Then you offer no proof you know what you’re doing besides because I do. It’s bullshit, and you know it.”

  The Viscount’s eyebrow arched. “Was that supposed to be an impression of me?”

  “It was.”

  “It’s not very good.”

  “I think it’s spot on, actually.”

  “Are we going to disagree on everything all the way out of this place?”

  “Maybe. I don’t feel like dying in this place, though. What about you?”

  “Neither do I.”

  “Then, how about we go that way instead?”

  “Do you have proof that yours is the right way?”

  I looked to the left and turned my eyes up at the spot of sun behind the thick canopy of trees. Even though it was hidden behind the leaves, I could still feel its golden rays on my skin, its warmth on my cheek. It was showing me the way out—I was sure of it.

  Rell had eyes that burned like a sun… the sun was our way out.

  “I have a feeling,” I said.

  “A feeling?”

  “Yes, they’re things humans have.”

  Silvan’s eyes lowered. “You’re implying the Fae do not feel…”

  “I don’t know, Silvan. You tell me. Rell is dead, you almost died last night—I almost died last night. You’d think something like that might make you open up a little more, but you’re closed off, cold, and distant. Why?”

  “I do not have to answer that question.”

  “You don’t have to, but I’d like it if you did.” I took his hand. “Look, I’m sorry I kissed you. I probably shouldn’t have done that. Maybe that’s what’s made you close off—I don’t know. I just want you to talk to me, treat me like an equal.”

  I watched his throat work, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. His jaw tightened, and his lips pursed. “I appreciate Rell’s sacrifice,” he said. “I thank you both for saving my life.”

  I nodded. “You’re welcome…”

  “I am not someone who is comfortable with being vulnerable.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “Last night, I was vulnerable. I needed others to look after me for I could not look after myself. That is something I have always done.”

  “No one can do everything by themselves, Silvan. Sometimes, we need help. You need to learn to accept it, even if you won’t ask for it. A thanks won’t kill you, either.”

  “It might,” he said, a wry smile manifesting on his face.

  “Don’t get smart with me,” I scoffed, glancing at the forest closing in all around us. I turned my eyes up at his again. “Let’s just… run away.”

  “Run away?”

  “You want to go back to Emerald Hall, find the person who tried to make sure you were dead. Why don’t we just get out of here? Out of Arcadia. We can go back to Earth…”

  “Avery—”

  “—you know Invidia is never going to send me back home. Even if she was before… I left, Silvan. I stood her up, I ditched the Favoring, and I cost her prestige. She’s never going to send me home, but you can.”

  “What makes you think I can?”

  “You can just open a portal and take me back. You crossed into the human world before—I know you can do it again.”

  “And it would be that simple? We just run away to Earth, abandon our responsibilities here, and hope the Kingdom of Spring never comes after us?”

  “It won’t be perfect, Earth isn’t perfect, but at least there aren’t giant monsters everywhere trying to kill us all the time, or assassination plots, or power mad Nobles. Okay, the third one we’ve got loads of, but we’ve also got cheeseburgers, music, and Netflix. I miss those things.”

  “You don’t understand what you’re asking.”

  “Yes, I do. I’m not asking you for a favor, Silvan. This isn’t a tit for tat. I don’t want you to just send me back—I want you to come with me.” I placed my hands on his shoulders. “Open a portal, and let’s just get out of here. Forget this place.”

  Silvan watched me, his eyes boring holes into mine. For a moment, we
just breathed together, staring at each other, holding each other. It felt right. He felt right—at least, he did for me. But the seconds came and went, and his expression hardened.

  “I cannot,” he said.

  I shook my head. “Why not?”

  “I cannot open a portal to Earth for the same reason I can’t open a portal to get us out of this forest. That magic only works at Emerald Hall. Like it or not, we have to go back.”

  “They’ll arrest me as soon as I set foot in there, you know that, right?”

  “I can protect you from the Duchess.”

  “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve had to protect myself a whole lot since I’ve been here. That’s not going to change now.”

  “I have to know who wants me dead, and you must complete the Favoring; you wrote your name in the book. Your name, not Kadeera’s. In the eyes of Fate itself, you are a participant in this competition, and you must continue to compete.”

  “What, you’re saying Fate is going to strike me down if I refuse to take part in this thing?”

  “Fate’s reach is infinite. It will find you here, as easily as it can find you on Earth. We have to face Emerald Hall; we cannot simply abandon our responsibilities, and I cannot leave questions unanswered.”

  “That’s going to get you killed one day.”

  “This forest could not kill me. Questions will not kill me either.”

  “Whatever,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m going this way and following my gut. You can come if you want.”

  Without waiting for the Viscount, I started walking. I thought I would’ve been able to convince him to send us both back to Earth given everything that had happened, but I was wrong. Maybe he was telling the truth about the magic. Maybe he really couldn’t do it outside of Emerald Hall.

  That didn’t matter, though.

  It was his pride that kept him here, stuck to this place, unable to let it go. If it wasn’t the mystery of who was trying to kill him, it would’ve been something else. He was married to this place, to Arcadia, to his House.

  I was stupid to think he would choose me over it. If Rell had been here, he would’ve had something to say about my naivety. I kind of welcomed his sarcasm, now. Missed it, almost. That part-Sprite, part-Drake on his father’s side was an asshole, but he was my asshole. We were bound together.

  And now he was gone.

  The Viscount followed me, surprisingly, as I headed toward the sun. We didn’t speak again, not for a while, at least. Not until he thought he could smell something charred, something scorched. We’d picked up the pace, then, and started rushing through the forest, searching for the source.

  As soon as it started tickling my nostrils, hope filled me. We had found the carriage, and with it, the edge of the forest. It wasn’t still smoking by the time we reached it, but its blackened remains were there, already being consumed by silvery daggervine.

  I rushed up to it, smiling, caught up in the euphoria of having found our way out of the forest. I didn’t spot the glint of gold and silver lurking in the shadows until it was too late. An arm thrust out from around a tree, and before I knew it, I was face-first in the dirt, with a man that weighed a ton pinning me down.

  “What the hell?!” I yelled.

  “Quiet, my Lady,” he growled.

  More of them appeared from up ahead and all around me. Soldiers clad in green, bearing the golden crest of Emerald Hall. But they had hadn’t only been waiting for me. When they grabbed the Viscount and threw him to the ground as well, I realized, they had been waiting for him, too.

  “Silvan!” I screamed.

  The Viscount struggled with the men trying to hold him down. It took three of them to do it, and one of them got his chest-plate bashed in for his troubles, but that didn’t seem right. I wasn’t sure why he didn’t use his powers to stop them, to free himself. He could’ve done it in a heartbeat, but he chose not to.

  “I’m disappointed in you,” said Duchess Invidia. I could only see her feet as she walked toward me. She wasn’t wearing a dress, or noble clothes, but armor—strong, green armor laced with bits of golden floral work, and a white cape someone was carrying behind her, so it wouldn’t get dirty.

  “Let me go,” I snarled.

  “I think not, dear daughter,” the Duchess said, her voice bristling with contempt, “You have caused quite enough trouble. It’s time to come home… for good.”

  CHAPTER 2

  The Duchess’ soldiers stuffed us into separate carriages for the trip back. She had decided to ride with the Viscount instead of me, and that suited me fine. They probably had a lot to talk about, anyway. I had abandoned the competition, but the Viscount had abandoned his post. That was likely worse than what I had done.

  Without Rell to have a telepathic conversation with, the rest of the shaky, bumpy trip from the forest to the House was spent in silence. I was sitting with armed guards, one that had a knife on his lap, unsheathed and ready to use at a second’s notice, another with a permanent scowl on his face.

  Somehow, the ride up toward the forest had felt way shorter than the trip down. This one seemed to last days, even though we reached the House before the sun had set. Those horses had been put through their paces, which told me just how desperate Invidia was to get back to the Favoring.

  As soon as we made it through the gates, I saw why.

  At first, I had thought my mind was playing tricks on me. The hedges seemed a little smaller, the gate wasn’t as tall, and the road leading up to the house wasn’t as long as I had remembered. The fountain that used to sit in the middle of the courtyard was gone, the cobblestones were rougher than they had been, and the house itself… it was half the size it was in my mind.

  Half the windows, half the ramparts, half the splendor and grandeur I had gotten used to in my time here. Had it really shrunk? Physically shrunk? I hadn’t believed it when I’d heard it. Then again, I’d had a hard time believing a house could grow, but to see it like this, from the outside, a shadow of itself.

  That was something else.

  Our carriage stopped behind the Viscount’s, in a scene I remembered from the day I’d first arrived in this place of beautiful monsters. Except the Duchess wasn’t giving Kady a stern talking to, she was doing it to Silvan. I could hear her, the shrill, authoritative tone of her voice rising as she stepped out of the vehicle.

  I felt bad for him, having had to endure that all the way down here.

  Without thinking, I went to reach for the door handle to let myself out, when one of the guards grabbed my arm and tightly squeezed my wrist with his gloved hand. “Where do you think you’re going?” he growled.

  “Out,” I said, swallowing the pain.

  “Not without permission, you’re not. Sit down.”

  “Take your hand off me, or I’m going to tear your arm out of its socket.”

  The guard’s eyes filled with glee, as if he’d been itching for a reason to use excessive force. He glanced at his friend, then back at me. “Why don’t you try it?”

  “Because I wouldn’t want to get your blood all over your friend’s pretty armor.”

  The guard tightened his grip, but I kept the pain from showing on my face. A moment later, another of Invidia’s men opened the carriage door, forcing the guard to let go. He was about to get up to exit the carriage, but I planted my hand on his chest and pushed him back into his seat.

  “Don’t forget your place again,” I snarled.

  The guard stared at me, his eyes wide and full of bitter feelings toward me. Good. I’d just about had enough of these Fae and all their crap. Their contempt for women was stupid, and bigoted. They even treated their own Fae women like pieces of garbage.

  On the one hand, it was nice to know they weren’t only discriminating against me because I was human; it meant I had more in common with some of the people here than I thought.

  I stepped out of the carriage and back onto Emerald Hall’s grounds. The soldier standing by the carriage door nudged me in the shoulder to make me walk toward the house. I remembered the porch that hung over the entrance, the way it stretched all the way to the driveway. This one didn’t. It jutted out like a thumb, with barely enough space for a guard or two to stand beneath it.