Hidden Power: The Jade Forest Chronicles, #3

By Vivienne Neas

A world within a world – a world within our world. 
Miath is a male water fae, he's a bit tired of fae society and wants to change his life and himself – but lacks the means and courage to do so. That is, until his good friend Mercury is placed under house arrest as a suspect in the murder of a vampire. The only thing that can save Mercury is a mysterious relic known as the Shadow Stone – and Miath thinks he knows where to find it.
On his way to the human town of Milford, he meets a stunningly beautiful girl called Raven. She presents herself to him as a fae from a distant settlement, but he can't help but wonder if she's something more of what she says.
Raven, it turns out, is also seeking the Shadow Stone, but for an entirely different reason to Miath's. They discover too, that something else binds them besides a shared interest in the lost relic – a powerful, raw attraction that has both of them hungering for one another.
Can they use their powers to retrieve the Shadow Stone from the wall of magic behind which is kept? And can they safely navigate the minefield that is their strong mutual attraction and desire for one another and their separate needs for the powerful treasure?
Find out in Hidden Power, the third book of The Jade Forest Chronicles series, a gripping urban fantasy romance packed full of magic, suspense, action and of course steamy romance that will have you glued to the book from the very first page to the very last.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BlueShelfBooktore
• Release date: Mar 4, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386186595

Book preview

For your convenience, this is a link to the next book on the Jade Forest Chronicles Series and the Discounted Box Set

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Chapter 1 - Miath

I carried the last two logs to the pile and put the chainsaw I’d been using in the storage unit. One of the air talent fae would come later and clean it all out, using air instead of oil to brush the sawdust off. I didn’t know what it was about the air fae, but they were good at cleaning stuff.

I was glad I wasn’t one of them. I had a couple of issues about my talent too. Being a water talent made me feel like I was one of the girls. There was nothing manly about water talent. We could understand water when it flowed, we could feel the rain and interpret it; anything with water in it, we understood it. There was literally nothing badass about that.

I walked to the Watering Hole. I wouldn’t call it a pub because no one was allowed more than one drink, but it was a place to catch up with friends and unwind.

All the usual guys were there – almost the whole team of lumberjacks I worked with and some of the guys who were involved in metal work were there too. The metal talent guys were the ones I tried to stay away from. Metal and water just weren’t in the same class. Those guys got along with fire better.

I looked around the place, looking for my friend. Since Mercury and I had taken on the vampires, we’d been closer than ever. It had worked out well for everyone. Mostly. Mercury and Fern were together now. No one had seen it coming. Considering what a rebel she’d been until the whole vampire thing had happened, everyone was overjoyed that she’d settled down into a normal life and no one dared to challenge her relationship.

And Mercury was finally with the woman he loved. Me? I was the only one who felt unfulfilled. Amber was dating that werewolf – the gossip was all over town even though she denied it. She seemed happy. Rebellious, but happy. Fern and Mercury were together too and they liked playing with fire – the irony – by leaving the reserve and staying away long enough to make the authorities freak out.

I was the only one who felt like I was stuck. I’d gone out there only to help Mercury, because I knew he was going to get himself into a mess if I hadn’t been there. He’d been head over heels in love with Fern for years. He wouldn’t have saved himself by staying if that meant sacrificing her.

I wouldn’t have gone out there if it hadn’t been for him. I believed staying in the reserve was the right thing to do. It was there for a reason. It wasn’t like we didn’t have the potential to take care of ourselves, but we’d been passive for so long that I doubted there were any of us who were still able to do that.

Besides, following rules made sense. I didn’t believe it was the only way – there had to be a golden midway – but it made sense.

The jobs that usually worked for water fae like me were switchboard related. But I didn’t want to sit in a room full of cackling women. I was a man. I wanted a man’s job and a man’s life and the respect that came with it. 

Mercury wasn’t there. I sat down and ordered my one beer. They logged my details to make sure I only had one a day. ‘Quality control’ they called it. The quality of life. I wasn’t so sure I disagreed.

The metal guys in the corner were whispering something. I couldn’t hear them. When the bartender opened the tap and the water ran, I caught fragments of their conversation. The running water acted like a microphone. Or a hearing aid.

They were talking about girls, so I tuned it out again. It wasn’t anything about me as I’d thought at first.

I was on my second fruit juice – like my manliness could handle that on top of everything else – when Fern appeared in the door. She shimmered slightly in the dim light, her dark hair messy like she’d been sleeping. Or... not sleeping.

Miath, she said when she saw me. I’m so glad you’re here. She glanced at the metal fae and sat down on the stool next to me. You’re not hanging out with your buddies tonight?

She grinned.

How dare you, I said and returned the smile. She knew how much I didn’t get along with them.

Where’s Mercury?

She took a deep breath and fiddled with the coaster in front of her. He’s under house arrest.

What?

She looked up at me. Her eyes were jade, a soapy green. I wasn’t sure what that said about her. Mercury was the only one who could really read her.

A vampire came into the reserve on official business, claiming that he’s responsible for a vampire’s death.

I shook my head, trying to make sense of what was happening. Mercury? He was one of the gentlest people I knew. Sure, he had a hell of a lot of power. Who could have imagined that all of that force had been hidden in him? But he wouldn’t hurt a fly if it came down to it.

It’s been months since the incident, I said.

She nodded. I know. But you know how Muriel is. There’s reason to believe it was him, so she locked him up until she finds out what’s going on.

How did a vampire get in on official business? Muriel didn’t let anyone into the reserve. She had some of the other water guys – the ones who weren’t nearly as nice as I was – on guard duty at the gates and they were pretty sharp when it came to other preternatural creatures. They weren’t the smartest bunch, but they did their job.

I have no idea. I’d like to know that, too. Won’t you go and see Merc? He hasn’t seen anyone in days and he’s pretty down about this whole thing.

I nodded. Sure. I’ll go tomorrow. It’s my day off.

She hugged me. Since I’d been the other half of the rescue party she was nicer to me than she was to anyone else besides Amber and Merc. Fern was a strange one when it came to trust and feelings and that shit.

Thanks, Miath.

I nodded. She left and I was alone with my fruit juice again. Fantastic. I left half of it on the counter and left. They would take it off the credits I worked for.

When I got home, Sicily was already in front of the television. She was my younger sister and she worked at a switchboard. The job I had refused.

You’re in early.

She shrugged. Her hair was a strange bluish color, the same as her skin and her eyes; she looked like water when she wasn’t wearing her glamour, but she wasn’t transparent the way I was. I sat down next to her.

Any gossip?

She looked at me and