by Jaymin Eve
You’re perfect with timing, you know that?
He just nuzzled my leg as the doors closed and the elevator ascended to the floor where the mecca crystal was awaiting us.
“So what’s the plan? I mean … I open a portal and then we just push mecca through it?” It was almost early morning now and I was tired. It had been a long few days in the Otherworld, and we really hadn’t had the time to plan this part very well. Now that we were this close, that felt like a pretty big oversight.
Violet, who was standing stiffly near the doors, nodded a few times as if thinking it through in her head. Finally, she said, “I think we just have to go with the energy. Once you have the sight, hopefully a path becomes clear to you. Besides, the mecca is living. It will help us if this is the right thing.” Her pause was brief but heavy. “The only thing to keep in mind is that whatever changed with the mecca happened when the queen died. I’ve had no chance to check it for any spells that may be tied to it, and I won’t have time tonight. Basically, we’ll just have to figure it out as we go.”
Great. We were going to wing it.
Kade looked his normal calm and confident self when he said, “Nix is patrolling the skies. She’ll tell us if it looks like Selene is moving early.”
His confidence inspired some of my own, so when the elevator dinged I was ready, weapon held aloft. As the doors slid across, there was a tall female guard on the other side. She was relaxed, her gaze focused downwards. As she lifted her head to step inside, she saw us and her eyes widened as she stumbled back a few steps. Violet lifted her hands and I could feel the mecca energy building, but just before she released it, the guard fell to one knee.
“Your Majesty!” She bowed her head.
Violet let the magic fizzle from her hands, dissipating the spell before it could do any damage.
Stepping out of the elevator, I recognized the guard’s smoky gray eyes and long blond hair, currently tied up in a top-knot. She was a friend of Monica’s … Carrie from the yellow line.
No time for anything else, I got right to the point. “Are you loyal to Selene?”
Carrie quickly shook her head, before standing. “No, Your Majesty. I tried to defect to bear territory, but she’s kept us all trapped here, under the watchful eye of Sabina.”
Violet growled next to me. “We’re going to fix things tonight. Can we count on you to help?”
The young guard straightened and nodded, falling in behind us as we hurried along the long corridor. The closer we got to the room, the more the mecca pounded against my energy. It had my new fae side stirring to life, like a wilted plant that had been craving water and suddenly got a huge burst. It swelled within me, and I wondered if my skin looked flushed, because I was feeling very warm.
When we reached the end of the hall, I turned to Carrie. “Can you please wait here? Do whatever you can to delay anybody from entering. Tell them it’s Selene’s orders. Say whatever you need to give us time.”
Her face paled, going a very sickly color. “Selene is … crazy. If she hears about me helping you…”
“She won’t be queen for much longer,” I assured her.
Kade stepped in. “You also have the protection of me and my people. We would never leave you behind.”
Carrie straightened, all doubt wiped from her face. “You can count on me.”
With one last nod, Kade, Violet, Finn, and I made our way into the sitting room. I wasted no time pulling the book free and opening the door to the secret room that housed the mecca crystal. This was it, the moment I had been waiting for. We were going to fix the mecca and hopefully stop both worlds from being destroyed. And maybe, If we were lucky, we would end two wars tonight.
The blast of mecca energy coming off of the crystal was intense as we all trudged through the heavy magic to stand before it. Finn stayed on the edge of the room; Violet slotted in behind Kade and me. Maybe it was because I was now a fae, but I felt even more susceptible to the mecca’s energy. My skin was tingling and tightening more with each step I took toward the stone.
“Okay, let’s open up a portal and send some of this home,” I said to Kade and Violet. The amount of mecca in this room was stifling, I could barely breathe.
Kade slipped his hand into mine. “I’ll protect you from being overcome by it.”
I nodded at my mate, and then felt Violet’s hands on my back. “I’ll help you too with whatever I can.” As Violet had said earlier, there was no full moon, which meant she couldn’t share her powers, but I hoped she could do something.
No matter what, I had to right this imbalance.
Without further ceremony, I placed my hands on the crystal and my teeth clamped down hard with the force of the mecca power that blasted into me. Without me having to do another thing, the portal to the fae lands opened before us. It was the same stretch of woods we had landed in when we went to get Violet.
“Okay, now, how do I send it through?” I said, my voice wavering as I fought against the power trying to pull me under.
‘Arianna…’ The Red Queen’s whispery voice floated past me, and from the way Kade’s hand stiffened in mine I knew he had heard her too.
“I’m here,” I told the Red Queen, even though it felt stupid. She was dead, she couldn’t hear me.
The crystal grew hot and my palms began to sweat.
“What the…?”
Everything around me went dark. I could no longer feel Kade’s hand in mine. I was about to cry out, or blast out with my own energy, when the darkness lifted and I was suddenly standing on a sandy beach. Swallowing hard, I blinked rapidly, trying to figure out what had just happened. The ocean spanned out into the distance, and it was purple. In fact, there were tendrils of purple floating all around me. Mecca! I was standing in a world of visible mecca.
I turned slowly, needing to see everything. Low clouds of purple mecca rolled through the trees, through the sand, through me. A splash of red caught my attention, and I took a stumbling step closer. Her red silk dress, which was what had caught my attention, was blowing in the mecca breeze as she closed the distance between us.
The Red Queen. My mother.
My heart started pounding hard in my chest, the lump in my throat making it very hard to breathe. I didn’t move. I couldn’t move. She kept walking toward me, until finally she stood only a few feet away, looking as real as the last time I’d seen her alive.
“It’s not possible,” I murmured.
She smiled warmly, something she had never done in real life, then she reached out to touch my face, but before she could place her hand on my cheek, I flinched and stepped back.
“You’re dead,” I said, my voice robotic.
This must be some magic, some spell to trick me. Either Sabina or Isalinda, the winter queen, were trying to mess with me.
The Red Queen’s hand lingered in the air for a moment, before she let it fall to her side. Her expression remained the same, but her eyes, which I was realizing now were the same shape as mine, looked misty. I couldn’t stop staring at her, despite the fact I’d seen her many times before. Now that I knew the truth, it gave me an entirely new perspective. She was my mother … but she also wasn’t. You needed more than DNA and blood to be able to claim maternal rights.
She must have seen my anger, the coldness I could feel locking down my features. She didn’t step closer as she said, “I am so sorry, Arianna. I wanted to tell you the truth a thousand times, to have you by my side where you belonged, but I couldn’t. I … I had no choice.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “You always have a choice. How could you not tell me at least that my father was an evil fae? Look at the mess you’ve left the shifter world in.”
She pursed her lips, giving me that icy, queenly stare I was used to. “I made a mistake in trusting him, but everything I did, I did for you, so that he wouldn’t find you and kill you.”
“How are you here? Where are we?”
I looked around again at the purple world.
“I knew Luca would betray me one day, so I had Sabina tie my soul to the mecca. I don’t think she realized what she was doing. I worded my request very carefully. She would not have known that in the event of my death I would become one with the mecca. It was a way I could live on and keep watch over you.”
I chewed my lip … she was talking about soul magic, a magic as dangerous as time magic, from what Violet had told me. “I need to fix it. Your magic spell backfired, and when you died your energy caused the mecca to shift the balance, leaving the fae realm empty. I need to even them out to avoid war between the two lands. Not to mention this imbalance could destroy both worlds.”
She raised one eyebrow. “It didn’t backfire. That’s what I intended. Let the fae get what they deserve.” She crossed her arms and I growled.
“This isn’t a time for grudges! Our people are suffering because of this. You need to help me fix it. If you really care about me, then help me.” I would plead if I had to. The Red Queen had always been hardheaded, but she was showing me a softer side now, so maybe my emotional manipulation would work.
She looked off into the ocean, the purple waves were like jewels as they crested across the surface. I thought she was going to refuse me, but then she said, “Okay, Arianna … I owe you that much.”
Relief crashed through me. “Thank you.”
She nodded, and then clasped my hand. Her touch was cold but still somehow warming. “I just want you to know that I never knew how to be a mother. I was raised by nannies and … I never knew—” Her voice broke and tears lined her eyes. I stood there frozen. Never in a million years did I think the Red Queen was capable of crying. Especially over me. Feelings I didn’t want to deal with were crashing into me, and the worst part was I could empathize with the Red Queen’s position.
If it hadn’t been for Calista, I wouldn’t know how to give Winnie motherly love either. The wolf world was all about duty first and family second.
On a whim, I pulled her forward into a tight hug. “I forgive you.”
Sometimes that was the best thing to do, for both parties involved. As if those words alone were powerful enough, something snapped and I was slammed back to my feet, Kade yelling beside me.
“Where were you?” he growled.
I couldn’t answer, I was too busy gasping as I realized I could still see the mecca, floating in purple clouds all around. It was especially strong between Kade and me. Turning back, I stared at Violet, stunned by how different she looked. Her skin was no longer a pigmentless white, nope, now it was the shimmering pearly sheen that her wolf fur contained, almost like purple swirls of mecca were embedded in her skin, and everything about her glowed.
“You’re glowing,” I whispered. “So beautiful.” My head swung to Kade, hands clutching at his shirt. “I can see the mecca. Is this what’s it’s like for both of you?”
Violet was the one to answer, a grin stretching across her face. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
I could only nod, over and over, like a maniac. My brain was fried though. I could see the mecca and I had spoken with my biological mother. Only I wasn’t sure how to process it all. Breathing deeply a few times, I finally released Kade’s shirt and gripped his hand again.
“I’m ready. Let’s send this energy back.”
This time when I placed my hand on the stone and the portal opened to the Otherworld, these long thick purple lines burst out of the crystal. They shot in all different directions, and for some reason I could sense the thrums of mecca energy running along them. Concentrating as hard as I could, I sent my own energy through one of the lines. It zipped away, and I almost had a heart attack when it slammed up against something hard. Expanding out my magical vision, I was astonished to realize it was the mecca stone under the vortex of Queens.
A burst of understanding hit me, and with that came sparks of excitement. I knew exactly what to do now. Pulling my consciousness back to the room, I focused on the duller lines, those thinner and more fragile looking. These were the ties to the Otherworld, I was very sure. To double check, I let my energy zoom along one, and sure enough it smashed against a stone in one of the courts. Expanding my “vision” allowed me to glimpse a field of orange-leafed trees.
Fall Court.
I didn’t know how long this new gift of seeing the mecca would last, if it was permanent or just a leftover from being inside the mecca with the Red Queen. I had to act quickly. Now that I knew where to send the extra overload of mecca, I gathered as much up as I could and pushed. At first it resisted me; the power wanted to stay right where it was. It had grown accustomed to the Earth side and did not want to go home.
Dragging up even more of my own strength, I not only physically pushed with my energy, but mentally I urged it to follow the mecca lines back to the other stones. As it started to funnel through the portal opening, it was like watching purple clouds being sucked through a vacuum, a magical storm rolling out.
My hair was whipping and flying around as the mecca clouds passed through me. Kade’s muscles were shaking, I could feel them under my grip. No doubt it was taking everything he had to keep me from feeling the effects of channeling this much energy. Violet stepped into us; I felt her hand on my arm, and even more mecca rolled out through the lines. As the energy in the room lessened, it became easier to control the overflow, to see when the lines started to thicken and darken and look as vibrant as the Earth-side mecca. This was how I would know when to stop, to make sure we didn’t give too much away. On the other side of the open portal, in the fae lands, the grass and the trees were now a bright vibrant green, the world again glowing with mecca. Healing.
Violet, Kade, and I had been funneling mecca for many minutes, and just when I was about to release the connection, the Red Queen’s voice came floating through the mecca winds.
Enough.
That was the queen I remembered. I wrenched my hand up, hoping to remove it in one quick hit, but it seemed to be stuck.
“Kade!” I said, with some urgency, still trying to rip my hand off.
This was like being in the runaway car with no brakes again. I was ready now to get off the ride, but there was too much momentum. Violet let out a curse and shot a bolt of power into my arm. With a brief popping sound, I was thrown back, landing hard on the ground. The second I hit the floor my mecca sight vanished, as well as the portal. Kade knelt down beside me, taking deep breaths.
I put my hand on his face, noting his bloodshot eyes, beads of sweat coating his skin. “Are you okay?”
He nodded but didn’t yet speak. Violet was the one to say, “If it wasn’t for Kade’s gift, we would have all been ripped in half.”
Thank the gods my mate was not only brave and strong, but also fierce. He would never give up, not until there was no hope at all left.
Kade cleared his throat and I could see the broken capillaries in his eyes were already healing. “I know this is bad timing, but Selene is entering the palace. Nix said she’s with ten guards and Sabina.”
Dammit. She could have given me at least five minutes to pull myself together. Silver lining though – she wasn’t out killing my people.
“We have the advantage,” Kade said. “We know they’re coming, so where do we want to take them on?”
I stood, my fatigue fading somewhat as focus washed over me. “The basement where Selene almost ended Finn’s life. That’s where I’ll end hers.”
Violet grinned. “Let’s get your crown back.”
We walked to the edge of the room and Finn loped to my side. I had kept up my end of the deal with the Summer Court and fixed the mecca. Now it was time to fight for my people. And if I failed, well, I could think of no greater way to die. Kade’s strong hand slipped into mine and squeezed. Not gonna happen. His reassurance caressed my mind, the heat of his energy slipping inside of me, mingling with my own energy. Wolf and bear were stronger together. Selene would learn that very soon.
As we reached the doors out into the small l
ibrary that hid the mecca room, voices could be heard out in the hall. I hurried over – Carrie was still out there, maybe trying to dissuade others from entering. She might need our help, and we had promised not to leave her behind.
Kade and I drew our weapons and slowly opened the double doors. There was no time to waste. Not only did we need to help Carrie, we also needed to get down to the basement. The second the doors opened, I leapt forward, blade ready for action. Carrie and four male guards were standing about four feet from the entrance. Kade’s warmth pressed into my back as the five turned to face us. They all bowed.
“Your Highness. We will fight for you,” one of them said.
I let the sword fall to rest at my side, and smiled at each of them.
“Thank you. I appreciate your support.” I was already striding forward, Finn, Violet, and Kade at my back. “We need to get to the basement right now. Selene is coming, and I intend on taking the crown from her and stopping this useless war before anyone gets hurt.”
They fell into line, at the back of our group. No one said anything more as we entered a darkened stairwell and rushed down the many floors to the basement. Inside the two thousand square foot area, there were a total of four entries. I placed a guard on each one. Violet and Finn took point on one side. Kade and I protected the other.
Tightening my grip on my sword, I prepared myself for the fight to come. I would need to be quick. Selene might be bringing ten soldiers now, but she could have over a hundred here in minutes if she put a call out. I needed to take Calista’s advice, play off her ego, and make her fight me one on one. Suddenly Kade grinned beside me, his fierce expression softening. Unusual enough that I had to ask: “What’s so funny?”
“Nix just pecked Larak’s eyes out. He’s blind.”
My grin matched his. Nix was getting a big fat juicy strip of meat from me later. Good girl.