Page 31 of Fallen Court

It couldn’t be…

I dared a peek at the ground beneath us. Wet cobblestone greeted me. Lifting my eyes, I discovered that we had landed behind a dumpster, the reeking stench of beer and old fish wafting from its open lid. A sob of relief slipped from my mouth as I drank in what lay just beyond it: a narrow avenue filled with warmly lit pubs and restaurants. Laughter drifted toward us as doors opened and patrons spilled into the night.

Earth.

We were somewhere on Earth. I could have kissed the stone beneath me. People walked past on their way to normal lives, completely oblivious. Which was probably a blessing. I couldn’t imagine what we must look like.

“I cannot believe that worked.” Marin let out a whoop.

An arm wiggled beneath my back. I had one of them pinned. Rolling to the side, I untangled myself from the others, sitting up to find myself looking at Ilsa. Her wrinkles had faded into fine lines, her silver hair now a buttery blond. I blinked a few times, and she smiled.

“We borrowed faces, too.” Marin’s words were a painful reminder that I still looked like Titania.

“Courtesy of the Belle Mère,” Ilsa said, lifting a youthful hand to show me a small tattoo on her wrist: a circle flanked on either side by crescent moons. “That part wasn’t a lie.”

“You’re not…” I stumbled, searching for what to say.

“Old?” she offered.

“Don’t let her fool you,” Marin interjected. Words failed me entirely as she shucked off the cloak to reveal a T-shirt and jeans, her long pale hair now short and spiky. Now, I felt even more overdressed. “She’s older than she looks.”

Magic. Ilsa nodded as if she’d heard my thoughts. “We can explain more later. The magic disguising you will fade at midnight. We should go. Our coven is waiting for us in Kildare. They’ll help you.”

But would they? Helping me escape might have been another trick. “Why should I trust you?”

“Do you have a choice?”

That was a good point. But I held my ground. “I have questions.”

“They can wait,” Marin said firmly. “We’ll answer your questions once you’re safe.”

“I can’t waste time here. I need to get back to New Orleans.” Before Oberon discovered I was missing and went after them.

Marin touched her own tattoo. “This links us and our cause—to those of us who follow the old book’s ways. Those who bear it will help you.”

Before I could ask more, a melodic voice interjected, “I think you will find help wherever you look.”

I whipped around to the maid, brows raising in question at hearing her finally speak.

“Kelly…and thank you.” She hugged me tightly, tears brimming in her eyes. “I never thought I’d escape that place.”

“Neither did I.” Rough emotion cracked my own voice.

“Oberon is a bigger monster than you can imagine. You’ve saved me from more than just a life of servitude.”

Dread traced an icy finger down my spine. The witches of New Orleans might be able to help me, but there were other questions only Kelly might answer. “Do you know anything about what happens below ground in the Hallow Court?”

She bit her lip, shaking her head. “I don’t remember much… It’s all a blur. But he took my blood, and then he took my voice.”

My heart sank, the dread pooling in my stomach like molten lead. I had escaped Oberon. How long would it be until he came after the people I loved?

“When did he take you captive?” Ilsa asked her in a shrewd voice.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “It felt like an eternity. Where are we? I need to reach my daughter. She’ll be looking for me.”

“Dublin,” Marin told her, “the seat of the Hallow Court.”

“I need to get to her. She was in Venice before…”