Dark Fae Read Online Free

“Already Chaos sends death our way.” Fianna said as she steadied me on my feet.
    “Not Chaos.” I grunted. “Card!”
    A shout and the heavy thunk of blade meeting flesh spun me around. Bres stood over the now lifeless body of the massive snake. Dripping wet, he turned just his head, sword gripped in his hand. “Are you al l right?”
    “Yes.” That was about all I could manage. My mouth was dry, my heart pounding.
    Fianna tugged on my hand. “Hurry, the creatures here are no longer mine to command. If you are right, your brother is near, and that does not bode well for any of us. ”
    Bres sloshed through the water to my side, asking the question I wanted to. “Why is it that you cannot control your own forest ?”
    “Quinn destroyed my staff. It held the key to controlling the forest. Without it, I can only control my Banshees, nothing more. ”
    Right, there was that minor detail . “I didn’t know that at the time. I was just trying to stay alive.” I said, feeling the need to defend myself.
    Fianna shrugged. “It is the path you walk now , ta king Bres and me with you .”
    The swamp seemed to close in around us, blocking out the sun and sky , even the sounds of the birds were muted under the low hanging branches .
    “Quinn , ” Bres said.
    I paused, wait ing for him to catch up rather than look over my shoulder at him. I couldn’t meet his eyes ; there was too much between us . F or all that , we’d only known each other a short time.
    “What?” I asked when he reached my side.
    “Before we get there, I have to tell you something. I need to say it before I lose the chance ,” Bres said.
    I was shaking my head before he finished speaking, still not willing to meet his eyes. “No need to confess, Luke told me that you’d Charmed me.”
    The silence lasted for a split second. “WHAT?”
    Cringing, I turned to face him. “It will wear off, right?” His eyes were wide and his jaw was hanging open. With a shiver that ran through his body, he seemed to wake up. Brushing past me, he changed the subject completely.
    “There will be a choice when we get to where ta Cauldron is. Only one of us will be able to go through at a time. ”
    “Fine, then I’ll go through.” I said , letting him change the subject. I didn’t want to rub it in that I knew he’d tricked me . The swamp reluctantly let go of my foot with a slurp, as I stepped over a downed and rotting tree.
    “No, Quinn, do you not hear what Fianna is saying? You could very well die if you go through t a gateway, if that’s still what you must step through?” He aimed the question at Fianna who lifted her hand.
    We stopped , and there ahead of us was the gateway to the Cauldron. Or should I say, gateways .
     

4
     
    Two large arbutus trees were mirror images of each other . One was the brilliant gleaming red skinned trunk that stood out even in this darkened swamp, the other, though the green leaves and twisted growth were the same . T he trunk was blackened as if by a fire or bolt of lightning.
    Fianna pointed. “There is your choice, Quinn. The gateway of gleaming bright represents the fae who have only good intentions, those who seek to do what is right, the ones who will give up their lives for the greater good.” Shifting ever so slightly , she pointed to the blackened tree. “There lies the gateway for the dark fae, those who have seen that which is good and turned away, those who would murder to achieve their goals, the ones who will only do what is best for themselves, forsaking the greater good.”
    My eyes flicked back and forth between the two trees . “And I have to choose what? The one that I think the Cauldron is in?’
    “No, you have to choose the one that you believe yourself to be. If you choose correctly , the Cauldron will wait for you on the other side. If you choose incorrectly, you will die , ” s he said.
    Bres touched my forearm, the heat from his fingers made me jerk away from him. “That is why I