by Jaymin Eve
Grace’s low voice caught me. “Are you okay?”
Swallowing a roughness in my throat, I nodded. “I’m fine. Are you okay? Do you need anything? Food or water?”
She was far too thin, and every time her frailness caught my gaze, I went to a new level of pissed. But I needed to wait for her to want my help.
“I’m fine. Just ready to find to my mom.” Her attention went back to the city, and I clenched my fists tightly.
Braxton would have thrown Jessa over his shoulder and ignored her bitching at him. Despite the fact I was channeling his animalistic nature, I wasn’t quite at his level of impulsiveness. Yet.
If my energy continued the way it was … who knew.
“We should go down into the city. That might be where Gran and mom ended up.” Fidgeting, Grace looked like she was about to take off again.
Her plan was not great. Just walking up to an unknown city in Faerie. For all we knew, this place was filled with dangers beyond our wildest nightmares. It was probably a trap.
I opened my mouth to voice these objections, but she locked me in her gaze and somehow I ended up saying: “Sure, we should see if your mom is down there.”
For fuck’s sake. Every single time she turned those dark, depthless eyes on me, I caved. I was finally starting to understand how Jessa got Braxton to do what she wanted all the time.
Jacob let out a snort of laughter, amused by the loss of my mind. Grace’s smile lit up her delicate features and I decided it was worth it. As long as she didn’t get hurt. Which I would be making damn sure of.
“Thank you!” she said, strong emotion in her voice, which sent a burst of relief through me. When we first found her, her voice had been too flat … dead.
She turned then and started down the other side of the hill. She was tall, even for a supe – coming close to my chin in bare feet – but somehow still seemed so petite. Ethereal. Not that her parents could have known at the time, but she was well suited to the name Grace. It was in everything she did, an innate gracefulness.
Jacob and I picked up the pace to reach her, because clearly she was going to barrel straight down without any hesitation. “Compasses are dropping like flies,” Jacob said, slanting a shit-eating grin in my direction.
I lifted a single brow in his direction. “Jealous, bro?”
My brother shook his head, his chuckles sounding like music in the breeze. Then he surprised me by sobering up enough to say, “You might be right. You’re all lucky bastards.”
A moment passed between us; there was so much unsaid in his face. He was ready to settle, I could tell, but he was also in no rush. We might have been young in the supe world, but our races were designed to seek out mates. It was our nature. Which meant we always felt like something was missing when we did not have them. I’d felt the pull for the last few years, and it wasn’t until Grace stepped back into my life that the instinct hit me hard. The need. She was and had always been the missing part of my soul.
Grace had been power-striding with confidence, but just before she hit the gates she slowed, waiting for us to join her. “How could they possibly carve stone like that?” she murmured, her eyes as wide as I’d ever seen them. “Where would they even find one uncut gem that size, let alone two?”
“I have no idea,” I admitted, reluctantly. I liked to know things. “But the closer we get to this town, the stronger its power resonance is. It’s messing with my sorcery magic. It probably wasn’t the best idea to evolve into a sorcerer right before coming here.”
The same way I hated not knowing things, I wasn’t a big fan of admitting to weakness. But Jacob and Grace deserved to know I wasn’t in full control.
“Tell me if you’re about to lose it,” Jacob said, eyes remaining locked on the towering gates we stood before. “We can connect again. I’ll try and funnel some of your energy into my own.”
Jacob was always in control. He knew his limits very well. I usually did too, but sorcery was an entirely new situation.
“Will do.” I gave my brother a nod, focusing on the gates. “Anyone else getting the feeling that this city is abandoned?”
Grace took a step forward before I could stop her, placing a hand against the nearest pillar, just off to the side of the main gate, which was, as you’d expect, made from rubies.
“I sense no living being inside. No heartbeat, no life, no magical aura.”
Jacob straightened, a determined expression creasing his features into hard lines. “Which doesn’t mean there isn’t anyone inside. Lots of unusual magic in Faerie. We’re taught of spells which cloak cities. Spells which mimic death. Lands of shifting visages and hallucinations. What we’re seeing here might not be reality.”
All fey got to attend secret Faerie classes. They were taught of their history and this land, so that everything wasn’t lost and forgotten from their original world. Jacob was sworn to secrecy, and none of us would ever expect him to break those bonds. He had done it a few times on his own lately, though, and I believed it was because he no longer felt like he was purely fey. His loyalties were changing.
“I think we should still find a way inside,” Grace said decisively, her hand remaining pressed against the pillar. “Especially if there’s a chance this is just a cloak to dissuade us from entering.”
I wasn’t surprised. She was determined and I respected that about her. I was just glad I was here to make sure she didn’t recklessly throw herself into something she couldn’t handle.
Stepping forward a few more feet, I slammed both hands on the gates and pushed hard. There was no visible lock or handle, just the thin line of light down the middle where the two sides joined. Despite my best efforts, there wasn’t even a millimeter of movement. Jacob stepped up to help, both of us putting all of our strength behind it. My biceps and back muscles strained against the effort.
Nothing. It was magically sealed; we weren’t going to be able to muscle it open. With both hands still pressed firmly against the rubies, I registered the low steady thrumming of energy beneath my palms. “Should we try a spell?” Magic was the best thing to counter other magic.
Jacob nodded. “What one were you thinking?”
Grace pressed closer to my side. “I can help,” she said. “My energy is at full strength again.”
Trying to ignore the way her soft body molded to mine, I ran my eyes over her face. She was glowing with health, looking far less drained and tired than I would expect from someone tortured and starved for weeks.
“You’ve recovered quickly after so many weeks drained.”
I wanted to remind her it was okay to take it easy, without appearing to tell her what to do. I’d learned the hard way that women didn’t like to be told what to do, even when I had the best intentions.
Her delicate brows arched together as she tilted her head to the side. “I’m fine, Ty. I don’t need a mo—I’m fine. You can stop worrying about me. Ever since my gran stabbed me, I’ve had all of this extra energy inside of me. It’s odd, but I won’t complain. This is the best I’ve felt in years.”
That did nothing to reassure me. “What new energy?” I knew she felt different; her aura had changed.
She shrugged. “That cold, icy energy I told you about.”
I sensed she wasn’t telling me everything, but now wasn’t the time to push her. I reached out to gently cup her face. She flinched, just barely, but didn’t pull away as I wrapped my fingers across her cheek and chin.
Our mate bond surged to life and a flicker of her presence bloomed in my mind. It disappeared before I could hold on to it. “Your energy is strong,” I murmured, my face close to hers. I could almost taste her lips as I spoke. Our bond flexed and I felt a groan from deep in my chest. As energy fizzed between us, her lips parted and a few shallow breaths escaped. I wanted to kiss her more than I wanted my next breath, but she wasn’t ready. I would not push her, I would wait forever if that’s what it took. Even if it killed me.
Somehow I found the strength to
pull away. An urge to slam my fists against the stone barrier hit me, but I managed to refrain. Violence was not the answer, even if it would make me feel better. The amount of pissed I was right then was actually scary – that all of this happened to her, that Grace had suffered at the hands of those she should have been able to trust. It was too much to bear.
“I think I’ll try an energy wall,” I bit out, each word short and sharp. “You two should stand back. With my new power, I don’t want anyone to get caught up in the backlash.”
Both of them took a few steps to the side, far too close still, but I could see I wasn’t getting them to move any farther. Biting back another curse, this one directed at stubborn supes, I tried to find the mellow mind space I usually arrived at before doing any spell work. It was still there, hidden deep down under all of the tumultuous energy. A whisper of silence washed through me as I connected to the strangely-patterned ley lines of this world. I didn’t recognize their crisscrossing. Instead of running parallel and intersecting at certain points, it was almost like a giant squiggle. Very convoluted.
All of the worlds had ley lines, but the Faerie lines were thick and raw, like the energy was new and clean and untainted, power at its most pure form, without the corruption haunting Earth’s lines. Earth was hurting, damaged from years of over-population, pollution, and chemical wars between the humans. It didn’t feel that way here, which again had me wondering: why had everyone left Faerie?
As the raw power mingled with my own, some of the warring sorcery energy calmed, like it had been tamed by a power far greater and was settling down into its place. I had a brief hope it stayed that way, because I was likely to lose my mind if the energy kept fighting me so strongly.
You had to be the youngest sorcerer in history.
I could hear Louis’ laughter as he reminded me of this. A jolt hit me. Louis! Fuck, I had been so caught up in Grace that I forgot the urgency of helping him too. Since I was already in Faerie, that was half the battle won. I would find Josephina before we left.
Once I had a direct connection to the lines, I formed the words of the spell in my mind, and at the same time shaped the raw energy I was building with clear intentions. Open the gates. When I felt like I was ready, I spoke the spell out loud, “Bruticus formulae.”
My hands, wide open in front of me, fingers spread, would be the conduit for the power. I liked to use my hands for spells. I found closing them was a good way to shut down flow when I was done.
The spell left me in a huge gust; a wall of energy formed before me. “Open the gates!” Power blasted from me with enough force to knock me back a few feet, my boots dragging across the ruby sand. I was relieved to see Grace and Jacob were okay, just a little windblown. My brother was partly in front of my mate, protecting her. I wasn’t surprised at all; she was family, and we looked after our own. Always.
My spell pounded against the gates with enough force to shake the ground. Fey ley lines … fucking awesome.
I enjoyed the way they’d also tamed my sorcery energy like a little bitch, slapping it into place. For the first time in months, I felt like I was in complete control. The gates creaked, more light appeared in the gap, but it lasted only a moment before falling back into place.
Motherfucker. That spell, with pure fey energy behind it, had packed the force of a thousand tons.
I had no choice at this point except to pull the energy back to me. I was going to leave myself weak if I maintained the spell for much longer. I let it dissipate. Grace and Tyson crossed to me as soon as my wall of power shattered harmlessly to the ground.
“Anyone got a plan B?” she asked, her eyebrows creasing together.
Jacob and I exchanged a glance, but I could see he was as lost as me.
“I’m not sure anything elemental will work,” my brother mused. “Fire will not affect a ruby, not at the level of heat I can produce. Wind either, especially if Ty’s wall didn’t work. Water is useless, and I see no source here I could utilize.”
“Which leaves Earth,” I finished for him. “Could we maybe shift the ground and go beneath?”
“Please try,” Grace begged, stepping into Jacob’s side. “I feel like this place is connected to my mom, or my gran is hiding here at the very least. I need answers. I need to find out what the hell is going on and why she has done this.” Panic bled across Grace’s eyes; they looked black as night.
“I’ll do my best.” Jacob’s face fell upon seeing the pain on Grace’s. He brushed his hand across her cheek. “We’ll find your mom. We’ll find these answers.”
Grace nodded a few times, biting on her bottom lip as it trembled. “Thank you. Shit, I know you’re both doing everything you can to help – help me and my stupid family, which neither of you signed up for.” She hung her head. “I never even stopped to think that you’re both going to be gone from Earth for weeks, and no one even knows what happened to you. Your family is going to think you’re dead.”
Jacob pulled her in for a hug and I tried not to growl. At least it was somewhat easier keeping my annoyance contained when the sorcery part of me was calm. Easier to remind myself that Grace might be mine but I didn’t own her. They were two different things. Grace and I belonged to each other. Not a one-way street. And I trusted my brother. I’d give him at least thirty seconds before I pummeled him for getting handsy.
“You don’t need to feel guilty,” Jacob murmured into the top of her head. “Everyone knew we were searching for you. And we were actually planning to go into Faerie right after.”
Her eyes were less shiny, lips no longer trembling as she pulled away. “You were coming here anyway? Why?”
She had missed so much of our lives these last few months, she didn’t know about the babies or Kristoff.
“There’s a lot we have to tell you,” I said, reaching out and drawing her closer to me. I might have been working on this trust and non-ownership thing, but there was only so much I could deal with in one day. Especially this day. “First though, let’s see if we can tunnel under this city.”
Jacob took a few long strides forward, stopping before the gates. As he dropped to his knees, he buried his hands in the rubies, which had been crushed into a fine sand.
It was insane to think we were in the jeweled meadows. It was a land I had heard of. Jacob let some information slip one night while vaguely describing Faerie. Most supes thought there were only a few distinct lands here, but according to my brother – and from what I had seen myself – there were a lot of smaller worlds existing inside of larger territories. Faerie was huge, and I doubted many knew all its secrets.
Jacob leaned forward, his hair starting to rise and float across the top of his head as he connected to the elements. The light shone off his blond strands, the rubies casting red tones through. His hair was actually longer than mine now; he’d been letting it grow and it almost brushed across the top of his ears. Which should have made it harder for him to keep styled, but he managed.
Grace and I both stumbled as a roar went through the ground – like a rock crusher had zoomed under our feet – before everything settled down again. Jacob hadn’t moved, so I strode over to him, pausing at his shoulder. There was a cleared space in front of him; the ruby dust was gone, but about three feet below that was a solid sheet of red.
“Is the ground made of ruby too?” I asked, lowering myself to kneel beside him. “How in the hell is that possible?”
He shook his head, both hands still in front of him, fine grains of ruby trickling from them. “I’m getting a bad feeling about this place. The jeweled meadows were not supposed to be like this. This is … something else.”
“Shit,” I said, standing in one swift movement. My head tilted back as I tried to take in the full expanse of the barriers. “Can we climb it?”
I already knew the answer. The gate and fence were three stories in the air, and there was no place we could use as a grip.
Grace let out a heavy breath. “Maybe we should just move on. If i
t’s this difficult for us to get inside, then I doubt my mom or Gran could have managed.”
Frustration rose in her and she kicked out, slamming the flat of her foot against the main door. “Why don’t you just open, you stupid piece of crap d—” She cut off as the ruby door silently cracked apart, swung open, and she tumbled through to the other side.
I dove after her, afraid the doorway would close, leaving us trapped on the outside, separated from her. I would not risk that. Jacob and I made it through unscathed, and the doors did not close.
I lifted a stunned Grace. “Did that door just open because I asked it to? What the hell? What sort of door does something like that?” She was babbling, her words tumbling over each other. It was adorable and reminded me of the Grace I remembered from when we were kids. She was so contained now, closed off, and I liked this brief glimpse of her flustered side.
She tangled her hands in my shirt, tucking herself closer to my side, and that possessive part of me roared to life. I wrapped one free arm around her, letting my palm caress her back, soothing in a silent way, before I finally said, “It doesn’t matter what happened. All that matters is we’re inside and can search for your mom.”
“You’re right,” she said, pulling back slightly. “Lost my focus for a minute there. This place makes me feel weird.”
I ran my gaze over her, searching for cracks in her armor. But her eyes were dry, face expressionless. I hadn’t seen her cry yet, which … worried me. Supes didn’t do well with suppressing trauma. Not all of us cried, but we were all emotional; we yelled and cursed and fought. We expressed our shit, not holding it inside where it would eat away at us.
Grace was acting out of character. She had shut down, and I had no idea what would happen when that was no longer an option. I would be there for her, though. The fallout might be inevitable, but she would not be alone for it. I let her step away, giving her the freedom she desired, even though it went against all of my instincts.