Saving Jace: A Fada Novel Read online

  SAVING JACE

  A FADA NOVEL

  REBECCA RIVARD

  WILD HEARTS PRESS

  CONTENTS

  The Fada Shapeshifters

  Prologue

  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

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Epilogue

  Also by Rebecca Rivard

  About the Author

  THE FADA SHAPESHIFTERS

  BEST SHIFTER SERIES ~ PARANORMAL ROMANCE GUILD REVIEWER’S CHOICE AWARDS

  The fada.

  Shapeshifters created during Dionysus’s infamous bacchanals from a mix of fae, human and animal genes.

  They’re ruthless, untamed—and when they love, it’s forever.

  Stealing Ula (Nisio & Ula)

  The Rock Run River Fada

  Seducing the Sun Fae (Dion & Cleia)

  Claiming Valeria (Rui & Valeria)

  Tempting the Dryad (Tiago & Alesia)

  Sea Dragon’s Hunger (Cassidy & Nic)

  The Baltimore Earth Fada (The Darktime Trilogy)

  Saving Jace (Jace & Evie)

  Charming Marjani (Marjani & Fane)

  Adric’s Heart (Adric & Rosana)

  Fada Shapeshifter Short Reads

  Lir’s Lady (#3.5—Lir & Isleen)

  Shifter’s Valentine (#3.6—Jenny & Chico)

  Find out more and read exclusive excerpts: rebeccarivard.com/shapeshifters

  To stay informed and be eligible for giveaways and sneak peeks of upcoming novels, go to rebeccarivard.com or sign up for my newsletter (rebeccarivard.com/newsletter).

  PROLOGUE

  Of Gods and Shapeshifters

  They say Dionysus is a wild, untamed god, beautiful in the way of all gods. He loves wine and women, and his rites are dark, tempting, addictive. It was Dionysus and his followers, both fae and human, who created the first fada during his infamous bacchanals. By some mysterious magic, the fada were shapeshifters, a mix of fae, human and animal genes—and a touch of the god himself.

  The first fada lived in the Mediterranean Sea, water shifters who could change to dolphins, seals, otters, even sharks and other fish. They were dark, ruthless, and as untamed as the god who’d first given them life. From the Mediterranean, they spread throughout the world’s rivers and seas.

  Centuries passed, and then one day, a tiny clan of Arab fae from North Africa’s Fertile Crescent got together and created the earth fada, shifters who could change to land-based animals like cougars or bears or deer. Dionysus found it amusing to provide the spark of life to this new creation. The North African fae gifted the quartz and its special energy to earth fada alone. But like most fae gifts, it came with an edge—with the right incantation, a fae can control an earth fada through his or her quartz.

  Fortunately, that knowledge is known to only a few North African fae.

  When an earth fada reaches a certain age, he or she is taught the secret of the quartz. They vow to guard the secret with their lives. Because if the fae ever learned the earth shifters can be controlled through their quartz, they’re doomed.

  1

  THIRTEEN YEARS EARLIER: THE DARKTIME

  Jace Jones slogged through a cold December rain on Baltimore’s west side, dog-tired after a rough two-month assignment in South America. All he wanted was a shower and a six-pack.

  His best friend Adric was pacing the street in front of Jace’s den. “Takira had her cub.”

  Jace’s exhaustion fled. That was bad. His sister wasn’t due for another month. He’d hated to leave her, but you didn’t say no to your alpha.

  “She’s okay? It’s too early—”

  “She’s fine, and the cub is, too. I just came from their den.”

  Jace raced down the stairs to his den, Adric behind him, and tossed his backpack on a chair. “Your uncle? He’s expecting me to report.”

  Adric’s uncle, Leron Savonett, was the Baltimore alpha. An abusive, out-of-control alpha who didn’t deserve the title. Sending Jace out of the country when his sister was heavily pregnant was typical behavior for Leron—keep families and friends apart.

  Adric’s face hardened. He was Jace’s age—barely in his twenties—but the past few years had left him with an old man’s eyes. “Leave him to me.”

  “Thanks, man.” Jace stopped only long enough for a shower, then rushed across town.

  He’d missed the clan’s winter solstice celebration. It was early Christmas morning. The streets were empty except for a few hard-eyed humans for whom December twenty-fifth was just another day.

  Takira’s mate let him into their tiny apartment. Silver was a half-blood fae, beautiful in the way of all his people. Right now his stunning face was drawn. He looked as exhausted as Jace.

  “How is she?” Jace demanded.

  “Fine. Tired, but fine.”

  Takira was in bed, a tiny bundle in her arms. She looked weak and way too thin for a women who’d just given birth, her skin an ashy brown, but she smiled proudly up at Jace.

  “She has her father’s chin.” She touched the infant’s sharp chin. “And his pointed ears.” She grinned at her mate.

  Silver’s spare features softened. “She’s got a lot of her mom in her, too—and I thank the gods for that.”

  Jace kissed his sister’s cheek and stroked a finger over the cub’s soft black curls. “She’s beautiful.”

  “Do you want to hold her?”

  He gulped. It had been years since he’d held a baby. He and Takira were earth fada. Their Baltimore clan had been decimated by a bloody civil war. The two of them had lost both their parents by the time they were in their teens.

  The Darktime. That was what the clan called the bloody civil war that Leron Savonett had sparked when he’d set out to become alpha no matter what the cost—and the gods knew, the cost had been tremendous, year after year of killing and dirty deeds.

  Things had become so bad it was all they could do to survive. Food was scarce, which meant the few cubs that had been born were sickly or died.

  His lungs clenched as he stared down at the infant.

  Takira kissed her tiny nose. “Meet Uncle Jace, sweetie.”

  “Hello, love.” He lifted the child from his sister’s arms. “She’s so light. Can’t weigh much more than a feather.”

  Takira chuckled weakly. “She’s a newborn, idiot.”

  “Mm,” he said, all his focus on the precious bundle in the crook of his arm. He pressed a kiss to her soft forehead. Her scent was milky-sweet, not a whiff of the graveyard stench that emanated from most night fae. He detected a hint of silver and iron, though—silver from her fae blood, iron from the human.

  My niece. I’m an uncle.

  It struck him like a punch to a gut.
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  The cub gazed unseeingly up at him with wide, catlike eyes. Then she gave an adorable little stretch like the unfurling of a flower before settling back into the tightly curled position of a newborn.

  Jace swallowed hard—and just like that, his heart was hers.

  “Her name is Merry,” Takira said. “Because it’s Christmas—and it’s a happy name.” As followers of the old gods, the fada celebrated the winter solstice, but their Jamaican mom had made a big deal of Christmas, too.

  “It’s perfect,” he said. “She’s perfect.”

  “I just wish Mama could’ve seen her.” A tear leaked from the corner of Takira’s eye.

  Jace’s chest squeezed. “She would’ve loved her, and Dad would have, too.” Their father had been a mix of Cherokee and Scottish, with a deep, fierce love of family that he’d passed on to his two offspring.

  “Yeah.” Takira smiled through her tears.

  Silver hovered protectively nearby. He touched Takira’s shoulder. Their eyes met, and Jace guessed he was sending reassurance through the mate bond. Takira rubbed her cheek against Silver’s palm.

  Merry’s tiny brow furrowed.

  Jace rubbed a finger over it. “Don’t worry, little one. I’ve got you safe.”

  “Thank you,” said Silver.

  Jace gave Merry a last kiss and handed her to her father. Night fae were stunning, with pale skin and black hair. Silver might be half-human, but he looked all night fae—mesmerizing as a glittering cobra. Jace could barely tolerate being in the same room with him; the man made his skin crawl. Night fae were the energy suckers of the fae world. They fed on dark thoughts and emotions.

  How the hell had Takira fallen in love with the man, and worse, taken him as her mate?

  Still, Silver’s expression was tender as he looked down at his new daughter.

  Takira moved restlessly. “You can’t tell the alpha. He thinks I lost the baby last month. Promise you won’t tell.”

  “The alpha doesn’t know?” Jace pulled a chair up next to the bed. “How the fuck did you manage that?”

  Takira flicked a glance at Merry, then lifted her chin. “I lied.”

  “The hell you did. With a cub inside you?” He scowled. Fada couldn’t lie, not without making themselves violently ill. And since she was pregnant, the cub would’ve been affected as well.

  “I had to.” His sister’s expression was fierce. “It was the only way to save her.”

  “She was sick as a dog after,” Silver interjected. “That’s why she’s so thin—for two weeks, she could barely keep food down. But she had no choice. Your friend Adric told us that Savonett was going to force Takira to abort the baby. He doesn’t want the clan to be saddled with a fae bastard.” His mouth twisted.

  Anger flared in Jace. “When you were seven months along?”

  At his sister’s nod, he snarled. “Someone needs to put that SOB down.”

  It was Leron’s fault their parents were dead, too. Oh, he hadn’t killed them directly—just sent their mom to almost certain death in an overseas skirmish, and then dragged their dad into clan politics. Leron was a vile, power-hungry excuse for an alpha.

  “She’s a fada,” Takira said. “I know it. We all have a few drops of fae in us, just like we all have some human. But she’s going to be able to shift.”

  “How do you know?”

  His sister touched her quartz. “I can feel her drawing on my energy already.”

  He nodded.

  “We’re going to hide her,” Takira said. “Only you, Adric, and Marjani”—she named Adric’s sister—“will know about her. For now, Marjani’s covering for me—Leron thinks I’m still in Florida on a mission. I’ll go back to work in a few weeks.”

  “Maybe you should just run,” Jace said, but even as he spoke, he knew it was hopeless. The alpha was too powerful—and fada trackers were the best in the world.

  “He’ll hunt us down,” she returned. “You know he will. The best thing is to hide in plain sight.”

  Jace nodded. “I’ll back you up any way I can. And you know Adric will.”

  “I know.” Takira grabbed his hand. “Promise me something. If anything happens, you’ll keep her safe.”

  “Of course. You don’t even have to ask. You know I’d die for her.”

  “Say the words.” Her gaze searched his desperately.

  He clasped her hand between his. “You have my vow. I will keep your daughter safe no matter what it takes.”

  And between the five of them—Takira, Silver, Adric, Marjani and Jace—they were able to keep Merry a secret for four years. And then one bleak January day, Jace stopped by his sister’s apartment to find it had been trashed, the small family gone.

  Jace, Adric and Marjani had torn Baltimore apart looking for them—and then extended their search up and down the East Coast. But Jace never saw Takira or Silver alive again.

  2

  THE PRESENT DAY

  Jace should’ve known better than to stop for a drink at a local bar.

  Grace Harbor wasn’t his town. Normally a Baltimore earth fada wouldn’t be welcome this close to Rock Run river fada territory. But he’d been visiting the quartz mine his clan was excavating just north of Grace Harbor, and when a couple of Rock Run men had invited Jace and the other miners out for a beer, he’d figured why not? It wasn’t like he had anyone to go home to.

  It was Thursday night and the bar was crowded. Some of the men he was with had hit on the humans, but Jace made it a practice to stay far away from humans—especially females. He’d had a couple of beers, watched a few innings of the baseball game playing soundlessly on the TV behind the bar, and called it a night.

  Outside, the air was still warm from the June sun. Jace headed around back to the parking lot where he’d left his motorcycle.

  The night fae was waiting in the narrow opening between the bar and the building next door. The only warning Jace had was the fae’s sharp scent—metal and decay. The tall, pale man emerged from the shadows, humming with a dark excitement. Night fae liked to toy with you. A scared, panicky victim was catnip to a creature who fed on negative energy.

  A split-second later invisible tentacles slid over Jace’s skin, seeking to entwine him in a net composed of all his darkest moments: fear…death…loss…betrayal…

  Jace growled. He instinctively drew on his quartz’s energy, fighting back with everything he had. A silent, deadly battle commenced. Time passed—five minutes, ten minutes—Jace wasn’t sure.

  But he was losing. Sweat beaded on his forehead. His quartz’s song grew fainter. He couldn’t hold out much longer.

  The night fae showed a set of sharp white teeth. The shadows shifted. He darted forward and slashed a knife across Jace’s belly.

  It was like taking a red-hot poker in the gut. Jace grunted and doubled over.

  The night fae stabbed him again, this time just below his navel. The knife dug deep.

  But the SOB had made a fatal mistake. He’d let himself get within reach of a man whose animal was a jaguar.

  Jace’s claws shot out. He struck at the night fae, ripping out his throat in a single, savage blow. The man gurgled and staggered back into a brick wall. He slid to the ground and slumped to the side, dead.

  Jace sucked in a breath. He crouched on the blacktop, a hand to his belly. The pain was excruciating. The bastard had stabbed him with an iron knife, poison to both fada and fae, although iron didn’t affect a fada like a pureblood fae. Unfortunately, the blade had nicked a small artery, sending the poison directly into Jace’s bloodstream.

  His vision hazed over. He set his jaw and hauled himself to his feet. For a few seconds, everything went black. He swayed on his feet and looked down at the leather-wrapped hilt sticking from his abdomen.

  Get it…out.

  Gritting his teeth, he grabbed the hilt with both hands and jerked the knife out.

  From far away, he heard himself groan. The iron blade hurt even worse coming out than it had going in. He le
t it drop to the ground and used the last energy in his quartz to heal the nicked artery. The spurting blood slowed to a trickle.

  He glanced around. The parking lot was blurry. He shook his head and forced himself to focus.

  The night fae was sprawled at his feet, his blood seeping onto the asphalt. Jace could still see the fae’s mocking smile as he thrust the knife into Jace’s belly.

  The man wasn’t smiling now.

  Thunder grumbled in the distance. Jace’s skin prickled. The parking lot appeared empty, but he sensed another night fae nearby. Maybe two.

  And there was no fucking way he could ride a motorcycle.

  Taking a bandana from his pocket, he pressed it to the wound in his abdomen and hurried around the corner of the nearest building. The movement sent a dizzying jolt of pain through him.

  He leaned against a loading dock, breath sawing in and out, closing his fingers around his quartz and drawing what energy he could from the vibrating crystals. The stone warmed in his hand. Given time, it would refill with energy, but time was something he didn’t have.

  From the parking lot, he heard two men speaking in hushed tones. His heart rate ratcheted up. He couldn’t tell if they were night fae, but his skin was still tingling, so he forced himself to move.