I believed that sending Pierce to the arena would get me what I wanted this week. But what about the weeks further out? What if sending Pierce to the arena would result in my own death when he came after me, and would give Bridget a better chance of winning the Games?
At the end of the day, everyone was looking out for themselves. I couldn’t let myself forget that.
I sighed, my wings heavy with the weight of the decision I needed to make. “Are you sure there’s no one else I should be considering?” I asked.
“One of my gifts from Minerva is prophecy,” she said, as if I needed reminding. “Trust me. I’m sure.”
I didn’t believe her.
“What about Cillian?” I asked, testing her. “He’s one of the most powerful players in the Games.”
“Not Cillian.” She shuddered, her eyes darkening. “Definitely don’t send Cillian to the arena. Everyone will pay for it if you do.”
Goosebumps rose on my arms, my chest hollow with fear. There was something deeply ominous about her tone.
“It’s a lot to think about,” I finally said.
“I know.” She quieted and chewed on her lower lip, and I wondered if there was something she wasn’t telling me. But then she reached for a grape and popped it into her mouth, returning to her normal calm and confident self. “You should go down there and mingle,” she said. “It looks bad if the Empress of the Villa stays in her suite for the entire week. Distancing yourself from the other players will only hurt you in the long run.”
“I know,” I said, since my trainers had told me the same thing. “And I will. But first, I want to finish eating. There’s no way I can go down there on an empty stomach.”
“Isn’t that the truth,” Bridget said, and just like that, the tension between us disappeared.
As we ate, we chatted about normal things, like the differences between the Otherworld and Avalon. But my mind was somewhere else.
Because Bridget wanted me to send Pierce to the arena. Julian wanted me to send Felix to the arena. Cassia had told me she’d stand by whatever decision I thought was best.
Everyone wanted what was best for their game. Which wasn’t surprising.
It served as a reminder that I needed to figure this out on my own. And I only had two days to do it.
After I finished breakfast, I’d go downstairs and feel out some of the other players to get an idea about where their heads were. I’d get some one-on-one time with everyone but Octavia before the Selection Ceremony.
Once I did that, I’d have a better idea about who I trusted, and what move I was going to make.
7
Torrence
The Queen of Swords and I drank from the same batch of invisibility potion, so I could still see her and she could still see me. She looked hazy and had a bit of a glow to her—like a ghost—but she was still there. I knew from looking down at my body that I looked the same.
Since Nephilim couldn’t teleport, I took her hands and blinked us to the crossroads.
We arrived seconds later. We were standing at the bottom of a hill, grassy land stretching out around us as far as the eye could see.
The crossroads were nowhere in sight.
The Queen of Swords took out her cell phone and searched for our location. She held the phone up and took a few steps around the area, apparently having trouble getting service. “We’re about a mile away,” she finally said, looking back at me in shock. “Good job.”
“You didn’t think I could do it?”
“The Earth Angel and the mages believed you could,” she said. “But you’re young, and teleporting to a place you’ve never visited before is a skill that not even many adult witches can master.”
“I’m the strongest witch at the academy,” I said, proud of myself for impressing the Queen of Swords.
“I see that.” She smiled again. “I guess I’m kept so busy training the Nephilim that I don’t have time to keep tabs on everyone else on the island.”
“Except for the wolves,” I pointed out, since the Queen of Swords was mated to one of the wolves. Her mate was another legend—Noah of the Vale. Their souls had combined when they’d mated, so both of them were a mix of Nephilim and shifter. They were the first of their kind, although a few on Avalon had followed suit afterward.
“Of course.” She winked. “You know I can’t get enough of the wolves.”
I stilled, shocked. Was the Queen of Swords bantering with me?
She totally was.
But as entertaining as it was to be talking with the Queen of Swords like we were actually friends, we had more important fish to fry.
“Which way is the crossroads?” I asked.
“That way.” She pointed in a direction as grassy and empty as everywhere else around the area.
“Then let’s go.”
As we got closer to the dot on the Queen of Swords’ map, a glowing green dome of magic appeared over the horizon where the crossroads were supposed to be. It was a massive eyesore, and it seemed out of place in a location that was supposed to be somewhat under the radar.
“Is that normal?” I asked, since no one had warned us about any kind of boundary spell around the area.
“I’m not sure.” She scrunched her forehead. “I’ve never been to the crossroads before.”
“What?” I stopped in my tracks. “They sent you to come with me, and you’ve never even been there before?”
“Chill.” She laughed. “When there’s something to worry about, I’ll take my time to assess the situation and decide what to do.”
“And that’s not something to worry about?” I tilted my head toward the glowing green dome that definitely hadn’t been mentioned in the part of the book the mages had shown me about how to call for the fae at the crossroads.
“That’s just a boundary spell—it’s not going to attack us,” the Queen of Swords said. “We’ll get closer, but not so close that whoever’s inside might see our footsteps in the grass. And remember—the crossroads are fae territory. The fae are known for being tricky. We have to be skeptical of anything we see in there.”
“Will do,” I said, continuing toward the dome.
The Queen of Swords was quickly by my side, her red ponytail bouncing as she walked.
As we got closer to the dome, we saw the hazy shapes of two people inside. I looked at the Queen of Swords in question. She nodded to continue our approach, quickening her steps.
The dome was relatively translucent, so it wasn’t long before we could make out the people inside.
Prince Jacen and Aunt Bella.
Prince Jacen was pacing around, his features knotted in deep concentration. Aunt Bella sat on a rock near the lake, looking bored as she scraped the outside of a large stick with her dagger.
It looked like they were stuck inside the dome—like the dome was a spherical prison. Why else would they be hanging around inside of it? It wasn’t like either of them to sit around doing nothing when Selena’s life was at stake.
“It’s just the two of them,” I whispered to the Queen of Swords. “We should talk to them. They might have information about Selena that we can bring back to Avalon.”
Prince Jacen’s head perked up, and he stopped pacing. “Hello?” he asked, looking in my general direction. “Is someone there?”
The Queen of Swords glared at me. I pressed my lips together and took a step back. But she gripped my arm, and the message was clear. Don’t move.
Now that Prince Jacen and Aunt Bella were looking our way, they’d see our footmarks in the grass.
Aunt Bella’s eyes locked on the place where we were standing. She dropped the stick, held her dagger at the ready, and walked toward the edge of the dome. “Show yourselves,” she commanded.
“They might not be able to hear us,” Prince Jacen said.
“Maybe not.” She raised her dagger and hit it against the inside of the dome. It didn’t ripple, like a dome created by a witch would have done. “But they have to understan
d this.” She slammed her dagger against the dome again, and again, and again.
That was my Aunt Bella for you. She never held back.
Prince Jacen walked over and grabbed her wrist, stopping her from slamming her dagger into the dome again. “That’s not helping anything.”
“Maybe not.” She shrugged. “But it’s not hurting anything, either. Which is unfortunate, because we need to get out of here.”
“Let’s try the peaceful method first.” Prince Jacen stared at her until she lowered the blade.
Once the blade was down, he placed his hand against the dome. “We’ve been trapped in here for almost a day,” he spoke in our general direction. “The fae did this to us and left us here. If you can hear us, please, come forward. We need you to get a message to Avalon.”
I glanced over at the Queen of Swords. She stared straight at Prince Jacen and Aunt Bella, not budging. Her face was hard as stone and completely unreadable.
Did she think there were fae hiding out in the dome? That the fae were spying on the dome? That Prince Jacen and Aunt Bella were fae in disguise? That last one couldn’t be it. I knew Aunt Bella anywhere—no fae in disguise could imitate her so perfectly.
Whatever the Queen of Swords was thinking, I didn’t care. Prince Jacen and Aunt Bella needed help, and they had information about Selena. We couldn’t just stand there and do nothing.
So I reached for the antidote pill inside my pocket, popping it into my mouth before the Queen of Swords had a chance to stop me.
8
Torrence
“Torrence!” Aunt Bella said as I shimmered into view. “It’s about time someone came to check in.”
I rushed forward and placed my hand on the outside of the dome. It felt as solid as a glass wall and emanated warmth. It didn’t bend slightly like a boundary spell cast by a witch would have done.
“I was worried after not hearing from you for so long,” I said. “The Earth Angel gave me permission to come.”
Before I could ask about Selena, red hair flashed in the corner of my eye. The Queen of Swords. She’d taken her antidote pill as well, and was no longer invisible.
“Raven,” Aunt Bella greeted her. “Glad to see that Annika didn’t send my niece to the crossroads without a chaperone.”
“Not like it mattered.” The Queen of Swords glanced at me, and surprisingly, she didn’t look pissed that I’d revealed myself without her permission. “Torrence has a mind of her own.”
“She takes after her aunt that way,” Aunt Bella said proudly. “Anyway, this thing blocks our magic and cell service, otherwise we would have contacted Avalon by now. Any chance the two of you know how to get us out?”
“Unfortunately, no.” The Queen of Swords pressed her palm against the dome, then pulled it back. “Do you guys know if anyone is listening to this conversation?”
“Not to our knowledge,” Prince Jacen said. “The faerie I called for came here, trapped us, and left.”
“That makes no sense,” I said, and all eyes turned to me. “I was just looking through books with the mages to learn more about the fae. The mages don’t know much, but the one thing they do know is that the crossroads is neutral territory. When anyone meets with the fae at the crossroads, neither party can do anything to the other that wasn’t agreed upon in an official deal made there.”
“Did the mages tell you that you’re only supposed to call on the fae on the full moon?” he asked.
“They did. But the faerie came when you called, so obviously the spell worked when the moon wasn’t full.”
“The reason you’re not supposed to call on the fae when the moon isn’t full isn’t because the fae won’t come,” he said. “It’s because the crossroads is no longer neutral territory when the moon isn’t full. The fae can do whatever they want to people who call for them on all other nights. Like imprisoning them in a dome.”
The Queen of Swords reached for Excalibur’s handle. “I’ve broken out of a dome before,” she said. “No reason why I can’t do it again.” She glanced at me, her golden eyes set in determination. “Stand back,” she said. Then she turned back to Prince Jacen and Aunt Bella. “You guys, too.”
I automatically did as she said. “What are you—”
She cut off my question by raising Excalibur above her head and smashing the flaming blade into the dome with an insane amount of supernatural force.
Bolts of electricity shot across the entire dome. It was so bright that I needed to shield my eyes.
When the electricity fizzled out, the dome was the same as before.
“So much for that,” the Queen of Swords said.
I stepped forward again, focused on Prince Jacen and Aunt Bella. “Does the message you need us to get to Avalon have to do with Selena?” I asked.
“The fae have her,” Prince Jacen said. “Just like we suspected.”
I cursed and bit down on my lower lip. “There has to be a way to get to her,” I said. “Right?”
“Not that we know of,” Aunt Bella said.
“The faerie that came to us—Nessa—wasn’t open to any sort of deal,” Prince Jacen said. “But before she left, she told us some important information.”
From the dark look in his eyes, we weren’t going to like what he was going to say next.
“What is it?” the Queen of Swords asked.
“Time doesn’t always flow the same way in the Otherworld as it does on Earth,” he said. “According to Nessa, time is moving faster there. For every day that passes on Earth, an entire week passes in the Otherworld.”
His words crashed over me like an icy wave. Because Selena was taken sometime Saturday night.
Today was Monday.
I cursed again, horror filling my bones as I quickly did the math. “Almost two weeks have passed for her there,” I said.
“Yes,” Prince Jacen confirmed.
“We need to find another way to get to the Otherworld,” I said. “As quickly as we can.”
“Before coming here, we spoke with our allies and looked through as many texts on the fae as we could,” Aunt Bella said. “We have no records of any ways to enter the Otherworld. The crossroads are the only way to contact the fae.”
Defeated silence fell upon us.
“You said you asked your allies and searched through books,” the Queen of Swords finally said. “But did anyone go to my mother? The prophetess of Avalon?”
“Your mother couldn’t locate Avalon back when she was under Azazel’s control,” Aunt Bella said. “What makes you think she’d be able to locate the Otherworld now?”
“She might not be able to locate it,” the Queen of Swords said. “But maybe she can lead us to someone who can.”
9
Torrence
The Queen of Swords and I told Prince Jacen and Aunt Bella that we’d send more witches to try taking down the dome, and then I teleported us back to Avalon.
The Earth Angel waited anxiously in her quarters. We told her everything, and she agreed to gather a small crew of Avalon’s most powerful witches to send to the crossroads.
Then, the Queen of Swords and I went to see her mother.
Skylar Danvers, the prophetess of Avalon, lived in beautiful quarters in one of the front turrets of the castle. Her windows overlooked the bright green mountains and sparkling blue lakes that made up the island.
Her hair was the same vibrant red as the Queen of Swords’, although her face was softer and kinder. There was a contemplative look to her eyes that made her seem like she saw and knew more than the rest of us. And she gave off the metallic scent of vampire.
That was why she had her gift of being able to see into the future. As a human, she’d been naturally gifted with reading tarot cards. After being turned into a vampire, her ability was amplified.
“Take a seat.” She motioned to the table in front of the fireplace. “I’ll bring over some water and mana.”
Once she returned, I bit into my mana and smiled at the taste of my fa
vorite food. Domino’s pizza, with extra cheese and extra sauce. My mom and I ordered pizza every Friday night when I came home for the weekend.
The prophetess walked over to the fireplace, took a quartz crystal off the tarot deck on the mantle, and brought the deck back to the table. “I didn’t know the two of you were friends,” she said, looking back and forth between me and the Queen of Swords. “I assume you’re coming to me with a question.”
“You’re a prophetess,” I said. “Shouldn’t you know that already?”
“You’re a spunky one.” The prophetess laughed, the crinkles deepening in the corners of her eyes. “You remind me of Raven.”
“Thanks.” It was jolting to hear so many people call the Queen of Swords by her first name. But she’d asked me to call her Raven, so I needed to force myself to think of her that way, too.
“I only see the answers to questions when I look into the cards.” She removed the tarot cards from their box and placed them facedown on the table. “I didn’t know you were coming because I didn’t know to ask. That’s the trickiest thing about seeing into the cards. Knowing what to ask.”
“We already know what to ask,” I said. “We need to know how to get to the Otherworld.”
She held my gaze for a few seconds, and I worried she was going to tell me she couldn’t do it. “I can certainly do my best to help you,” she said, picking up the tarot deck and handing it to me. “Take the cards and shuffle them, thinking about your question. Once the shuffling feels complete, hand them back to me.”
I did as she’d asked. It didn’t take long before a warm tingle ran from my palms and up my arms.
The deck was ready. I handed it back to the prophetess.
“What did you ask the cards?” she asked.
“I asked how to get to the Otherworld and help Selena.”
The Faerie Pawn (Dark World: The Faerie Games Book 2) Page 3
