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1
BREE
The demonic gods were coming.
Bree paced the room, her heart a mess of writhing snakes. She could barely process her tumbling thoughts. There was a fourth realm, one she’d never known about until now. And it was everything she’d thought the dark fae realm would be and worse. So much worse.
It was a realm teeming with demonic gods.
Demons.Bree squeezed her eyes tight, her hands fisting. She should have known they were real. Rafe had once told her that fae were fallen angels, cast out of the heavens because of their sins. And if there were angels, there would be demons, too.
And they wanted Taveon.
Hell, they probably wanted the entire world.
Bree had to do something. She couldn’t stand aside and leave this one to fate. Her mind whirred. If the demons planned to break down the barrier between their realm and Underworld, then there would be nothing stopping them from pushing even further forward. They could go after Otherworld, the light fae realm, next. And then even further to Earth where humans would stand no chance against them.
She had no idea what demons could do or how many would come, but she had to make sure her worlds were ready when they came to destroy everything in their path.
It was time to go see Norah. If anyone could help, it was her oldest friend. The Queen of Otherworld.
With a deep breath, Bree grabbed her satchel from the cupboard and shoved a few changes of clothes inside. She donned her fighting leathers and pulled her hair up into a high bun, twisting the thick dark strands out of her face. Hopefully, she wouldn’t be gone long, but Norah’s opinion of the dark fae wasn’t particularly high. It might take some time to convince her old friend to come to their aid.
When she was done packing, she moved to the door. Her hand rested on the handle, her heart doing somersaults in her chest. She wished she could say goodbye. She wanted nothing more than to tell Taveon, Rafe, and Dagen what she planned on doing. Hell, she wished she could take one of them with her.
But she knew these fae males far better than she knew her own damn mind. They’d try to stop her. Taveon, the current King of Underworld, wouldn’t want Norah’s help. Even if he did, he wouldn’t want Bree to be the one to go and ask for it.
Even as close as they’d become, she didn’t doubt Taveon would lock her inside her chambers to stop her. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d held her in captivity.
Bree managed to sneak out of the castle and grab a horse without any issue. None of the guards even batted an eye. When she’d first arrived in Underworld, they would have hauled her into their arms and deposited her right back inside of her quarters. But things were different now. At some point, they’d begun to see her as one of their own, even if she was a human turned Redcap turned light fae turned...whatever she was now.
She galloped down the long path from Taveon’s castle to the Faerie Ring that would lead her back home.
Home.Her heart squeezed just thinking of the word, and a part of her ached to turn back and ride straight into Taveon’s arms. Otherworld had never truly felt like her home. It had been marred with pain, darkness, and blood. But still, for months she had wanted nothing more than to see Otherworld’s brilliant blue skies once again. To breathe in the scent of spring or race through autumn’s fallen leaves.
But it was no longer her home. Somewhere along the way, Underworld had grown on her. Sure, it was home to terrifying beasts, butBreewas a terrifying beast herself, so she kind of fit right in. A monster in a court of monsters.
Bree slowed to a stop when she reached the ring of black stones that led from Underworld to Otherworld. She edged the horse forward, her heart racing. It felt like years since she last saw this place and the gleaming stones that glowed beneath the light of the full moon. Intoxicating scents swirled into her nose as she led the horse inside the circle. Autumn, and it’s fallen leaves, and Summer with its ozone, Spring with its blooming flowers, and Winter with its frost. She could smell it all and more.
A soft caress of magic whispered across her arms, and then, Underworld was gone. Before her, a wintry landscape spread far and wide, snow packed on top of rolling hills and jagged mountaintops. The sun was high in a cerulean sky with only wispy clouds here and there. Bree’s heart swelled as she gazed up at it. She had forgotten how beautiful daylight was.
In Underworld, there was no sun and there was no day. It was all moonlight or pure, unyielding dark.
Sighing, she urged the horse forward. He trotted out of the Faerie Ring and made for the path that led down from the hills and toward the Winter Court, where Norah, now Queen of Otherworld, would be ruling her realm.
* * *
“Bree?” Norah pushed up from her throne and raced down the dais, flinging her arms around Bree’s neck. Her long blonde hair whipped into Bree’s face from the pure fury of her attack. Bree smiled, squeezed back, and blinked the tears from her eyes. For so long, she thought she’d never see her best friend ever again—her sister in soul. And now here she was, with her crown and her throne and her mates, looking more radiant than ever.
She pulled back and searched Bree’s face with her brilliant greeneyes. “How are you back, Bree? How are you here? Tell me everything. Has something happened?” Her voice hitched up on the last word.
“Remember that time you climbed into my apartment in New York and told me about monsters and boys with glowing skin? This is a bit like that.”
Norah’s smile died. “You’re scaring me, Bree. What’s going on? Where have you been?”
And so Bree sat down with the Queen of Otherworld and told her everything. She started with her captivity, then moved on to the curse, and then everything she’d found out since. No need to mention her confusing feelings. Right now, there was a coming war to focus on.
Norah sighed, sat back on her throne, and closed her eyes. As she did, Bree couldn’t help but notice the changes in her friend. In the months that Bree had been gone, a strength had settled in Norah’s shoulders. A steadiness in the way she moved. A confidence. Norah had always been confident, of course, but Bree knew she’d struggled with the weight of her reign, far before she’d sat on the throne.
