every security, and then she hoped he would never take women for granted again. A part of her had hoped secretly that he would realize how horribly he had treated her and beg her to love him again. She played that scenario over and over in her head. She decided if he was really sorry and begged her to love him again, she would take him back. She had gone mad in her grief. Once he had lost his family, his lands and his noble birthright, he would learn to appreciate her again.
It was on the afternoon that he and Lucas rode to their family’s summer home that she put her plan into action. Their sister was having a grand wedding and was to be married to a duke. The duke and his family would arrive the next day, and Lucas and Liam were expected before their arrival. There was much to do, but the brothers rode at a leisurely pace.
She took them in a dense part of the forest. She changed Lucas first so Liam could watch in horror. She wanted him to suffer. Then she left them. She knew they would be crazy with the change, and their bloodlust would be at its most dangerous. She knew exactly what happened when someone was changed and then given no instruction. They would wander for years learning what they were and how to control it, and she was counting on them not being able to control it. She had full knowledge of what she was unleashing, and she didn’t care in the least.
They slaughtered their entire household that night. No one was spared. None of the servants who had fled into the forest had survived either. The grand house was covered in blood; it was scattered all across the floor with the dead and up the walls and the heavy curtains. Liam and Lucas couldn’t stop. Whatever she had done to them had made them crave blood, and the more they tasted, the more they wanted. When the duke and his entire family arrived, they were not spared either. It took weeks before they were able to control themselves. They lay waste to entire households across the countryside. When the family was finally discovered, it had been months, and the bodies were so rotten that it was assumed that Liam and Lucas were among the dead. A band of rebels were found guilty of the murders by the king. Liam and Lucas were without a name or a family anymore. They wandered the English countryside for nearly a century. The privilege they had grown up in was long gone.
They finally decided to set sail for America. It was newly discovered and untamed. They figured it would be safer there to hunt, and they could make a home for themselves. The night before they left, they tracked down Agnes. She was still in the woods in her little hut, although the woods were becoming more populated as the people in the city needed to find new places to live. She heard them coming and was surprised. She had long ago given up on Liam coming to her for comfort and to rekindle their romance. She knew they still lived in England but gave them wide berth. So when she heard them enter her hut, she was surprised.
Liam stood looking as he had the day she turned him, and she remembered how softly he used to speak to her. She remembered the smell of him and the taste of his lips. She thought of him every night still even though her heart had long since healed from his betrayal.
He looked at the young girl who should have been long dead by now. She was forever to be sixteen, but he realized she didn’t look so innocent anymore. She had finally understood how cruel the world and the people in it could be. He had only come for one thing.
“Why did you do this to me?” he asked.
“Because you promised me your soul, so I took it,” she answered.
Lucas and Liam tore her apart limb by limb. She could have put up a fight, but she didn’t. She had grown tired of the world of men and was ready to go. They burned her body parts on a huge fire that night they had started out of her hut. When morning came and all trace of her had been erased, they went toward the docks and set sail for America.
Chapter 3
The woman who was sitting between the brothers was named Astrid. All who knew her assumed she was a witch, a very powerful witch, but a witch nonetheless. She had been assigned very long ago to watch over the four brothers and ensure no harm came to them. She had stepped in to save each of their lives at some point, so they all knew her. She had told them individually at the time she saved them she would call upon them someday, and today was that day. Her job had been to ensure they would all be alive for a very special day, and that day was soon upon them.
“Thank you all for coming today,” she said, and before she could go on, Julius interrupted.
“Why are they here?” he asked, pointing across the table with a menacing look.
“Good question, we don’t usually travel in the same circles,” Liam said, leaning into the table toward Julius. If he intended to challenge them, Liam was up for answering.
Astrid knew the brothers did not get along at all. Julius and Marcus had arrived in America long after Liam and Lucas. The brothers didn’t like the intrusion of others of their kind, but Julius and Marcus were centuries older and couldn’t be driven out. They all had reached some informal agreement long ago and kept to different parts of the country. Julius and Marcus were content to stay in New York, while Liam and Lucas had chosen Seattle as their home base. The ability to go unnoticed in a large city had played into their decisions, plus they were as far apart as possible.
On the rare occasion their paths crossed, someone in their parties lost a life. Fortunately they hadn’t killed each other yet. Their unspoken agreement was they wouldn’t try to kill one another but had no problem riling up others to try. They had destroyed entire towns in their younger days trying to ruin the other camp. It was childish at best, but their long lives could become tedious without a little tension from time to time.
“I understand you all do not like each other, but what I have brought you here for is of great importance. I wouldn’t have asked you to meet together if it wasn’t,” she said, trying to tamp down the building tension.
“Please, Astrid, continue, we all owe you that much respect,” Marcus said, and Julius sat back.
“Oh, Marcus, thank you, always the gentleman,” she said and gave his arm a quick squeeze before she continued.
“Before I explain why we’re here, I must first explain what I am,” she said.
“You’re a witch, Astrid, we all know that,” Lucas said.
“No, I’m not a witch. You have always just assumed I am, and I have never corrected you. I am fae,” she said and waited for their reaction.
“Everyone knows that fae exist only in children’s stories and folklore,” Julius said, amused.
“I assure you all, I exist, but let me explain before any of you interrupt me again,” she said and looked at each man waiting for him to nod in agreement before she continued. They all sat back and sipped their drinks so she could tell them her tale.
“Long ago, the earth itself created the very first fae. Everything on earth is flowing with energy. It ebbs and flows from flower to bee, from river to rock, from soil to tree. The very first fae is called Mother, and she is aptly named because before her first child, she had no one to name her. She is the only fae ever created from pure energy, and her powers are limitless. The rest of us are born from her and a human father. Our powers are limited, but we are still more powerful than anything else on earth. All fae are born female, and no male fae exist. We fae have existed since the first humans and walked amongst them even as they still lived in caves. Mother had been created for them, to teach them to recognize and harness the energy that flowed. She was meant to be their teacher, but men do not like to learn from women.
“Mother noticed their tendencies towards violence very early on. She saw they loved violence and would wage war constantly. She
