King of the Unsightly (Tempting Trickery #1)

Thrice a Crowd

I f climbing this mountain was a race, I was in last place crawling like someone had ripped both my legs off as a cruel joke and beat me with them.

Maybe I was a tad dramatic as I propelled my legs forward despite my muscles screaming in protest. I wanted to blame my lack of endurance on the blood loss from yesterday, but I knew the truth.

Each time I stole a peek at Gren hoping he didn’t see how out of breath I was, his face possessed no warmth, and I wasn’t sure if the rapid gooseflesh rising on my neck came from the chill in the air or his lack of emotion. Both seemed plausible.

I tapped Gren’s shoulder.

He snapped his head in my direction and dropped his chin down to meet my gaze.

Since the others were a reasonable distance away, now was the best time to question him.

“So, how about now?” I lowered a brow, curiously.

Gren tipped his head. A myriad of emotions flickered across his face, and then he avoided my stare and looked back ahead.

He knew exactly what I meant.

Gren sucked in a short breath as he tinkered with the end of his shirt. “Your mother ... well.” He wrinkled his nose. “I guess to others it looked like she ran an animal sanctuary,” he said as a shaky laugh withdrew from his throat.

Without hesitation, I grabbed his wrist and gave him a reassuring nod. I hadn’t taken into account his past could be traumatic ... like mine. Was it selfish to pry for answers?

I squeezed his hand. “We can wait until we’re free from”—I looked around and then back at him—“this horrible situation.”

But if I was being truthful with myself, I didn’t want to wait any longer.

I had been waiting my whole life, but maybe pushing for answers wasn’t always the best way to go about things. Everyone could have a past they didn’t want to remember. I knew that more than anyone.

I let go of his hand and twirled my thumbs as we hiked up this never-ending mountain. I almost tumbled over a couple of sharp rocks as my feet continued to drag me forward.

Kaschel and Levisus were in a deep conversation as Ryas looked incredibly bored.

My eyes lingered back to Gren.

He smiled, but his lowered chin overshadowed his false reassurance and told me he was anything but fine.

“For familiars, living without a witch or contract puts a target on our backs. If we’re caught without one, we run the risk of being hunted for spells. It’s how I lost my eye.” He grazed his fingers across his scar, and his face clouded with dread but vanished instantaneously. “But your mother saved my brothers and me from a much worse fate, and that’s when I met you.” Gren trailed off as he kept his focus in front of us.

“So, she... she did this to me? She bound me to the key? Did she also steal my memories, or am I protecting myself and blocking out something horrible that happened when I was a child?” My voice cracked, but the wind thrashing against the hollow trees obscured it.

Gren’s expression told me everything.

My hands shook, violently.

From the cold.

Or so I told myself.

What gave her the right to steal my memories from me? What gave her the right to bind me to a key that would bring me nothing but trouble?

The rage boiled within me and tainted me to my core.

I was livid.

What good would have come from any of this? What was she thinking ?

My mind spun webs of venomous deceit until Gren gripped my shoulders, snapping me out of my spiraling mind. “All I know is she made my brothers and I swear to protect you if she didn’t return. An oath formed from blood and magic. She was desperate, but she loved you. I swear.”

I got lost in Gren’s eye like it was a void pulling me in, nullifying all my tension.

His words indicated he cared for my mother, but all I had were tarnished memories of her leaving me behind with them .

I sucked in a breath.

No. It didn’t matter.

I had to tell myself—it existed only in the past. And I couldn’t let it control me anymore, or the fear would consume me.

I could work through this.

I was okay.

I could be strong.

No, I was a strong, capable, badass woman.

I mentally cringed at my words.

“All right, thank you for telling me,” I said, jiggling the uncertainty out of my body from my fingertips to my toes. I might get some form of PTSD from all this, but trauma wasn’t foreign to me. I just couldn’t let it destroy me. Even if I felt wronged. No one would solve my problems. Not Lucien. Not Gren. Only me . I ruffled my hair out of my ponytail. It wasn’t doing me any favors but whipping me in the face. “I think it’s about time I get my shit together.” I laughed sardonically, brushing the loose strands of hair behind my ear.

“I know it may sound redundant, but you are not alone.”

“I know,” I said sternly as I picked up my pace to match the others.

It’s not that I didn’t want to rely on others.

I wanted to. So badly. I mean, who would want to carry any type of burden all by themselves?

But was it okay to put others in harm’s way for my sake? When it could mean their life hung in the balance? And could I truly trust anyone?

Gren said multiple times he was only repaying a favor for my mother. This mess had nothing to do with him. Yet I bound him to me, and he had no choice but to follow.

“Addy. You know it’s okay to—”

“Shit,” Ryas yelled and threw her head back.

Both Gren’s and my attention shot up.

A massive obsidian rock crashed right in front of her. The clamor shook the pebbles beneath us as we all strained to stabilize ourselves.

I squinted and tried to read the white carvings on it.

Kaschel scanned the rock, and glared back at Ryas, seemingly annoyed she didn’t elaborate on her remark.

“What?” Kaschel growled, peeved he even had to ask.

“It roughly says”—Ryas cleared her throat—“ A point of no return. Thrice a crowd and no delights to cast your sights. Only spilled blood will guide you. Jest in the warning and only ruin awaits you. Yours truly, R.G .”

“You could have said once we pass this point, we won’t have any of our magic.” Levisus yawned. “Why say all extra stuff? Completely unnecessary.” He yawned again and waved his hand dismissively at her.

Ryas looked like she wanted to jump over Kaschel and claw Levisus’s face.

Kaschel spoke and it snapped Ryas out of her rage. “I loathe that trickster.” He rubbed his temples.

I laughed so hard I snorted, and it echoed throughout the mountainside. And I immediately clasped my hand over my mouth.

My eyes went wide as they all looked at me like I grew a third arm. “Do you guys not see the irony? I mean, coming from a faery.” Kaschel’s expression darkened as the words left my lips. It made me ramble on like I could somehow save myself. “Well, aren’t you a trickster yourself? I mean have you ever read the lore of your kind?” Oh my god. Smite me where I stand before I finish digging my own grave.

“No. Please continue. I would love to hear your thoughts about faeries through fiction,” Kaschel said, his voice oozing with sarcasm.

Mortified, I ignored him entirely and waved my hand. “Regardless, we’re going forward, right?” I looked at Ryas for a reply, avoiding Kaschel’s murderous stare.

“Yes,” Levisus answered for both of them.

“All right then. Let’s stop stalling.” I stepped beside the ominous rock. “Okay, before we go farther I need—”

My mouth clenched shut when my foot slipped and I plunged, slamming stomach first onto the dirt.

Air escaped my lungs as I grunted, flipped onto my back and gasped.

Staggering to my feet, I peered at the cliffside. I was only centimeters away from dropping to my death again. I sucked in a breath and waited anxiously for the others, hoping they might fall from the sky too.

I squeezed my eyes shut and counted to three like somehow it would magically change my situation.

This is fine. My hands shook with uncertainty, and in a split second a rift in the sky opened up, and a body hurled at me.

It smashed me against the ground, and my breathing hitched.