Apples & Ashes

  A Trixie Towers Novel

  Scarlett Dawn

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  APPLES & ASHES

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright 2023© Scarlett Dawn

  Cover - Manuela Serra Book Cover Design

  Format - Down Write Nuts Book Service

  Editing - RMJ Editing and Manuscript Service

  No AI programs were used in the creation of this book or its cover.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

  Created with Vellum

  Dedication

  To my grandmother,

  Another year has passed. I've grown. I feel more comfortable in my own skin than I have for a very long time. I feel more...confident. And I love myself again.

  I'm sure you know.

  You're watching down on me with a proud smile on your face.

  Because your girl did it. She's free.

  You taught me how to be strong when needed.

  Thank you.

  Love forever,

  S.D.

  Shade of bygone screams,

  Smite thy secret schemes.

  Sway ye watchful trees of Ancient,

  Wily roots bleed thee benevolent.

  Whilst crimson drips thy crime,

  ‘Tis sought by thee divine.

  Age bends thee Archive’s time,

  Devoted guardians, pry, deny.

  Yay oh, an old, vengeful Fae titters, contented.

  When the Fae steal my daughter from our realm, I am not a happy man. The woodland sprite, Mamue, shouldn't have taken her. She shouldn't have tested me. Rest assured, she'll find out exactly what I am capable of.

  But I need allies. Heading into Fairy alone is impossible.

  So I'll do what I need to. I'll beg. I'll lie.

  I'll threaten and cheat.

  And I'll bring my daughter and her soul mate home.

  I just need to get to Fairy first...

  My name is King Traevon Towers, King of Elves. I am not a nice man. I do the ugly work to get the job done. Don't be fooled by my polite disposition. I have fangs, and I will bite.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  About the Author

  Thoughts of a father:

  Pixies can go fuck themselves.

  But I imagine their dicks are so small they can’t even find them to accomplish the task.

  Useless wastes of shit.

  The whole lot of them can rot—and their awful dust.

  “Wake the Fae fuck up!” A slithering hiss punctuated the shout above me, followed by a hard shake of my shoulders. “Dammit, I wish I could kill you right now. It would be so easy.”

  I groaned quietly and opened my eyes as I pressed my forehead against cold, hard tiling.

  I moaned deeply from my throat, “What…”

  The unkind awakening continued with a definite swat to the back of my head, jarring my face further into the floor. Then King Elon’s voice hissed brutally, “Get your senses about you, King Traevon. We have a problem.”

  My blink was slow as I gradually put my hands flat on the floor, breathing hard to push myself up to a seated position. Wobbling slightly back and forth on my ass, I studied the room I was in, my vision blurry and unfocused.

  It was High Pointe.

  The main level.

  Myriad colors rained down through the shaded glass, coating me in reds, blues, and yellows, where I sat in a state of confusion.

  I turned my head slowly to the only other occupant of the room, a gorgon king who was a major pain in my ass—and an enemy I shouldn’t be this defenseless around. Cracking my mouth open, I mumbled almost drunkenly, “What in the realm did you do to me, asshole?”

  With his knees bent, squatting directly next to me, his molten green reptilian eyes narrowed on mine. “I did nothing except watch over your reckless ass for the last hour. Don’t blame this problem on me.”

  Huh.

  The gorgon king actually appeared serious.

  “All right. What has happened then?”

  “The Fae happened.” King Elon snorted and rubbed at his chin. “I was saddling up my Fae-gift when a horde of Fae suddenly exited out the doors and into my kingdom.” His gaze turned wary—yet curious. “They were carrying two unconscious people.”

  My mouth shut…as my mind started to clear. I touched my face and used one finger to wipe at the dusting on my skin. Blue tinged the pad of my finger—fucking pixie dust.

  “Motherfucker,” I growled furiously and started scrubbing at my face quickly. “Mamue took King Athon and my daughter.”

  The gorgon king’s eyebrows lifted. “A kidnapping?”

  “Of a sort.” Getting my feet under me, I tried standing. I will never admit if the devious prick beside me had to aid my person to keep said feet under me until the room damned well stopped spinning. Taking a cautious—and finally steady—step back from him, I muttered, “Where are the Fae now?”

  “I presume they were heading for the Blood Forest.” He shook his head. “I could not follow there, as you know.”

  I arched a furious red brow. “And I imagine you did not try to stop them, either.”

  “There were over a hundred Fae, King Traevon. It would have been unwise to attack them not knowing what they are exactly and what their power is.”

  I sighed quietly and glared toward the Gorgon Kingdom, unable to fault him on his reasoning—and I really wished I could so I could punch his smug face. I mumbled absently, “They are woodland sprites from the dark forest.” I began pacing barefoot and agitatedly ran my fingers through my hair, still damp from the ocean. “I need to get to Fairy.”

  King Elon tilted his head, trying to catch my eyes. “Why did they take them? This will not look good for their side if we’re truly in a competition of sorts with the Fae. It does not make sense.”

  “To use them as bait,” I snapped and glowered into his gaze. Then, keeping my words careful, I stated, “Two artifacts went missing from Fairy. They came looking for them right before our last challenge. I allowed them to stay in my own home while they searched. Apparently, they now know who stole the artifacts—but they believe taking King Athon and Princess Trixie will lead the thief to them.”

  The gorgon king rolled that information around in his wily head, his eyes not even blinking once as the jackass held my gaze unwaveringly. “That…is interesting.” He hummed quietly inside his throat, sounding like a hissing snake. “And not entirely truthful, as it doesn’t make complete sense.”

  “It’s all I can give right now,” I growled reluctantly, swiping my right hand through the air. “Do not ask any more questions. I don’t have time for this.”

  King Elon crossed his arms and tapped two fingers against his lips, watching me closely. “I suppose, for now, that will suffice, considering the circumstances.” I seriously hated this bitch. “So we must go to Fairy to retrieve them.”

  My head jerked back in surprise. “We?”

  “Yes, we.” The asshole chuckled under his breath. “Unless you want to be eating the floor again soon. Which would you prefer? Another loss? Or assistance from me to track down the real enemy?”

  “Neither sounds fucking great,” I grumbled and evaluated my options silently. I started pacing again, flicking my attention to his waist-length, thick shamrock green braids—unfortunately, he was formidable in the right situations. Finally, I asked guardedly, “What would you suggest?”

  “There’s only one way for us to get to Fairy, and that is with the Fae.” King Elon cracked his neck and wrinkled his nose in revulsion. “But the only Fae we captured, we killed. So that leaves three Fae we know about and can contact.”

  I sucked in a slow breath to steady my breathing while an idea progressively unfurled in my mind. “The dragons.”

  He nodded once in agreement. “The dragons.”

  “Shit.” I tilted my head back and stared up at the stained glass ceiling. “They aren’t going to like this. Not when they hate Fairy and don’t want to return there.”

  “No, they won’t like it.” The gorgon hummed again, sending a slithering shiver down my back. “We will simply need to make them somehow. As much as it pains me to say, we need King Athon and Princess Trixie alive and well right now.”

  My chuckle was ugly as shit. “Fucking Fae, I hate you.”

  The jackass bowed elegantly at the waist. “I assure you, the feeling is entirely mutual.”

  Blowing a heated breath between my lips, I instructed, “If we’re traveling to Trumbalay, we need to change our swimwear into warmer clothes.” I turned on my heel and stalked toward the private door leading upstairs to the rulers’ chambers, despising having the snake at my back. “Then we meet in the air.”

  His footsteps dogged my heels. “Is it wise to fly in?”

  “That’s the only option available to us currently.” I held the door open for him—and let him go up the stairs in front of me. “Time is of the essence.”

  The gorgon king glared at me but didn’t hesitate to go first, hissing over his shoulder, “Let us hope it doesn’t end with our deaths.”

  “Quite so, King Elon.”

  The door clanged shut behind us, loud and ominous.

  Locking my bedroom chamber’s door behind me, I stomped further into the bedroom and narrowed my eyes at the empty room. “Mother, what in the Fae fuck is happening over there?”

  The soothsayer’s translucent body suddenly appeared sitting on my bed, wavering in and out of existence like the wraith she was. Mother sat cross-legged on the soft bed, no indention underneath her form on the mattress, as she cocked her head at me and muttered in disappointment, “You made a right mess with this one, son.”

  “I know that already,” I griped and dropped my traveling bag beside her. Then, placing my hands on my hips, I questioned brutally, “Have they hurt her?”

  “No…not yet.” Mother folded her fingers together on her lap. “But you are correct. Time is of the essence in this situation. Fairy is a damned mess right now. If they are taken from the woodland sprites, there will be a bloody issue.” Her silver eyes stared hard into mine. “And I do not want that to occur to my granddaughter.”

  “She is my daughter,” I snarled, pointing hard at my heaving chest. “If they harm one precious hair on her head, I will annihilate all of them.”

  The soothsayer’s lips curved into a wicked smile. “Aptly put, my son.” Mother quirked up one eyebrow. “But do stay away from the pixies.”

  I snarled, showing all of my teeth. “That won’t happen again.”

  “Make sure it doesn’t. Pixies can be tricky when they wish to be, so ensure you are on your guard for those tiny beasts.” She waved her see-through hand at my writing desk. “But first, write to your brother so he knows you won’t be coming home on time.”

  “My brother,” I spat and snorted. Though I did stalk to the desk to do as told—I had learned long ago to listen when my mother spoke. Sitting heavily at the desk and lifting a sheet of paper, I grumbled peevishly, “I’m sure that man will enjoy my time away, spending it with my soul mate.”

  Mother’s sigh was long and drawn out behind me. “Must we have this conversation all the time? It is getting rather old after five hundred years.

  “Then he should quit flirting with her.”

  “Marlon is not interested in Minnie. You should know this by now. He merely does it to poke at you.”

  I chuckled softly under my breath—more than a little evilly. “Yes, I would cut off his poking tool if he ever tried to use it where it is unwanted.”

  “As you have said…again and again.” Mother sounded horribly bored while I wrote my first correspondence. Two more needed to be written: one to my soul mate and one to Caspian. All would be sent by messenger once I changed into clothing fit for snow. “It has been five hundred years, son. Haven’t you learned to trust him by now?”

  The fact I was sending Caspian to watch over the castle from afar proved I did not, in fact, trust Marlon completely. “One day, I might. But today is not that day.”

  “You are an extremely vexing child.”

  “Thank you ever so much, Mother. That is the highest compliment coming from a wraith who simply adores twisting her words to make anyone crazy.” I shook my head and folded up the first letter. “And, if you’ve forgotten, I am no longer a child.”

  The soothsayer sniffed snootily from the bed. “You will always be my child, no matter your age.” She listened as I started my second letter, the pencil scratching loudly on the paper, before she asked solemnly, “What are your plans for the dragons and Fairy?”

  “I will talk sensibly to the dragons. If that doesn’t work, I’m prepared to use every asset available to me.”

  Mother stated calmly, “You mean me.”

  It wasn’t a question.

  “Yes, if it is needed.” I tapped the end of my pencil on the paper, thinking silently for a long moment. The quietness of the room wasn’t soothing, though. I cleared my throat and whispered, “I am sorry, Mother. But your unique brand of vengeance will likely be used on this trip at some point.”

  Mother stayed mute until I was done with all three letters. Then she said just as quietly, “Then so it shall be. Even if I don’t enjoy it…I’ll do anything for my Trixie.”

  Confession of a king:

  For once in my life, I’d simply like to have something good happen to me without the coming of the bad directly afterward.

  But I’ve lived enough years in this realm to know that’s not my journey.

  For others, yes. Never for me.

  So when I do manage to take one step forward…

  I brace for impact.

  “King Traevon!” Mother shouted from outside my bedroom, banging like a brute on the door, shaking the whole thing. “You are needed out here now.”

  I sucked in a harsh breath and sat up quickly in bed, squinting through the darkness. My attention caught on the woman in bed with me. Her long hair was a tumble of seafoam green curls over the pillow where her head lay, with ruby-colored flower petals covering the entire bed, having dropped from those locks during our sexual activities. Sweet golden eyes were hidden behind her closed lids while her lips were parted gently in her slumber—the quietest snore I’d ever heard whispering past her delicious lips. The blanket was crumpled at our feet, long since kicked aside, showing all her sexy curves.

  My soul mate.

  I lifted my right hand and rubbed it against my bare chest, where I could feel her presence inside my Fae-spark.

  I had a soul mate now.

  Finally.

  My hand trembled as I leaned over and brushed her soft as silk hair off her cheek, only able to stare down at her beauty, at the woman who had charged right into my life last night and taken ahold of my thoughts like no one before had ever done—I should have known then something was different with her. She would not be a simple pleasure between the sheets. She was more. And she was mine. But now I was left valiantly trying not to Fae fucking cry—tears of happiness and pride. Looking down at her sleeping loveliness, I wouldn’t want her to awaken with her new soul mate and resilient king…bawling like a wee one down onto her pretty face.

  That would just not do.

  Especially upon waking. Definitely so.

  I inhaled deeply and repeatedly blinked, pushing the wetness away from my eyes. I would not let one tear slip right now. My soul mate would not be frightened when I woke her. I never wanted this woman scared in my presence—while other people could be scared down to their Fae-spark.

  But my mother was still banging on the Fae damned door, half sounding like she was ready to beat the solid wood to splinters.

  “Minnie,” I stated softly and cupped her cheek gently. And….fuck…I didn’t know her last name. There hadn’t been much talking when we’d literally crashed into one another at my party. The urge had taken us for a wild ride. Our clothes had come off far too quickly—and all the weapons she’d had on her person—for mere words to get in the way. “Minnie, love.”

  Precious golden eyes blinked open slowly, hazed slightly from sleep. Her cute eyebrows puckered in confusion as she stared up at me. She blinked once. And then twice. Then she mumbled in horror, “Well, fuck me. I can’t kill you now, you bastard.”

 

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