by Donna Grant
“I knew the moment they mentioned the Others that it was a new threat. I tried to hold onto the memory, but it slipped away like a leaf on the wind. I tried to shift, to holler, to do anything to stop Sabina from taking my sword. But she handed it to a man. As soon as he had it, he and the other five men left. And then Sabina was gone. I doona know how long I lay there fighting the sleep that tried to claim me before they arrived.”
Ulrik’s gaze narrowed. “Who?”
“The Others. I heard their voices. They stood over me, laughing at how easily they’d taken down a Dragon King. If I could’ve, I would’ve killed each of them in that moment.” Reliving the memory sent a wave of fury over V because it felt as if it had just happened.
“Did you look at them?” Ulrik asked.
V shook his head. “I couldna open my eyes. A woman led them, though. By the way she spoke, she’d put the group together.”
“Was she Fae or Druid?”
V shrugged his shoulders before scrubbing both hands down his face. “I couldna tell. There were three females and one male that I heard for sure, but I got the feeling there were others there, as well.”
“Well, hello, handsome,” Rhi said as she strode into the cavern.
V snapped his head to her. He frowned as he swung back to Ulrik. “What the hell is she doing here?”
“Just helping out. But I can leave,” Rhi offered.
Ulrik climbed to his feet and went to Eilish. “He doesna want you to leave. He just isna happy that any of us are here.”
“That’s right,” V said. “I’m no’. You all need to leave. Now. And take Camlo with you.”
At the mention of his name, Camlo began vehemently shaking his head. “No. Nononononono.”
“Actually,” Rhi said as she tossed her long, black hair over her shoulder. “It sounds like Roman and Sabina need our help.”
V had been so wrapped up in his memories that he realized he hadn’t asked about Roman. “What happened? Where are Roman and Sabina?”
“I’m no’ sure,” Ulrik replied. “I can no’ reach Roman now.”
V stood and ran a hand over his mouth. “He knew it was a trap. He said we needed to go regardless, that our magic was strong enough to break through the Others’. It is, but he doesna know how to do it.”
“Then we tell him,” Eilish said. “Rhi and I should be able to find them.”
V was shaking his head before she finished. “None of you get it. The Others planned all of this. They knew what we would do. It’s no’ a coincidence that my sword is here or that Roman is with me. We didna find Sabina and Camlo by accident. This was planned.”
“But how much of it?” Eilish asked.
Ulrik gave a nod of agreement. “That was a similar question between Con and I the last time I spoke with him. He’s the one who suggested we do something we wouldna normally do.”
“Like ask for help,” Rhi said with a brow quirked.
V didn’t like this. Any of it.
“We’re a Druid and a Fae,” Eilish said. “I doubt the Others thought of us, much less imagined that we’d help you or work together. But even if they have, I’m willing to chance it.”
Rhi shrugged. “Count me in.”
V walked to Camlo and sat beside the human. “How long have you known that Sabina took my sword?”
Camlo nervously looked at V out of the corner of his eye. His shoulders lifted in a half-hearted shrug. “Always.”
“You never told her?”
The mortal frowned. “No.”
“Why?” Eilish asked.
Camlo brought his shoulders to his ears as he kept his gaze on the ground. “She wouldn’t have believed me.”
“But we do,” Ulrik said.
V looked down at his hands for a moment. “What else do you know, Camlo?”
The man-child made an indistinct noise and appeared visibly unnerved by the question.
But V couldn’t let it go. He had to have the answer. “Did you know that she went back in time?”
Camlo hesitated before nodding once.
“You sent Roman and Sabina away after V collapsed,” Ulrik said. “Was that on purpose?”
Camlo made a high-pitched whining sound. His face was folded into lines of remorse. “They had to go.”
“Why?” V pressed.
Camlo squeezed his eyes closed, refusing to reply.
Rhi went down on her haunches before Camlo and gently touched his hand. When he opened his eyes, she smiled at him as one would a child.
“Hi,” Rhi said. “Do you know me?”
Camlo swallowed. “Fae.”
Her smile widened. “That’s right. I am Fae. But do you know me?”
“No,” he mumbled.
“My name is Rhi. I’m friends with the Dragon Kings. We know you love your sister. It’s obvious. I had a brother who used to protect me. That’s what you’re doing now.”
Camlo’s lips lifted in a quick smile. “Bina.”
“That’s right.” Rhi held his gaze for a long minute. “She’s in danger, isn’t she?”
Camlo grabbed hold of Rhi’s hand and held it tightly. V tensed, ready to act, but Rhi didn’t seem upset by the move.
“Bad things,” Camlo said.
V wasn’t surprised by the words. “You’ve said that many times. But we don’t know what bad things. Can you tell us something, anything? We don’t want Sabina hurt.”
Camlo kept his gaze on Rhi’s hand. He stared at her painted nails. “They aren’t together anymore.”
Damn. V was hoping that Roman and Sabina had managed to remain with each other. Knowing they had been separated, either accidentally or intentionally, complicated things even more.”
“I can find Sabina,” Rhi said.
Finally, Camlo looked into her eyes. “She’s not finished yet.”
“What do you mean?” Ulrik asked.
Camlo’s interest returned to Rhi’s nails. “Bina didn’t like our gifts. She ignored them, but I didn’t.”
V blinked as elation went through him. “Your Romani gifts? You have the Sight, Camlo?”
“Of course,” the mortal replied, offended that the question was even asked.
Rhi put her other hand with the first. “You’ve used your Sight to see things.”
“They were just there,” Camlo said as if that explained everything.
“All of it?” Eilish asked.
He shook his head once. “I used it to see Bina’s path.”
V hated that they had to pull every answer from the mortal. “And?”
Silence filled the cavern for a long time before Camlo turned his head to V. “Bina took your sword. She’ll give it back.”
“Does that mean she’ll survive whatever is happening to them?” Eilish asked the others.
Ulrik shrugged, Rhi refused to answer, and V wasn’t sure he could.
“What about Roman?” V asked Camlo. “Have you used your gifts on him?”
“Can’t,” was Camlo’s reply.
V wasn’t sure if that meant that Camlo couldn’t see Roman’s future, or that his Sight didn’t work on the Dragon Kings. Either way, V was left with nothing.
“Roman is here for me,” V said as he rose. He had to move to get rid of some of the pent-up energy coursing through him. He began to pace. “I was targeted because the Others knew what my sword could do. They doona want the dragons to return. They knew there would be a war with the humans and that we’d send the dragons away.”
Ulrik sighed loudly. “We know my uncle worked with a Druid to help him speak to mortals. Makes me wonder if Mikkel was in league with the Others.”
“Or if they used him,” Eilish said.
V watched as Rhi remained still while Camlo rubbed the pad of a finger over her nails. “I’m leaning toward the Others manipulating Mikkel to do what they wanted. I doubt it would’ve taken much. It would explain how your uncle suddenly found a Druid willing to help.”
“For all we know, the Druid could have been
one of the Others,” Rhi said without looking away from Camlo.
Eilish walked to Ulrik and slid her hand into his, their fingers intertwining. “The Others seem to have orchestrated all of this, but surely that couldn’t include the mates?”
“Why no’?” V asked.
Ulrik lifted their joined hands and kissed the back of Eilish’s fingers as he met her green-gold gaze. “Right now, we have to consider that the Others had their fingers in everything.”
Rhi gently pulled her hands from Camlo and stood, facing them. “But not the Fae. Why would they worry about their own?”
“The Fae were involved because they wanted this world,” Eilish said. “And as Ulrik pointed out, if they knew so much, they’d know that one of their own might befriend a King.”
Rhi shrugged, her gaze locked on V. “What do you think?”
V took a deep breath and blew it out. “I say it’s a chance we have to take. I’m no’ going to let Roman die, no matter what the Others drew in that chamber.”
Rhi winked at him. “Then it’s settled.”
CHAPTER FORTY
The first thing Sabina saw was the mist. She paused in the tunnel because she wasn’t sure what she would find once she stepped out.
The light stopped with her. She looked up at it. It wouldn’t be much use within the fog. Somehow, having that orb of light made her feel like Roman was still by her side.
“I don’t go backwards,” she murmured.
With a deep inhale, she stepped from the tunnel into the mist. It swallowed her so that she couldn’t see her hand waving in front of her face. And just as she thought, the light was useless.
The passage had been tight and uncomfortable, but this was scary. She didn’t know what was in the fog. Or who was in the fog. That was the terrifying part. Someone could be there, watching her.
Sabina swallowed and took small steps. She waved through the mist, trying to move it around so she could see better. Off to her right, she heard a noise that sounded familiar—flowing magma.
But that didn’t explain the fog. The last time there was a river of lava, there hadn’t been mist. Just sweltering heat that felt as if it were crushing her.
She decided to remain in one spot for a minute to see what else she could pick up with her other senses. As the heated mist brushed against her cheek, it reminded her of the hot spring where she and Roman had made love.
Would she ever see him again? Hold him? Kiss him? Or had the Others taken him from her forever? Sabina wished she had more information from her ancestors about the Others.
Then she remembered how her memories could pull her in and show her things. Perhaps it was a form of the Romani Sight, though she really wasn’t sure. But right now, she could use all the help she could get.
Sabina lowered herself to the ground and sat cross-legged. The ground wasn’t as warm as she expected it to be, but she didn’t linger on that. She closed her eyes and thought of V’s cave. There was so much going on around her, breaking her concentration, that it took several tries before she fell back into the memories.
This time, she found herself at the edge of V’s cave staring out over the land. Once more, she spotted the village in the moonlight. As she turned her head, her eyes caught on something. She did a double-take and found a woman standing at the base of the mountain.
The men had already begun their climb by this time. But what shocked Sabina was that the woman was staring at her. Even with the distance separating them, Sabina could discern that.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
Sabina jerked at the sound of the woman’s voice. It was like she was standing right next to her. Sabina’s heart thudded, but then she realized that she didn’t feel as if she were in danger. In fact, she felt … safe.
Much as she did when she was with Roman.
“Who are you?” Sabina asked.
The woman smiled, her dark eyes crinkling at the corners. “A very distant relative.”
Sabina blinked, and the next thing she knew, she was standing before the woman among the trees on the slope of the mountain. The woman was strikingly beautiful. Her dark olive skin had a glow to it that only someone who spent hours in the sun would have.
Her eyes were almond-shaped, and her black hair hung over one shoulder in a long braid that fell past her breast. She wore simple clothing, just a long, dress-like garment in a sand color with a deep red strip of material wrapped several times around her waist before it was tied so the ends dangled down at her side.
“How is this happening?” Sabina asked.
“You are descended from a long line of powerful women who can see into the future.”
“What about me? I’m seeing into the past.”
The woman’s smile widened. “Who are we to question what our gifts allow us to see? Or not see.”
Sabina glanced behind her to the mountain. “Iacob said someone told him I was going to be here. Was that you?”
“Yes. My name is Ana, and I’m one of two women in our tribe who has the Sight. I began seeing your face when I was only a child. As I aged, I saw more and more until this entire moment was laid out before me.”
Sabina frowned, unsure what to make of things. “This is my second time here.”
“Is it?” Ana asked, her shrewd expression stating that she was well aware of more than Sabina realized.
“Why did I have to give V’s sword to Iacob?”
“Our kind has always held respect for the Dragon Kings, but there has been a growing fear, as well. Vlad is good to us, as well as to his own clan. It was not my wish that he be chosen for any of this, but it is out of my hands.”
Sabina moved closer. “You’re saying the Others did this?”
“Yes. They know what his sword can do.”
Sabina opened her mouth to speak when a roar split the air, followed by several more above her. She looked up, her knees going weak when she spied a group of dragons flying above her. She stared in awe at the moon reflecting off their copper scales.
Tears filled her eyes. She stood speechless as she watched them. With her eyes skyward, she realized that there were dragons everywhere, their shapes dotting the skies as far as she could see.
“They’ll be gone soon,” Ana stated sadly. “They’re a magnificent sight to behold, and I’m truly going to miss them.”
“They should never have been sent away,” Sabina said, her heart heavy at seeing what none of the Kings had witnessed in eons.
Ana sighed. “Humans and dragons cannot co-exist.”
“They can,” Sabina said, returning her attention to Ana.
“The moment the Dragon Kings welcomed us, they sealed their fate.”
Sabina’s stomach crashed to her feet. “What? You make it sound as if someone set all of this in motion.”
Ana smiled despondently. “Because they did.”
“Who?” Sabina demanded to know. “Who did this? And where did we come from?”
“Your time is almost up,” Ana said. “You aren’t asking the right questions.”
Sabina pushed her frustration down and fisted her hands at her sides. “What should I be asking?”
“How to get the sword.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding. “How do I get it?”
Ana glanced up at the mountain. “The Others have all sorts of spells in place. They’re meant to stop you. Trust yourself. Trust your heart.”
“What kind of spells?”
“The Others’ goal is to stop you, no matter what. Our plan impeded them, but only for a little while. It gave one of our men time to get to the land of fire and ice and take the weapon deep within the mountain.”
Sabina’s stomach clenched at the mention of Iceland. “Why that land?”
“Because I’ve seen you and the King of Light Blues together. I told the men that the sword had to be in that mountain. He got it there in time, but the Others were waiting.”
Sabina rubbed her temples. “Wait. Just wait. Now you’re talking
as if this already occurred. The men are just clim—” Her words trailed off as she looked up, and they were gone.
“Time moves differently for you and I in this place,” Ana said. “The Others tortured the one who hid the sword, but he never revealed where it was located. The Others figured it out soon enough. Yet they learned they couldn’t touch it. Only you or a Dragon King has that ability. So they made sure the blade would be impossible to reach if you ever went looking for it.”
“They want to make sure the dragons can never return, don’t they?”
Ana nodded her head sadly.
“I don’t understand any of this. Who are the Others?”
“Fae and Druid.”
Sabina snorted. “You mean humans.”
Ana tilted her head to the side. “In a manner of speaking.”
“What does that mean? Druids are merely humans who attained magic once they arrived here.”
It was Ana’s turn to frown. “That’s wrong. The Druids have long held power and prominent ranks of position within our kind. There have always been Druids. Well before our race ever came to this realm.”
Sabina’s head hurt with the influx of information. “Is there anything else I need to know?”
“That you can do this. I’ve seen you succeed, but not without paying a very steep price.”
“You can’t leave it there,” Sabina stated angrily. “Tell me the rest. What price?”
Ana shook her head. “I’ve long awaited a chance to speak with you. It’s nice to know that our line lives on, and within someone like you.”
“It’s not likely to continue, though.” Sabina wasn’t sure why she added that part. It just sort of came out.
Ana chuckled softly. “It most certainly will.”
“How?”
Ana ignored her question and put her hand on Sabina’s arm. “Remember. Trust your heart. Always.”
“You make it sound as if our time is up, but I need to find Roman,” Sabina said.
“Trust your heart.”
“Stop saying that,” Sabina snapped. “I need answers.”
Ana inhaled, a look of profound patience filling her face. “I’ve given them to you.”
