by Jayne Faith
I told Nicole about my plea to Periclase, as well as my message to Maxen.
Her face crumpled, and for a moment I thought she was going to burst into tears. But then she pressed her lips together, took a slow breath, and nodded.
“Under the circumstances, it’s a good strategy,” she said. “Plus, it’ll give us the opportunity to bond more with Bryna.”
I gave her a horrified look and then realized she was kidding about the Bryna part.
“Ha, good one,” I said. We sipped our coffee for a moment, and I watched her out of the corners of my eyes. “What do you think Maxen will do?”
She lowered her mug to her lap, cradling it in both hands. “I know he’s strong enough to stand up to Marisol. I think this threat to us will give him the resolve he needs to finally do it.”
“Us?” I said. “I think the threat to you is the real motivation.”
She shook her head. “He cares about you a lot.”
Yeah, she was probably right, but his friendship with me alone wouldn’t be enough. When it came to summoning courage and taking a real leap of faith, love was a damn powerful motivator. Even I knew that.
Gretchen joined us after pouring her own mug. “When and where will you need my magic?” she asked.
“Today, I hope.” I held up my phone. “I’m waiting for a response from a Fae king, and if it’s favorable, I’ll need your invisibility magic to get us into Faerie without alerting anyone or running into any assassins.”
One of her brows lifted at the mention of assassins. “Who’s trying to kill you?”
“Marisol Lothlorien, leader of the Stone Order and our sworn sovereign,” I said.
“Oh, damn,” she said, drawing out the words in a low voice. “A Faerie queen trying to kill you.”
“That’s not even the half of it,” I said. “Technically, she’s not a queen yet, as the Order isn’t a formal kingdom. A prophecy she had years ago said the Order would become a kingdom on the bloody bodies of female New Garg sisters.”
I flipped my index finger back and forth between me and Nicole.
Gretchen’s eyes widened. “A prophecy and a murderous sworn sovereign.” She snorted a laugh. “You do realize you sound slightly insane right now, don’t you?”
I echoed her laugh in spite of myself. “I can only imagine how it comes across. I wish it weren’t true. I just want to go back to hunting vamps and crashing in some stupid apartment.”
Gretchen’s lips parted, and she gave me an offended glare.
I waved a hand. “Your apartment isn’t stupid. You know what I mean.”
“Just messing with you,” she said.
I kept glancing down at my phone, though any responses might not come for hours. I’d asked both Maxen and Periclase to send their replies to Lochlyn in Faerie, who would relay them to me.
“Got anything in there for breakfast?” Nicole asked, rising. “I can whip up some eggs or something.”
“Sure, you’re welcome to whatever you find,” Gretchen said. She stood too and disappeared into the bathroom. A moment later I heard the shower turn on.
I stared out the window for the next ten minutes, watching dawn brighten into morning. When my phone vibrated against my thigh, I looked down. A message from Lochlyn.
I snatched up the device and read the message.
From Periclase: I will give asylum to you and your sister. Expecting your arrival as soon as you’re able to travel.
My heart skipped a beat. We were on. I pushed up from the chair and went into the kitchen to tell Nicole. She froze for a moment and then shoved a piece of buttered toast on a paper towel at me.
“Well, here goes nothing, I guess,” she said and then bit into her own piece of toast and chewed mechanically, looking at me with wide eyes.
I nodded and stuffed a corner of toasted bread into my mouth, too.
Gretchen came in, her wet hair twisted up into a bun.
“It’s time,” I said.
“That was fast.” She looked back and forth between the two of us. “I need the rest of the money, and then we can go.”
I quickly used my phone to make the transfer.
Before we stepped outside, Gretchen drew magic and wove a spell that would keep us obscured from any observers as we made our way to her car. She stayed outside the boundary of the invisibility magic so it would look like she was going to her car and getting in alone. She drove us downtown so we could use the doorway in an abandoned parking garage.
I took the three of us into the Duergar kingdom, emerging through a doorway in a clearing at the end of a hard-packed road that led to Periclase’s palace.
A rush of human magic filled the air as Gretchen pulled power and formed the shield that would keep us out of sight of any observers. The three of us trotted down the road.
“I’ll need you again,” I said to Gretchen. “But I’m not sure exactly when.”
“Shoot me a text when the time comes,” she said.
“Thank you.”
At the front entrance of the palace, she had to drop the spell so I could identify myself to the guards at the gate. They were expecting us and ushered us in without hesitation.
Periclase appeared not a minute after we were inside.
“And so, you’ve returned,” he said, his eyes sharp and his tone hard.
“Yes,” I said. “You have our gratitude for your quick and positive response.”
My insides tightened as what I’d done fully struck me. I’d given myself and my sister over to a powerful king who could exact almost any promise he wanted from me in return for providing us a safe place to stay in Faerie.
“Another small request,” I said. “I need to ferry this woman back to the Earthly realm.”
“I’ll do it,” said a familiar voice.
Jasper stepped forward from the contingent of soldiers grouped behind Periclase.
My shoulders lowered in relief when the Duergar king agreed. I trusted Jasper more than anyone else here to get Gretchen safely back across the hedge. I gave Jasper a slight nod just before he turned to leave, and he returned the gesture. After he returned, I’d have to find a way to speak to him alone.
A couple of women dressed in palace livery stood off to the side. Periclase flipped his fingers at them, and they came forward.
“These are your attendants. They’ll show you to your quarters so you can freshen up. Then, we shall meet to discuss terms.”
The women turned, and Nicole and I could do nothing but follow. For the time being, we were at Periclase’s mercy. It was up to me to find a way to use the situation to my advantage and ensure that Marisol could never threaten us again.
Next in the Blood of Stone Series:
RISE OF THE STONE COURT
by Jayne Faith
Before Petra Maguire and the New Gargoyles, there was Ella Grey.
Don’t miss the Ella Grey Series, the urban fantasy story set in the Earthly realm that brings us to the Cataclysm and begins a new era of magic!
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BOOKS BY JAYNE FAITH
Ella Grey Series (complete)
urban fantasy
Stone Cold Magic
Dark Harvest Magic
Demon Born Magic
Blood Storm Magic
Shattered Magic Novels
urban fantasy
Blood of Stone
Stone Blood Legacy
Rise of the Stone Court
&nbs
p; Sapient Salvation Series (complete)
dystopian romance
The Selection
The Awakening
The Divining
The Claiming
Love Across Stars Novels
science fiction romance
The Seas of Time
The Laws of Attraction
Magic Currents (dystopian fairy tale)
