“I’m not leaving it,” she said.
She sprinted for the doorway, but Sahira hadalready run for the kitchen.
“We have to go!” Orin shouted after them, andanother window shattered.
Are they coming inside?
Lexi couldn’t let that possibility slow herdown. She had to get the stone and get out of here.
Sahira already had the safe open when Lexiarrived in the kitchen. She’d removed her two Books of Shadows andshoved them down her shirt. They were lumpy beneath the materialbut tucked safely away.
Her aunt also removed a couple of potions,but didn’t reach for the stone. Lexi didn’t know if it would stillburn anyone else who touched it, but her aunt wasn’t taking thechance.
Stepping away from the safe, Sahira liftedShade, her cat familiar, from the ground. She cradled the felineagainst her chest as Lexi reached into the safe.
The stone warmed against her palm as sheremoved it. She went to slip it into her pocket before recallingshe didn’t have any pockets.
“Here.” Sahira rushed over to one of thecabinets and flung open the door. She pulled out a small pouch andreturned to Lexi. “Put it in here, and I’ll carry it.”
Lexi wasn’t sure the pouch would be enoughprotection for Sahira to hold the stone again, but she didn’t haveany other choice. She dropped the stone into the pouch and pulledthe strings closed.
The voices grew louder outside before thewindow over the sink shattered. Lexi bit back a scream as a glassbottle with a flaming rag stuffed into it was tossed inside. Theglass exploded, and flames erupted across the floor.
Sahira snatched the pouch from her hand andshoved it in her pocket as the flames ate the floor and surgedtoward the ceiling. The crackle of the fire increased, and thesmoke grew thicker. The flames wouldn’t affect her, but they couldkill every person in this room.
Then, over the crackle of the fire, a loudbang reverberated from the barn.
“They wouldn’t,” she breathed.
“Lexi, no!” Sahira cried when she ran aroundthe flames and raced for the broken window.
She pulled back a corner of the curtain toreveal flames licking up the side of her home to fill the window.Beyond the fire, dozens of the Lord’s men spread out across theyard. They filled the space in between her and the stables.
One of them walked toward the barn with atorch in hand.
***
Cole exited the portal in the spot he andNiall had agreed upon before going to the ball. He was maybeseconds ahead of the Lord’s men and the dragons, but when hestepped out of the portal, everything remained serene.
As promised, many of the fae were eating atthe banquet Cole had ordered for them. Fires crackled as his mensat around them, talking and singing, but their peaceful night wasover.
When Niall turned toward him, his jawdropped. Cole didn’t have to look down to know what Niall saw. Theblood coating his clothes adhered them to him in a sticky goo thatwould only get worse before the night was over.
“Everybody out of the Gloaming!” he shouted.“We’re about to be attacked!”
Silence descended as all their heads turnedtoward him. Some of them looked around, but with no imminent threatcoming for them, no one, other than Niall, moved.
Niall jumped to his feet and opened a portal.As he did so, the dark fae closest to him looked up but stilldidn’t move.
The portal went to an outer realm they’dagreed upon earlier. From there, the fae would each have to findtheir way in the realms. He couldn’t tell them all to staysomewhere together.
There was a traitor amongst their peopletelling the Lord things. If Cole told them all to stay in the sameplace, that traitor would get word to the Lord about theirlocation, and hewoulddestroy them all.
The dark fae would be hunted as the enemyuntil they took down the Lord, but he couldn’t do anything aboutthat now. He would make sure they could all come out of hiding andreturn to the Gloaming as soon as possible.
He was failing as their king, but he wouldnotfail them completely.
“Once you get to the outer realm, findsomewhere else to go andhide,” Cole told them as theconfused fae continued to stare at Niall’s portal. “Don’t tellanyone where you’re going. There is a traitor in the Gloaming. Besure you can trust those you reveal things to. Stay safe and stayon the move. We will one day reclaim the Gloaming, but you have togo!”
