by Jaymin Eve
The trees here were so tall, almost too tall for me to see the tops of them, and they were thick with foliage and life. I could see a few parts that looked diseased, like the mecca imbalance was taking its toll, but all in all, their beauty was unsurpassed. And the scent. Oh my gods, the scent was probably the sweetest smell I had ever come across.
“What is that I smell?” I asked the summer fae who were standing with us in the forest.
Dalia smiled. “That is the scent of home. The winds of our lands, the eternal summer.”
Well, there you go. Pretty much everything here smelled good, because it was just the smell of their land. I’d like to take a vacation in this land when we weren’t at war. I could get used to eternal summer, especially since it wasn’t hot, just pleasantly warm, like the warmth coated your skin and heated you to the very depths of your core. But I did not feel over-heated or sweaty. Magic was truly amazing.
Butterflies and the sound of waterfalls had me spinning, and on my second pass I paused at the sight of a male fae standing in a beam of sunlight between two massive flower-laden trees. The summer king. I had never met or seen him, I just knew that’s who was standing before me. He was a few inches over six feet tall, radiating power and heat. From his golden hair, the color of a ray of sunlight, to his eyes as blue as a cloudless sky, everything about him was glowing. His skin was golden, shimmering like he had been dusted with jeweled powder. I took a step closer. Kade, my friends, and Finn right behind me.
Caspien stepped out then from wherever he had been and stood beside his father. Seeing them side by side, there was no denying they were related. They looked close in age, but the king wore his experience across his handsome features, the years he had ruled shaping him into something quite formidable, a strength that even the winter queen had not demonstrated.
He wore a red velvet cloak that trailed behind him as he approached me with a genuine smile. “Queen Arianna, it is my honor to finally meet you. I am Samson, king of the Summer Court.” He bowed his head and I fell into a full curtsy. I decided not to correct him and tell him I wasn’t a queen anymore. I intended to change that very soon anyway.
“Your Majesty, we are well met.” My appearance was not proper for meeting a king – rags covered in blood and dirt – but he didn’t seem to mind. And weirdly enough, despite his intimidating appearance, I immediately liked him.
He thrust his hand out and tipped his head to Kade. “King Kade, we are well met also.”
Kade shook his hand and smiled. “Well met, Your Majesty. Thank you for everything you have done to assist us, both here and on Earth.”
Movement behind the king caught my attention, and I realized that camouflaged in the trees were a dozen or more summer guards. Now that I could finally see the fae, I noticed how frail they looked. They were suffering, and I didn’t know how much longer they had before the mecca loss destroyed them all. I needed to make this right.
Why was the Winter Court the least affected by the imbalance? There had been a lot of power there. And food. One would think food would still grow easier in summer … which meant the queen had done something.
The king saw my eyes raking over his thin soldiers and he tipped his head toward a path. “Would you walk with me for a moment, King Kade and Queen Arianna?”
Kade and I didn’t hesitate, nodding and stepping forward. I swiveled to give Blaine and Violet a look that said to stay put. Those two were the worst with letting me venture off on my own, but I wanted the king to know I trusted him. I wanted him to trust us as well.
As the king walked, we fell in at his side, and brushed through some overhanging plants. As I touched them a lot of the leaves crumbled into my hands. It was becoming very clear that although the plants looked green and radiant, they were dry and brittle. They were dying.
“Go ahead. Touch it.” The king nodded to the plant I was inspecting. There were a few red berries left on the branch and I reached for them, inhaling sharply when they disintegrated. It was like all of the life and water had been sucked out of them but the color remained. Just like the ones I had brushed over before, the leaves crumbled to the ground.
The king watched my expression closely. “Can you fix this? Because without your help we will surely die.”
I didn’t hesitate, not even for a moment. “Yes, I will make this right. The mecca will find balance again.”
He nodded but didn’t look as hopeful as I would have liked. Something else was bothering him.
Kade pressed him. “What’s on your mind?”
King Samson reached up and rubbed his temples with a small grin. “I’ve grown worse at hiding my stresses in my old age.”
It was Prince Caspien, who had been following close by, who spoke for his father. “There is a greater evil than the winter queen, one which has been slowly seeping across the land. The loss of mecca was devastating, but it’s this darkness that could finish us all completely.”
I kept my eyes locked on him, waiting for the point he was trying to make. What could be worse than the winter queen?
“In the darkest parts of the Otherworld, there is a place where demons are made, a place where no life or green exists. This darkness has flourished with the loss of mecca, and … we believe the demons might be coming for you.”
The summer king jumped in: “We were attacked en masse by erchos, killans, slimers, and many others just a fortnight past. It was the reason we were not there to stop the Winter Court crossing the barrier to Earth during your summer festival. This makes us wonder if maybe the dark lands and the winter queen have formed an alliance. You need to tread very carefully, Queen Arianna. Do not find yourself in the dark lands, and beware of their ability to come to Earth.”
His warning sent chills up my spine, the hairs standing up on my arms. All of the pieces were clicking into place now. “The ercho was trying to take me,” I breathed, and Kade stiffened beside me. I didn’t want another enemy, but if I had one, then I wanted all of the information I could get on it.
The king nodded. “An ercho is a demon spawn of the Dark One. This fae stays in the shadows and we have never been able to destroy him. The darkness has never been content to stay in the banished lands of the Otherworld, but until now we were strong enough to keep them at bay. We couldn’t wipe them out completely, but we could keep them from taking over everything. Now … if they have sided with the winter and fall courts, there is no telling what power they might have.”
I didn’t like where this conversation was going. I had too many wars to worry about. The king stepped closer to me and lowered his voice. “Fix the mecca, give us back our health and life, and when the time comes we will fight to the death with you against the demons.”
Dammit. There went my hope that after fixing the mecca I could just live happily ever after.
We need this alliance, Kade told me.
I agree, I replied.
I reached out my hand to the king and met his steely gaze. “We will fix the mecca, and should the war come, we will help you cull the demons.”
The prince looked pleased, as did his father, who extended his hand to grasp mine. “I pledge my greatest warriors and magic born on the day that the demons leave their dark cave and come for you.”
We shook on it, and I prayed like hell it never came to that.
Caspien pointed to my ears. “I knew from the first day we met that you were connected to the Winter Court. You smelled like one of the highborn, but I couldn’t figure out how it was possible.”
I nodded. “Yes, I am half Winter Court fae, but I claim nothing from them. We make our own destinies; we’re not born into them.”
The king smiled. “I know that to be true.”
I curtsied again. “It has been a true pleasure to speak with you. We are very thankful for all of your help. Especially for the healing of my friend. I must return home now and fix the mecca. There is no more time to waste.”
Kade shook the king’s hand and then we were walking briskly back to
where my friends awaited. As much as my mind wanted to mull through all of this demon and ercho business, I had more pressing matters right now. So I stuffed it deep down where I put everything else that was too big or horrible to deal with, and decided I’d pull it back up when I needed to.
As we neared, the summer soldiers took to one knee and bowed their respect toward Kade and me. At the same time, the two magic born stepped into view. They were carrying a large piece of reflective glass, like a mirror but more opaque. It was placed against a tree, and then both spent many moments hovering their hands across it.
As the time passed, their words grew softer, and their bodies hunched forward. Their haggard expressions worried me as they slowly brought a swirling portal to life across the reflective surface. I swallowed my gasp when they both slumped forward, clearly unconscious.
“Will they be okay?” I asked Caspien, who stood close by.
The prince nodded. “They will sleep for a few days, but otherwise will be fine. Opening portals between our two worlds is extremely difficult.”
The portal now filled the entire piece of glass, at least six feet wide and ten feet tall, flames roaring in front of it. I peered through and my heart lifted as I recognized the inside of Baladar’s loft.
“I gave them a little direction,” Violet whispered close to my side. “I didn’t fancy having to take a dip in the lake today.”
I’d bet that they hadn’t even know they were getting a little help from Violet. Seemed she had learned a few things in her time in the Otherworld.
Giving all of the fae around me one last nod, I turned to my friends. “Let’s go home.”
Despite the darkness of the king’s message, I could only be grateful that we were all returning in one piece. Technically, our journey into the fae world had ended in happiness. Violet was alive. Everything I had gone through was worth it. I would go to the ends of the Earth and far beyond for my best friend.
She caught my eye and a wonky grin crossed her face. “Let’s go have ourselves snake burgers for dinner, eh?”
My smile grew wider. “You just read my mind.”
The moment I stepped through to Earth, the force of the mecca almost slammed me to my knees. It was so strong over here, and after being in the Otherworld, with their weakness, I almost couldn’t handle the overflow. My fae energy swirled as it smashed into the mecca side of my power. My hands formed tight fists at my sides as I gritted my teeth and tried not to lose it. The shifter gods only knew what havoc I might cause if I lost it now. With a final surge of effort, I managed to lock some of the power down, long enough for the rest of it to settle in my core.
Straightening I recognized the room we had stepped into, it was the sitting area where Baladar had served us tea. This time, though, there was nothing magical about the area. It was now a large, sterile-looking parlor holding a few dusty pieces of furniture, and one ragged, gray, worn out magic born sitting in the lotus position, eyes closed, hands steady across his knees.
I rushed forward, toward him. “Baladar!”
Calista let out a squeak, distracting me as she jumped to her feet. I hadn’t noticed her at first, my attention firmly locked on the magic born, but now I took in her pale features, which showcased both shock and relief as she took a few hurried steps toward me, wrapping me up in one of her hugs.
I hugged her back hard, trying not to cry as her familiar warmth and love washed over me. She was the closest thing I had to a mother, and after meeting my father and grandmother, I was more grateful than ever for her.
“What happened?” she choked out as she pulled back, scanning across me. “We’ve been trying to reach you. I thought you were dead.”
Her voice got all screechy and she was shaking a little, her eyes locking onto my face. She reached up, her fingers drifting over my pointy ears, but she didn’t freak out or demand to know what happened. She just smiled. I could feel her emotions. She was simply grateful I had returned alive.
I pulled her back to me, hugging her as tightly as I could. “I’m sorry, I was taken captive by the winter queen and we only just escaped. I’ve returned as soon as I could.”
I heard her breath catch when I spoke of the winter queen, and she burrowed herself even tighter into me. “Thank the gods you’re okay.”
I pulled back and turned my concern toward Baladar. He had not moved even though there were now half a dozen or more shifters in his home. He remained in that meditative position. “What happened to him? Is this Selene’s doing?” I stepped closer, and flinched as I brushed against a wall of energy surrounding him.
Calista hurried back to her former lover’s side, seemingly unbothered by the energy. “It’s sort of to do with Selene. Her war, anyway. Baladar has been holding time.”
Say what now? Kian let out a surprised sound, but I couldn’t focus on him. I needed answers. “What does that mean, Cal?”
She had her creased brow and her huge eyes focused on Baladar again. “It means that normally weeks would have passed here during the days you were in the Otherworld. Which meant you would miss the war. So we decided to try and slow things down. This spell is very powerful, so only a few days have passed since you left for the Otherworld – almost equal time actually. Baladar has used all of his strength to hold time … or more accurately slow it down. It’s lucky you arrived back when you did. He is almost out of energy, and even with all our delaying, Selene will be launching her first strike tomorrow.”
It looked to me like he had almost killed himself in the process on trying to stop this war.
Violet stepped closer, her expression somber. “Time magic is not something any magic born should attempt.” Darkness flickered in the depths of her icy eyes, and I just knew my normally jovial friend had been broken in the land of the fae. I wondered if she would ever be the same again.
Baladar’s eyes flicked open then, and half the room took a step back. I just barely stopped myself. His irises were no longer pale blue with lightning through them, nope. Now his entire eye was pure white.
“I’m very old and wise,” he said to Violet, his voice no more than a croak. “I influenced only what I needed to, and any consequences of this time slip which may arise will hopefully be worth it if it saves the shifter races.”
Calista placed a hand on his arm and he smiled. “I would do anything to save my people,” he said with conviction.
He turned and looked directly at me. It was not an expression I’d seen from him before. It was like he was looking just beyond, or through me.
“Are you blind now?” I asked hesitantly. Please say no. Please say no. I would never ask for this sacrifice for him.
My heart cracked when he nodded. “It would seem so.”
“We don’t know if it’s temporary or permanent,” Calista broke in. “He will need a long time to recover his energy, and I pray his sight returns with it.”
She was trying to be positive, but it was clear she didn’t truly believe what she had said. I knew from the look on her face.
Baladar stood. “I still have the sight, and that’s the only thing I care to see. Arianna, you must go now and prepare for war. I’ve seen many outcomes, always changing, but the one that benefits you the most is when you act less like the cold Red Queen and more like a mother protecting her children. Good luck.”
A loud crack pierced the room, and two butterflies began to flit about Baladar’s head. “Time is back to moving at normal speed now. Go.”
Holy crap. No pressure. A mother protecting her children? That was nice and vague. Calista hurried forward to assist Baladar, settling him into a nearby chair, and with one last lingering look, left his side to approach me. “There’s a vortex back to Staten Island that is ready to go. We should get going so we can start planning our next move.”
She looked toward Baladar, her eyes creasing downwards as she blinked a few times. I shook my head, putting an arm on her shoulder. “Calista, you’re temporarily removed from duty.”
Her entire
face crumbled as emotion overtook her. She stared up at me, unblinking. Finally she said, “What … why?”
I let my eyes rest on Baladar, looking like half the shifter he had been when we last saw him. “Take care of him for me. That’s an order,” I said with as much conviction as I could. “He has done more than anyone to help, and prevent this war. Now he needs you.”
She gave me a small smile. “Are you sure? There could still be a war … with Selene … who is probably one of the evilest shifters I have ever met. Baladar and I both understand the sacrifice. We made our peace with it.”
She was trying to convince me, but I knew her strong sense of duty would never let her heart choose what it wanted. I was going to make sure she got her choice for once.
I pulled her in for another hug. “Just follow your heart,” I whispered in her ear. “You both deserve a chance at happiness.” When I pulled back, she looked sad but also strong, like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders and she was ready to take on the world.
Kade stepped into my side. “You can email Gerald on our private server,” he said. “Any ideas you have will be brought to the war room.”
His reassurance that she would still be involved added a layer of acceptance and gratitude to her expression. She took one last look between the king and me, then gave us both a nod before she stepped back to put a hand on Baladar’s shoulder.
I turned to the group, all of them waiting in silence. “Let’s go get my crown back.”
My words were laced with energy, with conviction, and with slices of anger. Now that I was back on Earth, away from the immediate worry of Violet’s death, I let some of my anger toward Selene filter out. Today was her last day as queen of the wolf shifters.
Violet smiled, the first real one since we’d stepped back to Earth, and in that smile I saw death. I was right there with her. It had been Selene and Sabina’s magic blanket that had allowed the fae to slip through and attack that night of the mid-summer festival. The very night Violet was stolen away. We still didn’t know if they were working with the winter queen and this new mysterious dark power. If I had learned anything from my so-called father, it was that the fae had been trying to find a powerful ally on Earth for many years. Maybe they had finally found one.