MIDNIGHT Magic
SNEAK PEEK – THIS IS AN UNEDITED SNIPPET FROM MY WORK IN PROGRESS, ‘SAVE THE CAT’
PLEASE DO NOT SHARE!
(SPOILER ALERT – DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU WANT TO KNOW IF DARCY PASSES THE FIRST TRIAL!)
A man stepped forward.
He was Fae. Tall, regal looking with straight black hair and a chiseled jaw. Handsome, in an untouchable, far away kind of way. He took two steps forward and once he was certain I had seen him he stopped.
“Well that’s not creepy,” I said. “Have you been standing there this whole time watching me fight this thing? Could have used a hand, you know.”
The tiger kitten moved to stand between me and the man. It was adorable, with it’s fur standing straight up, hissing at the Fae man.
He ignored the kitten and stared at me. “Congratulations,” he said. “You have passed the first Trial.”
I pulled my arm out of the croc creatures eye socket with a wet squelch. “Ew.” I dropped the knife and looked around for something to clean the gore off my arm with. There was nothing handy.
Feeling was gradually returning to my legs so I dragged myself to my feet to face the Fae man.
“That was one of the trials?” I asked him. “I was told they would be testing my wit, strength, and integrity.” I hooked a thumb at the croc-creature. “There was no mention of fights to the death against prehistoric creatures. And let me tell you, that definitely wasn’t funny.
The fae man arched an eyebrow. “Prehistoric creature? That, young one, is a monstruo cocodrilo. And this trial was testing your integrity, not your sense of humour.”
I put my hands on my hips, realised I was making a mess on my jeans, and dropped them to my sides. “I see.”
He smiled, and it turned him from merely handsome to drop dead gorgeous. He seemed to glow from within. “I don’t think you do. It was your choice to stay and fight for the Farrigata,” he nodded regally at the kitten, which was currently climbing up my leg using my jeans as a ladder, “instead of running away and saving yourself, that has proven your worth.”
I scooped the kitten from where it was clinging to my hip and set it on my shoulder. I ignored the blood coating its paws. I was covered in the stuff too. “We could have both died,” I said flatly.
“Not true. I wouldn’t have let it come to that. Although, if I had stepped in, you would have failed the Trial.”
I pointed at the tiger kitten perched on my shoulder. “What I’m hearing is that you would have let this little cutie die.”