“It is not as if we intended the first one to collapse!” he muttered while I contemplated what else we could do to assure Rian that we would not harm more fey.
“Can Orion not come with us?” I asked hours later when Ornella and the blond asshole finally returned to say I was taking Ornella to the Sylvan. She used to boast so much about being able to grow her food, clothing, and weapons, so it was still odd to see her dressed and armed.
“We need assurance that you’ll come back with me,” Ornella explained coolly as she took hold of the vine that tethered me to the ground. They detached easily under her hands and wrapped around my wrists like vine bracelets as she lifted me to my feet. “He stays here.”
“Amira!” Orion shouted my name with panic clear in his golden eyes as he strained against his bindings.
“Wait! At least let me say—”
“I never got to say goodbye to Sage. So deal with it,” Ornella growled before shoving me toward the doorway. His shout of protest was cut off once we passed through the flap, which meant there must be a sound barrier.
I winced in the sudden glare of sunlight, but my arm was roughly grabbed to continue dragging me forward. Once my eyes adjusted to the brightness, I peered around us at an expansive military camp that was bustling with fey of every size, shape,and colour. Ornella guided me quickly to an enormous tent not too far from where we were being kept. We walked between two trolls standing guard and passed through the curtained doorway.
I drew up short at the sight of a flowering tree that eclipsed the ceiling of the large tent. Much of the ground we had walked over in the camp had been stomped into bare dirt, but there was lush grass covering the ground beneath the tree. A quick glance around the tent showed me it was a mess hall of sorts where the warriors would come to eat. Many of them had abandoned the tables at the end of the room in favour of lying under the tree to eat while purple petals fluttered through the air.
“There’s a tree in the tent,” I whispered in confusion.
“It is a portal tree. My own creation,” Ornella boasted. Despite the sharpness in her tone, I knew she was proud.
She did not let me gawk for long before she tugged me toward the group of grim-faced fey who stood next to the tree trunk. I recognized Nuala, Rian, and the silver rider called Darragh, but the others were unfamiliar.
“Who are they?” I asked Ornella in a whisper.
“Do you mean Sage’s family?” she guessed waspishly, and I almost stumbled over my own feet. The thought of facing his family made my heart drop into my stomach, but Ornella was not slowing.
The man with blond hair and emerald eyes seemed to sense our approach, and he turned from Rian to face us. His face was icy as he appraised me, but then he reached for Ornella with an easy familiarity and pulled her into a long hug. And I was shocked by how gladly she received his affection since she had hardly ever let me touch her.
“Rian told us about your plans. Bring him home if you can but make sureyoucome back to us too,” I heard him whisper, and she nodded, her arms tightening on him.
I felt a strong hand gripping my arm again and glanced up to see the male who must have been tailing us through the camp.He gave me a chilling glare, so I lowered my eyes again as he pulled me toward the Autumn Prince.
“Remember that I have your mate,” Rian warned once we reached him and the others who all glared at me in accusation. “And Ciaran is feeling awfully bloodthirsty. He says I have been too lenient with you.”
Rian indicated the male whose grip on me tightened.
“I will come back with Ornella. And Sage,” I added, glancing at the dark-haired woman standing next to Rian whom I guessed to be his aunt. Sage’s mother. Her eyes were purple, which was so unique that it was distracting, but they were also cold and sorrowful. A stark contrast to the smile lines around her mouth that suggested she was not usually so severe.
My promise did absolutely nothing to warm her frosty expression. It was not until her attention shifted to Ornella as my friend returned to my side that she seemed to thaw. And the sight of the maternal warmth flooding her face as she cupped Ornella’s face felt like it pinched inside of me. Just as it did when Nell leaned into the woman’s hold like it was giving her strength. It was clear that Sage’s family had become Nell’s too, and it invoked as much jealousy in me as it did happiness for my friend.
Sage’s mother stepped away, and Ornella gave a quick nod to the others, a woman and a man with two children, before she turned to face Rian. His calculative expression was replaced by a smile that was unexpectedly tender.
“You can do this. I know you can bring him home,” Rian reassured her.
“I know,” she responded with a raised chin that was much more characteristic of her.
Seemingly pleased by her confidence, Rian cleared the way to the tree while Ornella tried to take my arm back from Ciaran. But he did not release me, which made her glance up at where he stood just behind me.
“Try not to fuck it all up,” he instructed playfully.
“Fuck off, Ciaran,” she growled before tugging on my arm more forcefully to free it from him. Then she pulled me up to the tree and put her hand on its trunk. I swore the whole thing shivered, which caused a fresh cascade of those shimmering purple petals to fall.
I was briefly distracted by the breathtaking spectacle, lifting my eyes up to watch. But I thought I saw Ornella tuck something into her pocket in my periphery.
She put both hands on the tree, and I watched in awe as the tree seemed to perk up. More flowers bloomed and more petals fell. But even more astonishing was the way the trunk peeled open to reveal a vibrant purple core inside the tree. And I instinctively knew I was looking at the heart of the Tithriall itself, exposed and bleeding its vaporous essence into the air around us. And before I was finished marvelling, Ornella had taken my arm again and pulled me through the purple rift.
The sensation of moving between worlds through the Tithriall was so different from the portal that Riordan had brought me through. Instead of a pressure that squeezed me breathless, it felt as if I had imploded. Every molecule buzzed and hummed, totally free as they shot through the ley lines. And then all at once, every one of them snapped back together again, leaving me feeling stunted and heavy in my own body as I stumbled over silver bracken.
I bent over my knees to catch my breath, sparing just a quick glance to confirm that we were in the Silver Moor. The craggy hills and meadows covered in silver bracken and trees draped in silvery moss were unmistakable.
