Umbra Read online

  UMBRA

  The Dark Between Series

  RAE ELSE

  Anchorite Publishing

  Copyright © 2022 Rae Else.

  All rights reserved.

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  ISBN 978 1 9169049 4 1

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  Cover design by Adriatica Creation

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  raeelse.co.uk

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is fictionalized or coincidental.

  Created with Vellum

  For all those with the bravery to walk their own path— trust in your inner wisdom above anything external.

  CONTENTS

  1. Snow Queen

  2. Born For This

  3. The World Is Breaking

  4. The Shadowlands

  5. Changeling

  6. Darkside

  7. The Warning

  8. A Chill Wind

  9. Bruises and Bacae

  10. The Devil’s Den

  11. Heights & Depths

  12. Breaking Bonds

  13. Kill Your Darlings

  14. Everything’s A Choice

  15. Noble Blood

  16. Between Wind And Water

  17. Feints & Fetches

  18. Homesick

  19. Eye Of The Storm

  20. The Book Of Nature

  21. Three Branches

  22. Lost To You

  23. Goddess 2.0

  24. The Fetch

  25. Darling Wants A Puppy

  26. The Iron Queen

  27. The Ones Below

  28. Fading

  29. Intentions Of Gold

  30. Two Fronts

  Acknowledgments

  Also By Rae Else

  About the Author

  1

  SNOW QUEEN

  Beads of red dripped from the wolf’s open maw and spattered its white muzzle. It loomed over its victim: another white wolf. The injured wolf struggled to rise from the floor, a deep gash in its neck. A plaintive whine fled from it, blood burbled in its mangled windpipe, and a pleading look rested in its eyes.

  Revulsion fired through the looming wolf.

  This heinous bitch rutted with a human.

  The human who lay at the cabin door. Satisfaction swelled through Lorenzo. It was right that the lowly human had been the first to die. Resolve charged through Lorenzo’s every fiber—to finish this. His sister deserved to be eradicated from his line. To think that their father, Ermes, actually believed this sorry excuse for a wolf should be Alpha when he passed instead of Lorenzo. With hate, Lorenzo tore into his sister’s throat.

  Muscle ripped.

  Bone popped.

  Something crackled…

  A cry flew from Jess’s mouth. Her eyes flew open to the dark. Sweat dribbled down her back. Her heart pounded as the nightmare played round and round her head.

  Nightmare my ass.

  A crackle still sounded in Jess’s head. The crackle meant Uncle Lorenzo was prowling. His blood sluagh was here. And it had sleuthed into her dream to serve up this bloody memory.

  She pushed her palms into her eyes, but it was no use. It felt as if the vile memory had burned into her retinas. Jess’s stomach somersaulted. The texture of the wolf’s flesh and sinew was in her mouth, the heat of its open arteries spilling onto her tongue. Jess had experienced the scene from Lorenzo’s point of view as if she’d been her mother’s killer. Bile rose in her throat but fury punctured her sickness: Theo had never dared to send Lorenzo into her dreams before. Over the last six weeks, Lorenzo’s appearance was commonplace—both in the guise of his human and wolfish form. Theo used the blood sluagh to communicate with Jess every damn day. No physical token was required for them to communicate anymore. Neither a lock of hair nor mirror pool. When Lorenzo was present a crystal-clear pathway of communication existed between her and Theo.

  Jess demanded silently. What the fuck did you mean by sending him into my dream!

  Her breathing increased as the seconds drew on and the quiet remained unbroken. Then, the crackle of Lorenzo vanished. His blood sluagh disappeared. She felt as if Theo had hung up on her.

  Infuriated, Jess threw off the covers but stilled. Suffocation pressed down on her. Even after six weeks, she sometimes forgot where she was. But the silvery moonlight washing the white walls brought memory slamming back. Everything within these quarters was ivory—the bedsheets, the alabaster fireplace, the fountain containing the mirror pool. Even the silken PJs that clung to Jess’s clammy skin were bone-white. She was in the master bedroom of Villa La Alba. Because… she was the Rem Alpha.

  Jess’s gaze shot to the window as if looking for an escape. Instead, the sight of the tents across the lawns fortified her. Over the last six weeks, she’d gathered an army of wolves. A force of a thousand Rems had answered her call to fulfill their blood oath to her as Alpha. They’d come from all over the world. All Rems over eighteen and under sixty years of age had been summoned. Hundreds of tents had been pitched across the extensive grounds to house this army. Jess went to the window and eased it open. Her heightened senses searched the air. She found what she sought: burning metal.

  Iron.

  The army was being outfitted with iron casings on their claws. Each sheath was specially designed for the individual’s claws. The aroma steadied her, reminding her of her purpose. Her forces were being readied to attack the Unseelie Court. Well-trained units of aerial fae and pucca riders guarded the capital, Lares, where Queen Mara ruled. Yet, enough iron in a fae’s bloodstream was poisonous. Jess hoped by such means to penetrate the fae capital.

  But for weeks the Triodia had disrupted the iron supply Jess needed to outfit her army. Because of this, she’d finally agreed to Theo’s invasions of Triodia branches in central Italy. His attacks on prominent branches had taken away the Triodians guarding the iron mines. Theo’s latest distraction in Naples yesterday had gained her another iron deposit. Jess’s second had informed her that they now had enough to armor three-quarters of their army. Yet, despite Theo’s invasions serving her purpose, Jess hated herself for agreeing to them. The destruction of each ancient glade grieved her. Guilt mingled with her rage at Theo. His invasion of her dream felt like an extension of those he was committing across Italy.

  Jess marched over to the armoire, its double doors carved with wolves and woods, and yanked it open. She rummaged through the armoire’s drawer and plucked out a sandy plait of hair.

  Crushing the lock in her palm, she demanded silently, Theo.

  Her temples drummed with resentment as the seconds mounted.

  I don’t give a damn what you’re doing, get your ass here.

  Finally, incense coated Jess’s mind.

  Remi. Theo’s voice wafted through the smoke within her, his tone dazed.

  Did he seriously expect her to believe he’d been asleep? Lorenzo was under his control. What the fuck do you mean by sending your Hell hound into my dream?

  What? Theo exclaimed. His voice sounded unfocused.

  Jess didn’t buy his surprise. Don’t play innocent–

  I’m busy, Theo said, his voice almost a whisper.

  If you think I’m going to put up with you invading my dreams–

  A groan burst from Theo. Not an exasperated one, but one that went on and on as if he were…climaxing. Heat burned Jess’s cheeks as she reinterpreted the note in Theo’s voice—not dazed or tired, but husky and turned-on. This whole time they’d been talking, he’d been fucking.

  You pig! Jess exclaimed as she realized what Theo had meant by “busy”.

  Theo’s laugh fluttered through her head. You told me to get my ass here whatever
I was doing, and since taking Naples we’ve not stopped celebrating.

  Jess’s nose wrinkled. He could have stopped fucking long enough to have a conversation. The truth was, he didn’t care about making her feel uncomfortable. In fact, he thrived on it. A flash of Theo and his followers, bodies entwined rushed through her thoughts. They’d burned another sanctuary of Silva, and they were having a fricking orgy to celebrate. She imagined those magical trees burned to a crisp while these monsters rolled around in their ashes.

  It was because of the power Theo had gained in tethering Lorenzo’s blood sluagh that he was able to break through the Triodia’s wards. But everyone in the para world believed instead that it was Jess’s connection to the death herald—the Sidhe—that was allowing Theo to invade these Triodia branches. They believed that through the Sidhe, Jess was intensifying the power of the Enodians’ sluagh hordes. All of the Enodia Coven and Rem Clan believed that she wielded this fearsome force. Disgust and anger at the destruction he was wreaking in her name clawed at her. Despite needing the distraction Theo and his invasions awarded her to get at the iron mines, Jess couldn’t stand it anymore.

  She gritted her jaw. The invasions end now.

  Theo chuckled. They end when I say so.

  Jess threatened, One mirror call and Jorah will know about your tethering of para sluagh.

  Jess had agreed to keep her mouth shut about how Theo had learned to tether para souls. Something he’d been able to accomplish because she’d murdered Lorenzo, a blood relative. Lorenzo had lingered after death, his blood shadow attaching itself to Jess, and Theo had tethered him for himself.

  But Theo combatted, One word to him, and Dearbhla and all your dogs will be told about your true purpose in going to Umbra —to restore the Umbran gods.

  Jess’s fingers went to her chest, to the two scars where Fern, the Triodian High Witch, had stabbed her. Six weeks ago, Fern had plunged a blade into Jess to try to heal the Between. The High Witch had believed that Jess’s death was part of an ancient prophecy. She’d offered up Jess’s blood to the Between to heal it and the division existing within the covens, clans, and courts. But it hadn’t gone as the High Witch expected. When Jess’s blood had flowed into the Between, she had been joined with the part of herself that she’d never known was missing. The Sidhe. For a brief moment, Jess had been whole. She had seen through the Sidhe’s eyes. And together, she knew that they’d almost restored the goddess, Silva. For a moment, she’d been part of Silva. It was this truth that Theo had agreed to keep quiet about so long as Jess kept his secret.

  Jess’s face flamed with anger at how stuck she was with him. Her gaze flew to the view of tents once more. Her heart battered her chest at the fear of losing the force she’d built. She needed the Rem Clan. She needed them to attack Queen Mara. They were the only way she could rescue the Sidhe. The Sidhe, who with Jess, would restore the goddess, Silva. A fact that she couldn’t let the Rems, nor the Enodian Coven discover. If those shifters, witches, and mages who worshipped the darker forces of the para world discovered Jess’s true intention, her army would desert her.

  The truth was, here in Villa La Alba, she was a sheep in wolf’s clothing. Yes, she’d claimed the Alphahood, but she hadn’t even had to fight for it. Dearbhla, who was now acting as her second, had stepped aside because of the power Jess supposedly wielded with the Sidhe. The same reason Jorah, the High Mage of Enodia, had backed her claiming of the Alphahood. Everyone believed it, but it had been Theo’s power that had burned the ancient glade in the Cathedral, not hers.

  Guilt gnawed at Jess over all the damage Theo would continue to inflict. A deep foreboding grew as she wondered how much longer their precarious alliance could last. For the last six weeks their goals had aligned: Theo using her as a smokescreen for his power, whilst she built up her army. But soon, one of them must move against the other.

  Theo’s thoughts seemed to be running along the same track. According to Lorenzo’s last report, you only have enough iron to outfit seven hundred and fifty troops. What we’ve got, Remi, is working swimmingly. He paused. Don’t throw it away.

  Anger swarmed through Jess. How she loathed him. But Theo was right, while they were both here on Earth, their goals aligned. Clenching her fists, she imagined the satisfaction she’d take in selling him out to Jorah just before she invaded Umbra. Something Theo knew all too well. The few times Jess had been to Castle Nox over the last few weeks to access books from its library, she’d heard Lorenzo sniffing around. Theo monitored her frequently, to ensure she didn’t spill his secret, especially to Jorah.

  Fine, she growled. Just keep your vile sluagh out of my dreams.

  As you might have noticed I was somewhat occupied. I didn’t send Lo–

  Jess chucked the sandy lock of hair back into the armoire as if it were garbage, silencing whatever pack of lies Theo was trying to feed her. But, as the quiet swallowed her, there was no release. Vehemence for the dark mage tore through her. He’d probably sent Lorenzo into her dreams as some sick, perverted entertainment at his orgy.

  Jess began to pace, but, although the movement helped, her surroundings pressed in on her. The ornate frieze of wolves around the room seemed to hound her. The white was supposed to symbolize the Alpha’s purity, her right to rule. At the thought, Lorenzo’s ugly memory surfaced. Alessandra had been intended as heir to the Rem Alphahood. Pain pierced Jess. She wondered what her mother would make of her standing here if she could see her. A lump rose in her throat. Giovanni, Jess’s father’s words came to mind: “she must have considered how impossible life would be for you…and chose to leave.” The echo of his voice sent another pang of loneliness through her.

  My father.

  Jess had only met him once. Their talk couldn’t have lasted more than half an hour. But in that short time, she’d felt as if Giovanni cared about her. What she wouldn’t give to be able to talk to him now about everything that was going on. But that was impossible. Giovanni remained locked up in the Triodia’s headquarters. Along with Matteo, the para officer. They’d both been imprisoned for trying to protect her.

  Jess stilled at the window, gazing out at the moonlit tents, thinking longingly of all those nights that Matteo had been at Villa Silva, a generous listener and sounding board for all of her troubles. A true friend. How she hated to think of them locked up. She remembered the tension that had never let up during her own month’s incarceration at the penitentiary. The desire to get them out pulsed through her. But the truth was, currently, she needed them to remain there. Her Enodian allies and the Rem Clan couldn’t know of her sympathies for them. Her stomach knotted with worry and shame. She wondered what Matteo and her father would make of the rumors that she was invading and destroying Triodias.

  Like a caged animal, Jess began to pace again. The plain walls were a symbol of the charade she was being forced into. A mocking smile crossed her face as she imagined painting them in bright colors. Whilst she was at it, she’d dye her pale hair a colorful mixture as it had once been. The rebellious thought petered out. How had she gotten so far from the person she’d once been; how had she become so cut off from all of her friends?

  Jess tried to shake herself out of her pity party. It was dangerous to think about the people she missed.

  Too late.

  A flash of a vamp—waves of chocolate hair falling around a face with cut-glass cheekbones and eyes you could drown in—skittered across her mind.

  Rune.

  The bleached and barren room seemed to wash through her. From the insight Jess had gleaned in the Cathedral, from conjoining with the Sidhe, she somehow knew that neither she nor Rune was in danger from the gods. But…Rune hadn’t believed her. Her heart climbed into her throat. Rattled, her thoughts raced back to the memory of the last time she’d seen him. His furious stare and tone cut through her, “You need to fight for yourself now, not deliver yourself to the Sidhe like a lamb to slaughter.”

  The silence seemed to scream at her as the memory of what s
he’d done next pierced her.

  Commanded him.

  She’d used the blood bond he’d sworn to her against him. “Go find Sunny. I’ll call you when we’re ready to go to Umbra.” Revulsion sluiced through her. She’d twisted his will and told him to await her summons. Her cheeks burned with shame as the full force of what she’d done consumed her. No matter how many times the pain snuck up on her, it never seemed to lessen. She’d subverted the will of the one she loved most. That had been six weeks ago, and she’d been too cowardly to face him since. The white all around her now seemed like a snow-covered land and she its cold-hearted queen as she admitted—even if she had the chance to do things over… she’d do it again. Because she had to save the Sidhe. And she wouldn’t allow anyone to get in her way. That truth cast an impenetrable shadow over her.

  Movement from the mirror pool caught Jess’s peripheral vision, offering a blessed relief from the crippling memory.

  But realizing it must be Theo trying to finish whatever he had to say by another means, she whipped towards the fountain. “I told you to fuck off.”

  Ripples wound into the center of the pool; a bronzed face and golden hair swam in the water. “Is that any way to greet your favorite emissary?” Sunny, the thousand-year-old vamp looked out from the water.