The Maleficent Faerie

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.Copyright © 2023 by Rebecca F. KenneyAll rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.First Edition: May 2023Kenney, Rebecca F.The Maleficent Faerie / by Rebecca F. Kenney—First edition.Cover art by Ann Fleur “Centuries” Fall Out Boy“Once Upon a Dream” Lana Del Rey“Be Mean” DNCE“Heavy” Powers“Once Upon a Dream” VoicePlay“Witch Image” Ghost“Hollow” Daria Zawialow“Do You Really Wanna Hurt Me?” Adam Lambert“Lucifer” Elle Lexxa“Girl Like Me” Dove Cameron“Nothing Else Matters” VoicePlay, J.None“Can’t Tame Her” Zara Larsson“Cold As Ice” Ava Max“Higher” Reinaeiry“Trustfall” P!nk“Bad Idea” Dove Cameron“Teeth” 5 Seconds of Summer“Be A Witness” UNSECRET, Fleurie“Dirty Magic” The Haxans“Holding Out for a Hero” Adam Lambert“You Can’t Stop the Girl” Beba Rexha“Titanium” Corvyx“Moments Before the Storm” Poets of the FallPlaylist on Spotify Age gap between fantasy charactersAttempted (unsuccessful) rapeBlood used in magical ritualsGaslighting, light BDSM, light spankingSuicide ideation, depression, mild PTSDNegative self-talk, violence, death, warExplicit intimate/spicy scenes 1The Princess and I shouldn’t be here.As her bodyguard, I should know better than to indulge her, but—Eonnula help me—she’s so damn persuasive.When she looked into my eyes this morning, clasped her hands, and said fervently, “Aura, I want to go to the Lifegiving Festival,” I couldn’t tell her no.Mostly because I wanted to go, too. I long to feel the Surge, when the adoration of the crowd reaches its height and our magic is refilled, when the presence of Eonnula Herself becomes a tangible thing.Two high-spirited young women can only be kept in a castle for so long before they decide to indulge in a little rebellion. So the Princess and I are standing side by side, at the edge of the vast courtyard of the Annoran Temple, with the sweetish smoke from the incense burners filling our nostrils. The sunshine heats my skin, soaking into my leathers. Even here, with the incense so strong, I can discern the faraway fragrance of hot spun sugar, roasted bricklebones heavy with grease, and steaming fruit pies. After the Surge, most of the guests will scatter to eat, laugh, and exclaim over the experience. Others will find cool, quiet corners in which to fuck each other, purging the sexual arousal the Surge can incite.But we won’t stay for that part. We’ll leave the minute it’s over. It’s a brief carriage ride back to the summer palace—shorter if we take the road through the woods. That path veers a little closer to the Daenallan border than the main road, but it’s perfectly safe. None of the Daenalla have ventured into our lands for a couple of years now.I’ve become a bit complacent, I suppose, but not totally careless. I insisted we bring along two of the best palace guards. They’re flanking us now, a pair of grim-jawed mountains in bluesteel armor. Like the Princess, they’re human, and the bluesteel offers them protection from magic. Not that they’ll need such defenses here, among the joyful crowd of humans and Caennith Fae gathered for the Lifegiving Festival at the Annoran Temple.Music shatters the air, the thunderous drumbeat resounding through my body, mingling with the jubilant blare of bright horns and the soaring melody of strings. The throng of worshipers has already been whipped into a frothy sea of adulation, and they’re shouting along with the Priest who’s leading the song. He stands on a platform under the blazing suns, naked to the waist, his lean body shining with sweat. He raises his jeweled staff and pumps his fist as he sways and sings. He doesn’t have wings, but a pair of goat’s horns mark him as one of the Caennith Fae. One of my kind.Here in Caennith, our worship of Eonnula is boisterous, glorious. Every rite, every gathering like this one unites our minds, hearts, and energy, clearing the way for a fresh infusion of the magic we crave. When the worship reaches its peak, the Surge will come, refilling us all.The humans in the crowd can’t absorb and use the magic, but they will experience exhilaration and joy beyond anything they’ve ever felt. It will last for months, buoying them through their mundane lives.I’ve been part of small Surges, minor adorations arranged by my three Fae mothers. Those gatherings did the trick, refilling my magic—but they didn’t come anywhere near the reports I’ve heard about these huge celebrations. I crave the feeling I’ve been told about—the sensation of pure power and utter fullness, the delight of being blissfully united with a greater Being.My stomach flutters with excitement as I lift one hand in praise, the other gripping the hilt of the sword at my hip. Even in a moment such as this, in a place so safe, so joyous, so full of our people, I can’t afford to let my guard down. Our enemies haven’t been seen in years, but that doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten us.It doesn’t mean he has forgotten her.I look to my left, at the bright, eager face of the Princess I’m sworn to protect. She left her coronet behind, and she’s wearing a blue dress with a plunging back, a daring choice that blends with the bold fashions of the festival.Princess Dawn is my age—twenty-five. Well… almost. Three months from now, on her twenty-fifth birthday, she’ll come into her birthright. Like the other human royals before her, she will become a Conduit, a channel for Eonnula’s power. She won’t be able to perform magic herself, but her presence will bless gatherings like this one, opening the gates