Phantom Fae Read Online Free Page A

shook her head. "He has killed King Tibero and taken over the dragon fae kingdom."
    There, her shifter kind had been second-class citizens, at least in the king's and Prince Grotto's eyes. Even so, she and her shifter kind had friends among the dragon fae who were not shifters. Alicia had treated her and her kind as though they were just as important as anyone else in the kingdom. And many of the merchants the dragons did business with knew just how important the shifters were in keeping their kingdom safe and taking on other tasks better suited to them. But the shifters were also generous with their hordes of gold when paying for goods and services and were treated with respect by the merchants and tradesmen. So she thought her friends would want to help rescue them from Prince Grotto's tyranny.
    "Are you going to fight him?" her brother asked.
    "Yes. I told King Tiernan I will and that I would ask if any of you wished to fight on their behalf."
    The shifters exchanged glances.
    One said, "I wouldn’t want to kill the dragon fae. They are our brethren."
    "If they take up arms against us—" Ena said.
    Her brother said, "He is right. They will all fight against a common enemy—the dark fae. It's in their nature. Our nature."
    "The dark fae and hawk fae kingdoms won't fight any who will back us in freeing Princess Alicia's mother and putting an end to Prince Grotto's rule. He is the reason we left our own home. If he is eliminated, Alicia can rule. Or her mother will. And if we wish it, we can return home."
    Several of the dragon shifters looked to her brother for his counsel.
    "How many of the dragon fae stood up against King Tibero and his ancestors when they slaughtered our parents, fearful that the shifters would become too powerful? I will not fight their war, nor will I kill them as they are still our brethren. Let them overthrow the prince if they do not wish his rule. We are here. And we are content to be here," her brother said.
    Halloran was four years older than her, and nearly the oldest one of the dragon shifters after so many of their families were murdered. So, though she had led the dragon shifters here, and they had listened to her with regard to King Tiernan's rulings—since he treated her as the one in charge—the shifters still looked to her brother in a matter like this.
    "I will be leaving tomorrow then with the hawk fae king and his soldiers. If someone would look in on my people while I'm away, I'd be grateful." Ena understood her brother's feelings and sympathized with him. But she was determined to fight Prince Grotto on this and help free Princess Alicia's mother.
    "You know I will," her brother said.
    Her suitors looked uneasy, as if they wished to go with her, maybe just because they loved a good fight, hated Prince Grotto for seizing their castles and what he had planned to do to them, or wanted to protect her, but still, no one stood up to her brother. They probably were more concerned about the business with killing their own kind while serving on the dark fae's side. They'd had grievances with them forever, though Princess Alicia, dragon fae heir to the throne, had married Prince Deveron, heir to the dark fae throne.
    When the men disbursed, she headed into the keep to tell her staff what was going on, but they'd all been listening in on the discussion.
    Ryker, her butler, and anything else she wanted him to be—though he had strict rules about what a butler did—was first to speak, as befit his position. "We want to go with you."
    "Absolutely not."
    "We can blend in. Be spies. Help you in many ways," he insisted.
    "No. You stay here and take care of things." She tilted her chin down, giving every one of her staff members I-am-the-boss looks. It used to work. Then she'd brought her human prisoner, Brett, home, and he had turned everything upside down. Which again made her wonder how he was faring.
    "What about Brett?" Ryker ventured.
    She scowled at Ryker.
    He should have looked sheepish