William

“The little lord with a weak stomach,” William replied, smirking at Nicholas’ disgruntled expression. “How’s the shoulder?”

“We’ll see how weak my stomach is when I split yours open and wrench it out.”

“Always resorting to violence, your kind never changes.” He scoffed. “You trick and deceive, such pathetic minded creatures.”

“Says the mortal living among those who make little sense. You send your men to war and leave behind half an army because they have a pussy?” Nicholas laughed, a low sound reverberating in the back of his throat. “Are your men frightened that the women may outperform them? I have heard tales of mortal men beating girls for going against your arbitrary rules.”

“Don’t speak of arbitrary rules as if fae don’t have any of their own. Your kind isn’t known for their caring demeanor towards anyone. They harm for the sake of it, even their own children. I would bet a pretty penny that Daddy never hugged you, did he?”

“The constant need for so-called affections is a disease laid upon your kind, not mine.”

“You consider any kind of affection a disease because you’re so incapable of it.”

The tension between them was palpable, electrified as a storm. Though they stood among an encampment of thousands, not a soul stood nearby. Any who stumbled upon them surged in the other direction. Seeing the roseate embers of Nicholas’ eyes and coral mist twisting about his form told all that he wasn’t to be trifled with. Well, most. William trifled with anyone who trifled him first.

“I had hoped to see you again,” Nicholas whispered. He took a step forward, allowing the heat emanating from his figure to wash over William. “Though I wanted it to be under different circumstances, preferably with you as a corpse at my feet.”

“Is that what you’re interested in? Corpses?” William chuckled when the bridge of Nicholas’ nose wrinkled. “Fitting for fae. You’re as disgusting as you are delirious.”

When Nicholas went for William’s neck, he caught the fae’s wrist. He snarled after an incantation passed William’s lips. Nicholas’ arm went limp. A single swift shove from Nicholas’ opposing hand sent William rolling across the snow. A fae’s unnatural strength was unfair. And with a few twists of his wrist, Nicholas’ arm moved on command again.

“A numbing spell. How quaint,” the fae remarked, then snapped his fingers. The snow rose high and shifted into spears of ice. “The Collision Treaty prevents me from harming and killing, but I’ve always been curious how far I can bend those rules.”

“Bend them too far and the magic of your own people will render you as a corpse you so love.”

Nicholas’ light raged. Pure power circled him in violent waves of coral sparks, and William grinned as his heart leapt.

“William!” Charmaine called, rushing into the mix. She skidded to a halt, brown eyes darting from the ice to Nicholas. “Uh, Lord Darkmoon, excuse us. We’ve been summoned to the medical tent.”

“Tell your officer that William and I have important business to attend to.” Nicholas clicked his tongue. Two spears flew. William rolled, dodging both, then a third struck near his head. The tip of the ice sliced his cheek. His grin never faltered.

“I fear we are needed immediately.” Charmaine dashed to William’s side. Clutching his arm, she lifted him to his feet. Three spears of ice fired, hitting the ground where Charmaine nearly stepped. She cursed.

“Answer my riddle first and I’ll let you go,” Nicholas said with a wild glint in his eyes. Typical of fae to be obsessive over one thing then get distracted by other possibilities.

“Fine,” William replied, but Nicholas waggled his finger.

“Not you.” He pointed at Charmaine. “Him. And the medic cannot assist in any way.”

Charmaine stiffened. William bit back the urge to correct Nicholas. Oddly enough, fae honored the request of how to be called, but Nicholas would let the whole camp know about Charmaine’s identity just for the chaos.

“Okay, what is it?” Charmaine muttered.

“A mission I can have, but do not choose. I can save, provide, defend, or kill. What am I?”

Humming, Charmaine’s attention drifted about the area. William already had the answer. He was quite fond of riddles as a kid. After being around fae all these years, he had come to despise them.

“Tick tock.” Nicholas sent another spear of ice that nearly clipped Charmaine’s leg. William grabbed the revolver at his waist. Another spear slammed beside him in warning.

Charmaine’s shivering intensified when William nudged her. Nicholas had taken two steps closer. The remaining snow drifted about his form as if he was the center of an ice storm.

“You are boring me,” Nicholas growled, eyes nothing but a sea of rose quartz. No longer beautiful, but deadly.

“A blade!” Charmaine screamed. “You’re a blade.”

Nicholas laughed.

William shoved Charmaine out of the way before the knife he abruptly formed hit her. Instead, the ice blade embedded itself into a crate behind them. And with that, they sprinted. Nicholas didn’t follow. The riddle had been solved and the fae easily distracted. They rounded a couple of tents, panting and legs aching from the sudden run. William stifled an idiotic laugh. Now wasn’t the time for it, and yet, he often found his pulse racing in dangerous situations. That frightened him, and not in the way one may expect.

With Nicholas out of view, Charmaine pushed farther forward and hissed, “Have you gone right loony?! Why would you pick a fight with him? Holy Soul, I was almost impaled!”

William pressed a finger to his chilled cheek. A quick whisper and the scratch healed, though the throbbing cold remained. “For starters, he picked the fight with me. And he wouldn’t have impaled you, though he did seem insistent on testing if he could stab you.”

He dusted the snow from his uniform while Charmaine slapped a hand against her chest.

“I suppose he is the right loony one, but the moment he showed up, you should have excused yourself and be done with it,” she chastised. “Treating a High Fae, let alone a Shade, like that is not a good idea. He wished to torture you.”

“Nothing he does could ever be worse than what I’ve already gone through,” he snapped. Charmaine bristled at the anger hissing through his deep voice. “We both know what happens when those like us don’t stand our ground. Allowing that rabble to do as he wishes without consequences is a far worse plan. I’d sooner he torture me than bow to another ever again.”

Charmaine frowned. Her grip loosened and shoulders slumped forward. William hadn’t meant to stir up old memories. He didn’t want to think of his training days, either. All he wanted to do was forget, but so long as they were out here among the desperate and dangerous, they couldn’t let their guard down.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to raise my voice. Just…we especially cannot back down from fae.” William set his hands on Charmaine’s shoulders, giving both a firm squeeze. “Those with haughty heads, like Nicholas, will perceive us as weak and they will do as they wish. I don’t want to be put in that position again, do you?”

“Of course not,” Charmaine whispered. “Though I don’t want to attract their attention, either.”

“It is too late for that. I attracted his attention the moment I shot him.”

She pinched her eyes shut. “That was rather dramatic, wouldn’t you agree?”

“No. You saw how swiftly he healed. He would have cut off that man’s arm otherwise.” Though the man in question hadn’t survived the night anyway.

“Do be careful.” Charmaine gave William’s arm a quick squeeze, then let go. They walked side by side, allowing him to hear her low whisper, “I can’t lose you.”

“Nor I, you.” He nudged her. “I promised to meet Charmaine in all her wondrous glory. I hear she’s a lovely woman.”

Charmaine giggled. “She is and she’ll adore you.”

“How splendid. Afterall, there is nothing I want more than a lovely lady on my arm.”

With a playful shove, the tension from earlier dissipated, though William was not foolish enough to think that was the last he’d see of Nicholas Darkmoon.