by Macy Blake
“What on Earth are you thinking?” Eduard asked.
“I can guarantee you it’s something confusing,” Loch grumbled under his breath.
“No it’s not. I’m trying to think of what to call this place. Not the lake. The, you know, covering thing. I was thinking Maui. ‘Cause it’s pretty much paradise, but then I thought maybe not because, you know, it’s also terrifying and creatures we don’t know about are probably going to try to kill us.”
Eduard snickered, and Loch nearly stumbled as he looked at Sawyer in confused horror.
“This is a ceannbhrat.”
“A can braht?”
Loch winced at his pronunciation and repeated the word. “Key. Ahn. Braht.”
“Ceannbhrat,” Sawyer repeated hopefully.
Loch nodded.
“That’s pretty, actually.”
“Eat before my prince accuses me of neglecting you.”
Sawyer scowled at him. “I haven’t heard you talk this much since I met you, and now you’re nagging me to eat? Seriously. Is there some sort of guide book you guys get that says I don’t eat? Because the book is wrong, Loch. I eat. I eat just fine.”
Loch gave Draco a look, and his wimp of a dragon used the arm he still had draped around Sawyer’s shoulder to start pulling him forward again. They reached the ceannbhrat, and Sawyer couldn’t help but smile once more. He felt really weird, but you know, good. “It is like Maui! Well, like a luau I saw once. Awesome.”
“I’m going to actually take you to Hawaii when all this is over,” Eduard said.
“I will let you take me to Hawaii when this is all over,” Sawyer replied with a little happy dance. He scooted from beneath Draco’s arm and flung his arms around Eduard. “Is it me, or is the energy here kinda wonky?”
Eduard smiled at him and wrapped him up tight. “It’s wonky. Stop getting distracted. Go eat.”
“Okay, okay.”
The table was low to the ground with cushions on either side of the large slab of wood being used as a table. It wasn’t regular wood, though. It had a silver sheen to it, and it sparkled like it was lit from within. Platters of food and flowers were lined up down the center. Everything smelled amazing, even though nothing smelled familiar at all. What exactly did the fae eat, anyway? Kavalan had always joined them for meals, even though he didn’t have a big appetite. Sawyer wondered if it was because their food was super different. Just from looking at the table, he could see that would be an issue. But then again, if he could get Viv the right ingredients, she could make anything Kavalan wanted. She was awesome like that.
And speaking of awesome, Sawyer suddenly felt fantastic. Like really really really really good. Almost… high. Not that he knew what being high felt like, of course. He was a responsible adult. And that one semester of college didn’t count. It had been his time to explore and experiment. He’d even kissed a girl, and he liked it. But then he’d felt guilty because the only person he really wanted to kiss was Draco. Draco!
“Draco!”
“What’s wrong with you?” Draco asked.
“He was in the water,” Loch said with a truly epic eye roll.
“Do it again! Do it again!”
“The water made him high?” Eduard asked.
“High as a kite! Ohhh, kites are pretty. And sometimes shaped like dragons. Oh my Goddess, Draco, you’re a kite!” Sawyer giggled, lost his balance, and fell back onto the cushions.
“Apparently, the Chosen One needed to relax. The lake is mysterious in her ways. It will wear off soon enough.”
“Oh, is there ice cream? I really want some ice cream. Or a milk shake. Ohhh, milk shake. My milk shake brings all the boys to the yard! So many boys! All the boys. Well, eight of them. Eight is enough! Wait, wasn’t that a TV show?”
Loch rolled his eyes again.
“Yay! He did it again. Do it again!”
“Someone stop him,” Andvari said. “He’ll be mad if we don’t.”
“Nah, he won’t care,” Draco said. “Just get some food in him and let him pass out. He’ll sleep it off.”
Something poked him in the forehead, and he turned to find Puteri standing next to him with a deep scowl on her face.
“You look like Kreacher when you’re mad. Don’t be mad at me.”
“The human is strange,” Puteri said. “Drink this.”
She handed him an ornately carved mug, and he stared down into it. The contents were green and kinda shimmery. “What is it?”
“Drink,” she barked.
Sawyer drank. Everyone was always bossing him around and making him eat and drink and wow, this stuff was yummy and tasted kinda like a caramel apple if you only made it caramel and left out the apple leaving it with deliciousness in a cup. “You aren’t Kreacher. You’re Winky! And this is butter beer!”
Puteri looked at him like he was an idiot.
He liked her. “I like you. You’re nice. And whoa… what was in that?”
Sawyer suddenly felt normal again, and he realized that he’d spent the last several minutes acting like a lunatic. He glanced over at Puteri, who gave him a nod and placed a plate filled with food in front of him. “I’m told humans can be very sensitive to the energies here. My prince would expect me to assist you in any way I could.”
“Wow. That was kind of wild.”
“Eat, Chosen One.”
“You can call me Sawyer, you know.”
She scowled and turned away as everyone else settled around him on the cushions. Saeward had placed Henry just outside on a nest of leaves and flowers that kinda looked like a hammock. He seemed to be resting peacefully and not in any more pain, but Sawyer wanted him to wake up. He needed him to wake up.
“He’ll be fine,” Ward whispered.
His mate had somehow managed to slip in beside him without Sawyer even realizing it. Everyone else was already eating so Sawyer shoveled something a strange but pretty aqua color into his mouth so no one could say he wasn’t eating.
“You sure?” Sawyer asked once he’d swallowed whatever magical deliciousness he’d just eaten. He wasn’t going to say out loud that Puteri would give Viv a run for her money, but…he took a bite of the aqua stuff again and moaned. “So good.”
Saeward laughed and ate something awesome-colored, too. Everyone seemed entranced by the food, and Sawyer couldn’t blame them. He managed to eat so much that he couldn’t eat one more bite when Puteri appeared beside him again and whisked his plate away. “Very good, Chosen One. Now you should go walk along the shore. Humans require some activity after a meal to aid in their digestive processes.”
Sawyer kinda wondered exactly where she was getting her information. Was there like an executive order in the fae world that explained the care and feeding of humans? If so, he totally wanted to read it. He wanted to offer to help clean up, because Mama Thea had trained him right, but there were sprites hovering above them and Sawyer realized that’s what they were supposed to do. And he didn’t want to offend them. Saeward tugged him up and Sawyer rubbed his belly appreciatively. “Thank you, Puteri. That was absolutely amazing.”
She scowled at him and shooed him out from underneath the ceannbhrat. He stopped by Henry for a moment and brushed his hair off his face.
“He’s looking better,” Draco said softly.
“Calliope! Attack!”
Sawyer was startled by the shouted words and turned to see a strange looking horned creature pointing their way and staring. He was even more surprised to see Calli emerge from the edge of the woods.
“Sawyer?” Calli said.
He hadn’t seen her since she’d been on guard duty at the griffins’ compound, but it sure did look like one of Meshaq’s hellhounds. He didn’t even have a chance to ask her what she was doing there before the little guy screeched again.
“Attack! They have injured another Jerrick. The wolves must have gone for him the way they did Ollie and Natasha! Attack!”
When Calli didn’t move, the strange little guy lowe
red his horned head and dragged his foot through the sand. He looked like a bull getting ready to charge. Two fae guards appeared above him, and the moment he moved forward, each guard grabbed a horn and they lifted him into the air. He scrambled to escape, but couldn’t get loose.
“Calliope! Save me!”
“Cosmo, shut up.”
Sawyer hurried forward. “Henry’s siblings were attacked? Are they okay?”
“I think so. We… were in rough shape. Meshaq sent us to the healing waters. Some of this idiot’s friends were pretty badly wounded in the attack.”
“Calliope! Henry is Meshaq’s family! He will want blood for this offense.”
Calli groaned and turned to look up at him. “Cosmo, these are Henry’s mates, you moron. Now will you please shut up?”
Cosmo looked gobsmacked. “The young mage has taken a mate?” Then he wailed. “No one tells Cosmo anything. Cosmo was not able to celebrate the mating of the Jerrick mage.”
Calli thumped her hand against her forehead. “Meshaq owes me a year’s vacation for this.”
Sawyer laughed and looked up at the fae guards. “Let him down.”
“Cosmo?” Henry’s voice was rough, but Sawyer would know it anywhere. He turned and ran, dropping to his knees by Henry’s side. Cosmo landed beside him in a heap of flailing limbs.
“Young Henry! You are alive!”
Henry winced and rubbed his head. “My head is killing me. How about we not scream and… how about where the hell are we and what happened?”
Sawyer opened his mouth to respond, but Cosmo beat him to it.
“We are at the clodagh in the fae realm. You won’t believe what happened! The alpha hellhound found his mate, but he wouldn’t admit it except that he did but then he was weird and happy and you have to see it for yourself but the alpha mate is charming and sweet and then the wolves came for him because— wait for it— he is an omega and even though omegas aren’t supposed to exist they do but then the alpha wolf attacked, but you do not have to fear because Cosmo and his dryad friends saved the day. Well, Ollie and Natasha helped, but oh they were hurt, but they are okay because Meshaq sent for your fathers and—”
“Holy shit, Cosmo. Take a breath.”
Cosmo dutifully sucked in a deep lung full of air. He started to speak again, but Calli appeared over his shoulder and clapped her hand firmly over his mouth.
“Everyone is fine, Henry. Your uncle sent me here with them to keep them safe while the lake worked its magic.”
“The healing lake,” Henry said quietly. “I’ve read about it. Was I… in it?”
“Yes,” Sawyer answered. “Saeward kept you with him for a while until I guess the lake said you needed to rest?”
“What about everyone else?”
Sawyer had no idea how to answer that question. “Our mates are fine,” he hedged.
Henry wasn’t fooled. He pushed himself into a sitting position, holding onto his head with a wince. “Tell me what happened, Sawyer. Now.”
Henry
Henry didn’t know which piece of news was most shocking, but he was leaning toward the bit where his uncle had found a mate. The fact that they were in the realm of the fae was a close second, but part of Henry had figured they’d be making that trip sooner or later, considering Prince Kavalan and all. But Uncle Meshaq finding a mate? That had always been described as impossible. Mates were rare enough in the supernatural world, but for the hellhounds, the magic had been broken for longer than most. Henry had even attempted to research it, but then he’d come across things like knots and male pregnancy. He might have freaked out a bit. In his defense, he’d only been sixteen at the time and his Papa had warned him about random internet searches leading him to made-up worlds that would color his idea of adult sexuality in ways that weren’t appropriate for someone his age or with his level of experience. It was Papa’s way of saying “we’ll talk about it when you’re older,” and it was usually accompanied by Dad making an embarrassed choking sound, turning a bright shade of red, and leaving the room. For a doctor and an alpha, his dad sure did get embarrassed easily.
Of course, now that he was older, he should probably spend a little more time Googling. He’d probably get a few ideas. Really, really good ideas. Saeward turned them in the water, and the sky above shifted into a pumpkin orange with lemon flecks. Who’d ever heard of an orange sky? It reminded him of one of those perfect sunsets everyone always talked about, but he’d never actually seen in real life.
“Ward?”
“Yes?”
“This water isn’t affecting you, is it? Draco told me how it made Sawyer high.”
“It did, indeed, but no. It seems to be having no effect on me other than aiding my strength slightly. I have noticed no other changes.”
“And you don’t mind being out here with me?”
The strangest thing had happened not long after he’d regained consciousness. He knew he needed to be in the water. And since his head was pounding so hard he wondered if there was a cannon going off inside it, he’d listened to that inner voice and started toward the lake. Saeward had been right behind him. As he’d helped Henry get used to the sensation of using his larger body as a float, Ward had confessed that he’d heard the lake’s call as well.
“There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”
Henry sighed. “Can I flip over? I don’t want to stare at the sky anymore.”
Ward adjusted them in the water and spun Henry around so they were floating face-to-face. “How is your head?”
“Hurts,” Henry confessed. “And…”
“What?”
“When it happened… I remember the pain, but then… there was so much death. I just, every time I close my eyes, I see it.”
“The curse of the banshee scream. It will fade.”
“How do you know?”
“Because that is the way. A banshee screams when she envisions death. Those who hear her scream are also tormented by those visions. But once she stops, the visions fade.”
Henry scowled. “That makes no sense. Why did it hurt me so badly? And why were the banshees after us in the first place?”
“Because you are an air elemental as they are. Your visions and theirs are connected, in a way. And Kavalan is trying to discover why the banshees attacked.”
“I always feel like I don’t know enough. But I try to learn everything I can. There’s always something I don’t know that I need to.”
“What is this?” Ward asked. “You are not usually so despondent.”
“I don’t know either,” Henry said. “I just feel kind of hopeless.”
Ward held him close, and they floated in the warm water for a moment. “Give your sad thoughts to the lake,” Ward said quietly. “She can help.”
Henry honestly didn’t have a better idea, so he lowered his head to Ward’s shoulder and closed his eyes. He thought about the darkness, sadness, and anger still coursing through him. He thought of the ache behind his eyes and the tenderness in his ears. Then he passed them to the water and imagined it all floating away.
“Whoa,” Ward whispered. “That was impressive.”
Henry raised his head and looked once more at the sky. “I feel better.”
“Good. Because something just arrived, and I’m afraid our mates are going to need our assistance.”
Ward adjusted his hold on Henry again, and then they were flying though the water. They hit the shore and Ward paused long enough to get Henry on his feet before he transformed into his horse form. The guards had all taken to the air and his mates had all come running.
“Where is my nephew?”
He’d know that cranky, snarling tone anywhere.
Henry peeked out from behind Ward’s massive body and saw his uncle standing there glaring at them all. This time, he was the one who took off at a run. He leapt, and Meshaq caught him close, as he always did. “Tell me they’re okay,” Henry demanded.
“They’re fine. Remind me to drop Cosmo off in A
ntarctica for a week or two. The big mouth.”
Henry snickered. “Speaking of gossip. Mate?”
Meshaq growled and set Henry back on his feet. “His name’s Drew. And… he’s amazing. And stop smiling.”
Henry couldn’t. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Yeah, well, imagine my surprise when I show up to tell you my news and everything’s in chaos and some crazy woman tries to stab me with a butcher knife. And then I find out you’d been attacked by a banshee and taken to the fae land without me. What were you thinking?”
“Well, I was kinda unconscious at the time.”
Meshaq growled and turned to face his mates. All of them were looking a bit sheepish.
“Tell me about your mate.” Henry hoped the distraction would work.
Meshaq’s expression turned a bit dopey, before he hardened it and scowled again. “No. Tell me what happened.”
Sawyer stepped cautiously forward. “Um, Mr. Meshaq, uh, sir. I can let you know what we know so far, but, if you wouldn’t mind, can you tell me if everyone was okay? I just… we were taken out of there so fast that…”
“They’re fine. And I’m supposed to tell you that your brother and his mates made it safely to the city and you’re to call them the moment you’re back. And to take notes? I’m not sure about that, but that’s what they said. Everyone else is fine. Apparently, the attack stopped once you all left. And Eduard’s cousin arrived and is handling business affairs until he returns. Goddess, when did I become a messenger service? The next person who asks me to send a message will find themselves locked alone in a room with a drunk Cosmo. Now, who were they after?”
Eduard walked up beside Sawyer and stopped. “We’re honestly not sure.”
“Did they get through the wards?”
“You tell us.”
Meshaq growled again. “I didn’t stop long enough to check them. I sensed the chaos, went to find Henry, and learned what had happened.”
“Hellhound,” Loch said quietly.