"What the fuck?" Rob muttered. He stepped closer, touching the stone, making sure the archway was real and not just a figment of our imaginations.
We circled it. There was nothing on the back side. No flashing lights, just an empty archway leading to more forest. Then we came back around to the front again, and the room beyond the Ley reappeared.
"How is this possible?" I asked them breathlessly.
I mean, I was pretty fucking sure this was, like, another dimension or something. Either way there was definitely magic involved. How else could a random door appear in the forest and lead to nowhere and yet somewhere all at once?
Suddenly, a man walked past the archway, pointing up ahead as if he were talking to someone. "Hold that thought, I’ll be right back."
We dove into the bushes as he backpedaled, stopping in front of the archway and gazing out into. Was he looking out into the Ley? It sure as fuck looked like it. His eyes narrowed and he sniffed, as if he’d somehow caught a whiff of us on the breeze.
What. The. Fuck?
"Dion? Did you leave the door open again?"
A voice replied, but it was muffled beneath the sound of the music and the chatter of the party.
The man in the archway shook his head and stepped closer to us. I gasped and ducked even further beneath the bushes for cover. He poked his head through the archway, over into our side of the magical fucking barrier, and suddenly I couldn’t breathe. He looked left, then right, pausing for just a moment before grabbing onto an invisible doorknob.
"Next time, remember to shut the fucking door."
And he did just that.
In the blink of an eye, the archway turned into nothing more than empty stone with no noise, lights, or people beyond the frame. The Ley became visible once more between the stones, and the mist that crawled so heavily at the forest floor began to dissipate.
"What the fuck was that?" Dan whisper-shouted, jabbing a finger at the arch.
"Was that shit even real?" I asked, unable to believe what I’d seen. "You guys saw it too, right? A room, a person, music, lights..."
Rob nodded, his expression hard like he was ready for a fight should the door reopen.
The mist retreated even further, vanishing from the ground and evaporating into thin air. Suddenly the atmosphere seemed... normal, like any other forest. It was a strange shift of the ambiance, almost as if something had changed on an energetic level, something too small for me to see, but strong enough to feel.
"You don’t think the guys are in there, do you?" Dan asked, glaring at the arch.
"They fucking better not be," Rob decided in a growl, "because we just lost our shot at getting them out."
"Or did we?" I asked, approaching the arch hesitantly, as if it were a living creature capable of striking. I felt around, trying to grasp a handle or a knob, or possibly even contact the physical wood of the door even though I couldn’t see it, but my hand went right through. In fact, I took a few steps forward... and I went right through as if there was never anything on the other side.
"Surely they wouldn’t have gone in. Ben’s too smart for that, right?" Dan asked.
"Right," Rob and I agreed. I just had to hope Cal and Ash were smart enough to listen to him.
"Maybe they didn’t even come this way," I said, dragging my nails through my hair nervously. "We should keep looking."
Rob shot a final glance at the darkened archway and shook his head. "Yeah, let’s just... keep looking."
We wandered around for another hour or so, no freaking clue where we were or where we were going. It was impossible to know where the guys might’ve been and equally as impossible to find our way back to Shelly’s camp. A lump formed in my throat and slowly sank to the pit of my stomach. We were lost. Lost in the Ley. People could get misplaced forever in these woods, and no one would even realize they were gone. Who would ever find us? And how would we ever find them?
A soft snapping sound caught my ear in the distance, like an animal stepping on a twig. More snaps followed, suggesting the creature was running rather than walking. Then more crackles and pops as if there was more than one creature. Finally, Cal, Ben, and Ash came into view as they dashed toward us through the woods.
"What’s going on?" Cal shouted. "Are you hurt?"
The three of us darted over to meet them in the middle, taking turns wrapping each other in tight hugs. "No, we’re not hurt. Are you?"
They shook their heads, confused.
Cal glanced at Ben and Ash before turning back to us. "The blood bond... it pulled on us. It was as if you were in physical pain. We were terrified."
I nodded. "It happened to us too. We thought maybe you’d been attacked by the chimeras again."
Cal shook his head and held up a sapling in his hand. It was only about three feet tall and maybe an inch wide. The crescent-shaped leaves dotting the top of the branches were tiny and more of a pale blue than a midnight. Then Ben and Ash did the same, holding up their own saplings.
"We had no trouble at all," Cal said, tucking his lips in as he shook his head. "I don’t understand. What the hell does this mean?"
Dan shook his head and crossed his arms. "I vote we just get these trees to Eristan and get the hell back to Blackwood as fast as possible. We’ll deal with figuring this blood bond shit out later."
"Agreed," Rob chimed in.
Cal glanced around and pointed in the direction they’d come. "Shelly’s hut is this way. Let’s grab the demons and get out of here."
My brows furrowed. "How do you know the hut is that way?"
It used to be damn near impossible to tell.
Cal looked around, nodding; then his eyes met mine once more. "I don’t know. I can just tell. It’s like my sense of direction has come back and things suddenly seem clearer. Speaking of clear, where is the strange mist?"
We filled them in on the weird archway we’d found and the even weirder events that happened beyond the frame, explaining that once the invisible door had been shut, the mist had disappeared.
"The mist was magic," Ben decided at once. "Whatever that doorway had led to, it left our world open to receiving magic in return. Now that the door is shut, the magic is gone."
My blood went cold. "What do you mean the magic is gone?"
Ben quickly reached for a twig and turned it into a striped fruit that fit in the palm of his hand, exhaling in relief. "Not all magic is gone, but... the magic that influenced this place? The entire Lunaley? It’s gone."
Oh fuck. We needed the magic in order to save the fae. If the magic was gone, then...
"Son of a bitch," Cal ground out, yanking at his golden hair in frustration. "We need to get that door back open."
I shook my head, as if in a daze. "We can’t. I tried. It’s like it was never even there."
Suddenly, a chimera perched on a branch above our heads, shrieking at the top of its lungs and filling me with dread. Its call alerted another chimera, a bigger one with a shaggy brown mane, which landed on a branch across the way.
Oh shit. Mommy and Daddy are about to get revenge.
I pulled out my ax and prepared to fight, but Cal shook his head quickly.
"Just run!" he shouted, and our whole group scampered through the brush as fast as our legs could go.
My feet caught and tangled in tiny vines and bushes, but I somehow managed to stumble and remain upright. Cal was in the lead, and I was last. Ash and Dan each grabbed one of my arms and pulled me forward, tugging me through the trees far faster than I could have gone on my own. But it still wasn’t enough.
The male chimera swooped down up ahead and slashed Cal from behind, knocking him to the ground in a tumbling mess of brambles and blood.
The female had apparently chosen me, the weakest one, as her target. I raised my ax and swung at her as she moved in on me, but even though I made contact, it didn’t stop her attack. I turned and ran once more, but she caught me in an instant. Pain laced up my spine, white hot and maddening, as her claws
tore through me. I crashed to the ground, cringing as thorny bushes cut my face and my mouth filled with dirt, cutting off my screams.
Poison flooded my bloodstream—an extra potent dose. They were seeking revenge, after all, so it made perfect sense. As it coursed through me, my vision wavered and my hearing muffled. My skin went cold, and my nerve endings went numb. All I could taste was the muddy dirt coating my tongue, and all I could smell was the iron tinge of my own blood on the air.
I didn’t know how far the others might have gotten. Had they turned back to help Cal and me? Had they stopped to fight? I didn’t know how long I lay there before darkness claimed me.
But claim me, it did.
Chapter 21
CHRISSEN
During our carriage ride, Father and I chatted about everything under the sun.
What my life had been like growing up, what my mother was up to nowadays, funny childhood stories I recalled, and my future hopes and dreams. I didn’t mention it was my greatest aspiration to become a prince of Blackwood—I didn’t want him to think I was fishing for a crown; though, truth be told, I really did want the prestige. Being a prince was the most admirable occupation I could hope for, and I knew I would do the title justice if it ever bore my name.
After an hour or so of driving around, he knocked on the window and the carriage rolled to a stop.
I looked through the glass, noticing we were still in the middle of the woods. Perhaps he’d had enough of talking to me and we were turning around? But then the carriage door was pulled open by a servant, and my father gestured for me to step out. Maybe he simply needed to stretch his legs after sitting for so long?
I exited the carriage, trying my best not to frown as I scanned the empty forest around me. There was something decidedly unsettling about this situation. Had I read the signs all wrong? Was he not pleased with having another son after all?
"Are you magical?" he asked me with a cunning smile.
I glanced from left to right, watching as his guards crept closer, surrounding us. "Magical, Your Majesty?"
"I told you already, call me Father. That’s who I am, right? Your father?"
I hesitated, afraid to somehow say the wrong thing. "Yes, you are my father."
He nodded, then folded his hands behind his back and paced around in front of me. "Here’s the thing, Chrissen. All my sons have been blessed by the gods, a sure sign of their divine right to rule. If you have magical godlike powers too, then I would have no hesitation in making you a legitimate prince of Blackwood. My other sons are on a mission in the east anyway, and who knows when or if they’ll come back alive? It would be nice to have another successor—just in case."
My mouth was dry as cotton. I was scared to death to ask, but I needed to know the alternative. "And if I don’t have magical, godlike powers?"
Because there was no doubt in my mind—I fucking didn’t.
He sighed and stopped pacing. "Then you’re just another bastard dog, clawing at my robes and begging for scraps. I don’t tolerate strays, Chrissen. I put them down."
The king nodded, and pain suddenly exploded in my left side, hot as a molten metal. I dropped to my knees and clutched at my side, trying to stem the ache, surprised to find blood pouring over top of my fingers. It dripped down my nice white pants, the stain growing larger by the second.
I turned left, staring in numb shock at the bloody dagger clutched in one of the guard’s gloved hands.
My world shifted, and I lost balance and focus, crashing to the dirt before the king’s feet. My lungs burned, and my heart thudded wildly, growing weaker by the second. My skin turned freezing cold all the way down to my bones, and I shivered convulsively. I was losing strength and losing consciousness...
The king sneered and spun on his heel. "Dump him in the woods."
So, this was it. The moment I’d been waiting for my whole life... come and gone in one disgusting moment of disappointment and regret.
I supposed it was my own fault. I should have been more content with what I had: a roof over my head, plenty of food to eat, a metalsmith shop of my own with men who respected me, and a mother who loved me and raised me well.
Now, I had nothing.
My eyes fell shut. But just before I blacked out, something strange overwhelmed me. A rush of air gusted into my lungs, and my heart rate picked up, growing in force. The pain in my side diminished to a dull ache, and the icy cold in my veins melted. I pushed onto my feet and fought off the guards with more strength than I had even before I’d been stabbed.
It was... a fucking miracle.
The king stopped walking and turned back around, eyeing me with a gaze sharp as steel. "Lift his shirt."
Before I could blink, the same guard who’d stabbed me was ripping my shirt from my back, the expensive blue garment nothing more than a tattered piece of cloth at my feet. I glanced down to where the stab wound had been.
Yes. Had been. Past tense. Because to my sheer and utter disbelief, the wound was now completely healed. A shiny white scar and the drying rusty blood on my skin and pants were the only indication that I’d been stabbed at all.
The Storm King smiled wickedly.
"Send for his mother," he said to a guard. "It’s time for a new addition to the harem."
Then he turned to me, his evil smile widening further, lending a madness to his eyes. "Welcome to the family, Prince Chrissen."
Chapter 22
ALEXIS
I awoke with a start on the cold, sandstone floor of the Eristani palace.
The palace?
I glanced around, surprised to find at least twelve sets of eyes looking down on me from every angle.
"She’s awake," King Solomon muttered with a bright white smile. "Thank the gods."
The features of four Storms came into focus then, along with a beady-eyed sloth who must’ve been Ash. I also saw Princess Camilla and five men I didn’t recognize who had strangely vacant expressions on their faces.
I sat up, rubbing my temples as they throbbed with the force of a sudden and massive headache. "What... what happened?"
"After the chimeras attacked us," Cal explained, "a few of the king’s soldiers found us lying in the woods. They brought us back to their camp, where—" He paused, as if trying to find the proper way to say what he needed to. "—these five Eristani gentlemen escorted us back to the palace."
My gaze slid to the five strangers staring into the distance, and suddenly it clicked. Hugh, Larry, Bob, Kel, and Sue had possessed a handful of bodies in order to remain unnoticed.
Fucking hell, it was creepy.
He must not have wanted to mention what they truly were in front of King Solomon. Maybe demons and harpies didn’t get along well? Honestly, the harpies only seemed to get along with chimeras, and I knew from personal experience how fucking friendly and pleasant they were. I supposed the two were made for each other.
"Well, thank the gods we’re all alive," I muttered, accepting Ben and Dan’s hands as I struggled to my feet. Then I bent down and scooped up Speedy, snuggling him under my chin for emotional support.
"There’s more," Cal said, swallowing hard.
Fear instantly gripped me, cutting off the wind to my lungs, and I swayed a bit where I stood.
"Let's discuss this in a more appropriate location," King Solomon suggested. "Can you walk?"
I wasn't sure, but I nodded anyway.
He led us to the throne room, where he immediately made himself comfortable in his massive sandstone chair. Pillows were brought out for the rest of us to sit on, and I was grateful for the reprieve from standing. I'd only just become conscious; I wasn't ready to trek all over the palace on wobbly legs. Sweat was already beading on my brow from that cute little journey, and my stomach was rolling.
The king then nodded to Cal, permitting him to continue whatever the hell he'd started to say back in the medical wing.
"It took a week for these five to get us back to Eristan," Cal said nervously, "and anothe
r two weeks after that for us to wake up."
My eyes went wide as dread and realization hit me like a hammer to the chest. If three weeks had passed—three real weeks, outside of the Lunaley—then we were already out of time to finish the Storm King’s task.
"Your fevers raged for days," King Solomon added. "I thought you were as good as dead, but you held on. Strong as monsoons, you Storms are." He smiled wide and pointed at Ben. "Which is why I insist upon you marrying my daughter."
Every eye in the room went wide—even Camilla’s and the mostly vacant demons’.
Ben pressed a hand into his chest. "Me?"
King Solomon laughed as if the Sand Prince had just told a hilarious fucking joke. "Yes, you! Who else would be deserving of my desert flower? No one, that’s who. Except maybe your brother." He gestured to Rob, who’s gray eyes also went wide.
"Father, I must object—" Camilla started in a nervous voice, but King Solomon cut her off.
"Nonsense. Refusal is out of the question. I shall begin preparations for the wedding tonight!"
"Tonight?" I choked out, finally finding my voice. "Your Highness, that’s impossible."
"Nothing is impossible for a king," he said, staring down at me from the bridge of his nose, a look of contempt surfacing in his dark eyes.
"Actually, this really is," Camilla argued, trying once more to talk some sense into her father. "They’re blood bonded. Physically, mentally, and magically unable to commit to anyone other than each other. I..." She glanced down at the floor. "I experienced it firsthand."
"What do you mean?" King Solomon’s voice was harsh, his lips set in a thin line as he turned to stare at his daughter. "Experienced it how?"
I could tell she really didn’t want to say. "A lightning bolt."
His eyes went wide, filling to the brim with fury. He spun on us. "You attacked my daughter? With magic? After I specifically commanded you not to? Guards!"
Stormy Nights (Storms of Blackwood Book 2) Page 18