Leprechaun's Fate: Leprechaun, #3

By Ember-Raine Winters

The final battle has finally come.

With new allies in place, Kingston and Aisling return home to even more trials before them.

New allies pop up from unexpected places as Damien continues his campaign to destroy the realms.

Will the future king and queen be enough to stop him, or will Damien succeed in destroying the universe?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ember-Raine Winters
• Release date: Feb 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393724926

Book preview

1

Kingston

Things were finally looking up. We had three out of four relics, and Elena and Lana were hunting Jericho down to get the fourth. The Lost are our allies now, and we were gearing up for a war none of us really wanted. War is messy; people die. We all knew surviving what was to come wasn’t guaranteed.

Kingston, my friend, what are you thinking about? Brutus asked as he walked up and clapped me on the shoulder. I stared through the club’s broken windows at the spot where we’d battled Adeline for Mateo. He hadn’t been the same since we’d gotten him back.

Nothing serious. I shrugged.

You look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders.

I raised an eyebrow at him. Don’t I? I asked skeptically.

Fair point, he conceded. We’ll do whatever we can to help. For the most part, the people are more than willing to fight by your side after what happened here. Your mate is something to behold.

She is incredible. I sighed, thinking about what Aisling had done. She’d made an entire army of immortals forget who they were and disperse to live among humans. I had no idea how long that would last, but I prayed it lasted long enough to tip the tides in our favor. It had exhausted her. I’d never seen her so tired and drained before. It had been a day, and she was still sleeping, which was strange for immortals since we needed very little sleep. Mateo had taken guard in our suite with Teragon as she slept.

How is she? Brutus asked.

Still sleeping. She’d fallen asleep in the car on the way back to the hotel after the fight, and no one had been able to wake her up since. I was worried. I wasn’t sure if it was the exhaustion or something else keeping her in that state.

That’s not unusual for the amount of power she unleashed, Kingston. I have seen immortals use less power than that in the heat of the moment and sleep for weeks.

I don’t think any other immortal could have pulled that off. We didn’t even know she had the power to compel people until we got back from LilyGlen.

LilyGlen? I thought you were in Sagemoor?

Do you want the long version or the short version? I huffed.

How about we start with the short?

The portal is split between worlds: earth, Sagemoor, and LilyGlen. Brandy and I ended up in Sagemoor, while Aisling, Mateo, and Seamus ended up in LilyGlen. Teragon is the only reason we could get to LilyGlen in the first place.

The dragon? He lifted an eyebrow.

Like I said, long story.

Fair enough. Once this is all over, you will have to tell me more about it.

That I can do. I grinned at him.

Kingston. I heard Mateo’s panicked voice through our link. The grin died on my lips instantly.

What is it? Aisling? Is she awake?

I heard a crash in the room, but I can’t get in no matter what I try. It’s like something’s blocking me.

On my way.

I have to go; something is wrong, I said to Brutus and started to teleport. Brutus grabbed my arm just before I teleported. I guess he’s coming with me.

We appeared in the hall outside mine and Aisling’s room in the suite, and it was chaos. Teragon looked ready to shift and tear the entire place down. Smoke was billowing from his nose. Brutus lost his footing and bent over, breathing heavily. I forgot what that felt like, he groaned.

Mateo’s head snapped over to us as he tried again to break the door down. I felt familiar magic in the air and sighed in frustration. Drake, I yelled into the room. Take down the bloody ward.

Seamus and Brandy growled in unison just as Mateo slammed through the door.

That was quite unnecessary. Drake’s haughty tone irritated me as he looked down his nose at Mateo on the floor. I pushed past them to see Aisling still sleeping peacefully and turned angry eyes on Drake.

What is the meaning of this? I looked back at my mate, who hadn’t seemed to move.

I felt her distress. She’s fighting a battle inside her mind, and I was trying to help her.

What do you mean? What battle? I sat next to Aisling and put a hand on hers. I could feel it too. She was blocking our link because she didn’t want me to see what was coming, but I could feel it. Inside her head, she was still fighting for control.

She will continue to lose control until she accepts her darker half. When she accepts who and what she is and what she is meant to do, the battle will end, and her darker half will become one with her. He raised a brow at me. Until this happens, she will remain in this state.

So, you’re saying she’s going to stay asleep until she finishes this internal battle? I asked, squeezing her hand.

Yes, and she needs to stop being so stubborn because we haven’t much time to stop Damien from destroying everything. He vanished without another word, leaving us all reeling.

She’s not gonna wake up? Mateo sounded confused, and I could hear the dread in his voice.

She’ll wake up. She is strong, and she knows what’s at stake better than any of us, Brandy grunted. I raised an eyebrow at her, but she shrugged. I knew she would eventually come around.

2

Aisling

It was dark, with flashes of memories that weren’t mine. The She-bitch taunted me the whole time. You must accept me, or all is lost.

That was all well and good in theory, but I didn’t know how to do that. Every time I thought I could, images of the horrible things she’d done flashed through my brain. She was dark. She didn’t care about the destruction of life. How could I accept that as being a part of myself? How can I do that when you’re evil?

I’m not evil. I’ve protected you when you needed protection. Once you accept me, you will need no protection.

I don’t know how.

Let me show you.

The next second I was in a vision, only I wasn’t me. I looked in the mirror and gasped at a younger version of my mother standing there in a regal purple gown. Servants were bustling around, helping her get ready as she smiled at a woman lounging in a red dress. Beatrix, you look lovely. Will Harold be joining you tonight?

Thank you, and you look as beautiful as always. Harold is out at a clan meeting in one of the outer provinces, but my Kingston agreed to be my date for the evening.

Oh, lovely. How did you get him to come to dark lands? Usually, he’s too busy with the guard.

A mother has her ways, and I may have threatened him. This council meeting is important. There have been too many problems with immortals as of late. It’s… troubling.

Is he bringing Seamus? Her thoughts swirled at the possibilities. Seamus had been on a mission to catch a man who’d murdered his family and had a run-in with Brandy. I could hear my mother’s thoughts as easily as my own in this crazy vision. I’d never known the story of what had happened between them. I think only they knew, and they definitely weren’t talking.

No, sadly, Seamus has more of an aversion to Unseelie fae now than Kingston. That daughter of yours did a number on him.

Shhhh, Beatrix. You mustn’t speak of such things, Mother admonished her. None of her servants would ever repeat things they heard in confidence, but you could never be too careful.

There was a knock on the door, and Beatrix rose to answer it. I gasped again when I saw Jaren. I’d forgotten he was a part of this story and not merely a sadistic asshole. You ladies look gorgeous as usual. I was hoping I could escort Arabella to the council meeting.

His white teeth gleamed as he smiled, and I found myself liking the charming man. His eyes weren’t black, and his features weren’t twisted into something unrecognizable. It was a shock when my mother blushed slightly and offered her arm. Beatrix looked between them with a weird expression but left to find Kingston so they could make their way to the council. I hope you will save me a dance after the meetings over, he whispered close to her ear. She stiffened, looking up at him warily.

You know why that’s not a good idea. She shook her head, but I could tell she was sad.

You’re the Unseelie Queen; you can make your own rules, he grumbled.

I’m the Unseelie Queen, so I must set an example for my people by following the rules set long ago, she replied indignantly.

They walked into the council chambers and my breath caught at the sight of Kingston standing there in formal wear. He looked younger. But he was still my Kingston. His eyes watched the entire room, and when my mother acknowledged him, he bowed his head slightly in greeting. Beatrix clutched his arm as she started to slump, and he just barely caught her before she hit the ground. Her eyes rolled back in her head. Mother rushed to her friend, but Kingston put a hand out to stop her.

It’s just a vision. She’ll be all right in a moment. Jaren pulled mother back, but Beatrix’s eyes snapped open, and she looked like she’d seen a ghost as she scrambled away, looking at Jaren as if he were the devil himself. I guess he kind of was, but I realized something. That was the moment—the turning point in all of our lives. I wondered if Drake was there. I looked around but didn’t see his smug face. Kingston had told me before that he was a recluse, but I hadn’t seen any indication of that in my dealings with him. He was a busybody in the worst way, always with a hand in everything.

Do you see it now? Beatrix knew this would happen before you were born.

I already knew that. This little trip down memory lane isn’t helping. The She-bitch huffed. Fine. I’ll show you another.

I don’t know what good it’s going to do. Of course, she didn’t listen. I was shrouded in darkness again. How the hell do I get out of here? I hope Kingston is okay.

3

Kingston

Y ou can’t keep sitting here, hoping she’ll wake up. There are things to do. We have a war to plan, remember? Brandy growled at me. It had been two days since Mateo had scared the life out of me, and I didn’t want to leave her vulnerable to an attack. She needed to hurry and reconcile the two halves of herself.

What if someone finds out she’s like this and attempts to attack while she’s incapacitated? I raised an eyebrow at her.

No one is getting to her, but Brandy is right. We need to move. We have two armies that we need to mobilize and figure out strengths and weaknesses. We have no idea what Damien is up to. Seamus was looking at me strangely.

Fine, go see Brutus and find out if the troops are ready. We should get back to Easter Island. We need to check-in and see if Elena has had any success finding Jericho and the Cauldron. I rubbed a hand over my eyes.

You sent my mother to find Jericho? Mateo blew out a relieved breath. I wasn’t sure if it was a relief that when we got back, she wouldn’t be there or relief that she had something to do besides stew over his betrayal.

Yes, we need to see if she’s come back with the Cauldron or has any information.

Jericho may not even talk to her. He’s extremely suspicious, Seamus growled.

Well, when your son can shift into anyone in the world to get what he wants, you tend to be, Avery said from the doorway. He’d been spending his time with The Lost, evaluating fighters. Trying to gauge who would be best suited where.

How are they? I asked for an update.

They are all skilled fighters. I’m actually pretty impressed by their ranks and a broad range of skills. I blew out a relieved breath that we weren’t just bringing in a bunch of civilians who didn’t know what to do.

Good. I think it’s time. Can you get everyone ready to go? We leave at dawn. I hoped Aisling would be better by then.

Mateo was pacing the floor, looking worried. I didn’t like the place he was in. He kept looking at Aisling like he’d failed