by Nissa Leder
“You’re really something, you know that?”
“Thanks, darling.”
“Not a good something. You’re an ass.”
Kaelem lunged at Scarlett and grabbed both her wrists. “I’ve told you to never trust anyone. Ever. And that includes me. But we want the same thing: to protect those we care about. This power will help with that. I am already a powerful king. If I get the power, then I can keep both you and your sister safe.”
Kaelem loosened his grip on her wrists. Scarlett crossed her arms and huffed like a child. She couldn’t disagree. She might have the ability to be a powerful fae, but she was still learning to control her magic. What made her think gaining more power would be safer for her and her sister?
Yet, she wasn’t a typical fae, taught to be selfish and greedy, distanced to the other fae by a court. She had Seelie blood and Unseelie blood, which apparently meant a big deal.
“If you have to hate me, so be it, but if you allow me to, I’ll protect you,” Kaelem said.
“But everyone was trying to protect me.” Scarlett hadn’t appreciated being treated as delicately as glass, but she was thankful the others seemed to care.
“And soon, we’ll arrive at the tree. Will they protect you then or run you over to get more magic for themselves?”
“Isn’t that what you plan to do? And why even bring me? Traveling alone would have been faster.”
“Because…” Kaelem stared at her. Scarlett felt the impact of his pause. Something heavy sat at the tip of his tongue. His mouth closed and he swallowed whatever he was about to say, and instead, said, “You’re the key.”
Whatever she expected him to say, it wasn’t that. “I’m the key?”
What did that even mean? He enjoyed games too much for Scarlett to believe anything he said.
“No one else claimed to feel the tree like you did.”
Even now, Scarlett felt the buzzing inside her. Somehow, she was connected to it. Which made her crave its power even more. But how did Kaelem know?
“What do you mean?” She tried to play dumb.
“You nearly fell into a trance when you stared at it,” Kaelem said. “I pay attention to you, darling. You’re rather transparent.” His mouth curved into a smirk. “It’s endearing.”
“I…” Heat rushed to Scarlett’s cheeks. She didn’t want to be flattered. It should be creepy. “So what? I felt the tree’s energy. That doesn’t mean anything.”
Kaelem shrugged. “Maybe not. But what if it does?”
Scarlett wanted to deny it, but, deep down, she knew somehow she was connected to the tree.
The question was, what did that mean?
Sage stabbed another one of the creatures and kicked it away.
From afar, their bodies had seemed human-like. Now closer, she could see their bones protruding from their ashen skin. A fine layer of silver hair coated them like fur. Long fingers and toes shot out from their hands and feet.
“There are so fucking many,” Raith said from behind her. With his injury, he’d been no help in fighting them off, and the other three had surrounded him for protection.
Next to Sage, Poppy sliced one’s throat and kicked it away. “They’re dumb as can be.”
Cade’s sword proved most effective with its extended reach. “We’re never going to get out of here.”
As one approached Cade, drool dripped from its mouth.
Instead of charging at them all at once, the creatures took their time.
A shriek echoed through the trees, causing the creatures to cover their ears with their thin fingers.
A gray horse galloped toward them with a hooded rider holding a long stick with its end on fire.
The creatures yelped as they backed away from the burning stick. One was too slow. As the flames contacted its skin, its yelp sharpened to a scream. The blazing embers spread as the fire completely devoured the creature.
“Follow me,” a female voice said from behind the hood.
None of them questioned her motives. They all sprinted behind her as her horse trotted back toward the cliff.
Sage glanced back. The creatures didn’t follow them. The fire must have scared them.
When they’d escaped the forest, the woman jumped off of the horse.
Raith, Cade, Poppy, and Sage all stared at each other.
She wouldn’t save them from the things then harm them, would she? And why had she saved them? Since the tribe they’d encountered after coming through the portal, they hadn’t seen any fae-like creatures. This realm seemed oddly void of anyone resembling the high fae.
Uneasiness swam through Sage. A mysterious woman saving them just in time. How could that be a coincidence?
As the woman approached them, she removed her hood. Long, dark locks flowed from her head as her blue eyes scanned the group.
Next to Sage, Raith dropped the dagger in his hand. “Mother?”
Chapter Twenty-One
Scarlett hoped that wherever the rest of the group were, they were safe.
If they all had their magic, chances were Kaelem and Scarlett were as strong as the four of them together. But without it, the other four had the advantage. Not that Scarlett wanted to fight them. But it reassured her that they were all competent fighters. Even Raith—injury and all—was probably better than Scarlett.
Back in the Summer Court, Jaser had taught her to use a staff as she prepared for the Battle of Heirs. She tried to remember the tips he’d given her. Even as a human, he hadn’t dismissed her as much as she was now dismissing herself.
Everyone else treated her as fragile, but Scarlett refused to allow herself any pity. She gripped her staff firmly on each side of the opal stone. If anyone attacked them, she’d be ready.
What if Kaelem was right about the others? If they all arrived at the tree at the same time, would everyone fight to get the power? If Scarlett couldn’t be the one to get it, who did she want to get it?
She ignored the questions and, instead, focused on each step. What-ifs were pointless. If she had to make a decision later, she couldn’t worry about it then.
Still in the forest above the valley, Scarlett and Kaelem continued moving. They approached the sound of running water. Ahead, the trees grew thin and opened to a river that continued over the ledge and became a waterfall.
“Now what?” Scarlett asked.
If they couldn’t continue, they’d either have to turn around or drop down the valley sooner than they’d planned, making this whole detour pointless.
“We cross.” Kaelem pointed to a tree. A rope was tied to it and spread across the river, tied to a tree on the other end.
“I’m not walking across that.” Had he lost his mind?
“We aren’t walking across it. Not without magic to protect us,” Kaelem said. “We’re going to hang on to it as we cross the river.”
“But…”
“We don’t have time for another plan.”
“If I’m the key, then what’s the rush?” Scarlett would prefer to stay as dry as possible.
“That’s my theory, yes. But what if I’m wrong? Or what if there’s more than one key. I don’t think our group is the only ones searching for the power.”
“What do you mean?” They hadn’t seen anyone else come through the door.
“The Fates always stir things up as much as possible. The more people searching for this prophesied power, the more fun they have.”
Since there was no way around it, Scarlett agreed.
She hated to agree with him. She’d rather continue thinking he was a villain out for only his own gain. But as she’d walked, stubborn in her silence, she’d digested everything he’d told her.
She’d been the one to suggest saving Cade and Poppy, and while they’d all worked together so far, if they found the power, the truce amongst them all was off. Scarlett doubted Raith wanted the power. Then again, she’d sensed his jealousy toward Kaelem. Would Raith take the power simply to outdo the Unseelie King?
Scarlett didn’t know Sage well enough to predict her goal. She’d come because Raith had asked her to, but that didn’t mean she had no desire for the power.
Poppy would never take the power from Cade, but she’d fight to take it for him. With so much uncertainty, Scarlett couldn’t be angry with Kaelem. She wouldn’t have come willingly. She hated to admit he’d been right, leaving her no choice but to begrudgingly cross the river.
Kaelem went first, tying their bags to the rope and pushing them across out of the water.
Scarlett followed closely behind, with only her staff tied to her back like a beauty pageant sash. The iciness of the water caused her to suck in her breath and she felt nothing like a beauty queen.
The rapids crashed against her, but she kept a firm grip on the rope. Panic would do her no good. This was her chance to prove she wasn’t as weak as everyone treated her. Her heart raced but she swallowed her fear.
Hand over hand, she made her way across. By the time she reached the far bank, she’d grown used to the chilliness of the water.
Kaelem reached out a hand and helped her.
Stepping into the air made her gasp again. “Freakin’ brrrr.”
Kaelem laughed. “I can think of a way to warm us up.”
Scarlett grimaced. “I think not.” She shivered. God, it was cold.
Kaelem unbuttoned his shirt. It had started clean, but had gotten dirtier each day. The water had rinsed away some of the grime.
“I said no.” Scarlett crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“Nightfall is approaching. It’s only going to get colder. I’m taking off my clothes so they can dry.”
Scarlett groaned. Her clothes were soaked. But she didn’t want to be naked, either. “The fire will dry them off.”
“We aren’t making a fire.”
“What?”
“With six of us, two could guard watch in case someone attacked, and if they did, they had to fight our whole group. Now it’s just us two, and you’re lousy at combat, darling.”
“But we’ll freeze.”
“Not if we dry off. And if worse comes to worst, we’ll find some way to keep warm.” He smirked.
Scarlett glared. She wouldn’t let it come to that. But she needed to let her clothes and her body both dry. Groaning, she removed her clothes and hung them over a tree branch.
It wasn’t like they hadn’t already seen each other without clothes. But at the Seelie Court, Scarlett had been drunk and worried it was her last night alive. Now, completely sober, modesty weighed on her. She crossed one arm over her chest as she covered her lower half with the other arm the best she could.
Naked, Kaelem laid out blankets on the ground.
In this realm, his ganacanagh gift was blocked. Which made Scarlett’s desire for him real. Which was so much worse. She hated it, but she couldn’t deny her attraction.
Looks were superficial, and with a clear head, she refused to do anything with him. But was their connection based merely on appearance? She knew the answer even if she didn’t want to accept it.
After a while, her bashfulness waned. Who knew what her future held? Soon, they’d be fighting for a power she knew little about. Worrying about something as trivial as nudity seemed silly.
Scarlett caught Kaelem staring at her. She wouldn’t give him what he wanted tonight—no matter how cold she was—but she’d have fun making him want it more.
Raith felt like he was in a dream.
Before that moment, if someone had asked him to describe his mother, he'd have drawn a blank. He was only four when she'd died—or, apparently, hadn't. Growing up, he’d tried to remember her. Flashes would surface, her blue eyes, her wide smile. But he could never fully imagine her.
Yet, when she’d removed her hood and her eyes met his, he knew.
After she’d rescued them, they followed her halfway up the cliff to a cave. It went deep into the rock, and when they couldn’t see the opening anymore, a living area appeared.
Since Raith had announced the woman who saved them was his mother, no one had spoken, her included.
She slowly approached him. “Raith. My baby.” She reached out her hand.
Raith recoiled from her touch. “How are you here? Why?”
The joy he’d felt turned to confusion, then to anger. He’d grown up thinking she was dead. Clearly, that was false.
“Please, listen to my story. Then, if you hate me, I’ll leave you alone.”
He could never hate her. He didn’t know how to feel, but he wasn’t a four-year-old desperate for his mother’s embrace anymore. Or was he? He’d worked so hard simply to learn the truth about her. He’d never expected to actually find her.
“Like you, I have both Autumn and Summer blood. More Summer blood, actually, but when my magic developed, my body had chosen its Autumn nature. While my sister learned Summer energy, I manipulated trees and took energy from their leaves and branches.
“Then, I met your father. He didn’t care that I didn’t have Summer magic or that my lineage was…complicated. We fell in love and he took me back to the Summer Court and we married. I fell pregnant with you and I was happier than I could ever be.”
Her gaze dropped. She took a deep breath before continuing.
“Then, after you were born, I started having visions. After your father and I wed, I became royal, and some royal fae with multiple court lineage can utilize the power of both. My Summer gift was to see the future.
“My first vision was mundane. You would trip over a large rock and cut your head. Of course, as your mother, I tried everything to stop it, but it happened anyway. The first year the visions were sparse and simple. Then, on your third birthday, I saw you as a young adult, fighting your brother for the Right of Heir. He didn’t look like me. He reminded me of someone else—my sister.
“I convinced myself it was just a nightmare, not a real vision. Then, the next one came. This one felt different. Less certain. I learned that not all visions are set. Some are nothing more than a possibility. I saw my sister poisoning me. I was about to go for a horseback ride and she offered me a bottle of wine for the trip. When I drank it in the middle of the forest, I collapsed.
“I didn’t want to believe my sister would do that. But when that day came, I knew it was true. Another vision showed a different path. You were grown and in a strange land with a woman, searching for a tree. For the Life Tree.
“But when you two tried to cross the Valley of the Dying, the creatures devoured you. Later, another vision came. This one included me; the first vision I’d had of my own future. I saved you and a larger group—one without the woman from before—from the creatures of death. I saw today.
“The vision showed me the way here to this place. Instead of drinking the wine my sister gave me, I fled. My only chance to save you was to make it here.” Her tear-filled eyes met his.
Raith wanted to call it all a lie. But, she’d saved them. And she was here in front of his face. He’d been searching for answers to explain her death and she’d never died.
“There are two more from the group that got separated from us.” He didn’t feel like going into the whole story. Not then.
“The woman from my first vision and another male. Yes, I’ve seen them in a vision, too.”
“Are they okay?”
“Yes, but you’re all in danger. I can’t say how I know, I’ve had no specific visions, but something is interfering with my gift which can only mean trouble.”
Raith’s mother reached out her hand again.
This time, he took it. As their hands met, any uncertainty he had that she was really his mother vanished.
She pulled away from Raith and looked to the rest of the group. “I’m Rowen. Nice to meet my son’s friends.” She approached Cade. “And my nephew.”
Cade met her eyes. “Hello.”
“You look like her, but you are not her.” Rowen touched his face. “I’ve seen no visions past the moment I saved you. We will need to b
e careful from here on out.”
Cade watched Rowen as she prepared food for them all. Her features were darker than his mother’s, but they shared the same facial expressions.
Could she be telling the truth? Had his mother tried to kill her own sister? The child in him shook his head sideways, screaming no. But the adult, who’d seen his mother’s ferocity and determination, wondered if those very qualities had led her to take something that wasn’t hers.
After their bellies were full, Rowen said, “If you follow the tunnel, it will lead you to a lake within the cave. The water is surprisingly warm for anyone who wants to rinse off.”
Wiping away the dirt Cade’s skin had accumulated the last few days sounded lovely and some space away couldn’t be better timed. “I’ll go.”
“I'm too stuffed to move.” Sage rubbed her belly.
“Maybe in a bit,” Raith said.
Poppy took her last bite of food. “I'll join you.”
Rowen grabbed a torch and lit it. “You'll want this. It's dark back there.”
Cade took it, then he and Poppy headed down the tunnel. Its walls started out as ordinary stone, but, as they walked further, an opal sheen appeared.
“Beautiful.” Poppy ran her fingers over the shiny stone.” “And slick.”
Cade switched the torch into his other hand and touched the wall. It was smooth and warm. Though they couldn’t use their magic in this realm, it seemed the realm itself possessed magic.
When they arrived at the lake, Cade stuck the torch into a stand at the edge of the still blue water. Above, the cavern opened to the sky, which was now a dark shade of pink.
“I'll go first,” Poppy said. “Turn around.”
“Huh?”
“My clothes are disgusting and I want to take them off before I get in the water. Once I'm in, I'll look away and you can do the same.”
Cade obliged, grinning as he waited. She could slice someone's throat without much thought, but nudity concerned her.
“Okay, I'm in,” she said.
Cade removed his shirt as he turned back toward her.
She covered her eyes. “No warning?”
