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“You wench,” I muttered under my breath.
Beryl knew that I’d gotten Rhoan back, so she’d gone after Taliesin. While I’d been trapped in her nightmare realm, Rhoan had been looking for me. That’d left Taliesin and the court unattended so she could cause as much trouble as possible.
Ostara’s delicate brows furrowed as she cast a sidelong glance in my direction. “I don’t understand why we have to visit the sleeping fae.”
We approached a doorway with the first room of sleeping fae. Their crystal caskets had been lined up so that they were no longer sleeping in every direction on the floor cushions. It made the room look more like a mausoleum than I’d intended. Though I’d tried to bring life into the room with flowers, it didn’t really help the whole funeral vibe going on in here.
Ostara went to a casket towards the middle and touched the crystal. She looked down with a tender expression unlike any other I’d seen on her face before.
“Who is that?” I asked softly.
“This is my sister.” Ostara sighed wistfully. “We used to throw such grand parties. I’ve missed having her at my side these past decades.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. Ostara went to another casket, this time further into the room.
“Olivander and I had a long affair, but we had to end it when he found his true passion in realm travel.” Ostara looked up and shook her head. “He came back to visit me and got caught in the middle of all this. Of course, I was bitter that he’d left me, so I didn’t come back for him when Beryl struck the castle and stole it.”
“Are you showing guilt, Ostara?” I asked incredulously.
For a moment, I thought I’d struck a nerve. Her smile tightened before turning apologetic, much to my surprise.
“Even fae can have regrets in their lives. I have many, it seems. My only hope is that I will be able to reconcile most of them before I meet my end.”
I took a step closer. “You talk as if you know you’re going to die soon.”
Her gaze dropped back down to the man sleeping beneath the crystal surface. “If I do, know that I did everything I could to make things right again.”
I didn’t like the direction of this conversation. She made it sound like the end of times was swiftly approaching. I’d been doing everything in my power to keep that from happening. It was like no one believed I could keep them safe.
But Ostara stepped out from behind the crystal casket and came to touch my cheek. Her smile was soft yet sorrowful.
“The only way I will fall is in defense of our home.”
Before I could tell her that no one would fall if I could help it, a beast crashed into my side. I staggered, but the familiar feeling of Rhoan’s black fur kept me from throwing myself across the room. He stopped, claws out, and growled into the room before realizing that there was no threat.
I grimaced. “Sorry if I made you worry. Beryl was doing what she does best.”
Rhoan looked up at me with nothing but joy in his eyes. He wasn’t mad at me for the false alarm. If anything, he seemed relieved.
My jaw dropped. “Wait! How did you get out of the hunting lodge?”
He sat back on his haunches and looked pleased with himself. He even licked the back of his black paw as if to say he would keep his secrets to himself.
“Is he trapped in this form again?” Ostara asked.
My stomach hit the floor. I quickly dropped to my knees and grabbed the sides of Rhoan’s beastly face.
“Blink twice if you need help,” I said, far too seriously for my own comfort.
This couldn’t happen again. I couldn’t lose him like this. If this was the only way he could leave Faust’s realm, then we would find a way to fix it…I had to go find Tal still, though.
I hung my head as the weight of my duties stretched me thin all over again. I heard Ostara take a few steps behind me then stop. Rhoan’s deep laugh filled the room and chased away the weight that’d settled on my only a heartbeat ago.
Rhoan lifted my chin. “Don’t worry. Your brownie friend gave me a hand in getting out.”
I had a million questions. It couldn’t have been that easy. However, all questions would have to wait. Beryl had separated me from my power base once again. It seemed that we had to pay someone a visit. All questions could wait until after.
15
