“Where’s Timothy?” Tennessee asked, his voice low and rough.
Fresh tears rained down my soulmate’s face. “He fell,” she whispered.
I opened my mouth to speak, but the tunnel exploded with white light. The tunnel disappeared. The vines and leaves vanished into thin air. In the blink of an eye, everything changed. We were back in a forest, though it wasn’t quite the same as the one we’d been in before the tunnel. The ground was covered in a lush, vibrant green grass. The massive tree branches sprawling over our heads belonged on some southern plantation.
A man’s boisterous laugh echoed and bounced between the trees.
I spun toward the sound, and my breath left me in a rush. About two dozen people watched us in stoic silence. The man laughing wasn’t a man at all. He was without a doubt a fairy. He had deep red hair that fell in wild waves down to his elbows. His eyes were the color of hot embers in a fireplace, and they shined just as bright. His skin was porcelain pale and his features were too pretty to be a human male. Pointed ears stuck out under an elaborate crown made of twigs and flowers.
He threw his head back and laughed, clapping his hands at the same time. “What. A. Show.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
TENNESSEE
My heart sank like a rock down into my gut as the red-haired fairy laughed and applauded us. I hugged Tegan closer to my chest. She squeezed my arm so tight I was bound to have a bruise. I didn’t care. I just needed to know she was there without looking down at her.
Because there was no chance I was taking my eyes off our new audience.
We stood in the center of a ring of trees. Neon-green light shimmered through the branches. There was so much energy pumping through the ground my legs buzzed. In front of us there had to be two dozen pairs of eyes and pointed ears staring at us like we were roadkill. But it was the two fairies wearing ornate crowns that made my blood turn to ice.
I wasn’t sure which one terrified me more.
The male with long red hair and glowing orange eyes carried that wild energy I always associated with the Fae. His laugh sounded like birds chirping. His smile reminded me of a crazed toddler. He could only be one person…the Seelie Prince. I’d heard stories about him. I knew to watch carefully. I knew to fear him.
But it was his sister sitting silently beside him that made me want to crawl under a rock and tuck my tail between my legs. The Seelie Princess. Little was known about her. She rarely made herself seen. The rumors gave me nightmares as a child. Queen Sweyn had lounged lazily on her throne like a leopard taking a nap. But the princess sat tall and terrible against her throne of thorns.
She was painfully beautiful. Everything about her was mesmerizing. She had wild hair that varied in shades of blue, purple, and turquoise. Her skin was lusciously tan. Her eyes met mine, and I heard myself gasp. They were unlike anything I’d ever seen. Her eyes held a galaxy of colors that glittered just like the Milky Way.
I wrapped my other arm around Tegan and soaked in the heat rolling off of her. I’d never been more thankful or relieved to have a soulmate. My heart was irrevocably hers, but the magic radiating out of the Seelie Princess would’ve melted a weaker man.
“Come, intruders,” the Seelie Prince said between laughs and sat on his throne beside his sister. “Let us discuss.”
Intruders? Tegan said into my mind. This is not gonna go well. Following you here, babe.
I took a deep breath to try and calm my racing heart. Cassandra had always warned me to be charming and polite when dealing with the Fae. I wished she were with us to meet them now. I pulled my arms off Tegan then stepped forward with only her fingers interlocked with mine. I peeked behind me to make sure my Coven-mates followed.
The prince raised his palm for us to stop. He cocked his head to the side and eyed us with sharp, glowing orange eyes. “I am Prince Thorne of the Seelie Court. This is my sister, Princess Sage.”
I licked my lips. Here goes nothing. “I am—”
“I know who you are, Emperor.” Prince Thorne looked to his sister. “Don’t we, sister?”
Princess Sage stared at me and arched one dark eyebrow. “Probably more than he does, brother.”
My pulse quickened.
“It is the beauty whom you cling so desperately to and her fiery other half that I am intrigued to know.” Prince Thorne crossed one leg over the other. “I hoped I’d have the chance to encounter you, but little did I know you’d break your way into my home. The Queen of Darkness and her evil twin.”
They knew way too much for my comfort.
Tegan bowed her head. “Prince and Princess, it is an honor to meet you.”
“You lie.” Thorne leaned forward and grinned. “And you do it so well. It’s…invigorating.”
“Do not think to try your games with us, child,” Princess Sage snapped. She narrowed her galaxy eyes on my soulmate. “We are not as gullible as the demons you toyed with. The Aether Witch cannot enter our chamber simply because she can. There are rules.”
Prince Thorne placed his hand on top of his sister’s. “I would agree, though I found that performance in the tunnels most pleasurable. Therefore, I won’t kill you for entering our realm without proper invitation.”
“What happened to our friends?” Emersyn said with a growl.
My whole body tensed.
“Feisty. I like it,” Thorne whispered.
That’s my line, Tegan whispered into my mind. Although I suspected on accident.
“Everything has to eat,” Sage whispered and arched one eyebrow. She ran her long, slim fingers over the branches of her throne and turned her intoxicating eyes on me. “Tell us, Emperor, why are you here? What do you want?”
I felt my Coven-mates’ eyes on my back. My heart pounded. I took a deep breath then licked my lips. Be charming and cute, was what Cassandra always told me. I just wished I knew if I were doing it right. “I won’t dare offend you by telling you of the task we must complete in a few days’ time, as I’m positive you are already aware. Instead, I will tell you that we are in desperate need for the Earth Stone that was given to you many an era ago.”
Prince Thorne raised his eyebrows. “You seek the Earth Stone?”
“Yes. The Goddess gave it to you—”
“I am quite familiar, child. I was there when She gave it to us.” For the first time since we’d arrived, Prince Thorne looked angry and not at all human.
My cheeks flushed with heat that I prayed they took for embarrassment. “My apologies.”
“Be easy on him, brother. He is but a baby.” Sage’s voice was as soft as a lullaby. “A pretty one, too.”
Tegan squeezed my hand tighter. I don’t like the way she’s looking at you. We need to get out of here. Soon, please.
“They’re all quite pretty, dear sister. I wouldn’t mind keeping them for my collection.” Prince Thorne cocked his head to the side and eyed us like we were a dessert buffet. “Nevertheless, they’d be too feisty to play nice. Alas, you require the acquisition of the Earth Stone.”
“We simply need to borrow it,” I added softly. Not that I wanted to ever come anywhere near these tunnels or interim realm ever again. This collection of his sounded rather horrifying.
“The Seelie Court does not borrow, nor do we loan.” Prince Thorne pursed his perfectly plush lips. “You may have the Stone, if you agree to the deal we require.”
Here we go. We’d expected this part. For Earth’s Stone comes with a price. I took a deep breath and tried to keep my voice calm. “What type of deal did you have in mind?”
“Nothing like the type you gave to the dragons nor to the vampires.” Thorne smirked and it sent a shiver of fear down my spine. “Naturally.”
I do not like that they know all this, Tegan said into my head. Not for the first time I wished I could communicate back to her.
“Tell them what we require, brother. I am boring of this.”
“Very well.” Prince Thorne waved his hand. “If The Coven wishes to lea
ve with the Earth Stone, you must make an oath to allow one member of the Seelie Court permanent entrance to Earth. With it, you must exchange a physical object for the Stone itself. That, and only that, will give you what you want.”
I bit my cheek to stop myself from cursing out loud. I knew playing with the Fae would be dangerous. I knew the prophecy wasn’t lying by calling it the twisted dice. This was a game, and they knew how to play. The worst part was…we didn’t have a choice. The question was who did we give this access to? The Seelie King and Queen were absolutely out of the running. That would be as detrimental as failing to close the Gap by Samhain. Which meant these two siblings were our only options. Princess Sage unnerved me down to my core. There was a cold ruthlessness there that I didn’t want to set loose on the Sapiens. However, Prince Thorne was a different level of trouble. There were far too many unsuspecting women there for him to play with.
Not the prince, Tegan said in a rush in my mind. He’ll have a thousand children conceived by Samhain.
I smiled and tried not to laugh. Yet again, my soulmate’s thoughts echoed my own. I kept my eyes on the Seelie siblings and prayed I wasn’t about to condemn the world to destruction. “I will make an oath permitting Princess Sage the honor of entrance to our realm at her will. In exchange, I require that you make an oath that you will return all of us unharmed to where we came from in Salem, Massachusetts.”
I held my breath and waited for what felt like hours before Princess Sage turned and met her brother’s gaze. They stared at each other for a long moment, and then they both looked back to us.
“Deal. Let us exchange our oaths.” Prince Thorne grinned and stood. “Sister.”
Princess Sage uncrossed her long legs and got to her feet. Her long gown was covered in vibrant wildflowers. She sauntered over and stopped right in front of Tegan. “Make me a flower worthy of Earth’s power.”
I frowned. What the hell does that mean?
Tegan glanced to the left to where Royce stood at the far end of the group. He nodded and tapped the back of his hand twice. I scowled.
“Very well, Your Highness.” Tegan cupped her palms in front of her face. Rainbow mist swirled around her fingers. When she opened her hands, a familiar flower sat in her palms. It was a lotus flower, the petals black and brown spotted, and had shiny gold thorns growing out of the petals. “Will this do?”
It was the same exact flower we’d retrieved from the Sirens and gave to Leyka. The angel who was once Nephilim and somehow knew Myrtle, the Lead Crone, and our friend the fairy, Saffie. He also somehow knew Keltie. And marked Tegan and I worthy of entering the Garden of Eden. Every time we turned around, this guy wiggled his way into our lives, one way or another.
Princess Sage’s eyes sparkled with delight. The constellation of stars in her irises shined brighter than the sun. She grinned and for a brief moment she looked as human as any of us. But then her smile vanished, and that coldness swept back over her features. She reached up to the diadem hanging over her forehead and pulled the green crystal out from the center of it. She rolled it between her fingers, and a soft yellow-green glow radiated from inside it.
Prince Thorne moved to stand in front of me and beside his sister. “The Earth Stone for Earth’s access. High Priestess, make your oath known.”
Tegan glanced up at me then quickly looked away. Wait, there’s a certain way I have to say this, right?
I leaned forward and pressed my lips to her ear, like I was giving her a kiss. I whispered just for her to hear, “I promise on a bed of rose thorns.”
Tegan cleared her throat and held her hand out between her and Princess Sage. The lotus flower sat perfectly in her palm. “We promise on a bed of rose thorns that Princess Sage of the Seelie Court may use this gifted lotus flower to grant her access to Earth whenever she pleases.”
Prince Thorne grinned like the Cheshire cat. He turned to his sister and nodded his head. “Princess Sage, make your oath known.”
She lowered her palm, and the Earth Stone glistened against the dark color of her skin. “We promise on a sea of spider lilies to return all of you unharmed to the place in which you came from in Salem, Massachusetts.”
Rainbow mist swirled around the flower as it lifted into the air above Tegan’s hand. That same neon-green glow from the tunnel twirled around the Earth Stone.
Princess Sage held her left hand out. Tegan shook it without hesitation. Silver light flashed from between their palms then disappeared.
Tegan’s rainbow mist shot over to the Earth Stone and coiled around it. Tegan gasped and snatched it out of the air. Princess Sage chuckled and took the lotus flower between her fingers. She raised it up to her diadem. When she pulled her hands away, the flower hung from the silver metal, right in the center of her forehead where the Stone had been.
Prince Thorne clapped his hands together, and a glowing green square popped up beside us. He gestured toward it with a smile that made the hairs on my arms stand tall. “Our word. Your portal. I trust you know by now how to walk through it.”
I nodded my head then turned toward the portal. My only concern was getting out with that Stone before the Seelie siblings tried something. Because that went way, way too easily. And fast. I squeezed Tegan’s hand and pulled her along with me as I stepped in the portal.
Tegan leaned in and whispered, “Did we really just get away with that?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
TEGAN
At the very last second, as Tennessee and I stepped through the portal, I glanced over my shoulder. Prince Thorne’s tight-lipped smile and sparkling orange eyes made my stomach turn. The green light washed over me, drowning me with such brightness that I had to bury my face in Tennessee’s shoulder. Pain shot through my eyes. I didn’t know why their light affected me so much. It was unnerving and disorienting. I squeezed Tenn’s hand as hard as I could just to feel anchored to something.
The light faded. The cold chill running down my spine vanished. I took a deep breath and smelled the leather of Tennessee’s jacket…and something else. I frowned and pulled my face away. Everything around me was blurry and dark. We were in Salem, so there should’ve been lights from cars, houses, and lampposts. There should’ve been varying colors of buildings and signs. But everything was a wash of blue. I rubbed my eyes with my free hand then blinked a bunch of times until everything cleared.
My heart skipped a beat. Something wasn’t right. I had no idea where we were, and I should have. I glanced around, but nothing was familiar. In fact, there was a whole lot of nothing in general. We stood on a dirt road. A dirt road. In Massachusetts. My Coven-mates were silent, but their nervous energies tickled against mine. Where are we?
Two-story houses made of wood lined the dirt road, though not sitting too terribly close to each other. They were all painted in dark tones, some charcoal gray, others deep wine red. The windows were all wide open despite the heat. Wait a second. Why is it hot? It was late October. When we left, it’d been sliding into winter, but the warmth in the air was suffocating. It weighed down on me like someone had piled a bunch of blankets on top of me. The sun couldn’t have been up long enough to create this kind of heat. The sky still had hints of red and purple, like nighttime was fighting to stick around.
It felt like summer back home in South Carolina. I raised my face and sniffed. It smelled like fresh-cut grass and wood, maybe even a little burning wood. There was something else in the air, an odor that burned my nose, but I couldn’t place it. I frowned and looked behind me, but there was nothing. Only open fields and trees.
A horse neighed, and we all jumped.
A horse? What the hell? Off to the left, a handful of magnificent brown horses were in a pen beside a house. The animals neighed and puffed while eating hay off the grass. Then that odor clicked. It was manure. Horse droppings. And it was invading my senses.
Royce stumbled forward a few steps then spun in a circle. His sapphire eyes were wide and his eyebrows arched. “We’re not in Kansas any
more, Toto.”
“Actually, we might be in Kansas,” Emersyn said, her golden eyes narrowed and taking everything in. “I went once. It’s kinda like this.”
Deacon scrubbed his face with his hands. “I don’t like the sound of this.”
Cooper craned his neck back and looked up to the stars still twinkling in the sky above us. He frowned. “We’re not in Kansas… These stars… But…I don’t understand. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Henley cursed as she pulled her cell phone out of her jacket pocket. She scowled. “No service. Damn fairies.”
“I feel even worse about this,” Deacon mumbled.
Butterflies bounced around in my stomach. My pulse felt like a herd of dogs running around a room. I had this feeling, one I used to call my Spidey-sense, but now knew it was my magic, and it was screaming at me. I was the High Priestess. The Aether Witch. I knew things. I felt things. My instincts were sharper than anyone else’s. And it was talking to me. My magic was in defense mode. We weren’t where we were supposed to be. Something deep down in my gut was screaming at me, but I couldn’t hear it.
A wave of raw, cold energy brushed over my right side. I shivered and looked up at Tennessee’s profile. He hadn’t spoken a word since we’d walked through the portal. He hadn’t moved. I wasn’t even sure he was breathing. I tugged on his hand, but he didn’t budge. He stared straight ahead, his gaze locked on something with fierce concentration. A muscle in his jaw popped. His eyes widened just a fraction and his face turned pale.
“Tenn, what is it?” I squeezed his hand tighter. “Babe, talk to me. What is it?”
He opened his mouth then shut it.
“Tennessee?” Cooper’s voice came from right behind me. “What do you see?”
“I know that house,” Tennessee whispered.
There was something about the tone in his voice and the flicker of fear in his aura that turned my body to ice. I swallowed through a rush of anxiety and turned to follow his stare. The house was nothing special, nothing specific to even recall. Just an old wooden house painted dark gray with three points in the roof. The windows all had some fancy lattice overlay. It looked like any other house you’d see in New England.
The Eternal Witch (The Coven: Elemental Magic Book 5) Page 14