Umbra

By Rae Else

There can be no shadows without light...

Having claimed the Rem Alphahood, Jess journeys to the fae world of Umbra. With her iron-clawed wolves, she must rescue the Sidhe from the Unseelie queen, Mara.

Rune would, in a heartbeat, lay down his life for Jess. Yet he struggles with her quest, convinced s

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anchorite Publishing
• Release date: May 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9781916904941

Rae Else

Rae Else is an Urban Fantasy author, most at home in the spaces between reality and the imaginary. When in the real world, she resides with her husband in Plymouth. The Arete Trilogy is her Young Adult, Urban Fantasy debut. Her upcoming series, The Dark Between, is a decadently dark YA Fantasy, featuring a whole cast of paras-shifters, vamps, witches, mages, fae ... and lots of soul magic.Rae studied Classics at university and a lot of her stories draw on mythology and ancient worlds. In her twenties, Rae worked as a teacher and now writes full time. When not reading or writing, Rae loves to scuba dive and sail. She finds the big blue to be like a good book-a portal to a different world.The Lost Assassin novella and two companion e-shorts to The Arete Series can be downloaded for FREE at http://raeelse.co.uk

Book preview

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 she’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.

2

BORN FOR THIS

Shock somersaulted through Jess. A glance out the window told her that it was still the middle of the night, so Sunny couldn’t be calling from Umbra. Communication from the fae lands was only possible at dawn and dusk.

Instead of apologizing for telling him to f-off, Jess demanded, Why aren’t you in Umbra?

Sunny’s lips quirked. "Might I remind you I’m not your blood sworn and have complete liberty over my movements?"

Jess’s cheeks flamed again, but she tamped down thoughts of Rune. Clutching the sides of the fount, her knuckles turned white as she focused on Sunny. The vamp, who had once hunted Jess through the woods at Castle Nox intending to kill her, was now her ally. Jess had explained that she intended to rescue the Sidhe and bring about Silva’s restoration. Something Sunny was on the same page about.

Sort of.

Jess asked, Did you find Astra?

Sunny had been searching for Jess’s Unseelie friend, on and off, for the last six weeks. Jess hadn’t heard anything from her for almost two months. The last contact she had had with her had been through a mirror pool, during which Astra had confided that she was in the Silvan Mountains. Astra had been searching for something that could weaken Queen Mara. But Jess and Astra had been cut off by a storm. The same storms that had continued to ravage the Silvan Mountains relentlessly.

In the last few weeks, Sunny had only been able to penetrate the lowest slopes of the mountain. The storms made the higher regions impenetrable. Jess had hoped to have Astra’s help with whatever information she’d discovered about Queen Mara. But the longer her absence lasted, the more that hope had dwindled. Now, as she waited with bated breath for Sunny to speak, hope sparked.

Yes, Sunny affirmed. The storms finally diminished. I met her at the mirror pool you described, where you last spoke to her. As he pre-empted Jess’s interruption, he added. Yes, she has information concerning Mara.

Jess’s pulse raced. Not only was Astra okay, but she also had information that could help in the coming battle. What did she tell you?

Sunny tilted his head. "She wouldn’t disclose much. But what she did say was important enough that I won’t repeat it here," he finished pointedly.

Jess wasn’t surprised that Astra wouldn’t give up much to an unknown vamp. Jess had given her ebony Umbran orb to Sunny, the twin to Astra’s so that he could contact the fae. Jess had hoped that his carrying her token would prove to her friend that he was her emissary. Expectation beat through Jess. Astra had told Sunny something. Something valuable.

There was no perceptible crackle presently and the urge to know more pulsed through Jess. I just had a fight with Theo, I don’t think he’ll reach out again tonight, she explained.

"Don’t think, Sunny stressed. Forgive me for not trusting such a solid assurance."

Jess scowled. The vamp had a knack for making her feel like a clumsy child stumbling around, in danger of hurting herself. But, Sunny was correct about the precariousness of discussing things here. At any moment, Theo could choose to reach out with Lorenzo again. That was the maddening truth—Theo could eavesdrop whenever he wanted. Certainly, he did at dawn and dusk when Sunny ordinarily called.

Sunny knew about the deal that existed between Jess and Theo. His refusal to talk about something that the mage could use against them later reinforced once again the transient nature of Jess’s alliance with Theo.

Sunny, the strategist.

Hardly surprising. It was something he’d had a thousand years to cultivate. Through working with Enodians. A vamp who was responsible for bringing about countless human deaths over the centuries to increase Enodian tethering grounds. He’d even tried to bring about the Eventide prophecy. He’d endeavored to matchmake a Triodian and Enodian to produce progeny—for the sole purpose of being a blood sacrifice to the Between. He’d spent his thousand years’ existence in pursuit of creating the divided: the para whose blood would heal the Between.

It certainly is enough to weird you out. In a way, his whole existence has been spent in waiting for me to be born.

Let’s keep this conversation short and sweet, Sunny urged, drawing Jess from her musings, lest your current ally starts snooping. I’ll meet you in Umbra tomorrow at the Herba Terra, the grass plains, four miles south of Lares. Your second will know the Depths portal I speak of.

Tomorrow? Jess exclaimed. My wolves aren’t ready, she protested. They’re still being outfitted. Only seven hundred are armored. Despite being keen to leave Villa La Alba, she knew all of the Rems would be needed to penetrate the Unseelie capital.

You won’t need all of them to enter Umbra through this Depths portal, Sunny answered. The portal we’re using—the one I not long left—is only guarded by a pucca unit of twenty. Fifty of your wolves will suffice. Once we’ve defeated that unit, we’ll meet Astra, listen to her information, and consider our next steps. The patrol shouldn’t be missed until dusk when, according to my Unseelie informant, a guard change is due. Meaning we’ll have enough time to get ourselves and your troops elsewhere.

Shock tumbled through Jess. For weeks Jess had known her shifter army, despite their iron claws, was likely insufficient against Mara. The queen’s army of aerial and pucca units comprised a similar number to Jess’s wolves. But many of the queen’s aerial units were armed with their own iron-tinged sluagh.

The iron-tinged sluagh were another defense Queen Mara herself had. Who knew how many the three centuries-old queen possessed. A chill swept down Jess’s spine. The white marks on her wrist and neck were scars from when the queen’s sluagh had attacked her. The queen had sent them into the Triodia Prison to capture Jess. Since Jess’s first moment in the para world, Mara had sought to get her hands on her. Moreover, the Unseelie queen believed herself capable of taking on the gods themselves; she’d been lying in wait for Jess in Umbra when Silva had almost been restored. They didn’t know what power Mara possessed that seemed capable of rivaling a goddess, but even Sunny thought it best to approach Mara’s unknown threat with caution. It’s why he’d been as keen as Jess to track Astra down. Which, against all odds, they now had.

Despite Jess’s utter conviction about the path she was on, trepidation churned through her. A pair of black eyes full of contempt flashed through her thoughts. Her stomach knotted as she remembered her failure to convince Rune of her belief. She imagined Astra standing as jury against her, too. Would her Unseelie friend think her unhinged as well?

Did you tell Astra about the Sidhe and me? Jess asked quietly. As Sunny had pointed out, he wasn’t her blood sworn; he could say and do whatever he wanted. Had he disclosed everything to her friend?

Sunny shook his head. She’s heard through the grapevine about the High Witch almost sacrificing you to the Between. I explained to her that the Sidhe is Silva and that Mara’s imprisoned her. I told her that I possessed Alba’s consciousness, that I’m next in line to be Alba’s vessel, and that your blood sworn is insulated from the god’s consciousness by his oath to you. He smiled wryly. Keep it simple, right?

Jess only nodded but internally something unclenched. At least she wouldn’t be met with a you’re-bat-shit-crazy look from her friend. She knew she’d have to explain things before long. But at least, initially, she could try to get her friend’s help, without being faced with judgment.

I’ve arranged for myself and Rune to be portaled into Umbra with the dawn, Sunny said.

At Rune’s name, Jess felt as if she’d been punched. But she only nodded. Sunny and she had agreed that both of Alba’s heirs should journey to Umbra when the time was right. In case the restoration of the gods required both of them. Yet, Jess’s heart thundered in a violent rhythm; Rune could be in the very room that Sunny was.

You have your second to portal you through to Umbra tomorrow, yes? Sunny asked.

Dearbhla, Jess’s second, was half fae and could open the Depths and Heights portals. Jess nodded in confirmation. But the suddenness with which they were about to go to Umbra whipped up other concerns.

What about Theo? Jess broached.

Sunny frowned. There’s no sign of Lorenzo is there?

Jess shook her head. There was no tell-tale crackle. Their conversation was still private. She hurried on, I want to inform Jorah of Theo’s tethering of para sluagh before I leave…

You don’t want to lose your Rems, who at present are our only resource against Mara, Sunny said. "Furthermore, the last thing we want are political reshufflings on Earth that will interfere with the Unseelie, Enodian, and vamp contacts I have placed as informants. They’ll be our only means of garnering information while we’re in Umbra.

Count your blessings that Theo hasn’t discovered your plan to leave yet. I’d dispense with the necessary preparations for you and your Rems to leave as quickly as possible. That way you can, hopefully, keep your leaving unknown to him until you’re gone.

Sunny’s informants within the Triodia were how Jess had been able to keep apprised of her father and Matteo. Sunny was right on that front—they needed them to remain where they were if she was to receive news about her loved ones. Jess had often found herself drawing on Sunny’s wealth of experience to navigate her alliance with Theo. But her spirits fell at the thought of leaving Earth without exposing Theo. After all, he was desecrating the sacred Silvan groves with power he’d gained through Jess. He’d only learned how to tether para sluagh because of her. Because she’d killed her uncle. Blood slaying blood. Worry tumbled through Jess. What dark depths would Theo succumb to in his quest for more power? But, with a heavy sigh, she allowed herself to be guided by Sunny’s circumspection.

Another worry surfaced, and Jess asked, Do you think Theo will be able to contact me through Lorenzo’s blood sluagh while I’m in Umbra?

Theo’s capabilities are as unknown to me as Mara’s, Sunny answered. Perhaps the communication between you will be undisturbed. Or, perhaps, it’ll only be possible at dawn and dusk when the Between is at its thinnest.

The host of uncertainties swarmed through Jess, but she only nodded. Feigning a fortitude she didn’t feel, she said goodbye. I need to pick the wolves I’ll take. I’ll see you at Herba Terra at dawn.

An easy smile slid across Sunny’s face.