Page 113 of A Kingdom of Magic and Rain

“You’re not coming with us?” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“No. I’ve done my part.”

“You got what you wanted from me, so the rest is none of your concern?”

He smirked. “To be fair, I told you I’m not trustworthy.”

I shook my head. “I’m so disappointed in you.”

“You’re not the first, nor will you be the last. For what it’s worth, I hope you save him.”

When he disappeared, I whirled on Lady May. “Are you ready?”

“I am, but are you? Perhaps we should wait for Tom and Thea.”

“There is no time to waste. Take us to the Fallowmere Mountains.”

“Emelin, I’m sure there will be a confrontation.”

“I’ll be able to hold my own. Isn’t that the reason we’ve been training?”

“I was going to say I will handle them. Your sole focus needs to be getting to Adrian to siphon the ancient magic.” When I nodded, she reached for my hands. “And remember, don’t take too much. You shouldn’t have to forfeit your life to save his.” I nodded again, knowing full well that if it came down to saving Adrian or myself, I would choose him.

The cool air whipped around me when we appeared on one of the slopes in the Fallowmere Mountains. It was still nighttime, but the blanket of darkness had lightened up, signaling the approaching sunrise.

“We’re in the area that Finnian had indicated on the map,” Lady May said, releasing my hands.

“What do we do now?” I took a sweeping look around, squinting in the semi-darkness. “I wish we had a more precise location. Do we start walking in hopes that we will encounter Zarana and the rest?”

“No. I know exactly where we’re going.” She pointed to a section of the mountain that lay ahead of us. “I sense magic there; the stone itself vibrates with it.”

“Isn’t magic ingrained into everything in the Fae realm?”

“That magic is different. Trust me, our destination lies up ahead.”

Squinting harder, I noticed a fissure in the rock. “There is a cave. That must be where they’re holding him. Can you cloak our approach?”

“I can, but if Zarana is there, it’s only a matter of time before she penetrates the shroud of my powers.”

“We only need to stay undetected long enough to peek inside the cave. Once we know who all is there and where Adrian is, we can glimmer in. I’ll rush to his side while you deal with his captors.”

She nodded and muttered an incantation. My skin tingled as her magic molded to my body. With the cloaking spell in effect, we quickly closed the distance between us and the cave opening. After exchanging a silent look, we slipped inside.

The space was quiet and dark, but a faint orange glow echoed from the depths of the cave. We set off toward it, our feet making no sound as we stepped over the rough cavern floor. I could also sense the magic of this place now as the rock walls hummed with it. Wading through the cool, damp air, we crept closer and closer, and soon voices disturbed the unearthly stillness around us.

“If only you had followed through on our plan,” Tarn’s drawl drifted toward us. “This would have been done and over with hours ago.”

“I couldn’t do it,” Luna wept. “Please let me go!”

“Let you go? Oh, sweet Luna, I can’t. I need you here for when Silberium finally rips my brother apart. Hopefully, we don’t have to wait too much longer.”

My heart plummeted to the pit of my stomach as I halted and listened.

“You never said that Emelin would have to die,” Luna managed to get out in between sorrowful sobs.

Tarn laughed. “How else were you going to become the queen of Aubrielle?”

“She could abdicate the throne.”