“I can’t, Ro.” Eli’s voice was strained, as if he were fighting against every cell in his body. “She wasn’t lying. I can’t fly here. I don’t understand how she could.”
“You heard her,” I said, bitterness dripping from every word. “Hecate made it so that the Fury could defeat us. Where do you think she’s taking him?”
“I have no idea. If I had to guess, it would be somewhere far from here. Somewhere that she thinks we couldn’t find her.”
Sorrow filled my heart, and I dropped my hands to my sides. My sword clattered to the ground, and my knees quickly followed. For a moment, I’d once again had Jasper in my arms, but now he was gone. This time, I didn’t think we could get him back.
“I’m sorry, Ro,” Eli said. “If I run down to the beach, I could get into the sky in half a hour. Do you want me to try?”
Sniffling, I gave a nod, but grabbed his hand before he could go. “Please be careful. If at any time, it seems as if she’s noticed you following, get the hell out of there. Okay, Eli? I can’t lose you both. I can’t lose either of you, but I especially can’t lose you both.”
He dropped before me and crushed his lips against mine. I closed my eyes and breathed him in, letting the sweet taste of him imprint on my memory forever. When I opened my eyes, he was gone.
“My love. Please come inside. You’re soaking wet and shivering.”
After Eli had gone after Jasper and the Fury, I’d stayed rooted to the spot. My head was dropped back so I could scan the skies for any sign of a man on a pair of powerful wings. After an hour or ten—it was difficult to mark the passage of time when the weight of sorrow kept crushing down on my back—the clouds had scuttled overhead, pregnant with buckets of rain. They’d opened up and poured down on me, drenching my clothes until I was numb to anything but the pain that gripped my heart.
“I don’t want to go inside just in case Eli returns,” I said.
“Freezing to death won’t make him come back any faster.”
“I can’t freeze to death,” I said. “Only the sword can kill me.”
He let out a weary sigh. Somewhere deep inside me, I knew I was being unreasonable. Staying out here wouldn’t make Eli or Jasper return any sooner, but what if they got close and needed help? What if Eli tried to set off some kind of signal for help?
Marcus walked into the rain and lifted me into his arms. He held on tight as he carried me back inside the mansion, droplets of water trailing behind us. I didn’t fight or argue. I knew it wasn’t any use. He’d just carry me inside anyway, and I didn’t have the energy to try to claw my way out of his arms. Instead, I let him strip my clothes and lower me into a steaming tub, one he must have drawn before he came for me.
It warmed my heart, just a little, softening the fear and the worry.
“Marcus,” I said, catching his hand as he turned to go. “Thank you.”
He gave me a sad smile. “You’re always welcome, Rowena. I’ll go stand watch for Eli and Jasper. The second they return, I’ll come and fetch you.”
They still hadn’t returned by morning, and I hadn’t slept a wink, despite a brief effort to close my eyes. What could be taking so long? Eli should be back by now. All he was supposed to do was follow the Fury to see where she took Jasper. Had he decided to throw caution aside and charge straight in to rescue him, getting trapped in the process?
When I had paced a hundred paths across the marble floor, the Queen whispered in from whatever corner of the mansion she was staying. She watched me pace another path, one end of the expansive living room to the next, before clearing her throat.
“Do you know their full names?” the Queen asked. It was such a strange and random question that I stopped short and finally jerked my gaze from the sky.
“You mean the gargoyles?” I lifted an eyebrow. “I don’t think they have surnames. Why?”
“We need a surname,” the Queen simply replied before turning her back and starting off briskly down the hallway. When I did nothing but gape at her retreating back, she glanced over her shoulder and frowned. “Are you coming or not?”
With a roll of my eyes, I followed. I had no idea what she was getting at, but I also knew that the Queen never spoke to me unless it was important. So, I decided to go along with it for now.
When we reached the end of the hall, she knocked on a door. I had no idea who it belonged to. I’d been so wrapped up in the disappearance of Jasper and Eli that I hadn’t had a chance to learn where everyone was staying. This room, it turned out, was a library. It must have been where Eli found the maps for the mountain. At the memory, my heart flinched. He didn’t deserve this. None of them did. They deserved to be safe and happy, not fighting for their lives at every turn.
Kipling ushered us inside and shut the door behind us. “Rowena, it’s nice to see that you’re...”
“That she’s not staring at the sky with a mopey look on her face?” The Queen asked. “Yes, I agree. That’s why I decided to take it upon myself to attempt to find these gargoyles she’s so inexplicably fond of.”
Kipling’s eyebrows shot to his hairline. “And you believe you have a way you can do this?”
“No, I don’t believe a damn thing. I know it.” She let out an irritated sigh. “I just need both of their surnames for my tracking spell to work.”
A tracking spell. That made sense. If I hadn’t been so swamped by my own grief, I would have realized that a lot sooner.
“I’m afraid that gargoyles do not have surnames,” Kipling said. “Surely their given name will suffice.”
“I’ve already tried that. It didn’t work.”
“What do you mean it didn’t work?” I asked. “If that’s the only name they go by then surely that’s enough.”
“You’re welcome to try yourself if you truly believe you understand how my magic works better than I do.” Her eyes glittered, and she turned back to Kipling. “There must be something. A family name of some sorts.”
Oh. My eyes widened. Oh.
“Mortensen,” I said. “Try Mortensen.”
“What?” she asked sharply. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
Kipling held a finger in the air and gave a nod. “Oh, good call, Rowena. Now that they’ve mated with you, some might consider their surnames to be linked to yours.”
“Very well then.” The Queen paced to the center of the room where she eased to sit cross-legged on a thick antique rug that swirled with deep reds, golds, and grays. She dropped each hand to her knees, closing her eyes as she breathed deep through flared nostrils. A light wind whispered through the room. With it came the scent of smoke and mist, shot through with freshly-fallen rain. The Queen murmured underneath her breath, speaking to the shadow magic deep inside her.
She breathed in and out, forming her mouth into a tiny O. “Eli Mortensen. Jasper Mortensen.”
A buzzing filled the air, and firelight danced across the Queen’s face, though there wasn’t a single flame inside the room. The acrid stench of burning feathers followed close behind and smoke rose from Selene’s trembling hands.
And then it stopped. The Queen opened her eyes and hissed. “I know where she’s taken them, but you mustn’t go.”
“Why the hell not?” I stormed toward her. “They’re my mates, Queen Selene.”
Her eyes flicked up, bottomless pits of pure shadow. “She’s hoping you will go after them. She’s trying to lure you into a trap.”
“That’s not particularly surprising.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Where are they?”
“Her entire aim is to torment you. If you after them, it will just make it worse.”
“And if I stay here and do nothing?” I leaned down to hiss the words into her face, “I’ll be tormented for the rest of my immortal life. Tell. Me. Where. My. Mates. Are.”
“Interesting,” Kipling said, tapping his chin. “As a goddess, I didn’t think you’d be affected by the mating ritual, but the magic has clearly sunk its claws in you as well.”
&
nbsp; Frowning, I glanced up to see Kipling watching me with a strange curiosity written into the lines on his face. “What are you talking about?”
“The gargoyle mating bond initiates primal instincts. Extreme protectiveness. Possessive. Fury toward anyone who would do their mate harm.” He raised his eyebrows. You’re ticking every box, my dear.”
“That makes it sound like you don’t think my feelings for them are real.” I narrowed my eyes. “Trust me, I had feelings for them well before this whole mating thing. It’s how it happened in the first place.”
“Indeed.” He gave a nod. “I’m not doubting your feelings, Rowena. They’re just...enhanced and intensified, to the point where your judgement may be clouded.”
“I don’t care. I’m going after them.” I flicked my gaze back to the Queen. “Now, tell me where they are.”
She let out a weary sigh. “Very well.”
Chapter 28
I threw open the door to our bedroom and stalked inside. Marcus was half-dressed, wearing nothing but his boxer briefs. I didn’t even pause to appreciate the ridges of his abs or the way his skin smelled so much like mist. Now wasn’t the time. I had two other mates I had to save first.
“The Fury has them chained up on an island that’s an hour or so flight from here.” I shoved my feet into my heavy boots and grabbed my sword from the weapon rack by the door. “We’re going to get them. Get dressed.”
Marcus let out a low whistle. “How’d you managed to track them down?”
“Turns out, the Queen knew a tracking spell.” I grabbed his t-shirt from the bed and tossed it his way. “By the way, your surname is Mortensen.”
He pulled the shirt over his head. “Sounds good to me.”
Marcus and I made it down to the beach in record time. We’d decided to leave Mont Circeo with as little fanfare as possible. We both figured that if we told too many people what we were up to, at least one well-meaning witch or gargoyle would try to stop us. Not to mention, Sebastian—and maybe Alaric—would insist on coming along, and I didn’t want to leave Mont Circeo with no non-witch protection, just in case the magic hunters somehow tracked us down.
The sky was several brilliant shades of blue, and small puffs of clouds scooted along. The sea shimmered underneath the sun, inviting and refreshing and full of hope. It reflected none of the storm-tossed emotions that raged inside of me. We flew and flew, past nothing but endless blue, until we spotted the tiny island in the distance.
From up here, it looked less like an island and more like a rock. There was no lush vegetation, no sprawling hills hazy on the horizon, no lazy streams carrying passengers from the wind-swept trees. It was brown and jagged, dusty grey and sharp. It wasn’t the kind of island where anything good could happen, and my mates were trapped there by a vengeful Fury.
Marcus took us in a wide circle around the island, keeping enough distance so that we couldn’t be spotted from the ground. We were still too far away to make out any human-like shapes, but we wanted to get an idea of the lay of the land before we tempted fate by flying closer.
The island was shaped like a crescent moon, a slim curving strip of land that rose high out of the sea. The top of the land was flat with a sharp drop on either side. If someone fell, it would take a long time for them to reach the bottom. And they would come face to face with clusters of jagged rocks.
It was inhospitable in the kindest of terms. In the worst, it looked like it had risen straight out of hell. A fire burned somewhere near the middle, and a thick plume of smoke rose up to greet us. I had a feeling that the fire was meant specifically for us. An invitation. A temptation.
Come and see, goddess, I could hear the Fury muttering as she waited for me to take the bait. Unfortunately, I was going to take it. Hook, line, and sinker.
Marcus made another lap of the island, biding time while we decided what to do.
“Do you think she’s seen us?” I asked, shouting over the roar of the wind.
“It’s likely,” he said, dropping his head so that he could speak directly into my ear. “But just remember, there are two of us and one of her. We have the advantage.”
“Then, why does it feel like we’re on the losing side, Marcus?” I asked.
“Because that is exactly what she wants us to think,” he said. “She’s playing mind games with us. Don’t let her win. We’re the ones in control here.”
I nodded and swallowed back the lump of coal in my throat. Despite his words of comfort, nothing about this situation felt good. She wanted us to track her down to this island, and we’d followed the steps like a dancer learning a new routine. Now, we were here, and she’d pull our strings and try to make us do something else. This time, we just had to outsmart her.
“You ready?” Marcus asked, tightening his arms around me.
I gave a nod, and we were off, hurtling toward the rocky island. We dropped low, and Marcus’s wings pushed us faster and faster. They pounded against the wind, beating in time with the rhythm of my heartbeat.
Soon, we touched down, coming at the dirt-packed ground at a run. When we slowed to a stop, Marcus kept his hands tight around my waist. He didn’t want to let me go, and I didn’t blame him. There was no telling what the Fury had planned. With a deep breath, I gazed around us. The fire roared nearby, but nothing and no one was nearby. Not even a single feather littered the ground as proof that the Fury had ever been here.
“Do you see them?” I breathed. Even though the Fury was nowhere near us, I still felt the need to whisper, just in case my voice echoed across the rocky cliffs.
“No,” Marcus said, not in a whisper, but quietly all the same. “Are you certain this was where the tracking spell said they would be?”
“Yes.” My heart thumped. “Unless the Queen lied to me.”
Would she have done that? Would she have sent me on a fool’s errand in order to keep me from going where my mates actually were? The answer to that question was a resounding yes. She would lie to me. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time she’d fed me a massive fib, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
And then it hit me. The Queen said the Fury had chained up Eli and Jasper. Chained. Nothing about that made sense, and trapping them on an island didn’t either. Both of them could break through their chains. Both of them could safely fly away from here. So, if the Fury didn’t bring them here, then where did she take them? It would have to be somewhere that the Queen didn’t want me to go. Somewhere dangerous. Somewhere...
Somewhere that would ruin everything for her.
I closed my eyes and loosed a long breath. “I know where the Fury has taken them. They’re in the realm of the gods.”
Chapter 29
Standing before the Queen, I pounded my fist on the table. The crash echoed in the empty marble space, but she didn’t even flinch. Her frank gaze met mine, completely unapologetic for the wild goose chase she’d just sent me on.
“You lied to me about something important again. When will you realize that it’s not okay to do that?”
“When will you realize that your life is not just your own?” the Queen snapped. “If something happens to you, then all of us will suffer.”
“Something has happened to me,” I said through gritted teeth. “A Fury has stolen my mates from me.”
Kipling and the Queen exchanged a look, one that made the blood boil in my veins.
“Look, I know you both think I’m on some kind of mate-fuelled rampage, but that’s neither true nor fair.”
“My love.” Marcus slid his arm around my back, a gentle caress that I knew was intended to calm me down. For once, it didn’t. “You must admit, you are a little bit more on edge than usual.”
“Not you, too.”
“Look, princess,” Sebastian said, crossing his arms. “There’s no doubt in my mind you’ve got a bit of that mating fever, but it’s actually really normal, especially in this situation. You’re just not going to get much done unless you manage to calm yourself down.
”
I glared at him. “No one asked you, Sebastian.”
He lifted his chin. “I’m not going to take that personally, princess, because I know you’ve got a lot of those primal instincts messing with your head, but I’d be careful where you toss those insults.”
“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes. “Maybe my judgement is clouded. Maybe not. It doesn’t change the fact that the Fury has taken Eli and Jasper into the realm of the gods. Obviously, we can’t let her get away with that.”
Kipling braced his arms on the table and leaned forward. “And what do you suggest we do about it?”
“Go and get them back.”
The Queen snorted and snapped her fingers. “Just like that, huh? If only I’d realized it was that easy.”
“Selene.” Kipling placed his hand on the Queen’s lower back and murmured something into her ear. My eyes zeroed in on their contact. That was weird. The Queen usually hated others making physical contact with her, and she’d always particularly hated men. What was it about Kipling that made him different?
“The problem, my dear,” Kipling said, addressing me, “is that it’s not particularly easy to pass from the realm of mortals into the realm of the gods. Or vice versa. The fact the Fury was able to do so, along with two others...well, that is certainly interesting.”
“It’s not interesting,” I snapped. “It’s infuriating.”
Okay, so maybe they had a point about my heightened emotions, but I was terrified of never seeing either of them again. What if we couldn’t get them back? Would they be stuck there forever? What kind of lives would they lead if they had to make the realm of the gods their permanent home?
“Look, I’m sorry.” My shoulders slumped forward, and I sighed. “They’re my mates. I’m a goddess. I want to be able to save them, but it’s like my hands are tied.”
Because if I went through the veil, everything in this realm would change forever.
So, I was stuck, just like they were.
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