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I bit my lip. How could I tell him what I suspected? How could I admit that once, I'd been on the other side, as vicious as she was? Grieve and I had switched sides this life, but a gulf a mile wide still divided us. I only knew that I loved him, and I'd do whatever it took to kill Myst and free the Golden Wood. Even if it meant trucking with vampires, aligning myself with Lainule, slicing throats . . . whatever we needed, I'd do it.
Anything to keep Myst from winning.
I shook my head. "Never mind that. Leave it for tomorrow. For when it's light again and the Indigo Court hides in pain."
He nodded, standing to go. I watched him silently leave the room.
After I'd logged off my computer, I patted the pendant around my neck. The reassuring pulse of magic beat through my body. Beyond vampires and Fae and Vampiric Fae and magic, there was this--my legacy. My father was Uwilahsidhe, and I had his blood in my veins. And perhaps someday, I would meet him.
I stripped off my clothes and opened the window. A swirl of flakes flew in from the snow-covered night. It was beautiful, a blanket of sparkling white. I stared down, eager to let go of the day's events. My fan hanging around my wrist, I leapt lightly to crouch on the sill. I let out a smile as a fierce, feral pride rose up.
Lannan could suck me dry. The Vampiric Fae could enslave my family. The vampires could start their war. We'd won our battle today: We'd rescued Peyton and Chatter. It was time to celebrate. Small victories were important now.
Tomorrow, I'd have to face the stark reality of what had happened, but tonight--tonight I could escape.
And nothing they could do would change who I was--or what I'd discovered about myself. I stared up at the swirling storm. Winter had moved in with Myst, a vengeful winter out to blanket us all with the chill of the Indigo Court, but we weren't done yet. We had lived and would fight another day.
The owl tattoo on my arm let out a piercing screech as I let go and fell toward the ground. In the blink of an eye, I twisted, shifting, and went gliding up into the night sky, free from everything and everyone.
The great horned owl met me, gliding in from the oak. Silent shadows, we flew over the house, riding on the currents provided by Ulean, who chased by our side, laughing. And her breath gave us a tailwind that propelled us onward as I left war and blood and death behind.>Come, fly to the other side.
But my clothes--I can't wait that long for Chatter to bring them up and we don't dare chance him wearing himself out.
Then to the bottom of the gorge. Fly and land softly on the trunk near the cataract.
I gazed down, saw the trunk he was talking about. The tree had fallen along a series of small falls that were frozen over, on the other side of the stream. I swept down, spiraling, reveling in the feel of my wings on the wind. The horned owl hooted softly as we landed at the bottom. It waited beside me as I waited for Chatter. Within a moment, a blur raced down the hill and stopped on the shore beside me. He appeared, holding Leo around the waist. I turned back to my companion.
Thank you. Will you watch us on our way through the wood? Can I contact you when I'm in human form?
No, you cannot read my thoughts then--we are connected, but only when in owl form. But I will come with you, I will watch over you the best I can. Now change back and get dressed.
I shifted back, dressing quickly in the freezing air as the snow swirled around us. Chatter headed back up the slope, a blur in the deepening shadows, as Peyton gingerly made her way across the stream. Within a few minutes, we were all at the base of the ravine that would lead us to the Golden Wood and home again. As I stared up the slope, a noise behind us startled me.
Turning, I could see a group of the Vampiric Fae. They were making their way down the alluvial deposit. They were coming for us and both Heather and Myst were with them.
Chapter 26
"Hell! Move. They're on the way."
We scrambled for the slope of the ravine. Peyton didn't have much problem in her four-footed form, and Chatter was quick, but the rest of us weren't so nimble. I grabbed branch and limb, ignoring the brambles that pierced through my gloves, ignoring the needle-laden boughs that slapped me in the face as I half-crawled, half-climbed my way up the slope. The ravine was steep, but luckily had plenty of rocks and trees to gain leverage on. My breath coming in white puffs, I charged upward, trying not to focus on how close they were.
They are almost down the slope on the other side. Hurry.
Shit, they'd traversed the swath of rocks and boulders like they were skipping stones. I pushed ahead. And then, Chatter was at my side, and we were racing in a blur up the mountain. I blinked and found myself standing on the top of the ravine.
"Chatter--you're too tired--"
"Let me do this." He vanished again, a blur down the slope. I took a moment and glanced around. Nobody over here on this side, thank gods. Although I'd really love it if some hero came charging in to save us, but that wasn't going to happen. I pulled out my fan, gearing up for what I knew was coming. At that moment, Chatter appeared again, Rhiannon in tow. Peyton crept over the top, still in puma form. She slunk over to my side.
Kaylin was helping Leo, trying to drag him along faster. Chatter took a deep breath and--looking exhausted--headed down again.
"No--you can't bring them both." I stared in horror at Myst and her crew. They'd reached the bottom and were lithely crossing the frozen stream. This was going wrong. So wrong. Myst wasn't supposed to come with them. I knew in my heart we couldn't stand against her.
I turned to Rhiannon. "Go--get moving back to the house."
"No. I'm staying here with you." She pulled out her bag with the Molotov cocktails in it. "We go down together or not at all."
I took a deep breath. "Let's make a pact then. If they catch us, if they try to turn us, we do whatever it takes to avoid that fate. I'd rather be torn to pieces than work for them."
