by Leia Stone
I could barely contain my excitement. “Where does he live?”
Marmal put her hands out. “He’s not pure troll. He’s Ithaki, half troll and half fey.”
And the hope bubble popped like a balloon. I wasn’t exactly on the Ithaki’s nice list right now. If I had to trek back into the Wild Lands and look for this dude, I was going to be pissed, especially after our attack.
“But he lives here. Doesn’t like the Ithaki and is a loner type,” she added.
And the hope was alive again. She should have started with that!
“Where?” I stepped closer, hoping she could see the desperation in my eyes.
She took in a deep breath. “I can draw you a map of the general area. I know he’s in a place called South Hill, but not which cottage is his. It’s a day’s journey there and back.”
I nodded. It was almost nightfall. We could leave first thing in the morning to go see him! “And in that time you’ll find a way for us to break the animals out so you can come save Sawyer with me?” I really wanted us to be on the same page. I wasn’t leaving here without her.
She grinned, nodding. “The day after tomorrow is Pearl’s harvesting day. They let her out of the cage to get scales and nail clippings and … blood. I’ll … I’ll figure out a way to get her free then.”
My heart pinched at the mention of a fucking harvest day. Those bastards. I loved the name Pearl; it was perfect for her.
“My friend Sage came with me. We can help you get Pearl and all of the others out,” I promised, then gestured to my redheaded bestie, who waved through the trees.
Marmal waved back; tears lined her eyes as she pulled me in for another hug. “I can’t believe you came for me.”
I would have come a lot sooner had I known the shit situation she was in. “Always,” I promised.
When she pulled away, she pointed to my face. “Stop in a village and ask for a bridal veil before you see Seam—that’s the Ithaki. I only know his first name. But if he knows who you are, he’ll probably just turn you in for the bounty. Troll brides wear a full face veil in public for an entire month before the wedding, only taking it off on their wedding night.”
I nodded. “I will.”
“He’ll want a big payment. Gold or precious stones,” she told me. “I heard him telling the guys he used to be a jeweler and was asking around for work. He’s known for finding precious stones and that sort of thing.”
Panic seized me at that. I didn’t have gold or precious stones. I had some seeds. I’d been gone for so long, and with the wolves being in the bunker … I wasn’t sure we had any money left. My husband was a billionaire, but I had no access to those accounts … but then my fingers went to the chain around my neck. My engagement ring. I’d put it on a necklace right before our journey. It would kill me to give this away, but if it helped Sawyer, it was worth it.
Marmal came down to where we had the horses tied and met Sage, quickly drawing a map to South Hill. There were some shops on the way where I could get a bridal veil. I thanked her and promised to be back by tomorrow night. We could sleep in the woods and then plan her escape the very next day.
Sage and I decided to push through the rest of today and get to Seam’s village. We could stay at an inn or camp out in the woods. That way we wouldn’t be rushed with him tomorrow, and could be back here tomorrow by nightfall.
Then it would be another day to get Marmal and her animals out…
I was cutting it pretty close given that Magic City Prison had given Sawyer seven days to live. But I didn’t need to be early, I just need to get there in time.
The half day’s trek to South Hill put us there way past nightfall. Sage and I got the bridal veil I’d needed by trading seeds right on the troll border, and then we found an inn for the night. We tied up the horses and then brought our dinner up to the room we’d rented, before scarfing it down.
The innkeeper took one look at my full face veil and asked if I was traveling to see my new husband, and I’d just nodded, which seemed to satisfy him. We were on the border of troll and fey lands and I’d seen a mix of both races. He took one look at Sage, inhaled, and then asked where I’d found her.
“Housemaid,” I’d said, and again that seemed to satisfy him.
That night Sage and I lay snuggled in bed together and I allowed myself to think about Creek. I’d purposely not thought about my son this entire time because I’d wanted to stay focused. I wanted to be strong for Sawyer, but…
A tear slipped free and I wiped it away with the back of my hand.
Sage frowned, lying on her side, facing me. “You miss Sawyer?”
I nodded. “Also Creek.”
Agony flitted across her face. “Me too. I miss the little squeaky sounds he makes when he sleeps.”
I grinned, feeling better after talking about it to someone. “I love the way he smells.”
Sage nodded. “Except when he poops.”
We both laughed until tears leaked from our eyes. Finally, I just stared up at the ceiling until I drifted off to sleep.
‘Demi!’ Sawyer’s voice in my head woke me from a deep sleep. My mind was foggy and my limbs were heavy with exhaustion. I looked around the room half expecting to see him before I remembered our current situation.
‘I’m here,’ I told him, shaking the last bits of fogginess from my brain.
‘I miss you.’ His voice was raw, yearning. I hadn’t expected that. He seemed less rushed this time and I relaxed, lying back into the pillow.
‘I miss you. So fucking much.’ My throat tightened.
‘They have a shield which keeps us from talking, but my warlock friend is able to take it down sometimes so he can contact his coven.’
So we didn’t know how long we had. I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. ‘Sawyer … I … a year. I’m so sorry.’
I’d told him three days and I was a gone a year. That realization killed me.
‘Are you crazy? You being gone this whole time has been a blessing. It’s the only thing that kept me sane. It gave me hope you were still alive and the vampires hadn’t gotten to you. Tell me something about your time in the woods, about Creek, I want to know everything.’
I guess that was a good point about being safe from the vampires. ‘I … can’t believe I had our baby in the woods and Sage delivered him in a cabin with no electricity.’
I could almost feel Sawyer smiling. ‘You’re amazing. Was the birth okay, or traumatic?’
I considered that question. What birth wasn’t traumatic to some degree? I had nothing to compare it to, but from what I knew it was pretty textbook. ‘Normal. I had to carry around his placenta in a bowl because we were too scared to cut it.’
He laughed, a deep throaty laugh that reverberated in my head and made me miss him so much it physically hurt. It felt like a weight sat on my chest and pinched my heart. ‘I gotta get you a push present when I get out.’
I giggled and looked at Sage to make sure she was still sleeping. ‘How do you know what a push present is?’
‘They let us watch human movies in here,’ Sawyer said.
I played with the ring at the chain on my throat. ‘Tell me about your past year. Walsh is there?’
‘Yeah, the idiot followed me in here. I don’t deserve him.’
I nodded, staring at a sleeping Sage, and wondered what I did to deserve her.
‘Is it … rough in there?’ I asked. I mean regular prison was rough, I couldn’t imagine prison with supernaturals who could kick your ass with magic.
He was quiet, like he wasn’t sure he wanted to say anything.
‘Sawyer. Tell me.’ I couldn’t feel much through our bond. Either he was tightening it up or some magic wasn’t letting things through.
‘I’m surviving,’ he finally said. ‘They make us all wear the cuffs you grew up with. The ones that cause pain if you try to shift.’ There was shame in his voice and I knew he felt guilty at knowing I wore those nearly every day of my life for over
twenty years.
‘I’m sorry,’ I told him honestly. Keeping your wolf at bay for a year sucked, especially for an alpha. ‘Are there many fights?’
I suddenly felt protective of my man and I wanted to know what he’d been dealing with.
‘Every day,’ he finally answered. ‘But I’ve created my own little pack in here. Don’t worry about me. Focus on keeping yourself safe. Keeping our baby safe.’
It sounded like Sawyer had created some little pack gang to survive prison. My, my, how things had changed. I frowned at his telling me to just focus on keeping myself and Creek safe. ‘I’m focused on getting you out of there. I’m in Dark Fey Territory right now, meeting a guy named Seam who broke out of Magic City Prison ten years ago.’
Something spiked through our bond. Fear. ‘You’re in Dark Fey lands? Where’s Creek? The packs?’
I wanted to roll my eyes, but then remembered what it felt like to be in the woods for a year cut off from all information. Sawyer knew nothing about what had been going on. ‘Creek is with my mom and they are all in Paladin Village with both of our packs. Everyone is safe because I’m an alpha and I’m good at my job.’ I all but growled at my man.
‘Damn, you’re sexy when you’re mad,’ Sawyer said, and I could almost see him grinning, which lightened my mood. ‘You’re right, you know what you’re doing. I just hate not being there.’
I could imagine, especially for an alpha. ‘I got everything covered. Including getting you out of prison,’ I told him.
‘Seam you said? That guy’s a legend here.’
‘Yep. Him.’ I brightened knowing he recognized the guy.
‘Demi, that is a really good plan … but that dude broke out before they went all high-tech with the place. There is literally no way you can get me out of here, my love. Not without alerting half the magical community.’ He was quiet. ‘Demi, I’ve seen Queen Drake here. I’ve heard them talk about me, asking if they thought I was talking to anyone or passing notes to Walsh about you. They are waiting for you.’
Anger flared up inside of me. ‘Fuck Queen Drake, I just stabbed that bitch in the shoulder a few nights ago. Sawyer, I need you to believe in me. I need you to be ready to blow that joint, because I’m coming whether you like it or not.’
He was silent for too long, so long I thought I’d lost him. Maybe our connection was lost and his warlock friend couldn’t bring down the signal jammer anymore or whatever. Just when I was ready to fall back asleep, he spoke again.
‘You’re sexy when you’re plotting prison breaks. I’ll be ready. I love you.’
‘I love you too,’ I said, grinning, and then suddenly the connection was broken. I felt Sawyer leave me, taking his familiar presence with him.
I lay back on the bed, staring up at the peeling plaster ceiling, and sighed.
Love made you crazy, made you do insane things, but if I could rewind to that day at Delphi where Sawyer and I first met, I wouldn’t take it back. I wouldn’t take any of this back. I loved the person that loving Sawyer had made me. I was a strong woman, an alpha, a mother. None of that I would have known if he hadn’t found me and broken me out of my Delphi prison, out of my cuffs. Now it was time for me to return the favor.
I tossed and turned after talking to Sawyer until finally morning light came. After washing up and having breakfast, I slipped into my troll bridal veil and we set out for Seam’s house. We asked a grumpy female dark fey from South Hill where Seam the Ithaki lived and she just pointed to a tiny blue cabin on the top of the hill and grunted.
The horses made slow work of going up the hill, so much so I was tempted to just tie them up at the bottom and walk up, but I wasn’t sure if they would be stolen. When we finally reached a set of rusted steel gates, I stared at the sign tied to the gate. The paint was peeling, but I could make out the words clearly. Get out, it read.
I looked at Sage.
“I can’t see your face right now, but I’m guessing you don’t like the sign.” Sage tried to peer through the tiny dots poked in the cream cotton veil and see my expression.
“Correct. Don’t like it one bit. We have no idea what kind of dude this might be. Should I have my wolf come out and walk in with us?”
She tapped her chin. “That’s threatening. We need to seem meek. If we get into trouble you can yank your cuffs off and we’ll fight our way out.”
I nodded. That was a decent plan. It would lead the vampires to us, but decent.
“Here goes nothing, then.” I stepped up to the gate and reached out to grasp the handle. The second my fingers touched the cool metal, a shock ripped through my arm and I yanked it back with a yelp.
“Motherfucker!” I screamed.
It was electrified!
“What do you want?” a deep, ominous voice called out from somewhere in the bushes.
Shit.
I spun, looking at the bush, and then relaxed a little when I saw a speaker. It was very untroll-like to have what Marmal referred to as “demon technology,” but I was guessing this Ithaki was more fey-like. Dark fey, I had to remind myself. The bad ones.
I stepped closer to the bush. “I want to give you this fat shiny diamond in exchange for information,” I called back, pulling the ring from my hand and holding it up to the house. I’d moved it from my necklace to my wedding finger this morning. I saw a curtain move and then the gate opened with a loud creak.
Gotcha.
Greed was good. I could work with that.
We left the horses tied to the bottom gatepost and headed up the driveway on foot. The house was in major disrepair, which was a good sign that he needed money. This boded well for him taking my ring in exchange for information. The blue siding was warped and the roof was metal but rusted. The place was definitely not well taken care of, that was for sure.
By the time we reached the front door, it stood open and a tall man lurked in the entryway. His hair was white and hung halfway down his back; he had small cheek tusks and pointy fey ears. He didn’t look like a dark fey. In fact, he looked very much like he was half light-fey. His white hair and crisp blue eyes were telltale signs … but then why live here? Among the evil?
He was slender and tall, definitely more fey than troll in stature. One long arm hung to his side and another shorter arm, missing the hand, he held to his chest.
“Jewel?” He held out his good hand.
“Information first.” I tucked the ring into my palm.
He rolled his eyes. “Obviously, but I need to see the jewel to make sure it’s real.”
I pulled the ring off my finger, saying a silent goodbye, and held it out to him. He reached out and extended a bony finger toward me. The nails were sharpened to points and painted black. Maybe a disguise so he would fit in with the other fey in town.
I was suddenly wondering what he did to land himself in Magic City Prison. Snaking the ring from my hand, he held it up to the light, grinning.
Pointed teeth.
Okay … he was part dark fey … good thing I was under this veil because I couldn’t control my reactions right now.
“Five carats?” He pulled out a magnifying glass.
I stepped forward. “Uh, I guess so. It’s worth at least a hundred grand,” I guessed.
Sage sidled next to me. “Half a million. It’s colorless, flawless, and round cut by a master jeweler in Paris.”
I could see the physical greed come over Seam at Sage’s words. His eyes practically glittered as he rolled the gem in his hand.
Half a million! Whoa. I looked at my bestie with surprise.
“I helped him pick it out.” She winked at me.
The man handed me the ring and I shoved it back on my finger. “What knowledge do you require for such an impressive payment?”
I took in a deep breath. “I need to know how to break someone out of Magic City Prison.”
The Ithaki considered me for a long moment, just staring at me through the holes in my veil. “Fine. It’s your funeral.”
&
nbsp; “I’ll need you to give me your word, sir. You will give me all of the information you have on Magic City Prison, including maps of the buildings, in exchange for this ring.” I held up my hand.
He was fey and I knew with fey that words were important.
He smirked, crossing his arms. “I promise to give you all of the information I have on Magic City Prison, including maps of the buildings in exchange for that ring.” He pointed to my hand and I relaxed a little. “Oh, and you can take off the veil. I know who you are and that you’ve come to try and break out Sawyer Hudson.” Then he turned on his heel and walked into the house.
Sage went rigid beside me and I froze, looking at her in shock.
Shit.
How did he know?
“Come along!” he shouted, and we scrambled inside after him.
Well, no sense wearing this sweaty thing if he knew who I was already.
I ripped off the veil and gasped for air as a cool breeze touched my skin. Sage stared at me and I shrugged. We still had our plan that if things got shady I could rip off my cuffs and fight him.
The fey walked deeper into the foyer, to a set of glass doors that led to a garden, and turned to face us. The second he laid eyes on my veil-less face, the color drained from his complexion and his gaze flicked to a picture on the entry table.
I followed his gaze and saw a photo with a younger Seam. A little girl was perched on his shoulder. She had the same white-blond hair as him.
“I don’t have all day,” he snapped, and opened the doors, stepping out into the garden.
I tore my gaze from the photo, wondering where the little girl was now. She was clearly his daughter, they looked so much alike. Sage and I ran through the dingy foyer with peeling paint walls and warped wood floors before following him into the courtyard outside. There was a large table set up with a steaming hot teacup and a plate of food. We’d interrupted his breakfast.
“How did you know?” I asked him, taking in the courtyard and looking for exits in case he attacked. There was a white picket fence only three feet high that I could easily climb over. There were also dozens of beautiful rose bushes that dotted the edge of the red brick patio. The outside garden had clearly been maintained, whereas the inside had been left to rot.