He’d always planned to earn enough influence with—or blackmail material on—the Unseelie to gain their assistance in claiming his rightful inheritance. It would be far easier with the weight of the Unseelie throne behind him, and there were countless ways to use Fen as leverage to force such an alliance.
It was almost time.
Meren halted in front of the grimy mirror hanging crookedly on the wall. With a wave of his hand, droplets coalesced on the glass before rolling down, carrying the dirt with them. His reflection showed the toll of his recent defeat, but reflections weren’t reality. He wasn’t the bedraggled mess staring back at him.
Nothing but a trick of the light.
He only needed a bath, a change of clothes, and the prodigious use of glamour before he would be ready to begin the hunt. Fen’s mate was a creature of water. Who better to find her? Based on what he’d overheard, she was inexperienced enough to fall right into his plan.
Maddy stared at the gleaming portal situated atop a small dais in the center of the massive cavern. She’d been here once before when Fen was ill, but she’d spent more time watching the healer use his magic than studying the gate to Moranaia. Colors swirled within the stone arch, blues and greens predominant. Every once in a while, a flicker of flame red would catch her eye, only to disappear in the maelstrom. And she would be walking through it in a few minutes.
When Fen touched her on the shoulder, she jumped. Maddy tried not to laugh at her own nerves. Or maybe because of those nerves. “Sorry.”
He smiled. “Don’t be. I haven’t gone through that one, either. Rumor has it that the god Loki helped create the portal, but no one has told me the full story.”
“Nor are we likely to,” Dria announced as she came to a halt next to him, Vek at her side. “Since you’re casually recounting what you do know.”
Maddy frowned as Fen’s face flushed red and his lips tightened into a thin line. “I thought we’d determined that Maddy and Anna are trustworthy allies,” he muttered.
“They are,” Dria answered. “But still…”
Suddenly, Maddy wanted to do physical harm to the red-haired mage even though the action would probably be fatal. And not just because of the guards stationed around the cavern. Dria had challenged the Unseelie king to combat and essentially won; an attack by Maddy would be no more trouble than swatting a slow-moving fly on a cool spring morning. Even so, her hands balled into fists as Fen stared at the ground, his embarrassment and anger surrounding him like a cloud. Had the mage intended to imply that Fen wasn’t trustworthy? Because it was all too obvious that was how he’d taken it.
Maddy was still trying to decide if she dared to confront Dria when light flared from the portal and a pair stepped through. Two people? She squinted against the light. A woman with golden skin and hair wearing a dress far too thin for a chilly cave stopped on the dais beside a muscular elf with brown and green hair. Kezari and Aris? They’d expected the woman—dragon. Whatever. But as far as Maddy knew, she was supposed to arrive alone.
A theory borne out by Dria’s words. “Aris? What are you doing here?”
Maddy could have sworn she heard Vek let out a low curse, but when she glanced his way, there was no sign of disturbance on his face. Then the prince smiled at Aris as though greeting a long-lost friend, and her curiosity grew. If the other man made Vek nervous, he was good at hiding it.
“I wanted to come with Kezari to help her…settle now that there have been a few more rumors about dragons,” Aris said as he descended the short flight of stairs, the dragon woman glaring at his back when she followed. “Lial thought it would be fine since there has been no other sign of disease.”
“I do not need tending, skizik.”
“This is a strange world. If I know you, and I do, you’ll fly off without regard for the customs here.”
Kezari snorted. “There are legends of dragons still. It will not be such a shock.”
Oh, damn. Maddy wasn’t sure if she should laugh or groan. In a way, it was true, though. It wouldn’t be a shock. It would be a straight-up bolt of lightning. “Yeah, not many people believe those stories anymore,” Maddy found herself saying. “Trust me, you don’t want to fly here in full view. You’ll have people recording it and posting the images all over the world, and that’s the least of it. The same radars that detect planes will find you, and the military might send out jets with missiles.”
“You make no sense,” Kezari said.
Crap, the dragon probably hadn’t learned the meaning of the technical terms. “Lots of people will witness your flight, and a good number of those people will try to kill you.”
“See?” Aris said. “Arlyn said something similar, but you thought she was overstating the danger. We need a plan.”
The portal flashed again, and another person marched through. A bronze-skinned woman in leather armor stopped in the center of the dais, her gaze landing almost instantly on Dria. The warrior tapped her chest three times and bowed. “I bid you good day, Feraien. Lord Lyr sent me to escort a guest to his estate?”
Maddy stiffened, and all at once, her backpack weighed down her shoulders as though she’d filled it with boulders instead of clothes. It was time. Could she do this? Could she just walk through that glow, straight onto another world? This was only supposed to be a short trip, but… Moranaia was a different planet, as far as she understood. Maybe another dimension. Who knew? Either way, it wasn’t Earth. And once she accepted that reality, she had to think about training. Her stomach roiled.
Please don’t let me vomit.
Fen eased closer, nudging her face upward with a knuckle beneath her chin. “Hey. You’ve got this. It’s going to be okay.”
She glanced into his light blue eyes, their pull as strong as the first time she’d met him. Deep inside, he still feared he was an irredeemable killer, but there was an innate kindness in him at odds with the dangerous energy of the Felshreh. How could Dria display such distrust in him? If she didn’t see Fen’s potential, then she wasn’t looking deeply enough.
Goodness perverted was dangerous, but goodness redeemed was an unstoppable force.
“What if Lial says I’m hopeless?” Maddy whispered.
Fen smiled. “That bastard doesn’t give up on anything. He’ll make sure you’re trained, out of stubbornness if nothing else.”
Maddy lifted her brows. “Is he that unpleasant?”
“Not really,” Fen said, shrugging. “I don’t know how to describe him, but I wouldn’t call him mean. Maybe grumpy. Then again, he did have to keep traveling to another world to heal us, so he had a good reason to be cranky.”
Dria laughed. “No, he’s usually like that. But it’s mostly bluster. He won’t treat you poorly. If I thought he would, I’d have the palace healer search for someone else.”
For a moment, Maddy had forgotten that Dria was a princess, but those words were a stark reminder. Here, the mage might only lead this outpost, an important enough task, but on her home planet, she wielded a great deal more authority. Good thing Maddy hadn’t punched her earlier when she’d been tempted. Assaulting a princess wouldn’t have been the best start to her trip to another world.
“Thanks,” Maddy managed to answer before the silence grew awkward.
Fortunately, they seemed to expect awkwardness since no one appeared to be offended.
Fen skimmed his knuckle softly beneath her chin, a subtle caress, before snatching his hand back. Why did he look so embarrassed? The idiot. Hadn’t they already decided to explore the whole mate thing? Smiling, Maddy lifted up slightly and brushed her lips against his in a gentle, careful, fang-less kiss.
Heat flared through her, settling low and hot, but she pulled back instead of deepening the kiss. No matter how much she wanted to. Besides, Maddy had to struggle not to laugh at the stunned expression on Fen’s face. She couldn’t quite tell if he’d rather carry her to one of the bedrooms in the upper levels or turn tail and run. Maybe he didn’t even know which it was.
>
With a grin, Maddy patted his cheek and spun away. She had an appointment with a cranky healer to keep.
Chapter 10
Anna shifted in her seat, tucking one leg beneath her and biting her lip as she scanned the computer screen. Garbage. Half the stuff she’d written during her last session was awful, and the rest was decidedly meh. Her concentration was crap lately. Ugh. No one was going to believe her main character escaped the gun-wielding murderer by throwing her shoe at him. It wasn’t even a stiletto, for God’s sake. A ballet flat would only make the killer shoot her heroine faster.
With an annoyed huff, she selected the entire scene and hit the Cut button before pasting it into her Discarded Scenes folder. Sometimes, she could reuse bits of the things she’d deleted, but that one wasn’t likely to see the light of day again. Or the light of her computer screen. Whatever. Although it might come in handy if she needed a way to kill someone off. A ballet flat. Honestly.
Anna reached for the glass of water she’d settled on her custom Death’s Curse 1 coaster, only to freeze as the water lapped toward her approaching hand. Her chest squeezed as she jerked her hand back. Although the liquid plopped back into the cup, it continued to ripple and slosh with each beat of her heart.
Was it picking up on her agitation? For all she knew, it had been doing that as she muttered angrily at her story. Anna hadn’t had trouble making tea or taking a shower earlier, when she was tired and calm, so it was possible stronger emotion had to be involved. And she only felt an active pull to natural freshwater so far—a fortunate thing for the peace of said shower.
As her thoughts churned, the water followed suit. Anna tapped her foot anxiously against the base of her computer chair. What should she do? Let it calm or try to explore? She wasn’t as bold as Maddy, and even Maddy hesitated to use her magic.
Although…
Water in a glass wasn’t likely to be deadly, unlike a healing gift. Hadn’t she been thinking last night that the others treated her like a child when it came to the magical world? If she wanted to be considered an equal, she was going to have to be bold about more than going over to someone’s house. And why not? The idea of magic had always interested more than scared her, at least until she’d had to confront her own powers. But this was a safe location.
Maybe if she—
Her annoyingly chirpy ringtone eradicated the thought, and Anna cursed. That was the song she’d programmed in for work. She forced her attention away from the rippling water and stared down at the screen of her phone. For a moment, she was tempted to let it go to voicemail. She hadn’t gotten much sleep, and she had too many other things to worry about—like water magic. But Deanna didn’t call unless she really needed help, and Anna could use the extra money if there was an available shift.
With a sigh, she answered the call. “Hey, Deanna. How’s it going?”
“Going all right, except that Maye had to call out of her lunch shift. Her daughter’s down with a stomach virus.” Deanna hesitated. “I really do hate to ask you, hon. You’ve seemed worn out lately. But do you think you could cover it?”
Anna glanced at the time. Going on ten a.m. She’d have to get ready quick, but she could probably make it. “Yeah, but I might be late if I can’t find a rideshare. Maddy has her car, and mine’s still in the shop.”
Not to mention that Maddy was probably on another planet by now. They’d planned to have Tamara run the car back after the shop closed so nobody had to go out of their way.
As always Deanna seemed to understand. “Do your best, honey. It’s fine.”
As soon as she hung up, Anna saved her files, backed them up, and shut down the computer. It would be a mad rush to get to work, but that wasn’t what she worried about. How strong was the river’s call going to be today? Would it be worse now that she’d considered experimenting with her gift?
Well, she wouldn’t know until she got there. Anna would just have to handle it.
Passing through the portal was nearly instantaneous, only a slight lurching in Maddy’s stomach to show for crossing into another world. Although her escort kept walking toward another stone arch a short distance away, Maddy halted. Didn’t the woman realize that they’d shifted between worlds? There was no way Maddy would keep going without checking out the area. This entire experience had to be savored, at least the first time.
Around them, massive trees rose into the sky, but the light was too dim to make out many details of the canopy. Was it just past dawn or nearing sunset? Great gods, how different was the time in this place? It hadn’t even occurred to her to ask. But based on the person tapping globes to light the area, it must be closer to sunset. From morning on Earth to nearly night here. It was like jet lag.
Portal lag—now there was a new term. Sounded like a problem she’d have in an online video game.
Her guide glanced over her shoulder. “Are you unwell?”
There was nothing rude in the woman’s tone, but her stance screamed impatience, from her half-turned position to the way she balanced on the balls of her feet as though ready to take off in a run. Geeze. What was the damn hurry? Sure, it was cold, but that didn’t mean they had to rush. Shaking her head, Maddy rubbed her hands against the chill and started forward, doing her best to examine the area at the same time.
To her right, the glow from the mage globes illuminated the pale stone walls currently being constructed by a man and a woman with some kind of levitation spell. Maddy squinted, trying to make out the details. Were they building a structure around the tree trunks? Maybe the rapidly dimming forest distorted things, but it sure looked like it. Weird.
“We should finish this tomorrow,” the man grumbled loudly.
“Stop complaining,” the other mage snapped. “I want to complete this segment.”
Maddy smiled at the exchange. If nothing else, elves and humans had one thing in common—annoying coworkers. Though as she waited for her escort to activate the other portal, her excitement finally dimmed enough to feel the cold wrapping around her, chilling her until her teeth began to chatter, and she suddenly wasn’t sure which of the coworkers she’d call the annoying one. The guy probably just wanted to curl up in front of a nice fire with a cup of tea.
The stone arch filled with light, then settled into a very different scene. A room of warm-toned wood. A couple of well-dressed elves waiting patiently. Maddy didn’t have much time to absorb what she saw before her guide motioned for her to go first. With a disappointed sigh, Maddy hurried through, bracing against the disorienting shift.
Her stomach didn’t complain as much this time, thankfully. Blessed warmth flowed around her until she nearly moaned with relief, but she remembered herself at the last moment. No need to be the embarrassing half-human brought to court during her first meeting with her hosts. She blinked against the brighter glow, and the people she’d barely glimpsed came into full view.
Cora stood beside another woman, a lady with pale blond hair, a gentle smile, and the most gorgeously embroidered tunic Maddy had ever seen. Even the woman’s pants had silver and gold embroidery down the side seams. But who could it be? She honestly hadn’t given much thought to who would greet her. She’d been too nervous about working with Lial to care.
The guard stopped in front of Maddy, tapped her chest with her fist, and bowed. Both of the other woman inclined their heads in some silent signal Maddy didn’t understand, but only Cora spoke. “Thank you. I’m sorry I had to pull you away from your other duties.”
“It was no bother, Your Highness,” the guide said, though Maddy would beg to differ based on the woman’s demeanor.
Not that she would say so and risk getting the guide in trouble.
As her escort bid a hasty farewell, Maddy peered around the room. Well. Maybe they had been building that other structure around the trees, because this room was wrapped around two. To her left, a massive tree trunk spanned the entire wall. In front of an elaborate doorway on her right, a staircase circled another, much smaller,
tree. It didn’t appear to be nailed into the trunk, though. She would bet money there was magic involved.
“I felt the same way.”
At Cora’s voice, Maddy returned her focus to her friend. “Huh?”
“That look of awe on your face.” Cora grinned. “This place is amazing.”
The lady beside her smiled. “I have to agree.” Then she winced. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have spoken.”
Maddy’s brow furrowed. There was clearly something going on that she didn’t understand. “Why not?”
“I don’t think any of us need to worry about Moranaian formalities,” Cora said with a chuckle. “We’re all certain to be terrible at them. To put guests at ease, members of the household usually wait until they are introduced before speaking so the guest doesn’t feel awkward.”
Maddy snorted. “I’m not sure that’s working as intended. It’s strange to have someone standing there staring.”
With a laugh, Cora tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. “I tend to agree. In any case, this is Meli, Myern Lyr’s bonded. And Meli, this is my friend Maddy.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you,” Meli said. “My bonded sends his regrets for not being here himself and hopes you will not take offense. He had an emergency meeting with one of the ladies in command of the northern ridge.”
Maddy almost grinned at the serious tone of the woman’s words. She was used to the elevated manners of the fae thanks to her Sidhe father, but she hadn’t participated in many formal occasions. If she hadn’t learned a little about Moranaian culture, she would’ve feared they believed she was some kind of diva who expected the fanciest of greetings.
“I hope it’s nothing serious,” Maddy said.
“There was an ice storm, I think, but I haven’t heard of any injuries.” Meli’s eyebrows drew together. “I haven’t been here long, but I understand that such weather is typical for this season.”
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