by Leia Stone
I wondered if she’d ever wiped my memory, or my mom’s, or the other Elders’.
The thought was horrifying.
I was so wrapped in my thoughts that I didn’t even hear Liam step out onto the patio. “Everything okay?” he asked.
His voice shook me from my patio pacing, and I looked up, staring at his perfect face swathed in moonlight. All the pain of him leaving me, even though I now understood the reason, came rushing back.
I nodded. “Cam?”
“He’s good.”
We were quiet again, and I looked up to see him staring at me.
“I…missed you,” he said. “All I’ve done is think about you every night for two weeks.”
His realization shocked me. He’d slept with me, and then he’d told me we could work together professionally because we had a common interest. Then he’d left me in the middle of the village and denied my invitation to live here. It had cut me deeper than I’d expected, and no matter how much I wanted to jump back in, I couldn’t.
He reached out for me, but I shrank back. “You hurt me. I…need time.” The upset in my voice was further proof of how much he’d wounded me.
He pulled his hand back, a cold mask falling over his face. “Probably best. Everyone I love dies, anyway.”
He spun then and walked away, his black wings smoking at the tips as he disappeared into the house.
Everyone I love dies, anyway. Had he just lowkey admitted he loved me? My brain short-circuited for a moment.
His mother. Obviously, he was talking about his love for his dying mother, but…the way he’d stormed off made me feel like I had made a horrible mistake in rejecting him.
That night, I lay awake for hours, thinking of him feeding her soup and imaging if I’d had to watch my own mother die a slow and painful death. What kind of person would that have made me?
I didn’t envy Liam, and I regretted rejecting his touch.
The next morning, my body seemed as heavy as a sack of sand. I was tired, hungry, and felt like shit for brushing Liam off. All night, I’d kept seeing his frail mother in my mind’s eye and the way her hair hung in limp chunks around her face.
It had given me an idea. A potentially dangerous idea…
After showering and getting ready, I headed downstairs. Cam was in his human form, shirtless and sitting at my dining table, eating a huge plate of food.
“How are you not full yet?” Elle was looking down at him incredulously. “You’ve eaten half the food in the house!”
Cam shoved a piece of toast into his mouth and grunted at her, but the way he checked out her ass when she walked back over to the fridge made me wonder if there was something underlying their mutual hatred.
“Glad to see you healed.” As I scanned the fine hairline scars on Cam’s abdomen, I realized Liam hadn’t come down yet. Good—it gave me more time to think over what I was going to say.
Cam swallowed his food. “Yeah, about that.” He cleared his throat. “Thanks for helping me. I clearly misjudged you.”
Wow. Wasn’t expecting that. “You’re welcome.”
Elle cleared her throat loudly. “And what about me? I carried your dying ass on my back all the way from Central Park!”
Cam gave her a slow grin, and by the way it knocked the anger off my bestie’s face, I could tell it affected her. “Nah, I didn’t misjudge you.”
Elle was holding an apple, which she promptly chucked at Cam’s head. In one swift move, he caught it and took a bite, giving her a grin.
When she smiled back, I knew we were in trouble.
“Let’s move out.” Liam’s dark and gravelly voice came from behind me, and I froze.
Spinning, I drank in his lithe form. As fae, it was hard to conceal our emotions. The wings never lied, and Liam’s hung limp at his sides.
“Hey, can we talk privately for a minute?” I whispered.
“We really should head to Idaho and get those crystals before my dad and his men hide them,” he mumbled.
I frowned. “It’s important.”
He glared at me, and I realized then just how badly my rejecting him last night had hurt him.
“Please?” I asked.
He sighed and followed me as I walked up the stairwell. We stood awkwardly in the hallway together.
“What’s up?” His arms were crossed, jaw clenched. He was so pissed at me.
I rubbed my temples, so fucking tired from the lack of proper sleep of late. “I couldn’t stop thinking about your mom last night.”
His wings snapped stiff, and his mouth popped open. “What do you mean?”
My throat tightened with emotion. “I mean, I have a crazy idea…”
He frowned, apparently confused. “What are you talking about?”
“Remember that healing water I got that healed your stomach and the crystals?”
His eyes lit up. “You think? But the healing stones made her worse.”
“We could go back to the healing pool and ask the High Priestess.” I shrugged. “She could tell us if it could heal your mom. Maybe if she drank some, or if we made her a bath of the water.”
Liam looked surprised. “You would do all that? For me? My mom?”
“Liam, we’re soulmates. I know you don’t know what that means, but—”
“You said I hurt you. You pushed me off.” He crossed his arms, and his jaw ticked.
I threw my arms up in exasperation. “You had sex with me and then dumped me in front of the entire village! I have the right to be a little pissed. That doesn’t mean I don’t still care for you.”
A slow grin crept across his face, and he stepped closer to me. “So, you’re saying you missed me back?”
I rolled my eyes. “A tiny, minuscule amount…yeah.”
“Shut up.” He leaned in to capture my mouth in his.
The second our tongues touched, a whimper escaped me. I’d missed how he tasted, how he felt. We reached for each other, pulling our bodies closer until we were flush against one another. His tongue stroked mine as his fingers knotted into my hair, and heat traveled down my spine.
“Lily!” Elle called from downstairs.
I pulled back, breathless and wearing a huge grin.
Liam grasped both sides of my face gently. “Look, I’m sorry for the way I left things. My brothers were sick after going days without the crystal, my mom had taken a turn for the worse—”
I put my finger to his lips. “I forgive you. Next time, you can trust me enough to tell me the truth.”
He nodded and pulled his hands away from my face.
There was a creaking on the wooden stairs. “All right, lovebirds,” Cam’s voice drawled. “It’s time to jet. Daddy of Winter don’t fuck around.”
Daddy of Winter?
Shaking my head, I started for the stairs. “So, we’ll get the crystal, drop it off at the Tree of Life, and then go right from there to get the healing water for your mom.”
Liam smiled. “Sounds like a great plan.”
Five minutes later, we were at the blue door, walking into Mara’s office. Two garden fae had seen us, but when they’d noticed the boys with me, they’d simply lowered their heads. I was hoping that meant they wouldn’t be telling the Elders.
“Hello, children.” Mara looked bored, poring over one of her outdated magazines. “What trouble shall we get up to today?”
“Idaho, please,” Liam said. “Closest door you have to Coeur d’Alene.”
Mara looked at me, no doubt wondering why he was doing the talking. But he was the only one who knew where this crystal was, and if we were all going to work together, she needed to respect his word as much as mine.
“What he said,” I confirmed.
Mara sighed, her bracelets clanking as she slid the magazine into a drawer. “Buckle in.”
A few minutes later, we were at Mara’s door, heading out into a lush backyard.
Mara grabbed my arm. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”
I nodded, indica
ting that the others should wait for me outside, and gave Liam my VW pen. Once they’d left, I faced the keeper of the blue doors. “What’s up?”
Mara chewed her lip. “Rose came to see me. Said Indra was creating a new pair of cuffs. Cuffs for you, if you got out of control.”
I frowned. “Yeah. Clearly, I misjudged the Elders, but I think it’s just a scare tactic.”
Mara sighed, looking at her wrists, and for the first time, I noticed that the skin around the bracelets had been rubbed raw. “Does this look like a scare tactic?” She held the cuffs closer to my face.
I frowned.
“Look,” she said, “the Dark War was a horrible time, and I’m lucky they didn’t hang me.”
My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. “Hang you? For falling in love?”
Mara shook her head. “Hang me for letting the Winter King escape with our crystals. I didn’t know he had them, of course, but…I was the one who ferried him to Earth.”
Oh. She’d failed to mention that when she’d told Elle and me the story. Mara had let the Winter King escape with all our crystals and nearly ended all of Faerie?
Yikes.
But I knew she had just been a grief-stricken mother back then, trying to find a way to make Halfling children survive.
“So what?” I asked. “The Dark War is history, and you’ve done nothing but spend your life trying to get the crystals back. No one deserves to be chained like an animal,” I added in a growl.
Mara nodded. “I agree, and I don’t want that for you. Whatever you’re doing to piss off Indra stops now, you understand? You need to mind your words around her, and no more sneaking Halflings through the middle of town.”
I gulped. “Cam was hurt. These guys are on our side.”
Mara nodded. “I can see that now, but that doesn’t mean Indra will.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m going to be back in about forty-five minutes. I have an idea.”
I nodded, synching my watch. “See you then.”
We’d find where these new crystals were stashed, grab them, and be done with this whole fucking nightmare.
For a second, I allowed myself to dream of getting all three crystals now, dropping them in Faerie, and grabbing healing water for Liam’s mom. We could bring his brothers and the final crystal to Faerie, where we would all live together, happily ever after.
But unfortunately, I didn’t think it was going to be that easy.
I stepped off the porch of the two-story red house and slipped into the passenger side of the teal VW, looking back at the door just as Mara closed it. I couldn’t imagine the guilt she must have felt for letting the Winter King leave with all those crystals. Even if she hadn’t known, it had to weigh on her.
Liam took off down the road, with Cam and Elle in the back seat and me riding shotgun. I found myself entranced with the beauty of this countryside. Hundred-foot-tall trees and rolling hills overlooked a beautiful lake.
Taking a deep breath, I activated my Seeker power. It was weird knowing that Liam could do the same thing, and most likely was doing the same thing right beside me. There was a weak pull straight ahead as Liam coasted the car down the highway, but as we got closer to the lake, the power kicked stronger.
“Feel that?” Liam asked.
I nodded.
We hadn’t really talked about a plan, but considering that Liam had crazy ice-throwing powers and Cam was a fucking wolf, I figured we were in good shape.
The pull got stronger as Liam twisted and turned down the road, closer and closer to the lake, until he finally pulled over.
“Okay, let’s walk from here.” He pointed to the edge of the lake, where a beautiful house was perched at the edge of the water. Around the home was some kind of shimmery…
My heart picked up its pace. “What’s that?”
It looked like the dome around Faerie, the protective barrier that kept the outside from getting in.
“He did it,” Liam said with a frown.
“He did what?” We all stepped out of the car and moved closer to the dome. It cut into the earth just like the one in Faerie.
“It’s the start of his new world.” Liam sounded dejected. “Just the one house now, but he’ll grow it bigger and bigger until it encompasses the whole state or country or whatever part he wants to make into his dark version of Faerie.”
Dark version of Faerie was pretty much the worst thing I could think of. I charged forward. “We need to stop it.”
Liam stumbled after me, Cam and Elle following just behind him. “Hold up.”
“We’ll take the crystals, and his dome will fall, just like in Faerie,” I growled. I was thirsty for revenge. He thought he could steal from us and create his own world?
Hell, no.
Liam had reached me and grasped my upper arm, slowing my run. “Just wait. This doesn’t feel right.”
We were ten feet from the dome, and seeing the crystalline structure cut right into the grass here in the human world was unsettling. I wondered what illusions the humans saw. I had planned to rip an opening in the dome like I had back in Faerie, but Liam’s words gave me pause.
The entire house looked dead, like no one was home. Not a guard outside, not a car in the driveway. Empty.
That was weird…
Reaching out, Liam brushed his fingers against the clear dome. A sizzling sound ripped through the space, and he yelped, yanking back his fingers. “Shit!”
The tips of his fingers came away singed black, but they quickly frosted with snow as he pulled forth his power to cool the burning.
“What wa—” I began.
My words were cut off as the illusion dropped. Suddenly, we were surrounded by fifty Sons of Darkness. One second, we’d been alone in the woods on the outskirts of this mysterious property, and the next, dozens of men with swords and horns were bearing down on us.
I yelped, completely startled by their sudden appearance.
With a battle cry, Liam thrust his hands out, and a wall of ice cut us off from them momentarily. The top was open, but it would give us seconds to decide what to do.
“Retreat and meet at the blue door!” Liam yelled, and Elle and I nodded. Then he hooked Cam under the armpits and kicked off the ground, shooting up and out of the ice ring like a tornado.
Elle and I were next. Kicking off with all my might, I shot for the sky. I was a strong flier—not as fast as Liam, but decent in my own right.
The second Elle’s head broke the top of the ice wall, she started throwing knives, and I came up right after her. Doing a quick scan of the Sons, I saw that only two of the dozens there had wings, and they had only just taken to the skies.
Those on the ground all had menacing expressions, and a few of them started to shift into animal forms. Pelts of fur rippled down their arms, and they hunched onto the ground. I’d never seen a shifter fae before, save for Cam, and I had never seen him shift—I had been passed out. To my people, shifters were demons who lived in the dark forest, spoken about only in whispers.
I didn’t spot the Winter King, a mercy for which I was grateful. Flying with as much speed as I could muster, I wove through the trees and headed for the blue door.
I had high hopes we would lose this mob until I saw a harpoon dart sail through the air and puncture Liam’s wing up ahead.
“No!” Dread turned to stone in my gut as I watched Liam and Cam tumble into the crowd of angry, armed Sons.
I looked at Elle, who was staring in shock as the Winter King’s dark fae descended on my soulmate and his bestie. Like a mob, they jumped in a pile and completely covered the two boys, kicking and stabbing like madmen.
The horror caused heat to sear my palms, and I felt pressure build in my chest. Flapping my wings, I lowered myself right over the mob and thrust my arms out.
Everything went white. The pressure left my chest in one huge sunlight explosion. Buttery light burst from my palms, temporarily blotting out everything in the vicinity. It was like a light bom
b had been dropped, and everything turned golden white for a second before the glow retreated.
I landed on the ground amid screams and the smell of burning flesh. My eyes tried to compensate for the temporarily blinding light, but I was struggling to see fully. Moving my way through the chaos, I searched for Liam.
The edges of my vision started to come back just as a Son lunged for me. Holding my left hand out, I blasted him with sunlight, and he shot backward like I’d lit a rocket underneath him.
“I’m at your back!” Elle shouted as we moved in on the pile of men. Most of them rolled on the ground, holding their eyes, and thick red welts marred their arms.
Holy shit.
I’d done that? I felt sick for a moment, but then I remembered they were trying to kill us.
Finally, my vision returned fully, and I saw Liam and Cam in his wolf form. It looked like Liam had pulled the harpoon out of his wing and shoved it into some dude’s neck.
Liam looked at me with shock, which turned to understanding. “You have light magic,” he whispered.
I gulped, unsure what that meant. The last time I had used this magic to fight off his father, Liam had been in a psycho dark state from the crystal, and then he’d been injured.
Elle came up beside me, looking at me like I’d grown two heads. “What the fuck was that?”
Okay, not the best time to discuss the gifts the healing pools had unlocked within me.
Cam howled, and I followed his gaze to see a couple dozen more guards running up the hill from the house. The illusion that the house was vacant had been just that—an illusion.
“Come on. We gotta get out of here.” I leaned down to help Liam up. He stared at me with an inscrutable expression. I couldn’t quite read it, but it made me uncomfortable. I glanced at Elle, who just looked freaked the fuck out. I cleared my throat and urged, “Let’s go!” Now was not the time to get into a philosophical discussion about my new magic.
We took to the skies, Elle and me helping to carry Liam since his wing was damaged, while Cam ran beneath us. I kept looking back to make sure we weren’t being followed, but it was hard to tell with the winding streets. I’d feel better the second we got behind the blue door.
