Hunt: Exiles of the Realm Read online

  Hunt

  Exiles of the Realm

  Adrienne Bell

  Contents

  A New Arrival

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Thanks for Reading!

  Hook: The Exiles of the Realm #1

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2017 by Adrienne Bell

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written consent from the author/publisher.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons living or dead, or places, events, or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are products of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

  Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,

  Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend

  More than cool reason ever comprehends

  A Midsummer Night’s Dream

  A New Arrival

  The goblin straightened his spine before stepping out of the swirling portal and into the purgatory world.

  He hadn’t wanted to come to this primitive rock. To Earth. No one did.

  But what he wanted didn’t matter. He had his orders.

  Billowing winds streamed from the open vortex behind him, whipping at his hair and clothes. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sealing relic. Without so much as a backwards glance, he tossed the enchanted clay token over his shoulder. A loud pop sounded, followed by a blinding blue flash.

  The goblin let out a slow breath as the portal closed.

  Now he was stuck in this forsaken world…at least, until he finished the job he’d been sent to do.

  He stretched his long arms up and straightened the crimson-colored cap atop his head as he took in his surroundings. The king’s most trusted magician had picked this landing place. The ancient mage had assured him that the spot was uninhabited, and that much was true. He was alone. Still, the goblin was far from impressed.

  He seemed to have been heaved into the corner of a lonely alleyway. Cold steel walls surrounded him, reaching all the way up to the blue sky above. The ground beneath his feet was hard, and grey…and filthy.

  And then there was that smell.

  The stench of decay hung heavy in the air. He glanced to his side and found the source—a large metal box overflowing with discarded food and drink. A puddle of brown liquid seeped from underneath.

  Disgusting.

  Sure, there were those back in the Realm who believed his kind were nothing more than greedy, vicious predators, but not even goblins were so barbaric as to let mounds of perfectly good food rot in the sun. These mortals were even worse than the stories told.

  There was no sense staying here any longer than necessary.

  He turned the corner and strode down the narrow corridor toward the edge of the alley. The monstrous view that met him once he reached the street wasn’t any better. His gaze slid along an unbroken expanse of metal and glass buildings, crammed side by side without even a whisper of space between them.

  So, this was how these filthy mortals lived.

  If they could call this living…packed together, sucking in foul air, toiling their days away inside colorless boxes until death finally came.

  For the first time since setting foot in this forsaken place, a smile cracked the corners of the goblin’s wide mouth.

  Little did they know that death had come. For one of them, at least.

  And any others that had the misfortune of getting in his way.

  He’d been sent here for one purpose. A royal purpose.

  To kill Bron Douglas.

  The order had come straight from the mouth of the king himself. Oberon didn’t care the method. He didn’t care about the damage left behind. All he wanted was the head of his wife’s former lover.

  And if the goblin failed to bring it, the king would take his head instead.

  The goblin had accepted the mission without hesitation…and not just because no one ever disobeyed a royal order, but because death was his calling. Tracking and killing made his blood sing, gave his life meaning. His natural talents as an assassin gave him the ability to pursue the invisible, and defeat the invincible, but it was his results that had raised him through the ranks of the Royal Army.

  The goblin raised a bony finger and flicked at the amber-colored crystal dangling from the chain around his neck. The phoenix cage sizzled against his bare skin, but he pushed back the pain. The burn was a small price to pay for the power trapped inside.

  Power that had made him one of the most feared creatures in the Realm—an immortal assassin. An unstoppable killer. A Redcap.

  And not just any Redcap.

  He had risen to the top of the king’s own brigade. It was no surprise. His power was the strongest. His crystal burned the brightest.

  And that was why the king had personally chosen him for this delicate assignment. Here in this magic-less land, he was more god than soldier. He could rip any of these pitiful mortals in half with his bare hands. He could bathe in their blood and dine on their flesh, and no one could stop him.

  No one.

  Not even Bron Douglas.

  Queen Titania’s former huntsman was still something of a legend back in the Realm of Light—a mere man who became not only a hunter but one of the best in all the fae kingdom. But exile had changed him, sapped his strength, dulled his instincts. No doubt, Bron’s time here on Earth had him longing for death. It was a cowardly craving even the Redcap could understand. After all, no one who had tasted the sweet allure of magic’s power could ever be content living in this barren hellhole. It was the only reasonable explanation as to why his world’s most celebrated hunter had given up even trying to hide.

  While the rest of the exiles that had been imprisoned here a little less than a year ago still did their best to shield themselves from the court magicians’ prying eyes, Bron walked out in the open. Not only that but he kept to the same routine, day in and day out. Always appearing at the storefront across the street at the same time every morning.

  There was only one reason a man with Bron’s hunting and tracking skills would make such a simple mistake—he wanted to be found.

  Found…and put out of his misery.

  Such an uncomplicated mission should have made him happy, but the Redcap didn’t bother hiding the withering disappointment growing inside him. Even though he despised the thought of staying on this forsaken rock even a moment longer than he had to, he loathed an easy hunt even more. The very idea of a charitable one made his skin crawl.

  He was no instrument of mercy. He was an unstoppable killing machine.

  A creature of his talents should have been sent to take out any of Bron’s fellow exiles—the ones who were still real threats to the crown. He’d relish the chance to go after Fenrir, the wolf prophesied to usurp the king’s throne, or the disgraced magician, Merlin, who had spun the prophecy. The goblin would’ve even been honored to have the task of bringing down Shay Madrid, the infamous jinn. He’d never brought one of that kind down before.

  But no, Oberon had reserved the glo
ry of those kills for more distinguished soldiers. For the lowly hunter who had shamefully stolen into the queen’s bed, the king had sent his secret assassin.

  But the goblin couldn’t complain. He knew his role. And he was very good at it.

  The best.

  He would clean up the king’s mess, quickly and quietly…and try to take satisfaction in a job well done.

  That and the promise of a quick return home.

  The Redcap recoiled as a light suspended over the center of the street changed color and a line of metal coaches spewing foul-smelling smoke roared past. The bright morning sun glinted off their windows, momentarily blinding him.

  The pedestrians hurrying past him on the side of the street didn’t seem to mind the noise and light. They did seem to mind him though.

  A few of the mortals turned their heads his way, their eyes widening as their gazes met his. Some sped their steps; others scurried to give him a wider berth. Apparently, their mortal instincts were keen enough to sense the danger he presented despite his benign appearance.

  The corners of his lips curled up. He would’ve loved to bask in their sweet fear a little longer, but extra attention was the last thing he needed right now. There wasn’t much cover at the mouth of this open alleyway, but fortunately he’d come prepared.

  The Redcap reached into the leather satchel hanging over his left hip and pulled out a small grey orb. He tossed the relic high above his head, and a moment later the sunny sky was draped in dark clouds. A second after that, raindrops started to fall. In less than a minute, thick sheets of rain blanketed the street. No longer interested in him, people ran for cover from the sudden storm.

  Perfect, he thought, pulling up the collar of his coat and leaning against the slick metal wall beside him.

  Now all he had to do was wait.

  Wait until Bron Douglas realized what was happening and came out of the storefront across the street. The one with the white mug painted on the window and the hanging wooden sign above the door that read “Cafe Citta.”

  Chapter One

  “What the hell?” Adele Grayson muttered as the sky above her turned dark.

  Her brows pulled together as she glanced up at the heavy, grey clouds forming overhead. They’d come out of nowhere. Literally nowhere. Just a second ago, the morning sky had been sunny and clear, but now there was a nasty-looking storm brewing and a vicious wind blowing down Fillmore Street.

  Well, this certainly wasn’t in the forecast.

  Two strides later, the first raindrop hit the shoulder of her running jacket. It wasn’t the last. As if someone had flipped a switch, buckets of cold rain poured from the sky, so heavy that Adele could barely see a few feet in front of her. She tried to keep running—after all, living in San Francisco she was used to running through some weird weather—but this was no simple rain shower.

  There was no way she was going to make it to the end of the block. The headwind was so strong it hurt to keep her eyes open. Adele raised her arm to shield her face from the worst of the gusts and saw streams of water coursing down her sleeve. Damn, she hadn’t been out in the rain three seconds and her workout clothes were already soaked. Even her shoes were starting to slip on the slick sidewalk.

  Adele ducked under the first awning she could find and looked at the sign above the door.

  Cafe Citta.

  Sure, she knew this place. She ran by the cafe all the time, but she’d never gone inside.

  Another gust of freezing wind tore down the street, whipping at her jacket. Goose bumps sprung up all over her arms and legs.

  Well, hopefully the cafe wouldn’t mind if she loitered inside for a while and dripped all over their floor until this bizarre weather blew over.

  She tried to pull open the door, but the raging wind fought her. Struggling, Adele dug in her heels and yanked hard on the handle. The second she managed to pry it open a crack, she rushed inside…maybe a little too fast.

  The tread of her wet shoes hit the tile floors and just kept going. Adele threw her arms out, desperate to catch herself as she slid, but there was nothing to grab on to. All she could see were the patterned tiles of the floor coming at her fast. She closed her eyes, readying for impact.

  But it didn’t come.

  Someone grabbed her instead. An arm, thick and hard, wrapped around her middle, stopping her cold right before she hit the floor.

  Air rushed out of Adele’s lungs. Her eyes flew open as she scrambled to regain her footing. All the while, the arm stayed put, holding her steady until she was finally upright.

  “Oh my God,” she said, turning toward the man who’d saved her butt. “Thank you so mu—”

  The words caught in Adele’s throat the moment she saw her rescuer.

  He was...magnificent.

  Adele searched for another word to describe him, but there wasn’t one. Hell, there probably wasn’t a heterosexual woman alive who wouldn’t be dumbstruck by the sight of this guy. He was a full head taller than her, and more than twice as broad in the shoulders. No wonder he’d been able to catch her with one arm. Built as he was, he could probably take on a charging rhino and walk away without a scratch.

  It wasn’t just his Adonis-like body that had her gaping like a fish. His features were just as amazing. Waves of thick, dark blonde hair hung past his shoulders. Slightly darker stubble lined his jaw.

  Adele wasn’t usually a long hair and beard kind of girl, but for this guy she was willing to make an exception. The look worked with his heavy brows and cheekbones. It added to all his other deeply masculine features—his broad nose, his sensual lips… his eyes.

  Whoa, those eyes.

  They had to be the greenest Adele had ever seen. Real green. Like the forest after the rain. Dear God, she didn’t want to look away from them.

  “You should be more careful,” he said.

  His words might have been a little on the harsh side, but his tone wasn’t. At least, she didn’t think so. His accent made it hard to tell. She couldn’t place where he was from right away. All she knew for certain, the sound of his voice, like everything else about him, was drop dead sexy.

  She needed to pull herself together. She never lost her mind over a man…not a real one anyway. She liked to reserve her hard-core crushes for the kind of men who were truly safe. The ones who could never hurt her or let her down. The ones who lived in the pages of books and on movie screens.

  This guy, on the other hand, was real. He was a little too real. Not to mention way too close.

  He was also looking down at her with an expectant expression…as if he wanted an actual reply from her instead of just a slack-jawed stare.

  Adele took a step back.

  Crap. She’d been staring at him. Full-on, no denying it, shamelessly staring at the poor man. The sting of red-hot embarrassment flooded her cheeks.

  “Y-Yeah, sorry,” she muttered. “It was just, you know…the rain.”

  The man’s gaze snapped toward the window, his expression hardening. “When did that start?”

  “Less than a minute ago,” Adele said.

  She took the moment to sneak another sweeping glance at his magnificent body, and she noticed the coffee cup in his hand. The same one he’d caught her with. Her eyes went wide.

  “Oh, crap,” she said. “I didn’t make you spill your coffee, did I?”

  Those ridiculous green eyes of his came back to hers. “Of course not.”

  He said the words with such confidence Adele was taken aback.

  “Oh. Well, thank God, because I didn’t bring any money out with me on my run this morning. I wouldn’t have been able to buy you another.”

  His eyes narrowed slightly. He looked honestly perplexed. “You nearly cracked your head open and you’re worried about my drink?”

  The guy cocked his chin to the side and stared at Adele a moment longer. Long enough that she couldn’t help but feel self-conscious. Had she said something wrong? Was she making a fool of herself just talking to this gu
y? Was she—

  No. Adele cleared away the familiar knot forming in her throat. She wasn’t going to let her mind pull her down this rabbit hole. Not today. Not without a fight. She drew in a steadying breath and let it out slowly. At least she tried to, but the warm air sputtered over her frozen lips.

  She was just making a little small talk with some random guy in a cafe. Everything was fine. She could handle this. She could.

  Adele forced a shrug. “No reason we both should suffer.”

  “But if you don’t have money, then how are you going to purchase your own coffee?” he asked.

  “I’m not going to.” She waved off his concern and moved closer to the window. “I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  Adele’s head shot up. “Excuse me?”

  Those emerald eyes of his didn’t show even a glint of apology. “You’re not fine,” he said. “You’re drenched, and shivering, and you have no resources.”

  No resources?

  “Okay, let’s not get too dramatic,” she said with a nervous laugh. “I’m not living on the streets. I’m just waiting out the rain.”

  “And freezing while you do,” he said before turning toward the registers. “I’m going to get you something warm.”

  “You really don’t have to do that,” she tried calling out to him, but he was already walking away. She dropped her voice down to a whisper. “Well, all right then. If you insist.”

  Why was she fighting so hard against a simple cup of coffee?

  Because there was nothing simple about the gorgeously ripped man offering it.

  Adele spun around before she got caught staring at his backside. She ran her hands over the edge of the long wood counter that stretched the length of the front window, and gazed out into the street.

  After all, what was she so worried about? It wasn’t as if anything was going to happen between them. This guy was out of her league. Way out. He was just being nice. Doing his kind deed for the day. She needed to stop overthinking everything and just appreciate the gesture.