“This is all your fault, Ken,” the man with the white hair snarled. “Everything that has happened has led to this day. But finally, I know how to destroy you. I know how to break you completely. And I have …” the man smiled cruelly. He stepped to the side, and Lucie could see a girl with blonde hair, her eyes closed, bound by her wrists. It was her cousin Alexa. Her lifeless body hung limply in the air, gray and devoid of life, and dark blood slowly pooled beneath her.
Lucie felt the tears streaming from her eyes. She wanted to do something. She needed to cut her down from there. Yet she was stuck watching the gruesome sight in front of her. How could this have happened?
“What you wanted to protect, you couldn’t. I found your weakness anyway.” A dark chuckle escaped from the man with white hair.
The next moment, a big ball of energy flooded the area, completely blinding Lucie. Her tears continued to fall, though. Her cousin was dead. Lucie’s fairy blood had responded to the possible future and began to awaken. Would this event come to pass? If she was being gifted a premonition, that must mean it could be avoided, right? Just like the demon war. There was still a chance to change the future.
If Ken accepted her cousin, would this premonition come to pass? Ken was a tier-one deity, the Kraken. He was also hercousin Alexa’s mate, but he was avoiding her. She didn’t know the details but only that he was doing it for Alexa’s sake.
With a threat to the fairy line, she had gotten a premonition and her fairy powers were awakening. No matter what, there would be a fairy princess. The fairies depended on this. It seems the path was being laid. Either the future would change, or Lucie would be selected to carry on in her stead.
She looked around at the white quiet. Why was she still here, in this void? Was there more?
The world around her suddenly changed. She looked out at a city that seemed to have been through a war. Buildings stood hollow and gutted, their windows shattered, walls crumbling beneath thick tangles of vine that crawled over the stone like the land itself was trying to swallow what was left. Streets were cracked and buckled, split open by roots that had pushed through the concrete. In the distance, she could see a section of the city that had tall walls surrounding it, fortified and imposing against the gray sky.
Smoke hung heavy in the air, thick enough to burn her throat, blurring the skyline into something ghostly. Through the haze, she could see something walking out. She gasped when she saw the face. It was the same face from her dream a few years ago.The one when Jasper stayed and patted her to sleep. A man with one good eye and one red eye that pulsed with a faint, unnatural glow glared at the wall in the distance. Behind him, an army began to emerge from the smoke. She couldn’t make out the creatures, only that they were large, their silhouettes lumbering and bulbed, moving with a weight that shook the ground beneath them.
From an unseen opening in the wall, someone walked out slowly. The person was at a distance, so she couldn’t make out their face. But it looked like a girl with long hair that lifted in the hot, smoky wind, and at her side she held out a sword. Theblade caught what little light broke through the haze. The girl was standing there alone to face the army that was approaching her, and she didn’t falter. Not a single step backward.
In the smoke behind her lingered another dark shadow that she couldn’t make out. Massive shoulders. A hulking frame. A werebear? A werewolf? She couldn’t tell. She could barely see its outline cloaked behind the girl, still as stone, waiting.
Lucie held her breath as the army charged toward the girl, who raised her sword …
Lucie sat up, panting for air. Her eyes were wide and damp from her tears as she focused on the world in front of her.
“Lucie.” Derrick squeezed her hand gently. “Lucie, I’m right here.”
She looked over at Derrick and glanced up to see she was in her uncle Chasen’s arms. Standing next to him were her parents, Aunt Jin, and Jasper, concern etched on their faces. She gripped Derrick’s hand tighter to try to stop it from trembling. What the hell was all of that? Both were visions of the future. One would come sooner, involving Alexa. But the other one … things looked so different. It looked like it took place a long time from now. She had a feeling that the girl held some significance to her … maybe a family member? Whoever she was, she was facing an army all alone, with maybe one shifter of sorts with her.
Chasen slowly lowered Lucie back to the ground and Derrick immediately pulled her into his arms. He held her body flush against his as he tried to help calm her down. Her emotions were surging, and all he could do was use the mate bond to help.
“Take your time, Lucie. Let’s get back into pack territory. We can talk about it after you’ve had time to digest everything,” Hunter said gently. Lucie looked at him in confusion but slowly nodded her head. “Ryan, get her back in the vehicle. I want to get her to the safety of pack borders.” Hunter wasn’t sure what had happened, but he could feel it. A strong pulse of fairy energy wasbeating inside Lucie now. Hunter could see it in Chasen’s eyes as well and knew he could feel it too.Whatever had just happened, Hunter could feel his fairy blood reacting to Lucie, as if she were a fairy princess …
“Follow us just to the border. Then wait there. I’ll send for one of you to take the other vehicle before it’s time to leave.” Derrick looked at the back SUV with the vampires in it before he hopped into the vehicle beside Lucie.
Jasper didn’t say a word. He started the car and followed the one in front of him. On occasion, he would glance up at the mirror to see how Lucie was doing. She looked pale and worn. It was as if she had a weight on her shoulders that she didn’t have a moment ago.
Derrick kissed the side of Lucie’s head and tucked her gently into his chest. He felt her snuggle deeper into his embrace. She was quiet, and her heart rate had returned to normal, as well as her breathing. He wondered what she had seen. He could feel her fear and confusion. Whatever it was, she didn’t seem to understand it completely either.
CHAPTER 28
Visions of her cousin’s body flashed in Lucie’s mind. She covered her mouth as liquid crystals trickled down her cheeks. It was so real. What did she need to do to prevent this from happening? She felt Derrick’s hand rub over her shoulder gently. The vehicle came to a stop, and Lucie glanced up, surprised to see she was back home. She was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t even realize it.
The door opened and she was instantly pulled out of the vehicle.
“Damn it Lucie, I was so scared!” Aedan wrapped his arms around her, crushing her against him. He looked down and saw the evidence of her tears on her face. His eyes immediately darkened as his gaze shifted to Derrick.
“Easy on her.” Hunter hurried toward his son. “Lucie had a premonition. She’s still adjusting.”
Derrick slid out of the vehicle, and Jasper was at his side immediately. He looked at the man with auburn hair and smiled. “You must be Aedan.”
“Who are you?” Aedan said coldly.
Derrick’s eyes rested on Lucie. She was extremely quiet. So much that he was feeling anxious and worried for her.
Lucie took a small step from Aedan. She wanted to introduce him to her mate.
Mate. Alexa’s mate. She needed to find Alexa’s mate so that … the vision of her body flickered in her mind. The dried blood and bruises all over her body. The pooling blood beneath her. She must have fought incredibly hard. Lucie’s hands started shaking.
