“They have been keeping your agents moving safely back and forth across the borders. The Vale King pursues them relentlessly, and Balor’s agents conduct their secret hunts unbeknownst to Riordan. Although, the last I heard, the Spring King has been taken to Kórinthos. Whether he is a prisoner or a ward of the Griffin King is unknown.”
“Perhaps they are consolidating power in anticipation of our retaliation,” said Ciaran, but I shook my head.
“The last thing Riordan would have wanted is another king in the Vale to challenge his power,” I mused aloud, drawing their attention. “He never would have invited the Spring King to come here unless he expected him to go home eventually. But Balor had every intention of taking over the Spring Quadrant here, and Riordan has certainly figured that out by now. They are not allies anymore.”
“It is an astute speculation,” Declan told me.
“Rian wanted me to ask you about the Fuath here. Have you noticed more of them? Are they mobilizing?” Ciaran asked the centaur whose expression darkened.
“Indeed they are. What role do they play?” he asked, and I looked at Ciaran with brows raised in expectation.
“We are not yet sure, but it does seem there may be a connection between the Fuath in Ahnnaòin and someone or something here in the Vale,” Ciaran revealed.
I glared at him in annoyance that he had not thought to share this information with me, but Ciaran ignored me as usual while a mare approached Declan. She informed him that the herd was ready to take the Spring fey to safety.
“Thank you,” Ciaran said to the stallion.
Both centaurs bowed their heads in acknowledgement and then backed away to lead their herd the way they had come from. They took all the Spring fey with them.
“What did you mean about the connection between the Fuath in Ahnnaòin and the Vale?” I asked Ciaran.
“Come, we should not linger,” he said as he turned to walk toward the portal.
“Ciaran—”
“Nuala believes there is some power extending from the Vale into Autumn Court. Something that is blocking her visions of the Fuath in a similar way to how she was unable toSeethe Sylvan,” he explained. He grabbed one of the scouts moving by and jerked the male close so he could speak into his ear before sending him on his way.
I was silent as I absorbed this horrifying information. Something was extending across worlds?
“What the fuck could dothat? And what would it be doing with the Fuath?”
“I don’t know, but whatever could instigate them to mobilize in two worlds like this must be very powerful,” Ciaran pointed out. “And there is a chance that they are also mobilizing in the other courts,” he added.
He waved the last of our warriors through the portal ahead of us while I stood silently next to him trying to wrap my head around what he was saying.
“Come on,” Ciaran said to me before he stepped into the portal after the last scout and left me alone.
I exhaled hard, resenting the fact that we seemed to have so many enemies and not enough time to deal with any of them. Especially when all I really wanted to do was go straight to the Mountain City and find a way to force Riordan to tell me how to get Sage back.
I glanced in that direction and briefly entertained the idea of it. I could let the Wild Hunt deal with the Fuath and Balor and Riordan, and I could embark on the quest to rescue my mate by myself as was most familiar to me. But I knew I stood a better chance of getting Sage back with the help of the Wild Hunt.
And I also knew I did not want to be alone anymore.
So I turned from the Mountain City to step toward the portal after Ciaran.
Only for someone to roughly wrap a hand around my lower face and yank me back against a hard chest.
“Hello,cousin,” snickered a chillingly familiar voice that had my heart sinking with dread.
Even centuries later, I still recognized the seedy voice of Arren Lann a’Chridhe in my ear. He was the eldest son sired by my father’s brother who was killed when Brogan secured his place as the patriarch of our family.
I was not sure what stung more. The fact that it was this glorified ball of beetle dung, out of all my much more prestigious male relatives, who was sent after me. Or the fact that he had actually managed to catch me unawares. Although if anyone was going to do it, then it would be another dryad who could use their elemental power to camouflage themself from my senses.
I also knew it was pointless to fight him. My magic had been contained as soon as he put his hand over my mouth and forced me to inhale thechukapowder I hated so fucking much. Vines had wound around my wrists and ankles the second he had me unpowered, which prevented me from even going for Sage’s dagger on my leg.
My family had finally come for me.
Chapter eleven
