The Day Human King
Book Two
The Day Human Trilogy
By
B. Kristin McMichael
Table Of Contents
Front Matter
Other Books By this Author
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
Sneak Peek: The Day Human Way
Bonus Excerpt: Into the Fae by Quinn Loftis
Acknowledgements
The Day Human King
Book Two of The Day Human Trilogy
Book Five in The Night Human World
Copyright © 2014 by B. Kristin McMichael
www.bkristinmcmichael.com
All rights reserved.
2014 First Edition
Lexia Press, LLC
P.O. Box 982
Worthington, OH 43085
www.lexiapress.com
eBook ISBN-10: 194174592X
eBook ISBN-13: 978-1-941745-92-2
Cover design: Ravven, http://www.ravven.com
Editor: Kathie Middlemiss of Kat’s Eye Editing
Editor: Melissa Ringstead of There for You Editing
Proofing: Ashton M. Brammer
This book is licensed for your personal use only. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means without written permission of the author. All names, characters, and places are fiction and any resemblance to persons real, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Summary: Devin is now bonded to the sidhe, but not by choice. He has a new destiny to rule over and save the sidhe from themselves … if he can make it to the coronation beside his betrothed, Nessa. However, it might not be possible as complications arise when the sidhe keep killing each other.
Other Books By this Author
The Blue Eyes Trilogy
o The Legend of the Blue Eyes
o Becoming a Legend
o Winning the Legend
The Day Human Trilogy
o The Day Human Prince
o The Day Human King
o The Day Human Way [2015]
The Chalcedony Chronicles
o Carnelian
o Chrysoprase
o Aventurine [2015]
Standalone Books
o To Stand Beside Her
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CHAPTER 1
Devin Alexander was already sick of the sidhe. All they did was complain, including his bonded night human, Vanessa McKinny. Thankfully, she had fallen asleep in his arms, and he could enjoy a bit of silence. It wasn’t that he expected much more from her; she was now responsible for dealing with all of the sidhe, and he couldn’t help her much because they were terrified of him. After he’d taken away their magic at the end of her sham of a trial, most of them steered clear of him or ran away at the sight of him. He could walk anywhere around the palace and not have to deal with a single sidhe. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the same for Nessa. They constantly called on her for decisions about one thing or another. From the moment they’d taken over the sidhe, there’d been endless complaining. Nessa turned to Devin with her frustrations since he was the only one she could complain to. He understood … but the silence was nice. He could finally retreat to his own thoughts.
Devin was a day human stuck in the night human world. He’d spent his childhood surrounded by night humans who sucked blood to live, but never once had he been the one that others feared. He’d had no special powers, and everyone had always been more powerful than him. Until Lord Randolph had begun training him, Devin was the one who lived in fear. One particular night human had killed his entire family, leaving him paralyzed at the sight of night humans until he learned how to defend himself. It wasn’t a good memory, but one he would never change. He hadn’t known then what the dangerous night human world was, but now he was immersed in it. He didn’t regret his life, however. The night human world brought him Nessa.
Finally, Nessa was peacefully asleep. She didn’t want to turn people away—they came to her seeking assistance with planning and a need for help—but Devin did. They had spent the last few days running from assassins and fighting for their lives, and had almost died on several occasions. However, everyone had forgotten all about that, and wanted a piece of their time when they needed to rest. It was only hours ago that Devin was fatally stabbed, but that didn’t seem to matter to the sidhe. When dawn broke, the sidhe should have headed off to bed, but didn’t. So Devin thanked the people who were waiting and told them to come back another time before he whisked Nessa away. Luckily, their fear made them not refuse his request.
Once they were back in her room, Nessa instantly fell asleep. They both were so exhausted that they didn’t even have time to talk about the day. Unfortunately, the next day wouldn’t be any easier since they needed to get ready for the coronation. In fact, in less than seventy-two hours Nessa would be queen, and technically—since Devin was bonded to her—he would be king.
Devin gently slipped his arm out from under her head. Even though he was exhausted, he was feeling the side effects of all the power he had received. For some reason, the former sidhe king, Nessa’s grandfather, had felt it necessary to give Devin his immense sidhe powers. Devin was unsure how the old man had done it, but he could now feel the sidhe magic running through his veins and sleep wasn’t coming to him. Combined with the fact he rarely slept more than four hours in a normal day anyway, Devin was on a bit of a power high. There was no way he was falling asleep any time soon.
Nessa’s eyes cracked open as he laid her head on her pillow. He had hoped she would stay asleep throughout the night.
Devin leaned down close to her. “I’ll be back soon,” he said quietly. “I’m just going for a run to burn off my extra energy.”
Nessa sleepily nodded and tugged at the front of his shirt. When he leaned in closer and softly kissed her, she mumbled something against his lips, and then let go of him. Devin took in a deep breath of her flowery scent and stood back up, unable to believe that she was his. His world had been turned upside down the moment she saved his life by bonding to him, and had gotten even more confusing when he realized he wanted to be bonded to her. He wasn’t looking to fall in love again, but somehow she’d found a way into his heart. She was still Nessa, and that would never change, but something in him transformed. She was now his Nessa.
Devin stopped at the doorway and looked at the invisible assassins standing guard. The four women that had guarded the old sidhe king were now standing watch for Nessa. Since they were needed and Nessa had to be protected, he hadn’t taken the magic to hide oneself away from them. He nodded to the unseen women and went on his way down the hall.
Closing his eyes, he used his sidhe magic and searched the whole palace. With his new powers, he could feel each and every sidhe if he tried. He didn’t want to run into anyone else. Their fear alone was laughable, but all of the bowing and running in terror wore on him after the first five minutes. He quickly found the clearest route through the palace and took off running. He needed to burn this energy if he planned to sleep anytime in the next week.
&n
bsp; Devin listened to the sound of his shoes hitting the pounded-down earth at his feet as he lost himself within his own thoughts, running alongside the ornately woven trees that made up the walls. He had only arrived at the sidhe village days ago, and now he had to stay. His whole life had been turned upside-down in such a short time. First, he was bound to Nessa. He wasn’t minding that too much now, but their original goal had been to break the bond. However, upon meeting the sidhe king, everything had changed. Devin now had a role and responsibility to the sidhe people. Yes, he had been planning to search for a purpose in life after unbinding from Nessa, but he never thought one would fall into his lap like this. His purpose was thrust upon him in the form of sidhe magical powers. Devin had much to learn about the gift he was given to keep Nessa safe and change the sidhe, yet he didn’t know how long he had to figure everything out. Her coronation was in less than three days, and he was sure the other five families wouldn’t sit by nicely and let her claim the throne without a fight.
The sidhe clans were divided into five families, and everyone owed loyalty to one of them. When Nessa’s grandfather took over permanently, the others had no choice. The old man was powerful, and no one could tell him no. When Nessa assumed power in three days, Devin wouldn’t be nearly as powerful as the old man because he didn’t know how to use the power he was given. In fact, he knew very little about the sidhe in general. The late king told him his power was to do anything the sidhe could do, but Devin didn’t know what they could do. Nessa’s rise to the throne wouldn’t be as easy as her grandfather’s was.
Devin turned down a hallway that was lined with open windows. When he saw the walls around the palace, he considered trying to leave out of any of the various vine-laced doors. Nessa wasn’t allowed to leave without the palace knowing, but was that the case for Devin? Would the alarms sound? He did have a bit of Nessa’s blood within him, but he wasn’t the future sovereign. Was he free to come and go as he pleased? Could he leave the village if he wanted? Something told him he could not. Taking the power from the previous king to protect Nessa came with the bond of being stuck to the sidhe for the rest of his life. The thought was both terrifying and reassuring. Without intending to, Devin had found his place in the world.
He watched the sun shine through the windows and changed his course. It was too tempting to see outside and not be able to go as he pleased. He needed a more interior route for his run in order to avoid the temptation of walking out of the doorway.
Devin began running down another cleared hallway. He liked that the sidhe avoided him, but he couldn’t dodge them forever; he was going to have to deal with them eventually. He wasn’t quite sure where to begin, but hopefully he would after learning more about them and the powers he now had.
Coming to a turn again, he stopped suddenly at the person in front of him. He had put a spell on the palace to not allow anyone to use magic to cover themselves unless he allowed it, like the sidhe assassins protecting Nessa. Before, he had been the only one to see through the magic, but now everyone saw exactly who everyone else was. It was Devin’s first step in stopping all of the deception. His sudden halt was because of the sidhe standing in his way: Fiona Ferguson. She was the daughter and only child left of the Ferguson family, one of the five that traditionally held power. Fiona had been rumored to have been Nessa’s older brother’s lover before he ran off two months ago to attempt to win over Arianna Grace, a more powerful night human, and Devin’s former charge.
Fiona stared in shock at Devin, her mouth in an obvious ‘oh.’ She hadn’t been expecting to see him, either, and the powerful, cunning sidhe wasn’t as prepared as she normally was to play the power game.
Devin had been wondering about one aspect the day before. When Nessa led him to her grandfather, they had passed through a crypt that was only open to someone of the McKinny line. Suddenly, Devin realized how Finn, Fiona’s brother, had followed them through the McKinny family crypt. Because it was the last piece of the puzzle he couldn’t figure out, Devin had been thinking it over since they left the crypt. How did Finn trick the wards on the crypt to get through? Only blood family could open the door, and Devin was sure they hadn’t left it open.
“Day Human Prince,” Fiona said quietly, bowing her head to him. She didn’t run in fear, but her heartbeat had picked up. He was sure now that he was never meant to see the secret she carried. Coronation wasn’t going to go as easy as Devin hoped.
Fiona Ferguson was pregnant with the former king’s child.
Devin stood in the hallway and watched Fiona as she hurried away. She had to be at least seven months along, if not more. He scratched his head, wondering how he’d missed that disguise the past few days. He could see through their spells, but he hadn’t seen that one coming. He was hoping with the fear that they all had of him that it would be easy to get Nessa on the throne with no complications. They had less than three days to the coronation … and the pregnancy of Fiona Ferguson was a complication.
He began his run again, but instead of staying inside, he turned into the open courtyard surrounding the palace. What he really needed was to escape the palace, and the sidhe world in general, but he couldn’t just run away. Going for a run through the village would have to do for now.
Devin went around the open doorways that dotted the fence around the palace. He wasn’t sure if he could just leave without setting off alarms, but Nessa had shown him one gate out that her brother had charmed to let royalty through. Rhys apparently wasn’t fond of the restrictions, either. Devin found the gate and kept running into the city that surrounded the palace. These were his people now, and this was his home, even though he knew nothing about the place.
Dawn was breaking, and most of the people were shutting up their homes before heading to bed. Almost all of the night humans were sensitive to some form of sunlight; whether it be that they couldn’t be touched by any at all, or simply needed to avoid the strongest sunlight during the middle of the day. Even though Devin was used to the night human world and the opposite life they led, he still needed sunshine; he would always be a day human.
Devin slowed his run to look at the buildings he passed. The sidhe world mystified him. It was intricately designed, and had many hidden aspects that fascinated him. It may have been because he was an outsider, but he was awed by the work that made the forest into a city. Trees were grown and woven together to create homes that were as functional as those Devin was raised in, but everything about them were living. He could make out the slight opening that had to be a gate to a property. He was also getting better at seeing the sidhe. They integrated so well with nature that it was easy for normal day humans to pass by them without seeing them. The longer he was in their world, the more he saw.
As he ran further down the path, the homes were right next to each other with very little space between. He passed home after home, and no one was outside. As the road split in two, Devin took the left pathway, vowing to come back another day and go right. The common sidhe world fascinated him, unlike the elite sidhe he had been confined to since he had arrived here.
These were his people now. He wasn’t born one of them, nor was he raised one of them, but they were his now, and they needed him. Nessa was enough reason to stay in the village, but her grandfather had made it a permanent decision by giving Devin sidhe powers. The old man’s last dying wish was for Devin to save the sidhe. Devin had no clue how or what the old man meant. He was just a day human who knew nothing about the sidhe. This was his first venture outside of the palace alone, and there wasn’t a sidhe in sight. They were still a mystery to him. One he needed to unravel.
The road bent again, and Devin turned the corner, coming face-to-face with the first sidhe that didn’t know who he was … an old man trudged along the path, pulling a cart. Devin slowed beside him.
“Do you need help?” Devin offered. The best way to get to know the sidhe, he decided, was to talk to them. Devin was afraid they would view him as an outsider as a day human, but he
had to try. He needed to learn more.
The old man was startled by him, and dropped one of the sides of the cart he was holding as he pulled. Luckily, Devin reached forward and caught the cart before it tipped sideways. It was stacked with canisters that seemed to be full for the most part. The old man eyed him over, but nodded when Devin took both sides of the cart to pull it. The old man hobbled alongside him.
“Yer not from around here,” the old man finally said after they had walked a bit. He was covered in dust and dirt, and walked with a limp. There was a slight accent when he talked. The man was old and had to be full of knowledge, and it appeared he would be a good person to befriend.
“No,” Devin replied. The cart wasn’t heavy, but he didn’t understand why the man was pulling it; he wasn’t in any shape to be walking a long distance, let alone with a cart in tow.
The man grunted and gave a brief nod. It was obvious to all night humans that Devin was a day human. Even with sidhe power, Devin still had day human blood, which he was sure the man could smell. Fortunately, this left Devin in a place of not being a sidhe, and allowed to ask obvious questions without ridicule.
“Why do you—” Devin began to ask, but the man smiled and finished his sentence.
“Take the cart around?” the man added. “Because we need to be fed, and this is my job. Around here we all do our part, and I can’t just take the day off because my mare needs rest. People depend on me, and I depend on others. It’s the way the world is supposed to work.”
They walked further down the path, and a doorway opened to one of the hidden houses when they approached. Devin noticed the outline only after it was unfastened. He was going to have to look closer to actually be able to see where all of the sidhe lived. It was confusing, yet beautiful.