Of Shadow and Light (Preview)

Chapter 5

Tynan
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"She must be dead by now," Esha huffed, sick of walking the corridors in search of the missing Seelie half-breed.

"I can still feel her through the mark. She's here somewhere." Tynan stared at the blank wall before him. The stone wall of the dead end in the old, disused human servant wing of the castle; a relic of an era when the Fae ruled as gods over the mange that infested the earth. "Show me what is beyond this wall," Tynan ordered the faerie mound. Like every other time for the last five weeks, the living castle of the Unseelie Fae ignored his order. He'd even tried saying please when Esha wasn't with him once.

"Perhaps the faerie mound took her to the Seelie court." Esha was bored and wanted to forget about the Seelie half-breed.

"Why on earth would the mound grant passage to a half-breed Seelie baring my mark?" The idea frustrated Tynan; his patience was barely holding by a tether. "She should never have even escaped the banquet."

"But she did. So why is it so hard to believe that a Seelie half-breed who could resist the spell on the food and escape the confines of the room, could escape the mound and you?" Taking a deep breath, Tynan turned his black eyes to meet Esha's ruby orbs. Esha backed up a step when a silver light flashed in the darkness. "Look, wherever she is, it's been five weeks. I doubt she's going to show up tonight. Can we please get over to the club already?"

Glaring at the stone wall one last time, Tynan turned to consider the corridor. "Tomorrow morning, I want all the rooms in the human wing searched. Perhaps one of them created a hide, and my present found it." He didn't wait for a response. Turning on his heel, Tynan strode the corridor, his anger marching ahead of him. When they turned into the central passage, those making their way to the nightclub felt the dark prince's annoyance and quickly moved out of his way.

"What's up his arse tonight?" Brie's voice murmured behind Tynan's right shoulder.

"The missing half-breed," Esha hissed.

"Still can't locate her?" The answer wasn't audible, but his connection to Esha allowed Tynan to perceive the shake of his friend's head.

When the Sidhe war brought the Unseelie into the bloody battlefields over two centuries ago, Esha and Tynan bonded as brothers, pledging to protect each other before they waded into the last battle. As the sun rose, Tynan stood victorious over the Sun King, but he'd never have made it without Esha beside him. Their bond formed, and their loyalty to one another had never wavered.

"My prince," Brie called. "You can't walk into that club with your current mood. All the humans would run from you without knowing why, and then my fun for the night would be taken. You know how I get when I have to go without."

Tynan's feet stopped, eyes narrowing on the door ahead. Slowly, he turned to aim his anger at the beautiful Unseelie before him. Like most of the Sluagh, Brie wore Steampunk fashion, but Brie was their queen of style.

Tonight, she wore a top hat; her brown hair wrapped up in an intricate form beneath. An eye patch covered one of her beautiful lava eyes. A short gold velvet skirt with pale gold silk frill trims hung from her hips, the decorated suspender stockings she wore exposed where they clipped at mid-thigh. Her brown leather double-breasted mid-drift coat adorned with brass buttons and chains. The neckline of her outfit guiding the eyes to the tribal design adorning her bare white chest, the mounds of her breasts barely encased in the brown leather.

Brie flinched as the prince's silver gaze scanned her body. "I'd be more than happy to provide you with a night's worth of fun, Brie." Tynan stepped towards her. Brie bit her lip, a tiny tip of fang showing. When he stepped into her, Brie backed into the wall behind her. "You should feel honoured to have your prince's interest. Does your loyalty not extend to providing me with what I need?"