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For once, Taneisha appeared humbled by the situation. I would have relished the moment if Sera’s safety wasn’t in question.
“I can understand your spontaneous and misguided attempt to help Sera,” Ray replied. “But why send her to faery, a dangerous land for those not familiar with its ways?”
Taneisha nodded slowly before turning to Ray with an apologetic smile on her face. “I am sorry, but I can’t reveal my reasons. Not yet. But we could check on her and make sure she’s okay?”
Ray smiled softly and cupped Taneisha’s cheek in his palm before leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. “That’s my gal,” he said softly before turning back to us with a determined glint in his eye. “Let’s get Sera home.”
Taneisha snapped her fingers, opening a portal within the glen.
Franc sighed. “Not another portal,” he muttered.
The fae shrugged. “My home is just faery-adjacent, so it still takes a portal to get there.”
We stepped through the portal and into a world completely removed from our own. I had never been to this faery before. This place was alive with magic and mystery. Every step we took was on a carpet of vibrant green grass, every breath inhaled the scent of a thousand wildflowers, and every glance revealed something new and wondrous.
Taneisha led us through the enchanted forest, her steps confident, while we followed behind in awe. The trees here were massive and ancient, their branches thick with the passage of time. The leaves rustled in the wind with a sound like laughter, and it seemed as if the entire forest was alive with energy.
“I still remember that time you brought me here,” Ray mused as he stared off into the treetops. “Maybe once we send Sera home with her mates we can linger a bit before heading back home?”
Taneisha bit her lip, blushing. “I am fond of lingering.”
I spent a little too much time pondering how things might work between the tall, stocky minotaur and the diminutive fae. I blamed my incubus spirit and graphic imagination. As long as Franc and I left faery with Sera, I didn’t care how long Ray and Taneisha stayed behind dallying.
The path we were following wound around tall stones that seemed to have been placed there by some unseen hand long ago. It eventually opened up into a large clearing, across from which a large stone castle loomed high above us like an imposing guardian of this magical realm. The air was heavy with anticipation as Taneisha led us closer to the castle’s entrance.
“These are the lands of the Summer Court,” Taneisha explained. “I sent Sera here.”
“I thought you knew where Sera was?” I asked.
Taneisha shrugged. “More or less? She’s in faery and wouldn’t have passed anywhere without being noticed.”
“Because she’s a mage?” Franc asked.
“Because she’s Sera,” Taneisha said, winking.
We approached the gates where two guards watched our approach with apparent disinterest. The guards looked at us with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity. I could feel their eyes on me as if they were trying to figure out what I was and why I was there. Taneisha spoke up, asking if they had seen a human mage by the name of Sera Lowe.
The guards exchanged a look, then the one on the left stepped forward.
“We have seen her,” he said, his voice low and gravelly. “She was here two days ago.”
I stepped forward, my heart pounding in my chest. “Where is she now?”
“We don’t know. She had unfortunate timing, I fear. The lady herself was ushering her to safety when the manticore attacked.”
We all exchanged a glance, trying to make sense of what we’d just heard. A manticore?
“What happened?”
“I’m sorry to report it flew off with her.”
He might as well have kicked me in the gut. “Where did it take her?” I asked, my voice tight with worry.
The guard shrugged. “It flew off toward the north,” he said, gesturing helpfully. “We can’t be sure where it went after that.”
“And you just let it drag her off?” Franc demanded.
“There’s no letting a manticore do anything, sir. It took down two of our own and we had others to protect. If you wish, we can take you to see Lady Alia, who surely can answer all of your questions. She’s busy receiving other guests, but I’m sure she’ll be happy to speak with you later.”
