“No one knows what I look like for real except you all and Nigel. They don’t know our connection, so he’d have no reason to believe any other fae would have my back. For all he knows, I’ve been in hiding on my own. He still wants me, and he could track me. I’m sure that’s how he found me in the human realm. He just got confused when I was glamoured, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew I came to Prinath. I wouldn’t have to go far from town. I could wait it out, and he would find me. Or I could go to his ass.”
Yosef sat up straighter behind me. He was getting engaged in hearing her plan, but I didn’t like anything she was saying. It all involved putting her at risk.
“How would you find him?” Yosef asked.
Lila bit her thumbnail, pondering her answer. “I could do a locator spell. I wanted to earlier, but we weren’t ready then. He does trading in town. I could find something he sold here and use that to narrow him down. With any luck, he’s hiding with the Nodoorians since he can’t get out of this realm with the portals shut. We can locate them, too.”
It was worth a try, but the Nodoorians would have to expect it to be a trap. They’d have to want Lila bad to risk accompanying the dark mage.
Lila poked me on the arm, sensing my displeasure. “You don’t like my idea?”
I shrugged, running a hand over my face. Like wasn’t the issue. “We’ve only been home two days. It seems too risky.”
Yosef gave a sympathetic pat on my shoulder, looking to Lila. “He’s right. We should take our time with this.”
Lila closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead with her middle finger. “I get it. If I could stay in this bed with you guys until we started to smell, I would. I kind of like it here. I definitely like the three of you.” She opened her eyes, a soft smile on her lips. “But I can’t stay here while my people are fighting against an enemy that has a spy implanted in our leadership circle. I have no idea what’s going on back home. That’s scary. I wish I could just pick up the phone or email them, but apparently, a girl can’t get a signal across realms. And hey, maybe Nigel will be all alone, and I’ll be back here in bed in no time. Of course, I’m going to kill Nigel along the way, so something will be accomplished.”
I heard Yosef mutter behind me as he shifted off the bed. “My mate makes a persuasive argument. Let me tell the court.”
I grumbled and pulled Lila to my chest, laying us back down on the bed. I wasn’t scared of a fight. I enjoyed it, but I would have loved to languish a while longer with them both. I smacked her ass, and she yelped, punching me lightly on the chest.
“What was that for?” she cried.
“Because I’m angry, and I like your ass.”
I moved my hand down her buttocks and between her legs, tickling her pussy lips.
She sucked in a breath. “You aren’t going to change my mind with sex. I’m on to your tactics.”
Yosef chuckled, already dressed. “That’s his specialty, be careful.”
She didn’t need to be careful; I already knew anything I tried would be a losing battle.
* * *
It was another three days before Lila’s plan was put into action. My skin itched with anticipation as we watched from a hidden location several feet away from Lila. The court needed time to prepare and find an item Nigel had actually had, which turned out to be more challenging than first thought. Apparently, sold items weren’t enough to use as a locator. They had to be items the person had for a while. The location she discovered did not show on our map as a town, so we had to assume it was a campsite. The nearest town was three miles from the location. However, the area would take eleven hours by car from our kingdom.
When we were two miles from the location, we switched to foot so as to maintain the element of hopeful surprise. The part I didn’t appreciate was having Lila so much farther ahead of us by herself. I understood her vulnerability was key, but it didn’t mean I had to like it.
The location was located on a rocky beach near one of our few oceans on the unseelie side of the fae realm. The sand was indigo-colored with iridescent rocks and boulders; the water, with crashing waves today against the gray sky, was pale pink. At the edge of the beach was a thick forest of short, wide trees that helped to cover us. It was a more secluded beach and not popular because of its rockiness and choppy waters. Also, one could only reach it from a narrow bridge.
Lila emerged from the forest and made a show of looking to her right, where Nigel was supposed to be. There was, indeed, a camp with several tents lined up in rows, right between the forest and the water. It was hard to see how many people were there and if they were actually Nodoorian. They were not wearing any uniforms.
Xander crouched down beside me, looking ahead, his vampiric silver eyes glowing as he looked on at Lila slowly approaching the group. “I’d say there are about a hundred of them, maybe a little less. Do any of those faces look familiar?”
From our distance, I couldn’t tell. My vision was not like Xander’s binocular vision eyes. “I can’t tell from here. Do you see the mage?”
He shook his head. “No, but maybe he’s in a tent. I don’t want Lila getting much closer. He could grab her and teleport her away to another place, and we’d lose her all over again.”
The thought of that possibility made my stomach hurt and skin grow clammy with anxiety. I’d burn the entire camp down if they laid a finger on her.
Xander snorted. “You’re getting scaly, my friend.”
I looked down at my hands, and they were indeed covered in my shining purple scales. I had to keep my cool. If I burst into my dragon form, they would see.
Xander tapped my arm. “She’s stopping. They see her.”
I looked up and saw Lila turn around and begin running away. I clenched my fingers, anxious. This was the plan. She was supposed to look surprised if she saw Nigel or the Nodoorians. If she ran away, they would follow, and we would jump out.
