Contents

  Series Title Page

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Description

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Thank You

  Other Books by Pepper

  Anthologies & Collections

  About the Author

  Glory Copyright © 2022 Pepper McGraw

  Digital Edition

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  Cover Art:

  Design by Definition

  Edited by J.L. Troughton

  PMG Publishing

  Unveiled. Bespelled. Falling in Love.

  The Ceremony of the Veils is always full of sorrow and tradition and never fails to make Princess Glory’s heart bleed. She knows exactly what to expect when she travels to the mortal realm to bear witness as the Guardians of the Eastern Veil step into eternity. What follows, though, is nothing of tradition and everything of chaos.

  Mitaru was born to be a Guardian of the Veil, which is why he’s completely unprepared when his generation fails in their sacred duty. When he’s given a new mission—locate Princess Glory and protect her with his life—he’s determined not to fail again. Getting through the shield that surrounds the city where she was last seen is the easy part. When he discovers the entire city slumbers behind the shield, the real challenge begins, especially when he realizes the sleeping princess is his mate.

  Chapter One

  MORTAL SIDE OF the Eastern Veil

  Washington, D.C.

  This was the third Ceremony of the Veil that had occurred in Princess Glory’s lifetime, but only the second where she’d been called to serve as royal witness. Even so, she knew two things immediately.

  One, the Guardians of the Eastern Veil did not hesitate to perform their sacred duty. They poured their life force over the Veil in a breathtaking act of honor and devotion to the Fae.

  And two, their sacrifice was failing.

  The fractures in the Veil were not disappearing as they should, but instead were multiplying swiftly.

  Before Glory could decide on a course of action, the ground trembled, causing the waters around her to ripple and surge outward, almost as if she were standing in the ocean, rather than a mortal-made pool.

  A flash of light exploded from the Veil and everything went dark.

  *.*.*.*.*

  Glory woke surrounded by water.

  For a split second, she remembered nothing, then it all came back in a rush.

  The Reflecting Pool.

  The Eastern Veil.

  The mortals on every side.

  “Princess Glory.” Talvenia, the Captain of her Royal Guard, held out a hand—the one not holding her sword—and pulled Glory to her feet. “The Veil is down.”

  The rest of the Royal Guard stood around them, swords drawn, facing the mortals who gaped in awe, some of them struggling to their feet, others frozen where they had fallen.

  Of all the places in the mortal realm where a doorway to Faerie might have stood, this was not the location Glory would have chosen.

  Too many mortals.

  Too many cameras.

  Too many things that could go wrong.

  One only had to look toward Faerie to see that truth.

  The doorway that led into their realm was no longer shielded by the Eastern Veil. Instead, the lands and skies of Faerie were completely exposed, providing a glimpse into a world few mortals had ever seen.

  Worse, the glamour the Fae had projected to shield themselves from mortal eyes was also down. This was clear from the way the mortals stared even as they recorded everything.

  This was a disaster.

  At that moment, Fae Guardians poured through the doorway.

  As they marched past to stand as a physical, living shield between the mortals and the entrance to Faerie, Glory recognized them as those tasked with strengthening the Eastern Veil.

  They would have expected to be nothing but dust on the wind by now, their life force given in tribute to strengthen the Veil.

  Instead, they were here, still alive, standing on mortal grounds, the final line of defense for Faerie and all of the Fae.

  “We should retreat, Princess Glory,” Talvenia said. “Leave the Guardians to protect the entrance to Faerie and—” She broke off as the Veil yanked energy from all of the Fae standing there.

  “It’s too late,” Glory gasped, struggling to breathe through the whiplash sensation of her magic being used to reform the Veil before returning to her in a massive rush of power.

  Glory swayed in place, staring at the Veil. It was back, but somehow wrong. She reached out with her magic, attempting to get a feel for what she was sensing.

  “Why is it transparent?” Xilarin asked. “It should be a doorway, not a window.”

  “The mortals can still see Faerie,” Raiyana said, glancing around, a worried look on her face.

  “At least it’s back up,” Talvenia said. “It’s stable, right?”

  “It’s stable.” Glory shoved her magic harder at the Veil, testing its strength, probing for a way in. “It’s also—”

  “What?” Xilarin asked.

  “Locked.”

  “Against us?” Raiyana demanded.

  “Against everyone, I think.” Glory splashed through the water toward the Veil. She reached out and ran her hand over it.

  Solid.

  Fairly vibrating with magic.

  And completely sealed shut.

  “How is that even possible?” One of the Guardians of the Veil demanded. Glory thought his name was Nako.

  Before she could respond—not that she had an explanation to offer—one of the Fae shouted, “Guardians, defend the Princess. Guard the entrance to Faerie!”

  “What’s happening?” Glory whirled away from the Veil, but all she could see was her Royal Guard, who surrounded her in force.

  Shouts and a strange popping sound filled the air.

  Something hit Raiyana, spinning her toward Glory, a fine red mist spraying the air. “Princess—” she gasped as her knees buckled.

  Glory lunged forward to catch Raiyana as she fell, but something plowed into Glory with the force of ten thousand Sorenalaya and flung her back.

  Time seemed to slow as she fell, pain spreading fire to every nerve in her body.

  When she hit the water, droplets sprayed upward in a dance so slow, they almost seemed as if they weren’t moving at all.

  Glory stared at those droplets, even as she sank below the surface, the fire spreading until it reached the core of who she was and touched the wild magic hiding there.

  As the water droplets began their inexorable fall back toward earth, that feral, Fae magic that Glory had spent a millennia containing, exploded from every pore of her being and erased the world in a white wave of power.

  Chapter Two

  MORTAL SIDE OF the Veils

  Approaching the Northeastern shield

  Mitaru was born to be a Guardian of the Veil.

  At the end of his thousand years of service, he’d gifted his life force to the Veil and had stepped into eternity, eyes wide open.

  It was a sacrifice he’d been honored to make, but it had not ended as expected.

  He should be nothing but memory now, a tiny speck of dust that had burned itself out for the Fae and all of Faerie.

  Instead, he was still flesh and bone, living in exile, along with his Guardian unit, on the mortal side of the Veils.

  He’d initially believed the Guardians of the Veil were being punished for failing in their sacred duty, but not all Guardians of the Veil had made it to the mortal side. Many were still safe in Faerie while an unknown number of innocent Fae who had been traveling in the mortal realm, were now trapped there.

  Two months had passed since the Unveiling of the Fae and the freezing of the Veils and they had no more answers today than when they’d first been exiled.

  Mitaru’s unit had been stationed that first month at the Western Veil, where Princess Astra had used the magic of Faerie to claim territory in the state of Kansas. By the time Mitaru and his unit left Kansas to travel east, the shield she had constructed around the territory had already expanded several times.

  There was no telling how far it had progressed in the weeks since.

  The northeastern shield, by contrast, had constructed itself almost immediately after the fall of the Eastern Veil, taking mere moments to claim all of the territories between Washington, D.C. and New York City in a vast display of power.

  That shield was now frozen in place, an impenetrable barrier that had not expanded since.

  More disturbing was the lack of communication or any sign of life from behind that barrier. No one had been seen emerging from it, nor had anyone been able to cross it. Though both mortals and Fae had gathered along the shield, none could see past it to what was happening inside.

  The only clues they had were the videos broadcast live from the National Mall at the moment of the Fae’s unveiling, but all connectivity had been lost the moment the shield went up.

  Those videos were the only record of what had happened that day at the Eastern Veil and they showed very little.

  Guardians pouring through the Eastern Veil, landing in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, then surrounding the Veil.

  Mortal soldiers running toward them, shouting.

  Chaos as mortals screamed and ran.

  The horrifying sound of gunfire—a sound Mitaru had never heard before arriving in the mortal world two months before.

  A brilliant flash of light that was starting to fade when a secondary explosion of light collided with it.

  Then nothing.

  The Fae speculated that the shield had formed in the wake of that explosion of light and that perhaps both had been caused by Princess Glory, though few had seen her wield power of that magnitude.

  Despite this, rumor had it that Princess Glory’s magic was even stronger than Princess Astra’s.

  Mitaru found that hard to believe, though, especially after witnessing the pure power of Princess Astra in the aftermath of the Western Veil’s fall and the mortals’ attack on the Fae.

  He was convinced he was right and that Princess Astra had to be the stronger sister when four weeks after the Unveiling, she commanded Mitaru’s unit commander and best friend, Kalina, to take half her unit to find and protect Glory.

  Mitaru was grateful to be given this mission.

  He’d been feeling displaced and adrift, with no goals tethering him to the world around him, ever since his unit had failed in their one sacred duty as Guardians of the Veil.

  Even worse, he was worried about Luna and Zara.

  He’d come to realize how selfish he’d been, to become a Guardian at all.

  He’d comforted himself with the knowledge that his sisters would be cherished by the Fae, for their sacrifice and for his.

  He hadn’t given a single thought to what it would be like for them, emotionally, when he was gone.

  Or if he had, he’d brushed it aside, not to be truly faced until it was entirely too late.

  In fact, if all had gone as planned, he’d never have had to face it at all, for he’d have been gone and any suffering his sisters endured would have been beyond his understanding.

  Yet, here he was.

  On the mortal side of the Veils.

  Separated from his sisters as expected, but still part of this world.

  Unable to stop thinking about them, worrying about them.

  All of it made infinitely worse for having lost his direction.

  A Guardian still, yet without a purpose.

  Untethered.

  Far from home.

  A failure, with nothing to do but worry about his sisters’ fate.

  Then came this mission, given to them by Princess Astra herself, assigning him a purpose once more.

  Find Princess Glory.

  Protect her with his life.

  This was one mission he was determined not to fail at, though the length of time it was taking to simply reach the last known location of Princess Glory was not a good sign.

  None of the Fae wished to avail themselves of mortal transport and so, they were traveling on mortal steeds, who, though worthy and valiant, were not of Faerie and thus, required greater care.

  Even with a bit of Fae magic for stamina and healing, they were still only managing to travel sixty to seventy miles a day. To make matters worse, they had to pause every fifth or sixth day to allow the horses time to rest and recover.

  Mitaru was impatient to reach their destination, to begin searching for Princess Glory and to ensure her safety.

  The more time that passed, the more anxious he became, worried about what might have befallen the princess in the intervening weeks.

  Princess Astra should not have waited so long. They should have left for the northeast immediately after the Veils fell.

  There was no going back though; they could only move forward and hope for the best.

  The closer they got to the shield, the more Fae they encountered and the more stories they heard of Fae trying to cross the barrier to reach the Eastern Veil and failing.

  They spoke of waiting for Princess Glory to come out and guide them in, but then, when she never emerged, of turning their hopes West.

  They were on their way toward Princess Astra’s territories when they met up with Mitaru and the rest of his unit.

  They did all they could for those Fae, sharing stories of what awaited them in Kansas and providing guidance on where to stop and rest as they journeyed west.

  These stops to converse with other Fae also delayed their travels and so, Mitaru and his unit were well into their fourth week of travel by the time they arrived at the shield.

  It was an amazing sight.

  There were encampments all along the banks of a river for as far as the eye could see, and just beyond them, rising from the waters, was a barrier Mitaru instantly recognized as a construct of Faerie. It fairly glowed with Fae magic and seemed to stretch into eternity.

  “Is that the Potomac?” Kalina’s mate, Thorne, asked.

  “Must be,” Kalina said. “I didn’t expect the shield to be so grand. It’s huge compared to the one in Lawrence. Strange, don’t you think?”

  “Very,” Thorne answered.

  “How are we going to get inside?” Mitaru asked impatiently. He didn’t care about the barrier’s size. He simply wanted to reach the princess as soon as possible.

  “I’ll be honest,” Thorne said. “I doubt it can be done.”

  Mitaru refused to believe that. “If that were true, why did we bother traveling here at all?”

  “The Princess commands. We comply,” Kalina said. “It’s as simple as that. Unfortunately, Thorne is right. I cannot imagine that we will be able to accomplish what so many Fae we’ve encountered along the journey have not.”

  “None of the Fae we met were Guardians of the Veil.”

  “He has a point,” Thorne said.

  “Yes, but the Veil isn’t letting any of us cross back into Faerie. Why would this barrier be any different?”

  “Well, we’re not going to accomplish anything by just talking about it,” Jeniah spoke up.

  Mitaru nodded. “Yes, we need to at least try.”

  “Let’s go then.” Kalina led the way down the slight incline toward the Fae encampment.

  It took them almost the entire afternoon to make it through the encampment to the bank of the river itself.

  “Supposedly there’s a bridge over there somewhere.” One of the Fae gestured vaguely in the distance. “Problem is no one can see it. I guess all the bridges are behind the barrier.”

  “Well, that’s not exactly helpful.” Mitaru nudged his mount forward and with a bit of Fae magic, encouraged the horse to enter the waters of the Potomac.

  Despite his efforts, though, the horse didn’t exactly plunge forward. Instead, he moved with slow, plodding steps before coming to a halt a few feet in and refusing to budge.

  Mitaru sighed.

  “Are you serious right now?” Kalina exclaimed from behind him.

  Mitaru glanced back and shook his head at the sight of her mount backing away from the murky waters.

  “The river’s disgusting,” Kalina called to him. “I can’t believe you convinced the horse to enter it.”

  “We’re Fae, for fate’s sake!” Mitaru exclaimed. “Use your magic. Convince the horse.”

  “That’s not exactly kind to the horse,” Thorne pointed out. “In fact, it might be considered a bit cruel.”

  Mitaru groaned. “Come on, guys. Princess Glory is counting on us.”

  “For all we know, she’s fine,” Kalina said.

  “For all we know, she’s dead,” Thorne muttered.

  For some reason, those words enraged Mitaru, to the point he barely yanked back his magic in time.

  From the look on Thorne’s face, the other Guardian had a pretty good idea how close he’d come to being knocked clean off his horse.

  “You know, the humans claim the river’s the cleanest it’s been in decades,” a Fae from the encampment said.

  Mitaru grimaced. How was that even possible? “Look, you guys can try to find the bridge if you want, but this is the fastest route and I’m taking it.”

  “How do you know it’s the fastest?” Kalina demanded.

  “I just do.” Mitaru leaned over his horse, stroked a hand down his neck and sent a soothing wave of magic through him. He nodded in satisfaction when the horse began moving forward again, making his way deeper into the water.

 

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