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“Cicely—of course I remember you! I’m so glad you called. Have you filled out the paperwork yet? We’re looking forward to meeting you and your new Society.” She sounded pleasant enough, almost like she really was looking forward to seeing us again.
I closed my eyes and plunged in. “Ysandra, we really need to talk to you. It’s an emergency. Is there any way you could meet us in Monroe today? There’s a diner there—Penny’s Pit Stop. Please, will you meet us there this afternoon? There’s so much I need to tell you and I can’t do it over the phone.”
She paused, I could almost hear the thoughts running through her head. Then, “Yes, I’ll meet you there at three P.M.”
“Please, be very careful on your way. And tell someone where you’re going. New Forest is a dangerous town now. Marta and Heather found out the hard way. We’re in trouble. And we need the help of the Consortium.” My voice cracked and I realized just how scared I was. The fact that Ysandra agreeing to meet us made the tears well up was proof of the stress.
She paused again, and then simply said, “Three P.M. I will be there.” And then silence.
I flipped my phone shut, a sense of relief flooding over me. There were so many things that could go wrong, but she was coming. I had a sudden flashback to childhood, to so many nights when I prayed for the cavalry to come riding in to rescue Krystal and me. But no one ever came.
As I returned to the others, Chatter entered the room. He was watching Rex intently. The look on his face was thoughtful and for once, I thought maybe, just maybe, our luck was turning. I let out my breath, forced a smile to my lips, and rejoined my friends.
Chapter 5
“I was high on the mountain when she found me,” Rex was saying. “Stretched out, almost dead, but I knew my name, and I knew my place in life. I’d walked through the fire, and so earned my place as one of the elders of the Northwest Puma Pride. Even though I left for a long time, they kept my place open for me. They told me, ‘We knew you would be coming home. It was meant to be.’ And it’s time for you, Peyton. Your time to undergo the vision quest is overdue.”
Curious, I glanced over at Peyton. Listening rapt to her father, her eyes glistened with tears.
“I can’t go now—I’m needed here. But afterward, if we get through this, I’ll be ready. Will the pride accept me, though? I’m half-magic-born.” Her lower lip trembled and I thought of the Lupa clan and how much the werewolves hated the magic-born.
“There is a big difference between wolves and cats,” Rex said, glancing over at me as if he could read my mind. “We are magical in nature, the wolves not as much. They fear magic, where the puma clans revel in it. As do all the big-cat-shifters. That’s one of the things that attracted me to your mother to begin with. I’ve told my people about you, and the Elders have offered you a place in the pride. But first, you must go through your vision quest. Pass through the fire and you will forever be one with my people. Your people.” He leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed across his chest. “But you need to know there’s a chance of dying. There’s always a dance with death when you go in search of the fire.”
Peyton nodded, staring at the floor. “I will try. I want to know more about your people—my people.”
I happened to glance up at the clock on the wall. It was barely nine thirty. “Today, I’m meeting Ysandra at three P.M. Kaylin and Rhiannon—you come with me. Chatter, would you and Peyton and Rex help Luna do whatever you need to in order to make us more secure in this place?”
“What do you want me to do, my love?” Grieve stood at the doorway. As he joined us, sitting on the table next to me, I reached for his hand but he shook his head.
“Before you continue, I’d like to have things out in the open.” He looked at the others. “I touched on this before but let’s talk about it. None of you really trust me. Not even you, my loyal Chatter. And you have every right to feel that way. After all, I belong to Myst—she turned me. But please know, I’m doing everything I can to keep control of my darker nature. I was not born this way…” He hung his head, wincing. “I was not born to this. I love Cicely. She is my all. I’ll do anything to keep her safe.”
Rex tilted his head, frowning. “I’m still kind of fuzzy on the facts surrounding the Indigo Court. Fill me in?”
I sighed. “Long story short: Geoffrey—you know who he is?”
Rex nodded, a somber cast across his face. “I’ve had several run-ins with him long time back before I left New Forest. He’s dangerous. I believe he was a warlord before he was turned?”
“Yes, and he is still a warlord at heart. A thousand or so years ago, Geoffrey got it into his head to turn Myst—who was one of the Unseelie. They were lovers, and they hatched a mad scheme to turn her into a vampire and then the two of them would conquer the land. Typical delusions-of-grandeur crap, except for one little problem. When he drank her down and then gave her his blood, she didn’t die.”
“Let me guess—something to do with her Fae nature?”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh yeah. Myst recovered insanely fast, able to use both her Unseelie powers and the vampire powers she gained from Geoffrey. And as an added bonus, she was able to breed children with her dual nature. When she realized how strong she was, she turned on Geoffrey and tried to destroy him. The vampires managed to drive the Vampiric Fae into obscurity, but the Indigo Court spent the following centuries breeding and waiting. A great war between the two factions was prophesized by their freak-show Blood Oracle—Crawl—and apparently Grieve and I were to be the catalysts in it. And it seems we were.”
I paused, glancing at Grieve. His eyes were the black of the void, shining with stars. He cleared his throat. “In another life, Cicely was Myst’s daughter—her name was Cherish. I was one of the Cambyra Fae, named Shy. I wasn’t a wolf-shifter then, but instead I belonged to the Ursiasidhe, the bear-shifters.”
“I didn’t know that you were a bear-shifter then.” I stared at him.
“It’s never come up. Anyway, against all odds, we fell in love and, betraying both our peoples, ran away together.”
“I bet that went over really well.” Rex gave me a sad smile.
Frowning, I narrowed my eyes. “They chased us down. We ravaged a swath through the countryside in our attempts to escape. Or…I ravaged. Somehow I have a feeling I caused most of the damage.”
Grieve took my hand. “We both did, love.” He lifted my palm to his lips and kissed it gently. “In the end, we were cornered. I had a potion I’d bought from a sorceress. The drink was deadly, but fashioned to bind our souls together into the afterlife. We drank it knowing that although we would die, we’d find each other again in a new life. And so we have.”
“Romeo and Juliet.” Peyton said, her voice sad.
“Yes…only this time around, I’m also part Cambyra Fae. And Grieve…though he was born a Prince of the Summer Court, is now one of the Vampiric Fae. And once again, we’re on the run.” My words drifted away and I turned to my love. “This time, I want to end the cycle. I want to live my life with you…for you.”
