"I'm sorry, what authority do you have to be here again?" The fae secretary twitched her long ears and narrowed her pitch black eyes. "You may leave, wolf."

Rory placed her gloved hands on the desk and leaned forward. "Look, bitch, I'm tired, I'm pissed. I'm not here because I want to be. I'm here because I need to be. I know what happened last night." Getting up, Rory paced back and forth, gods what she wouldn't give for a cigarette right now. "Someone cursed a wolf, and that wolf killed two fae children. Someone needs to answer for it."

The secretary straightened in her chair. "As usual you're trying to start a fuss over nothing." Her eyes flicked to the side. "Nothing happened last night."

'Liar.'

The door to the large office opened. A tall fae froze when he saw Rory, his silver skin sparkling. "Shadow. You're trespassing, you better have a good reason to be here.

'Servil.'

"I do, it's about urgent truce business," Rory stated, leaning against the wall. "But your secretary here wouldn't let me talk to you."

"You need permission from the court to speak to me. Talking as we are makes you guilty of unlawful examination." Servil glowered down at her. "Come back when you have permission. Unless you want me to get the authorities involved."

Stalking forward, Rory came a whisper away from his ear and dropped her voice low. "You were supposed to meet Toby last night. Now, he's dead. What will the council say to a nonconsented meeting with a shadow that led to bloodshed, hmmm?"

Servil grabbed Rory by the collar and threw her into his office with more strength than she expected him to hold considering how slim he was. Rory stumbled over herself, catching her balance on his desk.

The office doors slammed shut behind them.

Holding a finger to his lips, Servil vaguely gestured to several objects. It was clear he meant his room was bugged and they couldn't properly speak. Rory nodded and played along for now.

"I honestly can't understand what's wrong with you wolves. So disrespectful of our privacy." He backhanded her across the face, sending her head sharply to the side. But Rory didn't miss the flash of paper tucked into her pocket that he'd hid from whatever camera he feared.

"Pardon me, Councilman, it won't happen again," Rory said and quickly left. She kicked a potted plant next to the secretary in a show of aggression. "All you fae can suck my wolfly ass!"

The secretary leapt from her chair and pressed a button on the wall. "Security!"

It was the fastest way to leave the Gricious sector. Rory was quite proud of herself for scaring them into doing what she wanted.

Two burly fae with long, black wings appeared beside the desk. Their matching suits were very obviously cheap, a reflection of their poor pay.    

"Escort this wolf off fae grounds, and don't be afraid to rough her up a little," the secretary sneered with authority she didn't have.

Rory took a quick step and made her jump. She laughed, gods what an awful fucken fae.

The security guards roughly grabbed Rory by the arms, digging their nails into her skin and dragged her out of the office. The amount of strength they hosted set off alarm bells in her mind. What if they really did decide to rough her up? Even for show, she couldn't take that right now with her injury.

The one that held her wounded arm jerked her roughly forward. A few of the stitches popped. Blood seeped through Rory's shirt and dripped down her chest beneath her jacket. Shit.

"You know, I'm good to walk from here, thanks for taking me out of the building, gentlemen," Rory said with a wry smile.

"Why would we trust a wolf like you? You need to learn a lesson in respect because it's clear your father never taught you any," the one on her left stated and threw her against a tree trunk when they got outside.

If she fought back, she'd get convicted with assault, but if she didn't, she'd get her ass beat by stupid ass fae. Decisions, decisions.

When they threw the first punch, her autopilot took over. Rory ducked and threw an uppercut, a roundhouse, and finished off with a right hook.

The fae stumbled back cracking his jaw. "You are really asking for a fight aren't you, Shadow?" He cracked his neck side to side and flicked magic onto his fingers. "I'll give you a fight."

"Hey, magic isn't fair," Rory protested, taking a single step back. "I don't have that."Memories from the last time she'd been touched by curses almost froze her in place. That shit hurt.

"You took this risk the instant you came uninvited, I'm within my rights to use it on you," the fae stated while the other one moved forward beside him, closing the space around her.

Rory jumped up and snapped a large branch from the tree above her, dropping it on the back of their heads. At this point, she was better off running where they couldn't chase her. This fight wasn't worth the aftermath and potentially losing the paper with whatever message it contained.

The fae stumbled back and Rory took the opportunity to run between them, ducking the swipe of their hands and sliding in the snow.

She only got a few feet before an electric pulse slammed into her spine, igniting her old injury with a burning fury. Crying out, she stumbled forward and rolled across the ground, painting it in blood. The fresh hit remained hot like a scalding pan was being pressed against her spine. It traveled in rivulets across her body with agony. This is why she fucken hated curses, gods dammit!

Pain shattered across her body as a hard object impacted with her side, snapping a rib or town.

"Why don't you get up and fight, Shadow, or are you too weak?" The fae mocked, sneering down at her.

"You—" Rory rolled to her side, trying to get up even as her body spasmed in random intervals from the pain in her spine. "You don't play fair."

"You don't win by playing fair," he said, grabbed her curls and slamming her spine into a rock.

Rory screamed from the added pain to the already agonized injury and fell forward.

"Hey, back off, this girl insulted my father. If her blood is being spilled, I should be the one to do it," Jamie's voice descended like a glorious goddess from the heavens.

Rory spat blood, whimpering as her vision blurred.

The fae removed the curse. "Fine, have fun and don't get hurt Yemica."

Jamie waited until the fae were gone to run forward to her wife. "What the fuck are you thinking? I warned you not to come here right now, it's not safe for you. Trespassing? Are you trying to die?"

Rory shook her head and held her abdomen as she staggered to her feet. "I came for answers." She looked back and forth and removed the paper from her pocket. "Your father gave me some."

Blood dripped down her arm from her shoulder and splashed on the paper. It singed and hissed as a black cloud gathered around it.

"Get rid of that!" Jamie screamed, trying to pull it from Rory's hand.

Rory ignored her and opened it watching as the message became written in her blood. "Traitors are in our midst. The ancestors are angry. They demand blood for blood."

"Rory!" Jamie tried to grab the paper again. "Get rid of it you idiot!"

Rory had to find out what it said. She rubbed her bloody finger against the bottom of the page.

"We know your daughter is involved with the Shadow. The ancestors do not approve of this perversion. They will come for you."

The blood hissed, crumbling the paper and traveled up Rory's arm burrowing into her skin. It blackened the flesh on the back of her hand with fae words. "What the fuck!"

"That's why you were supposed to drop it!" Jamie cried, smacking her arm. "That black cloud means it's cursed but curses take time." Jamie hit her arm again. "You fucken idiot!"

Golden light circled above Jamie's hand, making the words glow. "Oh spirits." She paled, her silver skin temporarily visible as her form wavering between human and fae.

"What does it say?" Rory asked, swallowing and regretting not listening to her wife. It hadn't been a message for her. This had been a message for Servil, a curse intended for Servil. Who did he piss off that was coming after them?

Jamie's face fell grave, her body shaking. "Death to the heart and soul."