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  City of Shadows

  The Dark Fae Hollows - Hollow 11

  D.D. Miers

  Charmed Legacy

  City of Shadows © copyright 2017 D.D. Miers

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Cover Design by Rebecca Frank Art

  Edited by Cynthia Shepp

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Dedication

  The Dark Fae Hollows

  City of Shadows

  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

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Thank you for Reading!

  About the Author

  Also by D.D. Miers

  Dedication

  To my readers, thank you!

  To my family, without you I couldn’t keep going!

  To J. S. Without you, this book wouldn’t have happened. You helped me at a time when life’s challenges had me thoroughly overwhelmed. Thank you for taking lemons and helping me make the best damn lemonade—ever!

  The Dark Fae Hollows

  Sacrifice.

  After the Fae and Humans nearly destroyed each other and their realms, the Queen of the Good Fae buried her thirteen daughters amidst the ruins, using their innate magic to create thirteen new hollows where Fae and Humans could rebuild.

  Her valiant efforts were too little, too late. The violence and devastation contaminated the land, and dark energy leached into the earth, infecting the Queen’s thirteen daughters’ magic.

  One hundred years later, the daughters rose from the earth. And with them came unimaginable darkness.

  These are the stories of the Dark Fae hollows.

  City of Shadows

  When the darkness crept in, shadows stole over the land, and I lost everything—they took everything.

  Swear fealty? No way in hell. I’d happily live out my days scavenging in the Outlands than under the thumb of the Fae. Until I didn’t have another choice.

  Secrets. Double life. Mysteries unraveled…

  My brother is the last of my family, and when he goes missing, finding him means doing something I promised myself I’d never do. My search leads me straight into the lion’s den—and him.

  I’m drawn to him, even though I should hate him.

  But this is so much bigger than that. My hands are tied and my sworn enemies are the only chance I have at saving my brother’s soul before the darkness takes it too.

  Earth magic. Three runes. One blood moon...

  Innocent lives are on the line. My only option?

  Fight.

  CITY OF SHADOWS is a standalone contribution to the Charmed Legacy Dark Fae Hollows Collection. Stories can be read in any order. To learn more, visit charmedlegacy.com/

  1

  Generally, the hunter didn’t expect to become the hunted.

  But I knew, better than most, that it was best not to have expectations. Too often, they were met with disappointment. I held my breath, fully aware that a single mistake on my part could mean the difference between life or death.

  If only Killion could see me now—hanging upside down from my ankles, a wild turkey strapped to my shoulder. My brother could be certain to find humor in any circumstance—even the risky ones. In a rush to conceal myself, I’d accidentally twisted my strap climbing the giant cedar. It cinched awkwardly around the meaty part of my arm. From this angle, the meager twenty-pound bird felt more like a full-grown doe.

  I strained, focusing every ounce of my will on keeping the carcass in my grasp, instead of dropping it to the ground like my arm begged. On top of that, a broken branch stabbed into the side of my leather-hide pants, causing an ache to pulse from my thigh. Yet, above all the pain and discomfort, one question loomed.

  What were the Sonola Fae guards doing this far into the Outlands?

  The garrison stood twenty-feet south, near Falseon Lake. Imposing figures, tall and athletic, the Fae were impossible to miss. Their silver armor reflected like mirrors against the lush greenery. Though summer faded and autumn rose, the forests in Sonola Hollow remained mostly evergreen.

  They’d moved closer over the last few minutes, minimizing my option to stay perched in the tree. If they continued their current path, I’d lose my narrow advantage.

  Minutes passed as the blood rushed to my head, leaving me with a pounding headache that drowned out the distant voices of the guards. No matter how hard I strained, I couldn’t make out a word—not with the constant beat of my exhausted heart working overtime.

  I wanted to know why they were here—what they wanted. But most of all, I wanted to hear that they were leaving.

  They didn’t belong. Not in the Outlands.

  Over two centuries had passed since the walls dividing the human and Fae realms crumbled. Devastation, like never before seen, had reigned down in a thick shadow. After enough blood had been shed, and too many sacrifices made, the thirteen hollows rose. Each one controlled by the habitants within. In Sonola Hollow, the division between the humans and Fae had escalated to a tipping point. People were either outcasts, surviving in the harsh Outlands, or they settled for a life of subjugation.

  For those of us who chose the former, our struggle came with freedom and peace—or at least it used too. But now, a darkness has crept into Sonola.

  Whispering.

  Wanting.

  Things that shouldn’t be have become, and as this darkness grows, the line between us and them expands every day. After what they’d stolen from Killion and me, we’d die before we bowed down to them.

  I stared like a hawk, the constant flex of my hand the only thing keeping the entirety of my arm from going numb. Their heads turned. In a glint of armor that left me squinting, I saw my chance. A passing doe, agile and unsuspecting, dipped her head for a drink at the lake.

  Damn the fates to hell. That much meat would have made for a feast. Perhaps, if destiny were kind, I’d be able to return tonight and salvage whatever remained. Not that it would be much. Lately, something had been scavenging in the shadows of night, killing animals and leaving no scraps behind.

  I made use of my half-numb, half-tingling hand and swung from the tree. My shoulder jerked, catching the brunt of my weight before my feet hit the ground in a softened thud.

  It wasn’t soft enough.

  Th
ey turned, their sharpened senses assuredly giving them an advantage over me. I didn’t wait to see their reaction as my heels dug into earth. Every fiber in my body came alive, tingling with the renewal of blood as I ran, hard as my legs could carry me.

  They were fast—but I was faster. If there was one thing I was certain—I knew this forest better than they did, which was my only saving grace.

  The readjusted strap bounced across my shoulder, jolting with the weight of twenty birds. It wasn’t worth the meager food it would provide, delicious as it would be, not when the Fae were right on my heels. Still, my fingers clenched tighter around the strap. Too many hungry mouths were waiting for my return—and I couldn’t come back emptyhanded.

  Voices lifted in a cacophony of shouts behind me. There was no telling how many had set foot after me. Anger flooded through me, washing away every bit of fear I should’ve had as I fled for my life. More than anything, I wished I could have faced them all, but their numbers were great, and my disdain wasn’t enough to tip the scales of battle.

  The Fae loosed a barrage of arrows, leaving me swinging the fowl farther up my back in hopes it would shield as well as the silver of their armor. Most of the arrows missed their mark, lying scattered and useless on the ground. I could only hope a single guardsman would stay behind to retrieve them and reduce their numbers by one.

  I glanced over my shoulder, but immediately ducked and narrowly missed tripping over an upended root as another arrow flew past my head. Their guesswork of my foot patterns was improving, and I didn’t want my skull to end up like the shattered bark of the tree that took the hit.

  I pushed harder, my legs flying as swiftly as they could. My lungs burned and throat ached, but slowing down, even for a second, would be suicide. I knew what these Fae were capable of. They’d proved as much when they’d rampaged through the village Killion and I had once called home and destroyed everything our families had built.

  They’d destroy me, given the chance.

  I flung myself down an embankment, my clumsy somersault propelled by the weight of the turkey I’d stubbornly held on to. Its feathers were now caked in dirt and scattered leaves while chunks of soil-ridden moss hung from the curls that fell from the tight bun atop my hair.

  I skidded to a stop, digging my booted heels into the ground just in time to stop myself from slipping into a hollow crevice with a hundred-foot drop.

  In an instant, I was on my feet again. I’d gained a good distance as none of the guards were brazen enough to do such a thing. Their armor protected them, but the weight of it would also hasten their descent—and possibly their doom.

  “Archers, fire!” At the hill’s crest, a single Fae guard stood. Bow lifted, he curled his fingers around the string, the pull no longer than the length of a breath. Time seemed to suspend as he loosed the arrow. Those with swords at their hips and backs scrambled down the embankment, heels slipping on the loose dirt.

  I swung behind the nearest tree, slamming my back into the bark as the piercing howl of the first arrow grazed past my head, deflected by the wooden giant. It had saved me, but not for long. I needed to move, to run, but the archer was relentless as arrow after arrow rained down and thudded into the tree that shielded me. He’d run out soon, but not before the others caught me.

  I reached over my shoulder and grasped my crossbow. Before the archer could release another arrow, I aimed and fired. There was no time to wait and see if my shot had done any good, not as the other guards found more solid footing and set off toward me with blades sharp enough to slice through bone. Still, as I turned and ran, I heard the rattling crack of steel and crying gasp of breath. I felt not a single bit of guilt. They were monsters, every one of them.

  Their voices stretched out at my sides. They were trying to flank me, I was sure of it, and I couldn’t allow them an advantage were the terrain ahead to give it to them. But I knew precisely where we needed to go.

  It was too far to go when being chased by bloodthirsty Fae. Fortunately, I was faster than they were in their heavy armor, and more agile even with my turkey that still jostled around at my side.

  I saw it ahead, the narrowing path that would force them into a single-file line. I pumped my legs, ignoring the burning ache as my muscles cried out for respite.

  Craggy granite rose around me, encasing me in a cramped rocky maze that had been blasted apart ages ago. I’d been through there a thousand times, so I flew with ease over the littered boulders and dodged with grace the rotting tree roots that hung like decaying chandeliers.

  Their thundering steps still followed in sickening synchrony, until the first cursing cry echoed up the winding path. I winced at the shrill sound of metal scraping rock, hoping it had been the first in line who had taken a fall.

  The clearing ahead loomed like the light at the end of a tunnel, urging my feet to press on, even though I felt as if I had no life left. My legs protested as I hurled over the last crag of rock that stood in my way.

  The forest stretched out ahead like an endless minefield of towering trunks. There was nowhere left to run but through them, so time was now of the utmost essence. Hopefully, I’d bought enough of it.

  That was when I saw it. My feet skidded to a sudden halt even though their distant, angered shouts echoed behind me. Overhead, ribbons of honeycomb curled to the tree’s bowing branch. Had this been any other time, I would have run for Killion and brought him back to show him my prize, but I’d have no honey alongside the beaten fowl. Instead, I scurried up the tree, grateful the branch already laid low while I pulled a blade from the sheath beneath my arm.

  Over and over, I hacked at the branch, the usually docile bees swarming in anticipatory upset. I kept my attention half-trained on the spot from where the Fae would exit, worried I wouldn’t make it in time before they bolted this way. One final hack dulled my dagger and cracked the branch enough to send it, hive and all, plummeting toward the ground.

  The swarm spread like a blanket of venom, looking for something to attack. They buzzed angrily as I jumped from the severed branch and ran.

  Several bees clung to me, their hunt for exposed skin fruitless until I felt a sharpened prick of pain on my neck and hand. I swatted frantically, even though those two had already chosen death when they’d barbed me with their venom. Moments later, it seemed I was free, but I couldn’t say the same for the Fae who still chased me with a vengeance.

  Thuds of several men falling to the ground echoed behind me, but I didn’t stop running. There was no telling how many stings it would take to fell a Fae.

  I soared over the next ridge, certain I’d made my escape until no more than a lifted root in loose dirt called for my demise. My toes caught on the hard edge, sending me hurtling, elbows first, across a bed of thick moss. While it cushioned my hectic landing, the same couldn’t be said for my ankle, which blossomed in agonizing pain. I tried to stand, placing the heft of my light frame on my good foot.

  Each step sent a hiss of a breath from my lips. I stared at my ankle, willing it to heal. A sound from the distance called my attention, and my eyes swung back through the wood. Two Fae warriors, armed in gleaming silver with weapons drawn, advanced upon me.

  I vaguely remembered the stories villagers would tell the children. Tales of white knights, magical forests, and beautiful princesses saved by the hero just in the nick of time. The other children laughed and smiled at those stories, longing to hear them over and over—but not me. I knew better. They were just fairy tales.

  Princesses didn’t exist. Knights never came to the rescue, and the only person who could be counted on—was myself.

  I grabbed my crossbow, loaded an iron-tipped bolt, and pulled hard.

  2

  The glinting short sword I feared more than the bow, but as he skidded to a halt and nocked a menacing black arrow, I knew I had no choice. Time seemed to cease as I saw the collected coldness in his eyes and the quiver of his bowstring just as he released at his mark.

  I was going to die
; I was almost sure of it.

  Still, I pulled at the trigger and unleashed a steady arrow of my own. Knocked back by the sail of my bolt and the pain in my ankle, I righted and froze, waiting for agony to hit as the Fae’s arrow ripped into meaty flesh and cracked tiny bones. My shot wasn’t in vain. He collapsed, grasping at his chest. Still, I waited for pain to surge through the adrenaline.

  But the deep-seated agony never came.

  Only the arrow’s tip had stuck into my hip, through the thick of my leathers and the entirety of a large bird. There was no time to agonize over the rip in my pants, or the blood that welled through.

  The last guard ran at me, his menacing blade swinging with a vengeance my small daggers could never defend, even if I was loathe to admit I hadn’t the skills to fight him off. Still, I could take him by surprise.

  The leather strap slipped down from my shoulder to where I clenched it tightly in my grasp. Just before he stepped into reach, I swung, throwing all my weight behind the spinning force of the feathered fowl. He hadn’t seen it coming, not as his blade brushed feathers in his forward lunge. He’d stepped right into it, and the helmet that was meant to protect him clanged loudly as a bell against bone.