by Linsey Hall
Tarron was still in the corner, wrist raised so he could talk on his comms charm to someone, so I headed into the back of the store alone. The cluttered little kitchen was quiet and empty as I passed through to Connor’s potion laboratory in the back.
I entered the small, jam-packed room to find Connor standing with his back to me, elbow deep in potions ingredients and tools. The back of his shirt had a band logo emblazoned across it—The Wallflowers.
Old-school.
“I told you I’m almost done!” Connor said as I stepped in.
“It’s me, Mordaca.”
He turned, brows high and dark eyes surprised. “Oh, I thought it was my sister.”
“I thought as much.” My gaze flicked across the items scattered on his work table. “Thanks for trying to help find Aerdeca.”
“Any time.” He held up a little blue glass bottle. “I’ve got something here that might help reveal the spell that protects the entrance to the Unseelie Court.”
“Thanks.” Just the sight of the bottle gave me hope. I dug into my pocket and withdrew the two Aranthian Crystals, showing him the glowing red rocks. I explained what they were, then handed them over.
Connor raised them to his face. “Never seen anything like them. But when we’re done getting Aerdeca back, I can look into it.”
“Thanks. I think they’re powerful.”
He nodded, his dark hair flopping over his forehead. “Oh, I’m sure of that.” He handed the crystals back to me. “Hang on to them for now.” He turned and grabbed a small vial of liquid, then gave it to me. “Pep-up potion. You should take some. You look beat.”
“I feel beat. Thanks.” I swigged the potion back, feeling a rush of energy as if I’d drunk a vat of coffee. “Do you have a spare for Tarron?”
He grinned and gave me another.
I took it. “Thanks. I’ll see you in the front.”
“Be there in a sec.”
I hurried back toward the main room of the bar, finding Claire wrapping two pasties in napkins and Tarron finally done with his call.
She handed each of us a pasty. “Here, eat. You look famished.”
As if it wanted to prove her right, my stomach grumbled.
I took the pasty. “Thanks, Mom.”
“Someone’s got to look out for you.”
A few minutes later, after Connor returned to the bar with a bag full of potions, we departed for Puck’s Glen. Fortunately, Claire had a transport charm, which made things easy.
As soon as the ether spit me out into the forest, the magic hit me in the face.
I staggered, gasping. “Holy fates.”
“Right?” Next to me, Claire swallowed hard, her skin going pale. “She’s stronger.”
I nodded, breathing shallowly through the scent of putrid night lilies and brimstone. My mother was so strong that her power was seeping through the barrier between realms.
My skin chilled with the knowledge.
As much as I wanted to kick her ass right now, worry tugged at me. Was I strong enough?
Tarron rested a strong hand on my shoulder and squeezed, as if trying to imbue me with his strength.
“It’s like you can read my mind,” I murmured.
“Only some things.”
I smiled at him, then inspected the forest around us. The trees were small and gnarled, the granite boulders large.
Here in western Scotland, it was nearly dusk. The sun was approaching the horizon, sending the sky into a riot of color as night arrived.
“We don’t have long,” Tarron said, referring to the fact that the entrance to the Unseelie realm was accessible at dawn and dusk.
“No. And I don’t want to wait until dawn.”
“This way.” Claire gestured us forward, and we followed, with Connor taking up the rear.
We arrived at a tiny clearing a moment later.
Cass stepped out from behind a big boulder, her red hair messy, as if she’d raked frustrated hands through it. Her eyes brightened when she saw us. “You’re back!”
“Finally.”
She gave me a hard hug, and I struggled to pull free. “Hey, don’t go getting sappy on me.”
She laughed dryly and pulled back.
Luna stepped out from behind another tree, her blue hair pulled up into a business-like knot on her head. Her uniform was stained and dirty, and there were shadows under her pink eyes.
She spotted Tarron and bowed. “Your Highness. I’m glad you’re back.”
I could hear the truth in her words.
“Thank you for coming straight here, Luna,” Tarron said.
She nodded. “I think we’ve found it.”
“But we have no idea how to get in,” Del said, stepping out from behind another boulder. The phantom FireSoul was dressed in her usual black, with her midnight hair pulled back in a long tail.
Nix joined us next, her cartoon cat shirt torn at the hem. “The forest keeps fighting us. Vines trying to trip us and branches slapping.” She rubbed her welted arms and scowled. “Even I can’t calm them down. Bastard trees.”
Only in the Fae world were trees bastards.
“What are we working with?” Tarron asked.
“Here, let me show you.” Luna led us toward the edge of the clearing.
It was a round space about thirty feet in diameter, with rowan trees planted in a border at the edges of the circle.
Luna pointed to the trees. “Rowan, see? There are thirteen of them. And the energy is strongest here. This must be it.”
I had to agree with her. The power here was so strong that it almost knocked me off my feet, and rowans were special to the Fae.
“But no idea how to get in?” Tarron asked.
“None.” She entered the circle and went from tree to tree.
I followed, looking for anything that might provide a clue. Puzzles like this sometimes drove me mad.
“There has to be a lever or something to open the gate, wherever that is,” I said. “Or some kind of ritual we must perform.”
Tarron crouched low to inspect the roots of one of the trees.
In the distance, something rustled in the woods.
I stiffened, peering hard into the forest. A flash of golden horns appeared.
“Stag,” I whispered.
It approached, its gait slow and steady. It wasn’t white like the royal stags at the Court of Death. Rather, the golden horns matched the gleaming hide.
The creature stopped near one of the rowan trees and nuzzled the bark with its nose, its gaze never leaving mine.
Slowly, I approached the stag. It stepped back, leaving the tree but never looking away from me.
“This tree?” I asked.
The creature didn’t so much as twitch, but I could feel its intentions.
I stopped in front of the trunk and inspected it. When I looked up at the stag a moment later, it was gone.
Connor appeared at my side. “Let me try something.”
I nodded. “Go for it.”
He took a small bottle out of his potion sack and knelt at the tree’s base. As he tipped the liquid into the dirt, he said, “This should reveal if there are any hidden spells on this tree.”
Magic prickled in the air as we waited. The tree began to glow, veins of gold shooting up from the earth and twisting around the trunk.
In the distance, the sun sank lower toward the horizon. We needed to hurry. It was almost time—our window would pass, and then we’d be stuck waiting for another twelve hours until it rose again. Tension tightened my skin until it was almost unbearable.
Hang on, Aeri.
Connor’s magic continued to work, and a big knot in the tree began to glow brightest of all. I stood to inspect it.
“There’s writing on it,” Tarron said.
“Really?” I frowned, staring at it. “All I can see are squiggles.”
“I second that,” Claire said.
“Me too,” Cass added.
“It’s Fae writing.” Tar
ron’s long finger traced the squiggles. “It’s a number. Four.”
“Number four?” I frowned and turned, looking at nearby trees.
Several of them had large knots as well—all at a similar height on the trunk. I hurried to one and spotted some more squiggles in the middle of the knots.
I pointed to one. “What does this say?”
“Seven,” Tarron said.
“And that one?” I pointed to the next closest tree.
“Ten.”
“I need to learn Fae.” I bit my lip as I considered it.
“They must indicate an order,” Cass said.
I nodded. Being a real live Indiana Jones, she was an expert at solving puzzles like these. “Agreed. But what the hell do we do with them?”
There was silence as the group mulled it over.
I thought back to the other entrance to the Unseelie realm. “Blood. I think I should try some of my blood.”
Tarron nodded. “You’re Unseelie. It’s likely you’re the only one whose blood would do it.”
My gaze flicked toward the setting sun. The edge of it had just touched the horizon. We were out of time—it was this or nothing.
Quickly, I sliced my fingertip with my sharp thumbnail, feeling the blood well.
Tarron pointed to a tree across the clearing. “That’s number one.”
“You read my mind.” I hurried toward it and swiped my fingertip over the knot in the wood.
“Number two.” Tarron pointed.
I repeated the drill. Twelve trees later, the sun had almost disappeared entirely. My heart thundered in my ears, and I said a prayer to whatever god might listen to me.
As soon as I swiped my finger across the thirteenth tree, magic sparked in the air.
I stumbled back out of the clearing, joining my friends.
“This is it,” Tarron said.
I waited, breath held, for something to happen.
But nothing did.
The sun dipped behind the horizon.
14
“No.” Horror threatened to devour me. “No. We have to get in.”
Tarron strode into the clearing, stalking from tree to tree, clearly looking for something. Then he went to the middle of the clearing and crouched low, brushing the leaves back from the ground.
“Mari, come here.” He waved me over.
I hurried forward, crouching low as I reached him.
There was a small flat stone set in the ground. It was also inscribed with squiggles I couldn't read.
“Blood?” I asked.
“Try it.”
I sliced my finger again, heart pounding, and let the blood drip onto the stone.
Tarron began to chant, speaking Fae, and I vowed to learn the language ASAP.
Stronger magic prickled in the air, and we both stood, stepping backward. In front of us, silver branches appeared, forming an archway. Golden apples hung from the boughs, and magic sparkled around them.
“You did it!” Claire appeared at my side. “Just in time.”
I nodded, anticipation seething through me.
We were almost to Aeri.
I turned to my friends. “This is going to be a stealth mission.”
“So some of us should wait out here?” Cass asked.
I nodded. “We can’t beat the false queen with just us. Not with her magic this strong. We’d need an army for that.”
“And they’re recovering from the fire,” Tarron said, referencing his people in the Seelie Kingdom.
“We’ll come back to do that,” I said. “I’ll take out the false queen if I can, but my main goal is to rescue Aeri. And we need stealth for that.”
“We’ve got your back,” Cass said. “I’ll come with you.”
I nodded gratefully.
“If you’re not out by morning, the rest of us are coming for you.” Claire’s gaze dropped to my still bleeding finger. “Leave us some of your blood so we can open the portal.”
“Good thinking.” I sliced my finger and filled an empty vial that Connor gave me.
“Good luck.” Connor took the vial and shoved it in his pocket.
I nodded, then turned to the portal. My gaze caught on a golden apple. The fruit tugged at me. I pulled one off the silver branch.
Tarron picked one, too. “If I’m remembering correctly, these should create an escape portal for us on the other side.”
“So we can leave quickly?” I asked.
He nodded. “I heard that the Unseelie had a portal like this. We wanted to create one of our own, but couldn’t manage it.”
“Do we need one each?” Cass asked.
“I think we should all be able to go through the same exit portal,” Tarron said. “But pick one in case we are separated.”
Cass each reached for one of the small fruits and pulled it off. I drew my potion bag from the ether and shoved the apple in, then stashed the bag away.
“Let’s go.” I stepped through the archway of silver branches, feeling the ether suck me in.
It spun me through space, then spat me out on the other side, right in the middle of a dark forest that reeked of the false queen’s magic.
I hurried toward cover behind a thick, thorny bush. Tarron appeared a half second later, right out of thin air.
“Over here,” I hissed.
He joined me. Cass followed next, spotting us almost immediately and hurrying over.
We crouched behind the bush, peering out into the forest.
On the other side of the clearing, I caught sight of a guard, asleep against the base of a tree. He’d entirely missed our arrival.
Cass shook her head. “That dude had one job.”
I grinned. “Thank fates he’s sleeping on it.”
Tarron chuckled.
All around us, the forest was eerily silent. Unease prickled across my skin. It was weird. Way too quiet.
The huge trees soared overhead, each as tall as a thirty-story building. They were unnaturally large, the black bark thick and rough. Wide leaves topped them, forming a canopy overhead that blocked out most light. Only the gray faerie lights that sparkled beneath the leaves provided any light to see by.
“Do you know where the Unseelie city is?” Cass asked. “I can look for it if you need me to.”
I frowned and focused on my seeker sense. It wasn’t nearly as powerful as Cass’s FireSoul ability to find things, but it worked this time, tugging me toward the sleeping guard and past him.
I pointed in the correct direction. “I think it’s that way, but if you pick up something different, let me know.”
“No, that’s what I’m getting, too,” Cass said.
“Good.” I looked at Tarron, then jerked my gaze to the guard. “Can you wrap him up?”
Tarron nodded, and his magic flared on the air. Tree roots poked out of the ground around the guard, binding him tight around the limbs and mouth. His eyes opened wide, panicked.
I strode out from behind the bush, stalking toward him. I knelt, then drew a steel blade from the ether. I pressed the tip of the dagger almost to his throat, and he winced. “Tell me about the queen’s new powers.”
He struggled against the roots that held him fast, but couldn’t break free.
“Tell me, or I’ll cut your tongue out.” I tried to make myself sound vicious, but guilt pricked at me. Was he one of the ones who was brainwashed by my mother? I shoved the thought aside. I wouldn’t really cut his tongue out, but if the threat could help save Aeri…
“Well?” I raised my brows and waggled the knife.
He jerked more strongly against the bonds, but couldn’t break free. Finally, he nodded, his eyes bright with frustration and fear.
Tarron appeared next to me. His magic surged slightly, and the vine across his mouth slipped aside.
“Her magic is stronger,” he spat. “We don’t know why. She woke up that way after the battle.”
I frowned. He was definitely telling the truth. I could hear it in his voice.
; And it had to have something to do with Claire and her magic, though not even she knew how.
“Where is she in the castle?” I asked.
“Highest tower. Her chambers.”
“And Aerdeca? The prisoner?”
“Dungeons. Bottom floor.”
“How do we get in?” Tarron demanded.
“Through the main entrance. You can only access the dungeons from inside the palace.”
“How many guards?” I asked.
“A dozen at least. The big one will have the key.”
He was just volunteering information now.
“Is the false queen brainwashing people?” I asked. “Using her dark magic to contort their minds?”
His mouth twisted with worry.
“You’re helping me,” I said. “Volunteering information. You aren’t really on her side, are you?”
His face whitened, and panic widened his eyes. “I am loyal!”
I had a feeling that you’d learn to say that pretty quickly if a crazy despot was in charge.
He started to hyperventilate, his breath heaving and his face red.
I glanced at Tarron. “We’ve lost him.”
He nodded. The vine crept up to cover the man’s mouth again. “The vines will release you once we’ve left your realm.”
Somehow, his eyes widened even more. Then he passed out, slumping over against the tree. Stress, I supposed.
I frowned as I stood. “He really doesn’t have the constitution to be a guard.”
“No.”
Cass appeared at my side. “Seems like we’ve got a bit of luck on our side. We got a cowardly one.”
“Let’s hope the luck holds.” I set off through the forest, heading toward the palace. My seeker sense tugged hard, and I moved quickly through the quiet woods.
Cass joined me, her gaze intent on the forest ahead. “It’s pulling strongly. The queen is powerful.”
I rubbed my arms. “Crazy powerful.”
“We’ve got this,” Tarron said from my right. His stride was quick and confident.
I nodded. “We don’t have any other choice.”
A few hundred yards later, a noise rustled in the tree above. I stiffened and looked upward, calling upon my magic.
A slender figure stood on a branch about forty feet high, luminous pale skin and dark hair, unmistakable traits of the Unseelie. She raised her bow and sighted it at us.