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I gave a quiet nod and then fell into step beside Lady Alia. I glanced back at the guards, who followed close behind. I’d expected their attention to be on me, but they both gazed watchfully into the forest. Perhaps these fae genuinely had my best interest at heart?
My mind drifted back to when my mates and I were at the Heart of the Desert temple and Caden had encouraged me to use my powers to speak with the sand spirits. They had trained me in many skills back at Goldenbriar Academy, to little avail at the time because of the chaotic bent of my powers. After mating and Emrys’ healing, my control over my magic had improved dramatically. I’d managed not just to talk to the sand spirits, but also brokered a deal with them to win back Emrys’ golden scorpion.
Between my powers and my mating bond, would I be able to reach out to my guys from faery? What would it hurt to try? These thoughts circled through my head as we walked along the never-ending, winding path through the trees and over bridges spanning small ponds teeming with fish and other wildlife native.
As I walked silently beside Lady Alia, I gathered my focus and quieted my mind. I pondered who to contact and quickly settled on Liam. As a shifter, he was well used to speaking telepathically with other shifters, so I figured he might recognize my efforts as a genuine connection. I supposed I could have chosen Marcos, but he was so levelheaded, I figured he might be more likely write off my attempts as a flight of fancy.
I reached out with my mage abilities, attempting to use my magic and our mate bond to contact Liam. I’d attempted nothing like this before, but I understood the fundamentals from my years of training. I focused on Liam’s face, his smile, and the way he felt in my arms. The image of him well and truly formed, I spoke to him in my mind. “Liam? I need you!”
I got no answer, but something tickled at the edge of my mind. A thought that wasn’t mine. It felt like a brush against the back of my brain, but it vanished so quickly that I couldn’t be sure it had been real.
Lady Alia shot me a look, and I realized she must have sensed something. “You fool.”
“I was just meditating,” I explained.
Lady Alia stopped and turned towards me. “You are fearless indeed, mortal mage. You should know our rules while you are under our protection here in faery lands. Rule number one: no mortal may carry weapons within faery lands unless they are our champions or guardsmen by right of birth or rite of passage into their ranks. Rule number two: no mortal may use magic within faery lands unless they are born-fae themselves or have earned such privilege by rite of passage into our ranks or by right of bloodline lineage. Rule number three: no mortal may harm a fae, nor may any fae harm a mortal. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I understand,” I answered, although I didn’t understand why a people who lived and breathed magic would have such restrictive rules for using mortal magic. “But I’m not using my magic. Not really.”
But there was something… a sensation in my head like someone was listening to me from afar, but then it went away before I could be sure it was real or not. A fleeting thought in the back of my mind that I couldn’t shake free of fast enough to focus on it more closely and hold on to it long enough to figure out what it meant or who might have sent it to me.
“Not really?” Lady Alia scoffed, then her eyes narrowed on me. “Who are you, really, and how did you find yourself in faery?”
I felt another nudge at the back of my mind. This wasn’t as subtle as before, and I felt the zing of magic flow over my fingertips in response.
A creature roared in the distance, its cry full of hunger and need. There was a movement in the undergrowth and a crushing of fallen branches.
The curiosity in her expression shifted to concern. “Fool, you’re using magic! You must stop at once.”
I tried to quiet my magic, but it’s like I’d set something in motion and no longer had control over its course. A ringing sensation in my ears grew and grew, my magic once again on the edge of losing control, brewing panic in my veins.
The beast roared again, much closer than before.
“I don’t know that I can? I’m sorry, Lady Alia, I didn’t mean any harm.”
She glared at me for a moment longer before sighing and waving us onward again. “We must hurry.”
I didn’t know what we were running from, but when we took a turn in the path and city walls rose before us, the pair of gleaming silver gates beckoning. A handful of richly dressed fae stood outside the gates exiting a carriage, but when they saw us coming, all of them rushed inside.
Even if those walls meant my captivity, at least I’d be safer inside than out. As we sprinted along the cobblestone road, I heard claws scrabbling against the stone behind us. We were running out of time.
“Can’t you use your fae magic to make it go away?” I asked, breathless.
“I can’t ‘magic it away,’ because magic draws that beast like a moth,” she explained.
That explained the guard’s swords.
A sensation like a gong reverberated though my mind, sending me crashing to my knees. “I’m coming,” I heard Liam utter within my mind even as a guard swept me up and threw me over his shoulder. Wave after wave of mental noise clouded my thoughts, but the relief I felt hearing his response was a balm to my heart. Liam had heard me!
Another roar echoed through the forest right on our heels, and I glanced up to see the beast descending upon us. It looked like a massive shaggy lion with an expressive, almost human face, dragon wings, and a sharp stinger of a tail. A mane of brown and red hair covered its head and its skin was pale gold, with large scales that covered its belly and paws. Its claws were long, like a lion’s, but longer, sharper, and more deadly, like a dragon’s.
The creature’s barbed tail swiped through the air, catching one guard in the side, slicing open his leather armor. The fae fell to the ground with a cry, clutching his side and writhing in pain.
The beast raised its paw and slammed it down on him like a hammer, then dragged its claws through his body. I cried out, watching in horror as the beast shredded the guard’s body, tossing blood and viscera across the cobblestones. The beast turned back towards us, and the other guard dropped me to my feet, placing himself between me and the creature.
“Run Sera! Get to the city walls while you can,” Lady Alia shouted at me.
I didn’t need to be told twice. I turned and took off running toward the city walls, hoping I could outrun the monster. I heard steel on steel, followed by a wretched scream from Lady Alia. Another massive, angry roar followed, and I hoped the guard’s sword had found purchase.
