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She nodded. “Keep me informed. If there’s anything I can do, let me know.” Before I could walk away, she grabbed my arm. “Ella, wait.”
I turned back to her. “What is it?”
Her eyes began to mist. “Please, be careful. This goes against all my instincts to let you go. Now I know how everyone felt when I snuck away to kill Alasdair.”
“I’m not going to fail, Mom. Trust me on this.”
Slowly, she let go of my arm. “I do. Now go before I change my mind.”
Hurrying back to my cottage, I changed into my warrior gear and strapped my dagger to my belt. When I was ready to leave, Merrick was in my living room, looking out the window.
His jaw muscles clenched, and he huffed. “I’m staying right here until you get back. If I could go to the mortal realm, I would. It’s not easy for me to sit back and watch you do this. At least with your mother, I was able to be by her side.”
The worry on his face made my chest hurt. “I’ll be fine, Merrick. All I’m doing is watching today. I’m not going to do anything hasty.”
He sat down on the window seat and sighed. “Okay. I’ll be right here.”
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and concentrated on the Shadow fae from my visions. I could still feel his arms around me and the sting of his dagger on my neck. Even the way he smelled had stayed ingrained in my mind.
“Can you find him?” Merrick asked.
“Yes,” I breathed, feeling the pull. “I think I have him.”
The sensation was similar to the calling I had when I had to help the dying fae crossover to the Hereafter. It was as if a magnet was drawing me closer.
After summoning my magic to open a portal, I opened my eyes and followed the pull through the shimmering door. The second I stepped through, the smells from home were replaced by earth and pine. Everything about the mortal realm was different from my land. I loved many things about it, like the food and the diverse landscapes, but there was so much more suffering. We didn’t have all the pollution and the sicknesses like humans. It was sad.
As I looked around, remnants of snow were on the ground, but the air was nowhere near as cold as the Winter Court. The sky was bright blue, and the sun shone through the tops of the trees, leaving only small traces on the forest floor. Everything was quiet and serene, and it was not where I expected to find the Shadow fae. Nevertheless, I could feel him close by.
A cabin was ahead, sitting on the side of a mountain with a steep driveway headed down the hill. He was inside, so close. I could end it now.
There was a fire brewing within me, growing . . . burning. I was about to step away from the cover of the trees when the rumble of an engine drew closer. My magic vibrated across my skin, and I used it to make my body blend in with the tree at my back, hiding me. It was one of the things I loved about my shapeshifting abilities.
A few seconds later, a metallic blue truck pulled up to the cabin, followed by a small, red sports car that parked next to what I assumed was the Shadow fae leader’s black truck. Three guys got out of the blue truck, all Shadow fae, but one was part Winter while the other two were Summer.
The driver resembled the Shadow fae who attacked me last night, but his power was nowhere near the same magnitude. Although, it shouldn’t surprise me that they looked alike, considering all the Shadow fae were related.
A blonde-haired woman hopped out of the red car, but she wasn’t Shadow fae, just half Summer. There were thousands of people like her in the mortal world, the fae who voluntarily left my land because they fell in love with humans. But others were banned.
The ones who’d sided with the dark sorcerer all those years ago had been cast out and were now considered Dark fae, traitors to my land. My brother had killed many of them, including the Shadow fae’s leader at the time, Dorian. But then again, there was no telling how many Shadow fae were left. The dark sorcerer had a century of going back and forth to the mortal realm, sleeping with every fae and half-fae woman he could find to create his spawn. If he was still alive, the first thing I would’ve done was cut off his dick. However, back then, no one knew what he was doing.
All three of the Shadow fae, and the woman, entered the cabin. They stayed inside for a long time but then walked out with the man from my visions right behind them. He sparred with them out in the yard, and it was the first time I’d seen just how powerful he was.
He moved like a warrior, strong and efficient.
When he started sparring with the woman, I knew exactly what I needed to do. I just had to wait for the right time.
* * *
Patience usually wasn’ta virtue of mine, but I watched and waited by the tree, studying my enemies. Since standing here, I’ve learned that the leader’s name is Kai, and his strongest brother is Ridge. The other two men were Aric and Bane who were also Kai’s brothers. Draya was the only female.
Over the day, around ten dark fae showed up with an arsenal of guns and ammo. They practiced shooting their targets, and every time they made their marks.
If anything were to take down a fae, that would be it.
I liked to pride myself on being the superior race, but we could easily fall with just a simple graze of an unsuspecting iron bullet. My power was strong, but I wasn’t foolish enough to take on a dozen men alone.
After a couple more hours of watching everyone train, the ten dark fae left, leaving Kai, his three brothers, and Draya inside the cabin.
