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I absolutely wanted this woman on my side the next time Beryl thought about invading my castle. The tall fae, both Seelie and Unseelie, really underestimated the small fae and what they were capable of. I was lucky to have gotten so many on my side.
In the end, we agreed that I would allow the woman—Hilda, she informed me—to live at the Seelie castle in exchange for her assistance here. She led us to a small building tucked away from the main stages. Already, the smell of blood drifted on the air.
I paused and rocked on my heels.
Hilda waved a hand in my direction. “Don’t worry about that. I’ve been having a hell of a time getting demon dust and blood out of everything.”
Vi stopped dead in her tracks. Hilda served my friend a narrow-eyed glare before slowly raising one eyebrow in suspicion. Vi grimaced and nodded.
I wanted to ask what the hell had happened, but we didn’t have time. A scream pierced the air and turned my stomach inside out. I lurched forward into a breakneck run.
Hilda appeared in front of me and forced me to a stop. My heart thundered just behind my sternum. It slapped at my ribs with fury. We couldn’t wait. Mom was in trouble. She needed us.
A moment was enough for me to realize that I was running headlong into a trap. I rocked back on my heels and bit the inside of my cheek. What would Rhoan say if he caught me walking right into the enemy’s hands? He would shake his head and save my ass, but he wasn’t here.
I had to be smarter.
“Hilda…” I considered my options before turning to a friend. “And you, Vi. Can the two of you create a distraction?”
Vi practically jumped with excitement. Light brimmed at the edges of her silhouette. It rippled with color like a rainbow trapped on earth. She gave Hilda a nod. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Hilda’s form stretch and contort.
Tal had explained that a pissed off brownie was one of the worst things anyone could come across. Should a brownie turn into aboggart: run.
Hilda’s eyes gleamed devilishly red, almost a mirror to Vi’s glowing eyes. I wondered if sending them out together had been the right idea, but together they were bound to cause the biggest distraction. That way, Ness and I could swoop in and help the hostages out.
Was this what Beryl wanted? Why was this so easy?
I glanced over my shoulder as if expecting Beryl’s army to descend upon our heads. When nothing happened and no one appeared, I couldn’t help but squirm. This had to be some sort of trap. Beryl wanted to waste our time, but I didn’t know why.
There was no time to pull out my phone and send a text message to Tal. I didn’t even know if text messages could go through dimensions. Alarmed shouts and bright lights flashed at the far end of the building ahead of us. Ness grabbed my hand and tugged me towards the nearest entrance.
The door refused to budge. Together, we slammed into it only to bounce off. I twisted and caught Ness’s forearm before she fell. I had no patience and an overflowing well of arcana. While I gripped my friend’s hand, I brought my arcana up through the earth and used thick roots to tear the door off its hinges.
I tossed the door across the fairgrounds and heard it crash into something in the distance. Hilda shouted at me for my reckless destruction, but I paid her no mind. This wasn’t her home anymore. It was a battleground.
Light flashed at the other end of the narrow building. I threw my arm up to cover my eyes as Vi’s laughter echoed inside. There was a touch of her demon side in that laugh. I didn’t want to have to call Morgan or Vi’s mother to bring her back from the edge.
Teeth sank into my calf. I jerked away, but Vi’s light still had me blinded. Hilda’s shadows flickered and danced menacingly across the length of the room. Unable to see where I was striking, I lashed out with the thick roots I’d conjured earlier. Something in the pit of my told me to pull back.
Hesitating cost me valuable time. The beast with its teeth in my calf shook its head and tore through flesh. I cried out, annoyed.
No more. I didn’t want to spill anymore blood.
I fought the urge to curl in on myself. Deep in my garden of arcana, I could tell that the blossoms were turning red again. The color dripped down their petals like they were bleeding, too. I could feel Alvin’s ghost creeping up on me. It took everything in me to shake it off.
The light faded. My calf burned viciously. A form appeared before me and reached for my elbows to steady me.
“Don’t bite your rescuer,” Mom chided.
The wolf whimpered and scrabbled back, her claws scratching against the concrete floor.
I didn’t have time to yell at Janessa for biting me. I grabbed Mom’s arm and tugged her out the door that I’d busted open. She squeezed my arm in return. We held each other tight. I wasn’t going to lose another mother to Beryl.
She’d taken one from me. The image of the illusion entered my mind all over again. I’d felt something like her in the underground court, and that’d made me believe that she could still be alive. Then Beryl had taken my fae mother from me for a second time. The woman had laughed in my face as she’d watched devastation strike me through the heart.
Beryl had taken too much from me. My fae family, Rhoan, my sense of safety. I wanted them all back. I would take them back if it was the last thing I did.
My calf burned with every step. Outside, I paused and felt the warmth slipping down my leg as I looked back at the blazing building. It wasn’t on fire, but it did look as though someone had set off all the fireworks saved for next summer all at once.
