by Leia Stone
I nodded, managing to keep my feet still. I trusted Baladar too, but it was a queen’s job to worry about her people.
Violet crossed over to Nikoli. He turned straight to her, as if he’d been aware of what she was doing the entire time. She leaned into him.
“Are you sure?” she whispered.
He nodded, his expression softening. Violet’s did the opposite. Her back straightened and she shifted away from him, stepping back. Her face was carefully blank — she was shutting him out, afraid of losing him, which was very unlike Violet. She normally threw caution to the wind. Her time in the Winter Court had destroyed a piece of her childlike innocence, the part of her I’d always adored the most. Instinct was telling me that I needed to have a heart-to-heart with my best friend; she couldn’t keep burying it inside.
After we survived this, of course.
Kade’s comforting presence pressed in behind me, and I was thankful that the necklaces didn’t seem to interfere in our bond. I could still feel him as strong as always in my mind. Gently spinning me around, he cupped my face with both hands, pressing a kiss to my forehead. It was so sweet that I let out a deep sigh, enjoying that moment of pure bliss.
As he pulled back he said, “I’ll stay close to Nikoli, in case he needs help controlling the mecca.”
I wasn’t at all surprised. Nikoli was a close friend of his. Like me and Violet, they had known each other most of their lives. He would not let his friend face the darkness alone. His ability to filter mecca, allowing only little pieces to leak through, was a powerful weapon. It still made me nervous, though.
“Be careful. If it’s gets too crazy, just stop. We will find another way. There is always another way.” Both of my hands lifted to press against his, which were still on my face.
He nodded, but before he could say anything more, Baladar’s voice boomed across the large room. “Okay, time for you all to leave and wait in the hall. Kade and Nikoli are the only ones to remain in here.” He moved away from his position behind the round copper pot; the book was inside it, just waiting for the powder to be added.
All of us leaving had been Kade’s idea, in case the spell went awry and lashed out. It was smart, but shutting those doors on my mate and his magic born, leaving them with that evil book, was physically painful. I blew Kade one last kiss and he gave me a wink. I loved his confidence; it always seemed to make my worries lessen. But … there was nothing that could make them disappear completely.
Especially when he shut off the bond between us, erecting those mental blocks we rarely used.
We walked a few feet down the hall. I wanted to be close enough to get to them quickly if they needed help. Minutes passed with no sound, no change in the energy around us … not even a change in scent. Then a pop ripped through the air and a heaviness pressed into me. Baladar’s eyes widened and Violet took a protective stance in front of me. I quickly quieted my frantic mind and attempted to push into Kade’s mind through our bond. He was still shielding me, so I couldn’t tell exactly what was going on, but I felt pain and darkness. And a bone chilling evil washing over my mate.
“No!” I screamed, pushing through my friends without thought. I was not letting my mate succumb to that darkness. What I had just felt, that inkling of the dark stone, absolutely terrified me. It was as bad as being in the presence of the dark fae.
Worse actually, because this time, it was Kade who felt like the Dark Fae Lord.
Violet latched on to my arm, trying to hold me back. “Let go, Vi!” I gave her a look that said if she didn’t let me go I would never forgive her. Her eyes locked on mine for a few long moments, and she swallowed hard, loosening her grip on me. I ran for the double doors, kicking them open. I felt for that wild magic inside of me, bringing it closer to the surface as I readied myself for anything.
Nikoli was hunched over the book on the ground and Kade stood behind him, his back to me, and both of his arms in the air. Every vein and muscle in Kade’s back and arms were bulging as he used all of the strength within him to contain the giant, black, oily ball of hell that had opened above Nikoli’s head. Nikoli was chanting, and with a final word he slammed the book shut and the black oil pushed against my mate.
Kade’s feet began dragging backwards as if someone were bulldozing him across the room. I stood there frozen, terrified, and unsure of what to do. It was only when Nikoli turned around and looked up at the blob, muttering a curse word, that I spurred into action.
My magic vibrated inside of me, so alive I could feel it like a tangible thing, with a scream I threw everything I had at the ball, focusing mostly on the spell-breaking side, since I had no idea what this ball of darkness was — but it felt like a spell.
Baladar, who must have followed me in, did the same. The mixed hues of purple and deep blue of my magic lashed out and saturated the dark mass, covering it like a magical cocoon. I stumbled as the room shook, a roaring filling my ears until I could hear nothing else. Somehow I stayed on my feet, funneling more of my magic at the thing. The roar then turned to a shrill whine. I was about to cover my ears when all noise abruptly cut off. There was an eerie silence for two heartbeats … then the ball exploded.
Kade was blown backwards, and using every ounce of my shifter abilities — howls rocked my chest as my wolf rose up, ready to save her mate — I sprinted and dived forward just in time to break his fall with my body. He slammed into me with such force that it knocked the wind out of me.
He was off me in a moment, and I reached across his chest to take his face in my hands. “Are you okay?” I asked him frantically, searching for any injuries.
A shadow moved across those stunning eyes, and for a moment the color wavered from its normal bronze to something more like a murky brown. By the time I blinked again it was gone, and the swirling copper tones were back.
“I’m fine, Ari,” he said, almost breathless. That dark mass had exploded with such huge force, he’d been launched across the room. My aching ribs could attest to that.
Needing more confirmation, I latched onto the mate bond again, pressing into Kade’s energy. The block between us had eased, but he wasn’t completely open either. From the flickers of information I was getting, he did seem to be okay. I couldn’t sense any major injury or pain, so … I’d accept what he said. For now.
Baladar knelt down and ran a hand up Kade’s arm, but before he got further than the bear’s shoulder, Kade pushed him away. “I’m fine. I promise.” He dismissed us by turning to Nikoli.
“Did you get a location on the stone?”
I exchanged a quick glance with Baladar. The ancient magic born wore a blank expression. Something told me he had as many thoughts and worries going on as I did.
Nikoli, whose face was pale and strained, nodded. “The other crystal is in Boston, but so is the Dark Fae Lord. He’s one step ahead of us.”
Shit.
None of us wasted another second. We grabbed whatever stuff we thought we would need for a few days and we piled into a black Suburban.
“We’ll keep an eye on everything here,” Baladar said to me through the car window. There had been an argument about who was staying behind. No one wanted that job, but it was almost as important to keep an eye on the royal estate. Calista and Baladar eventually took the role.
As hard as it was to leave the powerful magic born behind, I needed him to protect Calista and my city. Normally, it was a three to four hour drive to Boston. The speed we were planning on going, it would likely be much faster. But still, I wouldn’t get back quickly if anything happened.
“Hopefully we’ll return home by tomorrow at the latest,” I said to my advisor, who had a worried look in her eyes. She leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek, stepping back so that Kade could back the car out of the huge underground garage.
Jen, Monica, and Victor waved from where they stood with Baladar. It had been hard to convince them to stay behind too, but with this being a magical matter, facing a dark fae and all, I thought it b
est to keep our group small, limited to those who could harness the mecca. Even though mecca magic didn’t work directly on the dark fae, there were other things they could do to help me. They could also defend themselves against any others who might be waiting to attack.
I refused to lose any more of my dominants. Not today. I would just have to hope that between Kade, Violet, Nikoli, Rowan, Finn, Nix, and me we had enough firepower.
Thankfully, we beat the traffic and made great time. Conversation was stilted, most of us lost in our own thoughts. Finn snoozed in the back; Nix was travelling in the air since a giant eagle was one too many in the SUV.
When we were about ten minutes outside of Boston on the I-93, Kade met Nikoli’s eyes in the rearview. “Where to now?” he asked.
Kade had been quiet and closed off the entire drive, even more so than the rest of us. Which I chalked up to lack of sleep and stress. The bond between us was open … kinda. I could feel him there, and everything seemed okay. Sleep and stress, it had to be that.
Nikoli leaned forward. “In the town of Somerville there’s a park called Baxter Riverfront Park. It’s right on the Mystic River. The crystal is in the water there.”
An apt name for a river hiding a magical crystal.
I turned to see him better. “So it’s actually in the water?” I remembered the wolf council telling me that the original queen found our mecca stone in the water too.
He nodded. “Apparently everyone knows better than to swim in this river. It has claimed multiple lives, and the water is said to be tainted.”
Sounded about right. And it looked like one of us was going to have to go swimming in broad daylight in front of a bunch of humans to retrieve this thing. And if it was anything like the crystal in the book, it was going to be evil and try to corrupt us all.
Violet had been in the back, squished next to Finn for the entire drive, working on some type of protective magical case for it, but we had to get it out of the water first.
“You think it’s possible the fae lord already has it?” I pondered aloud.
Kade was the one to answer. “No. He has a general idea of the area, but is waiting for us to show up for its exact location.”
I gave my mate a side glance. He had sounded so sure when he said that, like he … knew. But how could he possibly know that? His instincts were sharp, of course, but this felt like more than instinct.
“I hope you’re wrong about part of that at least,” I finally said, trying to swallow my unease. I didn’t address the fact that Kade was not acting like himself, because I was afraid deep down to acknowledge that this might be fallout from filtering the dark energy.
Kade nodded. “I hope he’s not there too. It would be nice to get in and out without drama.”
He reached forward and plugged the Baxter Riverfront Park into the GPS. As we drove through the city, passing families and young children, a thought came to me.
I spun around and faced Rowan just as Kade was pulling the large SUV into a parking spot at the park. “When we do our training, you create a dome so the humans can’t see. Is there any chance you can make one big enough to hide us today?”
Rowan smiled. “No problem.”
I exhaled the breath I had been holding. If the Dark Fae Lord showed up and there was a fight in broad daylight, in public, it could turn into a magical bloodbath. I needed to hide us, and protect the humans. We couldn’t be worrying about that when we were fighting for our lives.
Luckily, the park and the bridge that looked over the Mystic River were pretty deserted, and as soon as I opened the door I knew why. It was freezing outside. Fall had descended on the east coast, and mercifully made this park uninhabited for our excursion, deserted except for an old man fishing on a bench. A quick scan told me that no stag-horned dark fae was milling about, but the knot in my stomach didn’t ease. As we all huddled together, Kade wrapped an arm around me; his warmth was like plunging into a bath.
Thanks, mate. I used our bond.
Always.
Well, that was more like my Kade. Maybe the dark energy that had been bothering him was dissipating. It made sense that it would take some time to be cleansed fully from his aura.
I patted my blade, relieved to feel it in my thigh holster. I also had a gun tucked in my waistband. All hidden by my thick trench coat. The weapons would do little against the Dark Fae Lord, but just having them on me made me feel more secure, more in control.
Kade straightened, and turned to look out over the water. “I sense it,” he growled. That sick feeling in my gut flared to life.
“What?” My voice was low and controlled, but on the inside I was screaming. “What do you mean you sense it?”
Rowan and Violet were already moving to start the wards to block us from everyone except the man fishing on the bench. He was too close and would be inside our barrier, so he would see whatever he saw, and there was nothing we could do about that.
Kade broke his trance with the lake and met my eyes. “It has an energy signature similar to the mecca. Now that I’ve connected once, I can feel it.”
What he said sounded logical, but … I was still worried.
“Then lead the way.” I shrugged, acting as nonchalant as him. The sooner we got the stone, the sooner we could get the hell out of here.
Kade walked slowly along the river’s edge with his left hand out, as if he was skimming the energy of the water.
“It’s powerful,” he said, and I didn’t like the tone of his voice. It wasn’t fear I detected, it was interest. He was intrigued with this power, and I was really starting to regret our plan to read the book. We had no choice now, we had to follow through and get that stone first, but that didn’t mean I was happy about it all.
Violet peeked over my shoulder. “I can probably do a spell to bring it up out of the water, so no one has to go swimming.”
Just as I was thinking that was a fantastic idea, Nikoli interjected: “No, it’s far too dangerous. I won’t risk you.”
Violet put a hand on her hip. “Do you know any water retrieval spells?”
Nikoli’s jaw hardened; he stared her down for a few moments, before finally saying, “No.”
Violet looked to Rowan. “You?”
Rowan shrugged. “I can make portals in water, but I can’t pull up objects I haven’t seen or touched.”
Violet smiled. “Then it’s settled.”
That was my best friend. Not exactly humble in her gifts. “Be careful, Vi,” I told her.
After seeing that giant blob of darkness, and how it had pushed my mountain of a mate across the room, it gave me the chills to think of Violet using her magic to connect with it. But if she wanted to try, I wasn’t going to stop her. Nikoli was going to learn something I already knew: Violet wasn’t a fan of being told what to do.
He still tried one final time. “If you absolutely insist on this, then … pull it up, but please don’t touch it. You’re … too important.”
A man telling Violet what to do would normally earn them a black eye, but not this man. Her face softened the slightest bit and I knew his concern had touched her.
“Fine.” She gestured to the case she had in her other hand. “I’ll guide Lucifer right in here and won’t touch it.”
A garbled laugh mixed with a snort escaped me. “Lucifer?”
Violet smirked. “We need to name it, right? Seems fitting.”
It was fitting and depressing. We were pulling a crystal that had earned the name Lucifer out of the lake. Life had really reached a low point. Violet and Kade started to walk toward a bridge that went out onto the water. The rest of us followed but stayed on the shore, keeping an eye out for the fae lord.
I leaned into Rowan. “Do you sense him?” I was pretty sure I’d pick up on his unique, frosty energy. It had a heaviness to it that acted like chloroform on my aura, suppressing it.
She looked around, unsure. “I sense a lot of dark fae magic in that water. It could be him or the crystal.”
I was sensing the same thing. At least it appeared the fishing man had packed up and left. Now there were no onlookers, I felt safe in unhooking my blade, settling it comfortably into my right hand. It eased my nerves the slightest bit, even if the weapon was useless. Violet was standing halfway along the bridge now, hands outstretched. Kade was directing her by pointing to something in the water. Violet had an affinity for water magic. She’d been the genius to think up the spell to enchant the water around the royal houses so the fae could not use them as portals. I hoped she knew what she was doing now, because I had the horrible feeling we were making all kinds of wrong decisions when it came to this darkness.
“Was there anything else in the book?” I asked Nikoli, who had his gaze pinned on Violet.
“No,” he said without turning away, “there was only the spell of location retrieval. All of the other pages were blank. It was like … it only showed me what it believed I needed to know.”
I shivered. That was really creepy. I didn’t like it when magic objects thought for themselves. Too unpredictable. Unable to stand still, I crossed even closer to the bridge, and just as I was about to step onto it I felt a new cold darkness sweep in. Rowan met my gaze, and I gave her a nod. It was the Dark Fae Lord.
Doing a half spin, I looked all around the park and the adjoining water, and saw no one. Nix screeched in the sky and I was reminded that our familiars were doing patrol. I connected to Finn.
Anything out there, buddy?
His reply was instant. Negative. And Nix says the sky is clear. All areas of the perimeter are secure. But I sense a dark energy coming from the lake.
Shit.
Be careful. I’ll be there in a moment. He ended our mental conversation.
I turned my attention to the lake. “He’s in the water,” I murmured to those around me.
All of us took a step forward, the icy water lapping close to our feet. I wasn’t sure who saw it first, but as soon as the water’s ripples grew in size, all of us were paying close attention. The dark energy was getting stronger. I let out a yell as two horns broke the lake’s surface.