Crown of Shadows (Court of Midnight and Deception #1) - K. M. Shea Page 0,3

fae horse, but I didn’t know for sure if it would work or not.

“Hello,” I said as I might greet a person. “I’m Leila. Thanks for helping me.”

The fae horse was still for a long moment that seemed to last forever, then it crossed the space between us and picked the carrot off my palm with a muzzle that felt similar to a horse’s, but was somehow rougher.

“You’re a good boy—or a good girl? Doesn’t matter.” I smiled as the fae horse slowly swiveled its ears, listening to the sound of my voice.

“How’d you get out here?” I kept my voice soothing and quiet. “Did someone dump you off?”

It had happened before. There were some seriously irresponsible people out in the world. All of our barn cats had been tossed out of cars out by the road before we took them in. Fae were pretty selfish and slippery supernaturals, so I could totally see them losing interest in their plaything and deciding to dump it off in the country.

I mean, there was no way this horse was wild. I live in the Midwest, halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee. We don’t have wild horses around here.

I grimaced as I saw the individual ribs in its side. “You need to put on some weight. Your owner half-starved you.” I fed Bagel another carrot, then offered another piece to the fae horse. “I’ll get some hay for you—you deserve it after helping me out. Thank you.”

The fae horse crunched on its carrot, and surprisingly followed after me as I headed for the barn.

It walked fast enough that it caught up and walked at my side, its head bobbing a little since it had a jolting walk.

I made myself breathe normally as I slowly raised my hand and eventually brushed its neck with one figure.

The horse threw its head and shied to the side.

I calmly stopped, trying not to alarm it.

The fae horse arched its neck, but after a few moments passed it ambled up to me, blowing hot, almost sulfuric scented breath on my fingers as it sniffed my hand.

I held my hand up for better inspection.

Once the horse was satisfied it raised its muzzle, and pressed it to my temple.

I felt something…strange. I shivered without explanation, and I could have sworn I felt a bit of magic, but it was gone so fast I couldn’t be certain.

The fae horse smeared its lips on me—probably leaving spit behind, but it didn’t matter, there was no way I was going to drop off my resume looking like this—then it reclaimed its spot next to me.

“So much for becoming a Responsible Adult.” I grimaced as I peered down at my gunk-spattered slacks. “But I have another set of business casual clothes. I’ll shower to get the spider stink out of my hair, and then I’ll go drop off my resume. I will own this—my entire life’s goal!”

I pumped my hand in the air, but neither Bagel nor the fae horse seemed particularly impressed. Didn’t matter—I was determined to live out my life in as human a way as possible.

That might sound like a ridiculously small life goal, but as a half fae, it was beyond most people like me. Fae loved to play mind games and push Court politics. I wanted a peaceful, stress-free life, so my greatest hope was to live like a human, get a regular job with insurance, vacation time, and every other beautifully mundane benefit. Crushing fae spiders was the most excitement I ever wanted to face.

I glanced at the fae horse, which was staying in step with me even though it was capable of zooming ahead. This time, when I placed my hand on its neck, the fae horse shivered, but it didn’t react.

I pressed my lips together. “I don’t think owning a fae horse counts as a life of excitement,” I said. “Or really, we’re not going to let it count. I’m going to get some weight on you, and you can live out a peaceful human life here with me.”

The horse made a noise in its throat that sounded weirdly like a chortle, but it didn’t even flick an ear when Bagel released his gusty, deafening hee-haw.

As I patted the horse, it didn’t occur to me to be wary of it for any reason besides the possible physical threat it could have been.

I’d never seen a horse like it before, and with good reason. Almost no one outside fae Courts had ever seen a night mare before, so