A Song of Shadows (2020 Ed) Read online

  A Song of Shadows

  Otherworld Academy - Book Two

  Jenna Wolfhart

  A Song of Shadows

  Book Two of the Otherworld Academy Series

  Cover Illustration & Design by Covers by Juan

  Original Copyright © 2018 by Jenna Wolfhart

  Second Edition Copyright © 2020 by Jenna Wolfhart

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Foreword

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Epilogue

  Also by Jenna Wolfhart

  About the Author

  Foreword

  This is the second edition of A Song of Shadows, book two in the Otherworld Academy series. The original series had some flaws that I have long wanted to address, and I’m thrilled to share this new volume with you.

  The second edition is an expanded (and much steamier!) version with a much better ending. Thank you for reading!

  Chapter One

  The Autumn Court was coming.

  A chilly breeze brought with it the burning scent of the raging bonfire that had been lit in celebration of the Feast of the Fae. The sky was alight from the blaze of it where an orange glow flickered against the dying summer light. Trumpets sounded in the distance.

  Shifting on my feet, I glanced up at Liam, who stood broad-shouldered beside me. His scowl was as deep as the color of the orange sky, a match to his bonfire hair and eyes. No one had seen or heard from the Autumn Court Royals in almost three months. They’d gone eerily silent after our battle against them in the Autumn woods, and any attempt to breach their lands had been stopped by a magical barrier they’d put into place. Finn thought it was a sign they’d given up and were licking their wounds. Liam, on the other hand? Well, he wasn’t quite so optimistic.

  “Turns out you’re going to get a good look at Queen Viola. Our scouts have informed us that she’s on her way,” he said, clenching his jaw as his gaze locked on the distant rolling hillside. A winding dirt-packed path cut through the luminous grass, leading down to the bustling festival grounds in the valley where we stood. “Though you’re going to have to make yourself scarce when the...event happens.”

  It was the Autumn Equinox, the changing of the seasons. The bright, sparkling, warm summer of Otherworld’s free territory was transforming. After tonight, the deep green leaves would fall from their towering trunks and die.

  In the human realm, I’d always loved fall. But here, things felt different. It felt like a herald of terrible things to come. Probably because the Summer, Spring, and Winter Courts planned to ambush the Autumn Royals after the official Changing of the Seasons, a ceremony that would take place at the end of the night.

  Their attacks on the changelings were considered treacherous and treasonous, and the other Courts demanded justice.

  “You sound surprised she showed,” I said, shoulders tensed from anticipation. Soon, those Autumn Court Royals would crest over the hill. “From what you’ve told me, there was never a chance Queen Viola was going to miss this thing, even knowing the other Courts are angry with her and her fae.”

  “You’re right. Of course she would never miss it.” His jaw rippled as he held a hand over his eyes to shield the setting sun. “She’ll want to lord the arrival of Autumn over everyone, especially us Summers. Her powers are strongest tonight, you know, and ours are weakest. She wouldn’t be Queen Viola if she didn’t take full advantage of that.”

  I arched my eyebrows at the wary tone in his voice. “You don’t think she’ll try something, do you?”

  Something dark flickered in his sunset eyes. “I wouldn’t put it past her, not after what her Court did to the Academy. That’s why we’ve made sure all the changelings are spread out in the crowd. She can’t focus on you if you’re not an easy target. Hell, I wanted to leave you all at home, but Alwyn was insistent that the Queen would know something was up if the changelings didn’t attend the Feast of the Fae.”

  “Great,” I said, voice tight. This was exactly what I’d hoped to hear. Danger, incoming. I, and the other changelings, would likely be the target of more Autumn fae anger. Several of us had already died at the hands of the Autumn Court. I couldn’t bear the thought of more innocent blood on the ground. There’d already been far more than enough.

  “Don’t worry. She’ll want to make sure the Changing of the Seasons ceremony happens. She wouldn’t risk attacking until after, and we’ll hit hard before she has a chance to do a thing.”

  Chills swept down my spine. Queen Viola, I was warned, was nothing like Redmond, her underling I’d faced off against. She was much more vicious, much more cruel. And much smarter. Not to mention the fact that she was one of the most powerful Autumn fae alive, according to Rourke, my Autumn fae instructor.

  Over the past few months, I’d begged and pleaded for us to go after the fae responsible for the attacks, but not even Liam was willing to take the risk. It was far too dangerous, they’d said. Queen Viola would be expecting an attack. And she’d be prepared for it. Her “subjects” adored her. In their minds, any move taken against her was a terrible treason, and there would be hell to pay.

  So, we’d gone back to Academy life as if nothing had ever happened, though I didn’t miss the whispered conversations between my instructors when they didn’t think I was watching. They’d been planning something. Biding their time. Waiting for the right moment to strike. Until now.

  At the top the glistening hill, six horses appeared along with their riders, all decked out in varying hues of oranges, browns, and muddy reds. As if by instinct, Liam’s hand whispered across my back. My entire body clenched tight, and my lungs gasped for air. Liam’s touch had been an elusive thing these past few months, a fact that made me feel as though I hadn’t eaten in weeks. In truth, all of my instructors had put a strange, unspoken gulf between us—or at least that was what it felt like to me. Flirtations? Sometimes. Gazes that said more than their words ever could? Affirmative.

  But my skin burned from the absence of their physical touch. Not even Liam would allow himself to be alone with me. Not even Kael.

  And every time I tried asking why, every single one would have mysterious plans that made them disappear before I’d even finished voicing my thoughts and questions aloud.

  They were still my ever-present, overprotective instructors, of course. But it was almost as if they were trying to push away that bone-deep bond I knew we all felt.

  Or, at least, I’d thought we felt. Maybe I’d been wrong.

  Liam jerked back his hand, almost as if he’d suddenly realized how his body had betrayed him, and he glanced around furtively. Frowning, I narrowed my eyes.

  “You look far more worried about someone seeing you touching me than you are about the arrival of Queen Viola.” My words came out in a snap.

  “I wouldn’t want to give anyone the wrong idea.”

  What the hell does that mean?
>
  Liam’s eyes cut toward the procession of Autumn Court Royals. They were now close enough for me to make out their distinguishing features, and it was clear in an instant just how Autumn they truly were.

  The front of the pack was led by a female fae with long, flowing auburn hair, the color of falling leaves. The low light of the sun glistened off her dark strands, casting a burnt yellow glow across her sharp face. Her cheekbones were hollow; her jawline and nose were sharp and pointed. She was beautiful in a breathtaking kind of way, but she was also severe, sharp, and uncompromising.

  “Well, I can see now why people find her intimidating,” I murmured to Liam.

  “And her bite is a hell of a lot worse than her bark, darling,” Liam said in his familiar drawl.

  At the sound of darling, my insides quaked. It had been a long time since I’d heard him use that term of endearment. We were no longer inside the Academy grounds, and it was almost as though his mask of indifference was starting to slip out here in the “real” world. He hadn’t completely forgotten our time together, just like I hadn’t. Despite trying to pretend he didn’t notice me, I’d still felt his heated gazes all these weeks, regardless of how much he tried to hide them.

  I opened my mouth to demand some answers, but a strange electricity sizzled around us. The buzzing of the crowd died, replaced by a strange and eerie quiet mass of faeries and changelings. Everyone’s gazes were locked on the approaching Autumn Royals. Fear flickered across some faces, and anger boiled on others. No one was happy to see them, a fact that Queen Viola didn’t seem to mind at all. Her face was pure steel, her lips twisted in a smug smile.

  As the heavy thud of hooves grew closer, Queen Viola’s gaze suddenly cut straight to me. Her gleaming red eyes flickered, and her thin lips pressed tight together. There was something strange about her gaze, one that lasted far longer than a casual glance. She cocked her head when I frowned, as if in curiosity...or recognition. Did she know who I was? The girl who had defeated the fae she’d sent to take down the Academy?

  Or did she recognize me as a changeling, one she was desperate to destroy?

  Suddenly, the Queen vanished from sight when a large muscular form with blazing red hair slid just in front of me. His body was taut with tension, anger rippling off his fisted hands like violent waves at sea.

  The Queen passed on, along with her companions. With a frown, I wrapped my hands around Liam’s arms and pulled him toward me.

  “What was that all about?”

  He kept his gaze distant, focused on the Royals. “Nothing.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “If it was nothing, then why did you throw yourself in front of me like some kind of bodyguard?”

  “Because I am your bodyguard, Norah,” Liam said. “And I didn’t want her to look at you for too long and realize you’re a changeling.”

  Irritation flickered within me, particularly when I saw the tremor in his jaw. Liam might have been telling the truth, but it wasn’t the entire truth. He was hiding something, just like he and the others had been doing for weeks.

  There was more to this than he wanted me to think.

  The crowd dispersed after the Procession of the Autumn fae. Now came the celebrations. The lively dancing, the games, and the feast. Long skinny tables were set out on the field, dozens covered in the most succulent foods from the Harvest. Roast duck, buttered potatoes, overflowing bowls of berries, apples, and watermelons. And in the center of it all sat a wooden bowl three times the size of my head, filled to the brim with glistening, freshly-picked blackberries.

  Liam gave a nod toward the fruit and smiled for the first time all day. “You’ll want to try the blackberries before the end of the night. It’ll be your last chance to have them until next summer.”

  I cocked my head. “Why? Do they magically disappear after tonight or something?”

  It sounded unlikely, but it certainly wouldn’t be the strangest thing about Otherworld. That much I was certain of.

  “Close enough,” he said. “After Autumn Equinox, pookas like to poison blackberries by spitting on them. They go rotten to the core, though they don’t look like it, so there’s no way to know which ones are deadly.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Every time I hear something new about the pookas, the more and more they sound like complete assholes. When can my training include stabbing one in the throat?”

  He dropped back his head and barked out a laugh. “That’s my girl.”

  A wave of warmth went through my body, and I glanced up at Liam with hope in my heart. What I would give for him to pull me close right now, to feel his strong arms wrapped around me, to relish in the fiery heat rippling off his golden skin. Sure, we were in the middle of thousands of faeries. Most of the realm was here tonight. But I didn’t care.

  His hand whispered across my back again, as if he could read my mind. Our gazes locked, and his lips curled into a smile. But just as quickly as it had appeared, it disappeared again.

  “Come on,” he said, his voice slightly gruff, betraying the emotions he didn’t want me to see. “They’re about to cut the barmbrack, and you’re going to want to be there. It’s one of our yearly traditions that every fae loves.” His lips spread into a grin again. “Probably because it involves cake.”

  Despite my disappointment at our lack of contact, my ears pricked up at his words. “Did someone say cake?”

  He let out a low chuckle. “Cake made by the Summer Court, no less. Best kind of cake in the entire realm.”

  Liam led me through the festival grounds, and it seemed as though every faerie present was heading in the same direction we were: toward a square table that squatted underneath what must have been the most massive cake I’d ever seen in my life. In fact, it was about ten times as large as a standard cake, perfectly square with thick white frosting covering every inch of its surface.

  Four Summer fae were bustling around the table, slicing the cake into uniform square slices. Underneath the frosting, the cake itself was a beautiful deep red with swirls of brilliant yellow.

  “It looks completely bizarre, but at the same time very delicious,” I said, smiling as one of the Summer fae passed me a plate. “What flavor is it?”

  “It’s the taste of Summer.”

  At the tone of Liam’s voice, a shiver slid down my spine. I glanced up at him, swallowing hard when I saw the heat of his gaze. It made my entire body quiver, despite myself. How could just a single look from him make me such a trembling mess?

  “Liam,” I whispered, but he merely shook his head.

  “Just try the cake, Norah.”

  My heart beat hard. Why was he gazing at me so intently? Why did he look as though my reaction to this cake held far more meaning than it should? I dragged my gaze away from his handsome face and stared at the red dessert. Should I be wary of eating this? Did it have some hidden magic in it?

  But even if it did, it wouldn’t be anything dangerous. Liam wouldn’t let me eat it if it was.

  With my breath held tight in my throat, I brought the cake to my lips. My teeth sank into the sweet velvety frosting, and a thousand different flavors danced across my tongue. Cinnamon and chocolate. Strawberries and cream. Pumpkin and spice. Dozens of combinations, one after another, an endless stream of delight.

  Until my teeth crunched something rough and hard.

  Frowning, I did my best to swallow down the cake before spitting the rock-like object into my palm. I held it up before my eyes, a strange sensation filling my gut. It was someone’s ring. A thin gleaming band etched with intricate swirls. How odd. One of the Summer fae must have lost it while she’d been baking the cake.

  “By the forest,” Liam said, his voice full of awe.

  I glanced up. He was staring at the cake-covered ring in my hand, his eyes as wide as a summer full moon.

  “You were right,” I said with a laugh. “Barmbrack is a lot different than any cake I’ve had before. They usually don’t come with rings.”

  It was a joke, but
one that was seemingly lost on Liam. He still stared at the ring like it was some kind of bizarre object from another solar system.

  “Excuse me,” I said, turning toward the Summer fae who was handing out plates. “I think one of you lost a ring in the cake.”

  When I showed her the ring, she raised her free hand and let out a whoop that echoed so loud, it must have been heard as far as the opposite end of the festival grounds.

  “The Barmbrack Ring has been found!” She grabbed my hand, the one that still held the ring, and held it aloft in the air. Everyone around us cheered. The fae began dancing, and a folksy tune began to play from random faeries who grabbed instruments from a nearby table.

  Confusion rippled through me as the Summer fae dragged me away from Liam, who still stood staring at me with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

  “I’m sorry,” I said to the Summer fae. “I don’t understand what’s going on. What’s a Barmbrack Ring?”

  The woman’s face lit up with a smile. “Ah, you must be a changeling then if you don’t know about the ring. Every year, we put it in the cake. Whoever finds it means she—or he—is destined to be wed within the year. If you haven’t met your mate, you will soon, love. And a faerie wedding is always a cause for celebration.”

  I blinked and stared at the female fae. If I’d felt confused before, it was nothing on how I felt now. Destined to be wed within the year? That didn’t make sense. It couldn’t be right.

  “There must be some kind of mistake,” I said.

  “No mistake, my dear.” Her grin widened. “The Barmbrack Ring always knows. It’s never been wrong. Not even once in thousands of years.”