by Jaymin Eve
He was unfazed as he turned to his boss. “Not her.”
Grizzly turned his attention to the other two girls. When his eyes locked on Grace I wanted to rip his head off. Red must have noticed the scrutiny; he quickly lifted the box again and placed it near my mate. One of the gems started to glow … it was a diamond. For the diamond princess, of fucking course.
“It’s this one.”
The bands released on us then, without warning, and we tumbled apart. I was up in flash, fighting to get to Grace before one of them got their hands on her. A few hunters stood between me and her. I slammed my fist into one, knocking him out, the other dived at me, but I blasted him with energy and he was gone too.
I was almost at her side when a huge weapon dropped in front of my face. Red had stepped in to play. I hesitated, my fury spilling out as I examined the piece he held. I recognized it as a modified stunner. We didn’t use them much in America, but it could incapacitate supes.
“Take one more step toward her and I will not hesitate to use this,” Red warned me. “And just in case you’re a hero, this one is charged to kill, not stun.”
I’d heard the prison in Germany was working on that, but didn’t know it existed outside of theory yet.
“If you touch her, I will kill you.” My words were calm, my anger locked down hard. I existed now in a cold, ruthless place. My sorcery energy was churning, my dragon was pacing, and I had zero fucks left to give. I would wipe them all out without thought or hesitation.
Grizzly, who was standing just behind the redhead hunter, must have seen something in my face he didn’t like. He shouted for his man to shoot me, and at the same time wrapped his arms around Grace. The stunner discharged, but I was already rolling out of the way. Back on my feet, I let out a roar when I saw Grace struggling with Grizzly. He was trying to drag her away and she was fighting with everything she had, only hampered by the fact that she was protecting Evie. One of her arms was held in front of the baby, shielding her from any blows.
The rest of my family was fighting with the other hunters. These supes were highly trained, and we were severely outnumbered. We were also disadvantaged by the fact we couldn’t shift with the girls and babies so close. I sent out a blast of magic at two hunters who were coming in from the side, knocking both of them to the ground.
Dodging around a group of screaming supes, I barreled for Grace. Red fired at me again. The blast zipped past my ear, hitting a table nearby, sending it flying backwards. The blast had come from right behind me, so I spun back around and slammed my palm into his head, releasing a direct burst of energy. I had never used energy in such a direct attack method before, but he had pushed me too far.
There was a brief pause, like the world was holding its breath, then the hunter’s head exploded. I hit the ground to avoid being pummeled by bone, my stomach churning. I’d only been aiming to knock him out, but I’d underestimated my new power. I didn’t hold on to the remorse for long. He’d been trying to take my mate … to kill me with a stunner. He had learned, along with many others before him, that you don’t mess with the Compass quads and their pack. We would hunt you to the ends of the earth and make you pay for everything. That was a promise.
Grace Carter
The hunter kept coming at me, trying to fit some bands across my wrists, bands which I had seen before and knew blocked magic.
He could not have me.
I had a child to protect above all else, and I needed to stop the demons and shadows.
Drawing on the magic inside, I racked my brain for an offensive spell that might throw him off. If I could just use the ice magic as I had at my gran’s, freezing everyone, that would be helpful. I had no idea how I did that, though.
Should start with something I knew. “Locitus serverin,” I shouted.
A cold shot of power left me, the simple stunning spell heading straight for the hunter. But it just reflected off him; he didn’t even block or anything. It was like he had a barrier around him, or was spelled to withstand magic. I knew it could be done, but that defense system was only as strong as the person powering it. And he was a shifter, not a magic user, so I should be able to knock him down quickly.
We circled each other; I caught glimpses of my family. Tyson was fighting a hunter with a stunner. The beams from the weapon kept missing my mate by inches and I wanted to scream and panic and throw myself in front of him to keep him safe. I couldn’t, I knew that. This wasn’t just about me, but it was so hard to resist.
The bear shifter spoke quickly. “Come with me now and none of them will get hurt. We have technology from the demons. We have the stones to reflect your jeweled magic. You cannot best us.”
Crap … stones to reflect my magic. Was that why my spell didn’t hit him? At least I knew now that he wanted me alive, which meant I was going to fight that much harder. Just as I was about to charge him, there was a pop to my left. I told myself not to take my eyes off him, but I had to turn for a brief look. Shit … no! One of the hunters had released a dome, trapping all of my pack – plus a hundred other supes – inside.
Braxton and Tyson both stood at the edge inside, smashing themselves against the barrier. Tyson! I tried to call out to him, but there was just the faintest humming where our bond usually was. I could feel him, but no words were getting through. Double shit!
I turned back to the bear, realizing he was so much closer than he had been before. Taking another step back, I swallowed hard. “You need me to go voluntarily with you, right?”
His hard eyes remaining locked on me. “I would prefer it, yes. I have an oath, I try and stick with it. We don’t kidnap, we coerce.”
I snorted, barely stopping a major eye roll. “It’s the same thing. You’re threatening my family. I’m not going to go happily.”
I had to look at the dome again, and my heart stuttered as an inky gas started to cloud the space above Tyson’s head, swirling in from the sides in a dark, ominous fashion.
“It’s called air of Eldra,” the hunter said conversationally, clearly noticing my horror. I wrenched my panicked gaze from Tyson to find that the bear had found a few hunter friends. Part of me was happy there were only five of them left; the rest were out of commission thanks to my pack. “It’s a gas from the land of demons. They developed it. It manipulates oxygen, changing the molecular structure. First the supes fall into a deep sleep, and if they don’t get fresh oxygen soon, they die.”
My heart was beating so hard and fast that I couldn’t think over the pounding. “I’ll need to leave the baby behind, and trust me, it’s in your best instincts to let that happen. Her family will hunt you, and you will beg them for death.”
He shrugged, and two of his hunters moved to stand on either side of me. I looked at the dome again; the sides were shuddering as something heavy slammed into them. I caught flashes of scales and knew the boys were in dragon form, but the mist was thick enough now that I couldn’t get a clear picture.
“Time is wasting. They don’t have much longer.”
I wanted to rip his smug bastard face off. Flashbacks of Trevor kept paralyzing me, but I fought through it. Seriously, though, how were there so many horrible, power-crazy, arrogant bastards in the world? How come they hadn’t had their asses kicked by their mothers the minute they started acting like selfish shits?
Unwrapping Evie, I kept my focus on the hunters, until the baby started to fuss. There was a hot, damp wetness in my eyes as I smiled down at her. “It’s going to be okay, little one. Your momma and daddy will not let anything happen to you.”
Her lips quivered. Somehow she knew I was on the verge of losing it, and it was upsetting her. Lifting my eyes to the bear, I growled out, “I promise to go willingly with you, but I want to see my friends freed first.”
“Agreed.” He didn’t even hesitate and it made me wary. Too readily was that agreement, and I was now more suspicious than ever. But what other choice did I have? Walking across to the edge of the dome, I could hear faint soun
ds from inside as it continued to shudder and shake. Roars echoed and I tried again to reach for Tyson’s mind. Ty, please know that I will do anything to protect you. I have to go with them, but I’ll find you again.
There was no one to leave Evie with. All of the supes who had not been trapped in the dome had fled as soon as they could, which meant I had to leave a precious, innocent child on the ground.
“Stay safe, baby girl,” I whispered, pressing my lips to her cheek. She was still staring at me, those wide eyes glossy, lips trembling even harder.
Locking my emotions down, I tapped into the same protective shell I’d used when I was tortured and attacked. I schooled my face and suppressed all of my pain and fear and anger. I showed them that nothing they did affected me.
When I was standing right by the bear, who I suspected led this pack of assholes, he slapped bands across my hands. A similar set went around my ankles, and I didn’t bother to look down or flinch as the cold, thin strip compressed into my skin. Evie let out a wail and the sudden pain in my chest was so sharp I felt like my heart had just cracked right down the center.
The bear roughly shoved me forward. “I’m glad to see we’ve reached an agreement. We will all have a pleasant trip to Faerie.”
Well, I knew where we were going now at least. Evie let out another cry and I forced myself to not look at her. I couldn’t.
“Release the dome,” I said firmly. “I’m here, willingly. I will not fight you. Release. The. Dome.”
With a deep, hoarse laugh, he leaned forward and yanked me up, throwing me hard across his shoulders. My ribs screamed in protest but I made no noise, too busy keeping my eyes locked on the dome.
I thrashed and protested as he walked away. “You promised you would let them go free!”
He tightened his hold on me, to the point it felt like my thigh bones might snap. “I can’t have them coming after me, but I do honor my promises. As I said before, I’m a supe with a moral code.”
I heard him mutter something to one of the men close by. That guy then removed a small device from his pocket. Inside was another set of stones, multi-hued, and ranging from very small to almost fist diameter in size. The hunter lifted one of the largest, held it out in his hand, and whispered against it. It sounded like Latin, but I didn’t recognize the words.
The stone started to spin, moving so quickly I couldn’t even tell it was a stone any longer. It then zipped off his hand, crossed the square, and slammed against the dome. My breath caught as I waited for it to smash the walls … but somehow the stone absorbed through the side of the barrier and disappeared into the dark mist.
We were moving now, away from the dome, and I strained as best I could to see what was happening. At first it seemed like nothing, and I was about to lose my shit again, when a speck of light appeared in that dark mist, a speck that continued to grow and grow, expanding with speed. The gas was gone in seconds.
No! Gods, no. I gasped, unable to stop the tears from trailing down my face. Everyone inside was sprawled out across the ground, either unconscious or dead. I couldn’t see the dragons, which made me think they’d turned back to their human forms when they lost consciousness.
I was too late.
A heavy sob left me. It shook my entire body so violently I almost fell off the bear’s shoulder. Bastards. I struck out with heavy blows to the back of his head, smashing as hard and fast as I could. My screams were ear piercing and I lost all semblance of sanity. The darkness inside of me exploded, and I thought for a second it was leaking from me in long streams. Before I could focus on that though, a heavy hit to the side of my head knocked me out.
I floated in semi-consciousness for a while. A part of me knew I was hiding from the agony I would feel when I awoke. I had lost them all. My friends and family … Tyson. I had left Evie on the ground with no one to help her.
My body flooded with new energy, the ice and shadows mixing so thoroughly now that I was unsure of how I would feel when I allowed full consciousness to return. If the ice was my power as a diamond princess – because I was starting to think it could be nothing else – then what was the darkness?
When I couldn’t hide any longer, I opened my eyes, blinking against the light. As my vision cleared, I wasn’t surprised to see where I was.
Bound to a pole … in the middle of the four jeweled meadows.
My pole was driven deep in the ground, and rose high above my head. I was in front of the sparkling diamonds. All hail the diamond princess. This was so not how the fairy tales went.
I noticed the other three women then, all of them secured in a similar position, hands tied above their heads, high on their poles.
The hunters were not anywhere I could see.
“Welcome back to us.”
I swung my head toward the ruby lands. The ruby-chick flashed a grin at me and I just stared. She was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. Long waves of white-blond hair, huge emerald eyes, and skin that was somehow both dark and light, and absolutely flawless. “We weren’t sure you’d wake up in time for the show.”
The other two were staring in my direction. Obviously I’d been the only one out cold.
Clearing my throat, my tongue felt fat and heavy. “How long have we been here?” My voice was husky; the screaming had hurt my throat. “Where did the bounty hunters go?”
Ruby princess shrugged as best she could while tied-up. “No idea, they showed up in the sanctuary, threatened to kill everyone in there if we didn’t go with them to Faerie, and since we had no choice, we followed them through a doorway. Now we’re waiting here like good little sacrificial lambs.”
“You were all in the sanctuary?” I looked at the other two girls. The sapphire princess was petite, standing only just over five foot tall. Her hair was midnight black, and I couldn’t tell eye color from this distance, but they looked dark against her pale skin. Emerald princess had blond curls, more golden than white. Her eyes were light, a pale green or blue, and her skin was darkly tanned, like she spent a lot of time in the sun.
Sapphire spoke up: “We were all in the sanctuary. It was safer than the last place I was.” Her accent was strong, and I couldn’t immediately place it … somewhere in Europe.
Ruby spoke again: “My name is Justice, the brunette is Cam, and the other blonde is Gretley. We found each other in the sanctuary a month ago.”
Justice. “Did you ever meet a wolf shifter named Mischa?” I locked her in my gaze.
She lurched forward on her pole, a sense of urgency beaming from her. “Yes! Yes, I know her. Is she okay?”
My heart clenched tightly as a pain so deep and desperate consumed me. For a second the darkness took over, and I had an urge to taste the blood of every living creature around me. I wanted them all to die.
Kill them all.
I jerked as a cold iciness slapped at me and some of the darkness receded. I huffed in deep breaths like I’d just run a marathon. “I … I don’t know if she’s okay. The hunters locked them in this dome thing and filled it with a deadly mist. I promised to come quietly if they let them go…”
My voice broke off and I fought against the rising tide of sobs threatening to burst from my chest.
Justice somehow managed to look furious and heartbroken, her face crumpling as her lips thinned. “Let me guess.” Her voice was brittle. “They never freed them.”
I shook my head, and bit back another sob. “No, they didn’t. My mate was inside. All of my family...”
I crumbled forward, the agony too hot and intense for me to suppress. I couldn’t stop the tears this time. “I should have done more,” I sobbed between deep gasping breaths. “I should have fought harder.” Each tear froze and then shattered on my cheeks, sprinkling the yellow sands with little ice shards. If I hadn’t been so devastated, I would have been freaked out by these changes. But at this point the ice thing was the least of my worries.
I noticed the other princesses all had tears of their own, the four of us joi
ned together in my moment of grief. It took me a few more ragged breaths but I got myself under control again, somehow. “I’m not sure how much you know,” I started, my voice even more raspy. “But I’m going to tell you a pretty strange story, and I need you all to believe me. You won’t want to, but we don’t have time to go through all the stages before acceptance. We need to get out of here.”
Wariness creased their faces, but no one protested, so I immediately launched into a rushed explanation. I told them that we were hidden princesses from Faerie, that the hunters worked for the demons and had been tracking us down, that we needed to free our people or otherwise the shadows would rise again.
The girls’ wariness morphed into disbelief, especially from Justice. “I’m human,” she said flatly. “There’s no way I’m one of you supernaturals. I just got caught up in your world, wrong place at the wrong time.”
Cam piped up then: “We’re all human. That’s the reason we bonded in the sanctuary.”
I shook my head, even though a sliver of confusion was plaguing me. Why was I the only one who hadn’t been hidden as a human? “You’re not humans.” I let all the confidence I felt about this ride on that statement. “You know deep down you aren’t. Your fey side has been locked away, hidden so that no one could find you. But you should be starting to feel it inside of you. The spell was broken on me, and for some reason started unraveling on you at the same time.”
Justice scowled at me. “Why would they hide us if they needed us to break this spell on the jeweled meadows?”
“They hid us before the spell was cast. We have been hunted our entire lives because our blood is the lock on a prison which keeps the shadows hidden. That’s the reason these four jeweled lands exist. Something must have happened when we were young. I don’t know what it was, but our people decided to hide us until they could eliminate any danger.”
“But they got eliminated instead,” Gretley said, speaking for the first time. She had a low, rich, husky voice.
