The First Secret Read online

  The First Secret

  Hidden Portals Trilogy Book 2

  Maya Daniels

  Copyright © 2019 by Maya Daniels. 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.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references, real places, real events, or real persons names and/or persona are used fictitiously. Everything in this story comes from the author’s imagination and any similarities, whatsoever, with events both past and present, or persons living or dead, are purely coincidental.

  Cover design by Dusan Markovic, Art by Dusan Markovic

  Interior design by Zoe Parker

  Edited by Emma Jaye and Cassandra Fear

  If you are unable to order paperback copy of this book from your local bookseller, you may contact the author at [email protected] or visit the website

  www.authormayadaniels.com

  Contents

  Title

  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

  About the Author

  Also by Maya Daniels

  Sitting cross-legged in the middle of the large room dedicated to her goddess, clutching the Fae arrow in her trembling hands, Iris stared at nothing. The last remnants of the portal she’d opened for Artemis and Raphael were fading. Little flashes of sparks reminded her of her situation. Iris kept the portal open for a long time, unsure if she was hallucinating. Without thought, her thumb stroked the arrow. Zaps of magic shot up her arm, numbing it all the way to the shoulder. Her magic spread around the room like a curious sentient entity in the form of tendrils of dark purple smoke.

  Iris didn’t register the candles floating in midair all around her, their flames flaring in bursts as the markings on the arrow glowed with a blueish spark. Part of her brain knew that she should release it and prepare to pull the stubborn vampire out of the Fae realm, yet, she sat there.

  “Never make a deal with the devil on an empty stomach,” her mother used to say, but Iris had never understood the meaning of it until a week ago. Curiosity had always got her into trouble. She’d never learned the lesson to stay out of things that didn’t concern her, and surviving her current peculiar predicament seemed unlikely.

  At first, that damn vampire had intrigued her with his beauty. Not handsome, that would’ve meant he possessed some imperfection that made him at least a little human. Iris didn’t see any harm in letting him watch her ritual. In her defense, no sane woman would’ve said no to Raphael hanging around. So, stupidly, she’d helped him when he brought Artemis to her, unconscious and hardly breathing. Iris realized that the vampire would never look at any other woman but the one he cradled to his chest like the most precious thing in the world. Being honest with herself, she knew that she only tried to like Raphael because she couldn’t get a certain man out of her head. Well a Fae, not a man, but that made no difference to her stupid heart.

  A prickling sensation, like fire ants crawling all over her body, jolted her out of her internal musings. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this jumpy, but having crazy Immortals around itching for a fight would do that to a person. Another wave hit her as she tried to push herself up off the floor. Stumbling and nearly falling on her face, Iris hurried, holding the hem of her dress in both hands but not letting go of the arrow. She’d promised Artemis that she would be ready if they needed her, and she’d be damned if she didn’t keep her word. The arrow would be glued to her until everything settled.

  The prickling intensified as she jerked the heavy door open and ran down the hall. Only someone trying to break through one of her protections could cause this internal burning. She’d placed one around the store after the fiasco with the vampire king. Otherwise, there was only one thing she protected here, and no one but her knew about that. With her heart in her throat, she ran through the curtain separating the store from the rooms behind it, and almost tripped over her feet in the process.

  “Damn curtains and stupid hallways…” she muttered while flailing her arms to detangle herself from the black fabric. Bursting into the store, she almost toppled a couple of statues to the floor.

  The few LED candles with their fake flames gave off only enough light to make out objects. Still, not wanting to break anything, she tiptoed carefully towards the large front windows. The streetlight provided enough yellowish hue that even before reaching the glass, Iris could tell no one lurked there. The feeling of her insides burning increased, and her eyebrows scrunched up in confusion and pain when nothing but an occasional vehicle passed by.

  The arrow in her hand hummed, proving that either Artemis, or Raphael, was in trouble, yet the urge to find out who was trying to get through her protection grew stronger. Reaching for the doorknob in hopes of finding answers outside the store, she jumped when something toppled over in the hallway and a voice muttered.

  Panic gripped her like an iron fist. Iris forgot about vamps, Fae, and their realm. Her feet barely touched the ground as she ran to the back rooms. At the end of the hallway, in front of an empty wall, a figure hunched over, picking up a fallen painting.

  “Danny?” Gasping for air, Iris bent over. Placing her hands on her knees, she almost nicked herself with the arrow.

  With a high-pitched shriek, the blonde woman dropped on her ass, her eyes as wide as dinner plates as she clutched her chest with both hands.

  “Oh my God, Iris! You scared the crap out of me!”

  “Your god is not here, Danny, and I’ll scare even more crap out of you if you don’t tell me what you are doing here.” Still gasping, Iris glared at the other woman.

  “I work here.” Danny lifted her eyebrows, clearly wondering if her boss had lost her mind. “Remember?”

  “I didn’t mean in the store, smartass. I meant here, in the hallway.”

  “Oh…” Danny fidgeted with her hands before slowly lifting herself up without looking at Iris. “I had an urge to check this area.” Her face turned red, and she stumbled over her words. “You always talk about intuition, and just knowing stuff, and I had this thing.” She gazed shyly at Iris. “Like a knowing… that I needed to come here. But then I bumped the painting, and then you scared the crap out of me. To be honest, I thought Raphael was here.” Danny’s face turned beet red as she looked at anything but Iris.

  “Go home, Danny.” Iris pressed a hand over her forehead. “Forget about the vampire, he is nothing but trouble. Take a few days off, and I’ll see you next week. I need some time to sort things out.”

  “Am I getting fired?” Danny’s chin trembled.

  “Why on earth would you think that? No, I just think after everything, we could both use a break.”

  “That’s true.” With a relieved sigh, Danny smiled tightly, and without another word walked towards the store
front.

  Iris stood there, heart thundering, thanking whoever watched over her for hiding her panic at Danny’s intuition calling her to this very spot. As soon as the blonde hair disappeared through the curtain, Iris turned and traced an invisible line on the wall from top to bottom with her hand. Not touching it, her fingers hovered an inch or so from the plaster. The purple glow emitted from her palm reflected on the wall, lighting it up and revealing the door that no one else but her could detect. It troubled her that Danny would stop at this very spot. Swallowing the nervousness, Iris pushed the door open and stepped inside.

  It was a small room, a “just in case” hideaway with nothing in it apart from a bed, a chair, and a dresser with a few medical supplies, some clothing, and blankets. Everything looked identical to how she’d left it, including the sleeping Fae who had not woken since the day he’d been pulled into this realm alongside Artemis via a portal during one of her rituals. The same Fae who had haunted her thoughts ever since. He resembled a sculpture rather than a living being. His long, silky black hair spread out around his unusually perfect face and his pointy ears peeked out of it. Unable to help herself, Iris reached out and traced his angular jaw and full lips with her fingers. She’d been willing him to wake up for over a week, but nothing helped. As she’d done every day since he’d arrived, she prepared to send her magic inside him, to make sure he still lived.

  A terrified scream echoed around the store and hallway. Iris’s head snapped toward the closed door and the blood drained from her face. Danny’s voice echoed in a painful scream a moment before sounds of breaking glass, and everything else by the sound of it being smashed and turned over. Her mind stuttered trying to think of what to do. Terror paralyzed her when a voice she recognized echoed out from the store.

  “Witch! You better show yourself, or your little friend here will give more than just a little blood,” Claude called out.

  “Shit! Crappity crap…damn it!” Iris muttered through clenched teeth, knowing she had nowhere to run. More crashing came from the shop before energy stirred in the hallway as Claude passed the curtain.

  “Witch, witch, witch…” He sang the word in some mocking song as he banged his fist on the walls. “Come out, come out, witch.”

  Taking a deep breath, Iris squared her shoulders. Claude might possess more physical strength—he’d almost killed her once—but she wasn’t a helpless little puppy. She had teeth, and she would bite if cornered. And she was cornered. If she wanted to protect the unconscious Fae from the vampire, she would have to face the jerk. Steeling herself, she gripped the arrow tighter in her fist and stepped towards the door. Her heart froze, and her feet gave out when a thick arm wrapped around her waist and another grabbed her mouth, cutting off her automatic scream. A second later, the scent of rainforest and freshly cut grass filled her nostrils, making her sag in the hold of the man behind her.

  “Don’t make a sound, witch. We need to run,” Fern whispered from behind her, his deep, musical voice making her shiver. “We need to run, now!”

  “Oh, hell no!” With her eyebrows pulled down, and her hands on her hips, Iris glared at Raphael and Artemis. “I’m not going anywhere with that lying weirdo, and there is nothing you can say to convince me otherwise!” Stomping her foot for emphasis, and angrily pointing a finger at Ivy, she lifted her chin.

  “Witch, you’re pushing your luck right now, and patience is not one of my strong suits,” Raphael growled through clenched teeth.

  “It’s not?” Iris gasped, pressing her hands to her chest. “I never would’ve guessed!” She did everything she could to maintain her innocent expression, although Artemis snickering didn’t help.

  “You are encouraging her obnoxious behavior.” Raphael turned his disapproving glare on his mate. Artemis raised one eyebrow. That’s all it took for the stubborn vampire to turn to mush and give her a soft smile.

  “You have no right in this realm, or the next, to call anyone obnoxious, especially after what I witnessed!” Not deterred, Iris continued by waving a finger in the vampire’s face.

  His gaze narrowed. Lightning fast, he snatched her finger in his large hand. Iris didn’t expect it, and pure instinct made her magic light up like a Christmas tree in her chest. It burst out of her and knocked him a few feet in the air before he dropped into a cat-like crouch. Eyes glowing and fangs bared, Raphael appeared almost feral. Iris lifted both hands to protect herself in case he pounced. Artemis moved in front of her to calm Raphael down, but Ivy stood to the side, watching everything unfold with a huge smile on her face. It pissed Iris off even more.

  “Raphael.” Even Iris shivered at Artemis’s low, sultry tone. “She is scared and worried. Her life was in danger because of us, because of me, and we were not there to protect her as we promised. Lashing out at you is her way of dealing with it.”

  “I’m neither scared, nor worried, just so we are clear,” Iris chirped from behind Artemis, making Ivy chuckle.

  “You’re not helping.” Looking over her shoulder, Artemis looked pointedly at Ivy.

  “Okay, fine!” Huffing, Iris crossed her arms over her chest. “Sorry boss man, I didn’t mean to zap you. In my defense, you startled me. And ever since I stepped foot here, my magic has been flaring up. I’m trying my best to keep it under control.” She shrugged, but no one was fooled at her nonchalance. Her expressive green eyes betrayed the fear lurking inside.

  They were standing outside the palace where Artemis had taken Iris to show her the extent of the deterioration of the realm. The Dreamweaver, Ivy, was adamant that Iris was of the ancient line needed to heal the realm of the Fae. Iris wanted to argue about that little detail, but she figured it’d be useless. Every time she tried to explain that she didn’t understand where her magic came from, Ivy cut her off mid-sentence, saying that time would prove it.

  The hairs on the back of Iris’s neck prickled and she scanned the area without being obvious about it. Someone was watching her, and anxiety swirled in her stomach.

  “You are a walking disaster, witch.” Raphael, ignorant of her unease, continued. “Maybe it would be smarter to send you back to the human realm.” Blood drained from Iris’s face. “I’m worried the Fae might kill you if one of us is not around you.” Placing his hands on his hips, he looked at her solemnly, as if he’d stated the most reasonable solution to her problems.

  “No…” her voice was barely above a whisper as she forced that one word through numb lips.

  “You don’t know what you are talking about, bloodsucker!” Ivy’s face darkened, dimming the golden glow around her. “Are you trying to doom us all by getting her killed?”

  “She can’t control her magic! Any of the warriors would skin her alive if she did that to them! She doesn’t think, she reacts!”

  “Now listen to me and listen very good you bullheaded man!” Ivy snarled, not caring that Artemis gave her a side-eye glance while Raphael glared.

  Iris missed the rest of the exchange as Artemis threaded her arm through hers and pulled her towards the large open double doors of the palace. Iris let Artemis lead her. Her mind still spun from the creepy sensation of being watched, plus Raphael’s comment about sending her back to where Claude waited. The Fae milling around the front courtyard stopped and bowed their heads in respect, placing their fists over their hearts as they had done ever since Artemis killed Lazarus. Iris ignored them.

  “I don’t want to go inside the palace,” she blurted. Artemis stopped in her tracks and raised her eyebrows.

  “Don’t ask for a reason right now because I can’t give you one. I just feel like I'll never come out alive if I walk through those doors.” Iris was grateful that Artemis didn’t dismiss her like Raphael would’ve done.

  Artemis might be a ruthless bitch, feared by Fae and vampires alike, but the other woman never did anything simply for the sake of hurting or killing someone. Iris felt a kinship connecting them, and at the moment, her only hope to stay alive lay in Artemis’s hands.

 
“Talk to me, Iris.” Looking at her intently, Artemis grabbed her shoulders. “You know you can tell me anything. Who has scared you so much under my roof?”

  “No one, I swear.” Shaking her head in frustration, Iris sighed deeply. “I can’t explain it. There is someone, no, there is something inside watching me. I can feel it every time I’m inside the palace, and I also felt it when we were standing outside.”

  “I’m not dismissing your worries, my friend. But, I’m not sure if you have noticed, my kind, kinda likes you.” With her lips curling up in a smile, Artemis tilted her chin, indicating the Fae walking around them. “We like pretty things”—she winked at Iris— “and you are a beautiful woman. Plus, not many of them have seen the human realm. To us, you are exotic, unusual. If you need to let off some steam, I’m sure many will be more than happy to take on the task. From what I know, humans don’t have a problem with casual sex.”

  “Oh my God, no!” Iris looked at her friend, horrified. “Some humans don’t have a problem with it, but most do. I’m one of those. The ones that mind.” Waving her hand as if chasing a fly, Iris sighed again. “This is different from being checked out. I’m sure I look like a circus monkey to them and that’s why they’re staring. I mean, look at them!” Moving her arm in an arc, she indicated all the drool-worthy specimens around her. “They are so perfect they don’t look real…or normal. Me? I’m just, I donno…human?” Chuckling humorlessly, she covered her face with her hands. “I sound pathetic and like a scared little mouse. It’s so not me; I have no idea why I’m acting like this.”