by Linsey Hall
“No. Any ideas?”
“Sorry, no new ones.”
Aerdeca shook her head sorrowfully as well. Cass’s eyes were dark with concern. She knew too well how it felt to lose one’s magic—freaking awful. If I didn’t get it back, I didn’t know if I could keep living this way. Not happily, at least.
“I re-found my magic by retracing my past,” Cass said.
“Then I’ll try to do the same,” I said, having no idea how I’d do that or when I would find the time. Or even what that really meant. I’d just been to the Fire Fae homeland and hadn’t learned much.
Not true.
The Oracle had said that the SoulStone and I were the same. That had to mean something. I just didn’t know what.
5
I shoved away thoughts of The Oracle and turned to Iain. “Ready?”
“Ready.” He looked at the others in the room. “Thank you for your help.”
“I’m still not entirely certain what your involvement here is.” Connor’s voice was cold.
I glared hard at him.
“But I trust my sister.” His voice lowered. “All that said, I’ll kill you if you hurt her.”
“All right, He-Man.” My glare softened and my heart warmed just slightly at his words—enough to thaw the chill of my annoyance. “I’ve got it under control.”
Conner nodded, his gaze now on me. “I’ll keep looking for a solution to your missing magic.”
“Thanks, bro.” I hugged him, then said goodbye to my friends and followed Iain out onto the street.
Iain gazed around at the street, his expression slightly tense. “You like it here?”
“What? It’s charming.” I scowled at him. “Never took you for a Dark Magic snob.”
“It’s not so much that as the… city. The crowds.”
Memories of his windswept land on the cliffs of Cornwall filled my mind, followed by thoughts of Dartmoor. He was right. That place was phenomenal. Not that I’d cave to his point. I didn’t even need to lie, anyway. “There’s a lot of amazing nature here, right outside of the city’s boundaries. And Magic’s Bend has a lot to offer—like the folks back in there—” I hiked my thumb back toward the Apothecary’s Jungle. “So there’s no need to bag on it.”
“I apologize. I meant no offense.”
Somehow, I believed him. But I also wondered if he was trying to figure out how we would ever work as fated mates. He lived in a Fae kingdom in England, I lived in a city in America.
But we weren’t going to have to face that problem, since we were going to break the mating bond. If he was willing to stand by that.
“Whatever,” I said. “Let’s go.”
He held out a hand to me, and I took it. Icy warmth shivered up my arm, followed by a heavy pull of attraction that was impossible to ignore. His eyes heated as they met mine, and it was obvious that he felt it, too.
I wanted to pretend that it was the mate bond, but I knew it wasn’t all that. Sure, it made the connection stronger. Made it possible for us to visit each other in dreams. But this attraction had been there long before the ceremony.
“We’ll go to the coast in my realm,” he said. “Then we’ll approach the territory of the Primordial Ones. You can take the potion when we arrive.”
I nodded. The ether sucked us in, spinning us through space and delivering us to the green hills of Cornwall. It was afternoon in England and stormy clouds drifted over the sea. Iron gray waves crashed against the rocks below. The air smelled of fresh saltwater and grass, and I drew it deeply into my lungs.
Lovely.
Iain met my gaze. “We’ll fly to the stone archway that marks the entrance to my realm.”
My heart started to thunder.
The only way to safely reach the archway was to fly. The thorny bushes would tear my legs to shreds if I tried to walk—I’d learned that the hard way, and I wasn’t keen to repeat the lesson.
“Fine.” My voice was tight. I missed my wings, and I couldn’t help but be jealous every time he used his.
It wasn’t one of my finer qualities, that was for sure.
His wings flared behind his back. They’d once looked like ice, but they now appeared to be made of water, silver and bright. A bit like Mordaca’s wings, though they were far more massive.
He held out his arms and I let him pick me up, my skin heating at his touch as he launched us into the air. His arms were like iron bands beneath my back and legs, and it was impossible not to feel the muscles of his chest. I looped one arm around his neck to hold myself upright, and tried to ignore the heat of him.
The wind tore at my hair as he flew us over the thorny bushes, toward the massive stone archway in the middle of a small clearing. It was beautiful and ancient, with magic shimmering around it.
I caught sight of the carvings in the stone that I’d anointed with my blood in order to activate the portal’s magic, but Iain didn’t even land—he just flew right through.
“You don’t have to complete the challenge to enter?” I’d had to do a riddle and give some of my blood to get through the last time I’d come here.
“One of the privileges of being king. It can sense my magic and allows me through at any time.”
“Convenient.”
His kingdom sprawled out beneath us, a beautiful settlement climbing the green cliffs that rose up from the sea. The castle was massive, located close to the water. When I’d last seen it, it’d been covered in ice that was slowly melting.
“The ice is all gone.” Wonder filled my voice—I couldn’t help it.
This place was beautiful.
The stone that formed the castle was a pale gray shot through with glittering flecks. The buildings were made of the same, but even they possessed elegant lines. Flowers bloomed on the vines that covered many of the walls, and it was entirely different from the place I’d left.
No longer cold and dead, but vibrant and alive. The sea even began to sparkle blue as we neared it.
“You can see why I am beholden to you.” The gravity in his voice made my throat tight.
For some reason, I didn’t like the acknowledgment. Not that I regretted doing it. Just that it reminded me of what I had to do for my people—if I could.
I’d sacrificed their—our—SoulStone for these Sea Fae.
I drew in an unsteady breath. “Where to next?”
He nodded out to sea. “We’ll approach from there.”
“We have to go in the water?”
“Of course. Partially, at least.”
“That’s vague.”
“You’ll see.” The corner of his lips quirked up in a smile, and he looked impossibly handsome. My stomach flipped just a bit.
He flew us out over the sea. The wind tore at my hair as the waves crashed below. We were roughly near the spot where I’d lost the SoulStone when he stopped.
Magic flared on the air, and the water began to swirl beneath us. It formed a massive whirlpool, growing deeper and deeper as the magic grew stronger. Soon, it was like a huge funnel leading down into the darkness.
Cold fear pinched my chest. “You made that?”
He nodded.
Oh fates, he was powerful. “And you want us to go down there?”
“Yes.”
“You’re insane.”
“It’s the only way.” He squeezed me, the gesture not as reassuring as he probably thought it was. “You’re lucky we can make the air shaft.”
“If that’s what you’re calling it.”
“Come on, you’ll like it.”
“I’m certain I won’t.” I leaned over to look at it, then shivered.
His powerful wings moved gracefully as he lowered us toward the whirlpool. It was so deep that there was no light at the bottom, just a tunnel down into the depths of nothing.
“If you lose control of this thing, we’re dead.”
He laughed as if it were impossible. “I won’t.”
The wind died as we entered the vertical tunnel of air cr
eated by the swirling water. All around, the dark blue ocean stretched into infinity. If I squinted hard at it, I thought I could see the movement of fish beyond.
“Don’t look too closely, or you might not like what you see,” Iain said.
I turned to look up at him. “Not sure I like this view any better.”
The corner of his mouth quirked up again—another cocky smile. “That’s a lie and you know it.”
Damn it.
“I can feel your attraction to me,” he said. “It’s a heat that you can’t hide.”
Blood rushed to my cheeks, a blush that made me want to groan. I was not the blushing type. Yet here I was.
No way I could keep the conversation going in this direction. “How much farther?”
“A long way. Make sure you hold on tight.”
I tightened my grip around his neck, unable to help it. All around, the water swirled, terrifyingly powerful.
It felt like an eternity before the tunnel reached the bottom of the sea. The air shaft widened on one side to form a giant cave full of air. Iain flew underneath the ceiling of water, entering the huge open space that was nearly pitch black. Not a single bit of light came from the surface down here.
A blue glow shone ahead of us, and he flew toward it. Almost immediately, it expanded to illuminate a massive stone cave. It looked nothing like caves on the surface, however. Instead of dull gray stone, this one gleamed with color. Corals of all shades covered the surface, along with blue gemstones that looked like the deepest parts of the ocean. The stones glowed with blue light, allowing us to see the magic all around.
“I can’t believe all of this is down here,” I murmured, awed.
“The sea is full of incredible things.”
Maybe I should try to get over my fear of water and take up scuba diving.
A massive shark swam by on the other side of the air/water barrier.
Yeah, no scuba diving for me.
Iain flew toward the mouth of the huge cave. Quickly, I pulled a vial of the tracking potion from my pocket and swigged it down.
The liquid burned with heat, and I coughed.
Iain looked at me. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.” I wiped my mouth. “Just want to make sure we really need to go in that cave.”
“Do we?”
I drew a deep breath and looked at it, feeling the potion’s magic rise inside me. Even though it wasn’t my own power, it made me feel less empty.
Something tugged hard at my insides, and I gasped. “Yes, we need to go in there.”
I could feel it so strongly. The SoulStone was in that damned cave.
Iain nodded and flew toward it. We neared the wide entrance of the huge open space and Iain landed inside. I scrambled out of his arms as quickly as I could. Behind us, the air tunnel that Iain had created slowly collapsed, filling in entirely with water.
My heart thundered as I waited to see if the water would rush into the cave where I was standing, but it did not. Instead, the cave stayed entirely dry. The Primordial Ones lived a hybrid life, it seemed, and I was grateful that I wasn’t currently swimming a thousand feet below the surface.
As my vision adjusted, I got a better look at the interior of the huge cave and spotted a lake at the back. Most of the interior walls were covered with ornately carved decorations, and stairs led up to two guard houses set into the wall, which had been built right out of the rock. Four warriors stood at the entrances, their armor made of shells that gleamed like metal.
Two men and two women, they strode down the stairs, each carrying a trident. Their wings were far sleeker than most Fae’s, trailing off their backs almost like fins.
In unison, the guards pointed their tridents toward us.
“You dare trespass upon the sacred land of the Primordial Ones?” The leader’s voice was cold as the sea. “For that, the penalty is death.”
6
Iain stepped toward the guards, his voice carrying the weight of his title. “I am Iain of the Iceni, King of the Court of the Sea Fae.”
Shock flashed across the guards’ faces, and they dropped their tridents. As a group, they moved back a step, indecision flickering on their faces.
Iain raised a brow, and the guards all shifted uncomfortably, clearly wary and not wanting to do anything to offend.
“We have not had a visit from your Court in centuries,” said the leader.
“The time is now.” Iain smiled, and it was both charming and deadly.
The four of them bowed, and when the leader rose, he spoke quickly. “We will pass a message to the queen about your arrival. In the meantime, you may take a chariot to her Court.”
He turned and motioned to the back of the cave. I followed his gesture, spotting a river of water snaking from the lake back through a huge tunnel. It gleamed a brilliant blue, sparkling from within. A small boat waited, tethered to two sea creatures that looked like a cross between fish and dragons. They were a brilliant silvery blue, two of the most beautiful animals I’d ever seen. Horns speared up from their heads, an aquatic version of stags, if I had to guess.
“Thank you.” Iain nodded graciously. “I will pass on word of your hospitality to your mistress.”
“Thank you, your highness. Now, you may follow me.” The guard turned and led us toward the chariot.
I followed, keeping close to Iain. One of the female guards loped ahead, diving right into the river of seawater. Her strange wings flickered under the surface, and she was off like a shot.
I glanced at the guard in front of us, inspecting his wings. They were clearly for water travel and not air.
He stopped at the edge of the river, and the sea creatures spotted him. They pulled the chariot closer, moving of their own volition.
“They’re smart,” I said. “There’s no driver at all.”
His brows rose, and the look in his eyes was slightly offended. “Of course they are smart.”
Shit. Well done, self.
“My apologies.”
His back was even stiffer than it had been, if that was possible.
“Come.” Iain gently gripped my arm and helped me into the silver chariot, seating me on the front of two benches.
I swallowed any snappy comment I might make about being able to seat myself—now was really not the time, considering what was at stake.
Iain sat next to me, and the chariot pulled away from the stone riverbank. I felt the guard’s eyes on me as we moved smoothly into the tunnel.
“So, that didn’t go well.”
The corner of Iain’s lips quirked up. “That’s the thing you’ll have to learn about these Primordial Ones. They’re even worse than the Fae. Theirs is a Court of intrigue and danger, with rules for manners that we don’t understand.”
“It’s pretty obvious that I shouldn’t have called their fish-stags dumb.”
He chuckled. “I was trying to make you feel better, but the point stands. This is a place with rules that are different from ours. They may seem like neutral acquaintances—but they are not. There are things going on that we don’t understand, and we must be constantly vigilant.”
As the boat drifted smoothly down the wide river, I shivered at a sense of being watched. There were no eyes around, nor any surveillance magic that I could sense, but… “I can feel it in the air.”
“It is possible they are watching us. According to the legends, they are highly secretive. They’ve protected themselves down here for millennia.”
“They don’t actually like visitors, do they?”
“I think not.”
The tunnel through which we rode was huge, with a high ceiling and wide shaft. Blue crystals gleamed in the white stone walls, shining a light upon us that felt remarkably like sunlight. The white stone walls were cut through with beautiful patterns. I stared at them, trying to figure out where I’d seen that kind of design before.
It dawned on me. “That’s coral. Dead coral. Bleached.”
Iain nodded. “They are li
fe and death.”
“Their home is built within death.”
“But beautiful death.”
He wasn’t wrong about that. The blue light crystals gleamed on the water, which then reflected off the white coral, causing it to shimmer with ornate patterns. Despite the lovely sunlight feel given off by the crystals, it was impossible to forget how deep under the ocean we were.
“The water could rush in at any moment,” I said.
“But it won’t.”
“These Fae wouldn’t die if it did, though, would they?”
“No.”
“When it comes time to escape here, can you make another air tunnel?”
He shook his head. “I need the air from the surface for that. Something to fill in the gap in the water. We’ll need another way out.”
Damn.
Slowly, the sea creatures tugged us down the river. It was so beautiful and quiet down here that the scenery began to lull me into a state of calm. Tension began to tighten the air between Iain and me. We’d spent so long running and fighting that just sitting next to each other was a novelty—one that forced me to focus on how good he smelled and how icy hot his touch would be.
I tried to focus on anything but him as the boat drifted toward a wall of hanging green vines. They glinted with gorgeous emerald light, soft and feathery. Something tugged at me, a warmth low in my body that made me shift.
Desire.
Oh fates, it was definitely desire.
Suddenly, I felt like I was only millimeters from Iain instead of several inches. His heat seared me across the open space, radiating through my clothes until I swore that I could feel him.
It tugged me hard toward him, and I fought it, confused.
Of course I wanted him.
I’d wanted him since the moment I saw him, despite the fact that he’d scared the hell out of me.
But this wasn’t the time. We were in enemy territory.
I tried to steady my breathing as the boat drifted closer to the wall of vines that blocked the rest of the river. The greenery parted, and the sea creatures pulled us through. A huge chamber opened up around us, the river widening to form a small lake. The sea creatures cut across it, oblivious to the sizzle in the air.
