Obsidian (Shadowbound Fae Book 1)

Daisy launched herself at the enemy before he could prepare. She was a non-magical Chester fighting a huge magical man twice her age and size; fighting fair was just irresponsible.

The business end of her knife pierced his stomach. He grunted and reached for her, ignoring the painful wound. She was already moving. To stay still in this situation was to be overpowered and die.

Dodging his reaching arms, she took the hilt of the dagger in both hands and slammed the blade into his body. It squelched as it came back out, and then she jammed it in again, aiming for a kidney and a quick death. Her aim on this part of the body was terrible—she knew she'd miss—but it would hurt like hell, and if he knew what she was going for, it would freak him out.

Welcome to being mind-fucked, my friend.

A fierce snarl nearly pulled her focus. Her brother, Mordecai, was engaging his guy just down the beach. Sand flew into the air. She couldn't watch, though. One slip and she'd be toast—the reason Mordecai hadn't wanted her in this fight in the first place. She'd be damned if she'd die and give him a complex.

"Stupid bitch," her big-eared enemy wheezed.

Big ears…

Maybe she'd cut one of those off, just for shits and giggles.

Ducking behind him, she bent and stuck her knife in his inner thigh, really close to his nut sack. If the kidneys didn't freak him out, this would.

His high-pitched scream made her smile. She jumped, slammed her blade into the top of his shoulder, and climbed him like a tree. He spun while reaching around, trying to throw her off. But this was why she'd embedded the knife—as a handle.

He spun the other way, slowing a little. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Working faster than she ever had in training, she scrambled up to his shoulders, wrapped her legs around his head, clutched the knife, and spun her upper body down and to the side, ripping her legs with her. Gravity helped her to the ground. Before she hit, she pushed her arms wide so the knife didn't end up in her middle.

The impact cracked something and knocked the air out of her. Fuuuck-ing ouch! Her execution of that move needed work.

Struggling for breath, she clambered up. To give in to the pain was to give in to death—or so Zorn always said. Right now, she believed it.

She barely caught the sight of a black animal rolling across the white sands, leaving a bright red trail in its wake. A panther, struggling for life. Mordecai in wolf form was on it a moment later, his snarl sending a jolt of uncontrolled, primal fear through Daisy's middle. That was new. She'd never heard that note in his growl during training.

Then again, she'd never felt this sort of unbridled intensity during training, either. This fucking thrill of adrenaline. It was a high unlike anything. A calling, maybe. Good thing she'd ended up in the magical world, where people thought this mentality was somewhat normal. Otherwise, she'd be ushered into a jail cell.

With Mordecai still busy, she took two side steps, spun, and attacked, dagger ready. The enemy hadn't gotten up yet, so she pounced on his back and dug the knife between his shoulder blades.

She yanked it free and bounced off, waiting for his movements to determine where to strike next.

He didn't so much as twitch.

A howl of pain grabbed her attention. Mordecai ripped across the panther's belly with his claws before going for the jugular. The panther struggled feebly, beaten.

All Daisy had to do was stall before Mordecai handled the other half of her guy. Well…more like a quarter at this point. That was the deal: he'd said he could handle one and a half of these guys—older and more experienced shifters looking to pick a fight. They weren't as dominant as her sixteen-year-old brother, though! Mordecai had wanted to do the responsible older brother thing and stand down for Daisy's sake, but fuck that! This was an ego boost for him—a coming-of-age moment that Mordecai needed. That he was overdue. He was too humble to seek it out himself, and so she was happy to help serve it up for him. He deserved the win!

The man still lay prone, unmoving.

Worry crept through her. She really hoped he was playing dead to surprise her.

Except…shifters didn't play dead. They were like the god Zeus in that way. Their egos couldn't handle standing down.

Zorn's voice sounded in her head: One must never be greedy for a kill.

That didn't really apply. She was trying to keep the guy alive. The guy, and herself.

She inched closer as a more useful Zorn quote trickled into her mind: One must never let down one's guard, even when the enemy is on the very brink of death.

Well, yeah, obviously.

She darted in and pierced him in the shoulder, good and deep. That strike would hurt like hell. Even the most stubborn person would react. Nothing.

"Shit," she whispered, kicking one of his arms out of the way. It was heavy and lifeless. "Oh shit. Mordie…I think I fucked up."

This time something entirely different caused the rush of adrenaline.

After killing, be ready for remorse. Be thankful if it doesn't come.

But it wasn't remorse fluttering in her stomach. She'd killed once before. She knew the feelings that would come. The nothingness and knowing that in this life, it was kill or be killed. There was no room for emotions when surviving.

No, the fluttering was the fear that her mother figure, Lexi, would find out about this and raise hell that Daisy had put herself in danger and that Mordecai had let her.

"Oh shit. Mordie…" she said as he padded over, leaving the panther on its side, its bloody, glistening body rising and falling as it struggled to breathe. "Is that one going to live?" She pointed at the panther.

Mordecai sniffed the man's face before his head came up, his intelligent hazel eyes meeting hers. She knew the situation without having to ask. The crack she'd heard when executing the move hadn't been her back during the bad landing. It must've been this guy's neck.

She'd accidentally killed him.

Fuuuuck.

Her stomach started to roll. She would get in so much trouble for this. Lexi would kill them for fighting big guys twice their age. Kill Daisy for fighting at all when she wouldn't take Demigod Kieran's offer of blood magic, something that would give her speed and strength and quick healing. It would also tether her to him forever. That guy's dad had gone crazy, and they'd all nearly died stopping him. If Kieran followed in his family's footsteps and tried to trap Lexi, Daisy needed to get them out of there. She couldn't have the permanent connection of blood magic with a guy like him. He was levelheaded now, sure, but Demigods weren't to be trusted. Which Lexi understood…to a point. She would not be so understanding if she found out about this minor debacle.

The day swam before her. The sun bleached the color of the crystalline ocean, the white sands.

"Zorn will help us get rid of it," she said in a rush. "He won't tell anyone. He's really good at keeping my secrets. Should I go get him?"

Fuck, she hoped that was true. They'd only been training for a year or so, and he was a buttoned-up sort of guy. She didn't know him half as well as that claim implied.

A strange feeling rolled over her—a humming sort of vibration that sang along her nerve endings, both soothing and ominous. A pleasurable tingle ran down her spine like ice-coated fingertips dancing along her skin, equally chilling and diverting. It was a familiar feeling, one she'd grown accustomed to. One she'd committed to memory, relishing in it, delighting in its terrifying pleasure.

A presence had joined them. The presence. Beautiful and wicked. Exciting…but dangerous. Death incarnate.

It called to her. Begged her to look at it. To notice.

She'd felt the same presence yesterday before the courtyard battle in the convention building at the Demigod Summit, a huge meeting for all the top magical people in the world. It had stood just off to the side, noticed by absolutely no one, a spectral brilliance that not even Zorn, a Jinn, could manifest on his best day. But they had the same roots, at least partially—of that she was certain. This was a fae.

For a moment—a brief, mind-spinning moment—a pair of vivid green eyes flared into existence. The face of a boy a few years older than her—she was just fifteen—stood close by, his body sparkling and shining within its glamor. His severe cheekbones would break a fist crashing against them, and the soft cleft in his chin pleasantly contrasted the strong jaw. His gaze was like a brand upon her skin, awakening something she didn't want to set loose, sparking something primal and setting it ablaze. His rugged, almost cruel handsomeness was nothing compared to the sparkle of deviousness in his eyes.

Her heart beat too fast. She'd never felt this feverish without being sick. Never felt this terrified, but she wasn't afraid. She couldn't tear her eyes away, wishing a body would manifest, wanting him to speak.

In another moment, everything vanished. The face, the presence, everything. Magic too incredible and too potent to track or maybe even acknowledge blinked out.

"What was—what…" Mordecai, having changed into his human form, took two quick steps forward, shock on his face. He looked at the beach.

The bodies were gone. Both of them. The blood, the messed-with sand—all of it. It was as though the skirmish hadn't happened and Daisy hadn't killed someone five feet from where she stood.

She opened her mouth to explain⁠—

Shh, little dove. The fae's voice was strangely familiar in her mind. Deliciously familiar. It must remain our secret, or it will be your group that I must silence. See you soon…

Daisy gasped and jerked awake. The dream—a memory from four years ago but still so vivid—drifted away. The feeling of that fae's presence remained, though, left behind like a landmine. The image of his face, those eyes, the feeling that'd erupted in her…

She shook herself and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She hadn't told a soul about him…and he'd still done her dirty. Two days after she saw his face on that beach, he'd shown up amongst her crew—her family—and set loose an unspeakable magic that had nearly wiped them all out.

Served her right, she supposed. Only a fucking moron messed with fae. She should've known he'd fuck her over. It had been stupid to even be curious. Dumb to constantly think of those eyes and their devilish sparkle. His presence⁠—

She flung her covers away and sat up, scrubbing the images from her mind. Four years later and she still had dreams. Still had moments when his memory—the unspeakable feelings of his memory—drifted into her mind and took root. It wasn't daydreaming when the subject was a human's nightmare. It was just so damn pleasurable, though. She couldn't seem to forget it.

After dressing, she headed downstairs. Mordecai sat on a stool at the island, hunched over his phone.

"You're here again, I see," she said, opening the fridge and peering in. If she waited long enough, maybe breakfast would make itself and fall into her hands. "Didn't want to stay at the new lady-love's house last night?"

He didn't answer. He'd never been very open about his love life, but he'd been gone for a few nights about a week ago, with only a few grunts for an explanation. Clearly he was getting some action with his new lady of choice.

A pair of green eyes flashed through her mind, accompanied by a flare of heat.

She shook herself out of it. Those dreams were incredibly disruptive. She wished she'd stop having them. Hell, after four years, she should've stopped having them. She needed to find a lobotomist.

"What time is training later, do you know?" she asked, pulling out some grapes.

His silence drew her focus. When it came to training, which directly related to her safety, he wasn't the silent-treatment type. Even if he was mad at her, he usually answered.

Currently, he had no reason to be mad at her. Not yet. Not until later, when he got a taste of her newest booby trap. It was a fun little game she liked to play, and he hated to be part of. He'd then try to pound her during training. Sibling rivalry. They might not be blood, but they'd been raised in really hard times and for long enough to act like it.

Mordecai didn't look up, bowed over his phone. His black, tightly curled hair was mussed in spots and his dark skin was dry and flaky. He wasn't taking care of himself like he usually did. At twenty, he was something of a (very sweet and respectful) lady-killer. The girls thought him handsome and a gentleman, not to mention rich and very well connected. He could essentially get anyone he wanted, even with this sad-sack disposition. He went to great lengths to live up to the family name, elevated to the world of Demigods even though their roots were as humble as a gutter rat's. This situation with him was…unusual. Worrying, even.

Frowning, she closed the fridge door and wandered closer, stopping beside his stool. She popped a grape into her mouth as she kicked the stool leg.

"What's your problem?" she asked. Soft light filtered through the kitchen windows in the residence they mostly called home. They could multiply their old house four times and it still wouldn't be as big as this one. Neither of them had ever taken their turn in fortune for granted.

He didn't react, continuing to doomscroll on his phone.

"Hey." She kicked the chair harder this time.

"Would you stop?" He cast her an irritated glance. Dark circles lined his red-rimmed hazel eyes.

Not taking care of himself and not sleeping very well. Only danger to their family or girl trouble usually created this. Given she would've been apprised of any danger, it was clearly the latter.

"What'd she do?" Daisy demanded, yanking at his shoulder to get him to turn and face her. "Tell me."

"Nothing. It's fine."

"What's fine?" Jack asked as he sauntered into the kitchen holding a brown grocery bag with something green sticking out the top. He was one of about a dozen people she thought of as uncles, brothers, nieces, a mother figure, or a stepdad type. None of them were blood. She'd been abandoned by blood when she was small and then shuffled around the Chester "care" system, the social services for magic-less orphans. Lexi had found her in the dual-society zone, the crack between the magical and non-magical societies where people struggled to coexist in order to escape their respective governments or law enforcement agencies. She'd been starving and half dead, ready to do unspeakable things for a meal, just to stay away from those horrible and abusive care homes.

Lexi had been her miracle, and Mordecai with her. It hadn't mattered that Lexi's house was beyond tiny, or that they lived in poverty, or that they had to scrape and steal just to eat. Lexi and Mordecai's kindness, their love, had felt like heaven.

So when Lexi had gotten into trouble and needed to move into the magical zone so a Demigod of Poseidon, who was at the peak in power of their magical world, could protect her, Daisy hadn't balked. She'd marched right into the fire alongside her family, ignoring the fact she was the only non-magical person allowed here. This was where she belonged, regardless of blood. Regardless of magic. It was where she'd stay, the dangers inherent in being a magic-less "Chester" in this brutal world be damned.

Besides, when Lexi had then gotten a magical upgrade, Daisy had finally taken the blood magic. Lexi's blood magic. Being tethered to Lexi was a comfort, and the benefits from the magic were sensational. She was faster now. Stronger. Able to heal much more quickly. She wasn't nearly as breakable. It didn't close the gap between her and real magical people, but it lessened the danger just a touch. Enough to keep Lexi from forcing her to live with people of "her kind."

Because of that Demigod, now Lexi's fiancé, their family unit had grown. First with Kieran's Six, the guys who'd pledged a blood oath to protect their Demigod, and then Bria and Dylan, Amber and Jerry—their crew. The people she'd fight beside until her dying breath.

Daisy ignored Jack while shoving Mordie this time. "What'd she do?"

"Leave it alone, okay? It's none of your business," Mordecai said a little too loudly, his face creasing in misery.

"Oh, his woman?" Jack lifted his dark brows as he set the grocery bag on the island. His bronzed arm, thick with muscle, stretched his shirt as he lifted out a carton of milk.

"Whose woman?" Donovan walked in next, lean and blond and very good-looking. All of Kieran's original Six were.

Zorn entered right behind, dressed in a button-down shirt and slacks. His wavy brown hair had been freshly cut, and his gray eyes were their usual sort of intense and piercing. His gaze swept the room, taking stock of the surroundings and assessing for any danger. He did it constantly and had taught her to do it, too. Very little escaped his notice.

"Rumple Sad-Sack here has girl problems, it seems." Daisy put a hand on the edge of the counter so she could lean over Mordecai to see his face. He'd gone back to scrolling through his phone. "Hey. What happened? I can help."

"Do not let her help." Donovan smiled as he reached into a cabinet and grabbed a frying pan. Oh good, at least they planned to make breakfast.

"Why?" Daisy's brows lowered. "What do you know?"

It was Jack who answered. "We know it doesn't matter what that girl did. You'd slit her throat for it if Mordecai let you."noveldrama

Jerry, whom the magical world referred to as "the Giant," walked into the kitchen behind the rest. The nickname wasn't because of his size, though he topped out at six-foot-six with a large breadth of shoulder. It was because of his abilities with rock. He could literally move a mountain, bit by bit.

He sat at the kitchen table as Mordecai made a disgruntled sound and pushed to standing. Apparently the whole crew would be eating at this residence, taking a break from ruling Magical San Francisco for the day.

"It's fine," Mordecai said testily. He gave Daisy a hard look. "It's none of your business. Just leave it."

She put her hands on her hips as she watched him walk from the room.

"I don't blame him," Jerry said in his deep baritone, resting his forearms on the table. "What that lady did would crush any man's ego."

Daisy turned toward Jerry slowly.

"You weren't supposed to say anything, Jerry," Jack said, emphasizing his name. It was a joking sort of mocking they'd been doing since they met the giant a handful of years before. Jerry, alone and lonely on his solitary mountain, had been an instant addition to their crew, belonging with the rest of the misfits.

"Yeah, Jerry," Donovan intoned, chuckling. "We aren't supposed to let the angry little gremlin know the situation for fear of her retaliation. Mordecai and his broken heart said so."

Jerry's eyebrows slowly lifted. "Oops," he said unapologetically.

He clearly wanted revenge for Mordecai, and the others knew she would get it for him. No one fucked with her family and got away with it.

"Spill, Giant," Daisy demanded as Zorn slipped into another seat at the table. "Tell me everything."