by Brenda Trim
Hope surged in the face of what had seemed like an impossible task. There wasn’t much in the area, and I wasn’t even sure where to start. It never occurred to me to look below ground.
I hobbled forward, and after two steps, strong arms banded around me and lifted me. “At least let me carry you. Your leg is hurt.”
I rolled my eyes. He’d warned me he would want to protect me. Now wasn’t the time for that. Besides, I preferred not to get distracted by the deepening relationship between us. Once I went down that rabbit hole, I wouldn’t emerge until I sorted all my mixed emotions. “So is yours. Put me down. I can walk on my own.”
Bas grumbled under his breath but set me down. Fortunately, we had made it to the spot Aislinn had pointed out. I opened my senses and was immediately hit with the signature of the portal, as well as death. The stone might be associated with the portal, but I couldn’t get an accurate take on it.
“I need to clear out these bodies to get a better read.” Sebastian bent to pick one up right when I tossed fireballs at them.
Jumping back, he glared at me. “You could have warned a guy.”
Cradling his face, I pressed my lips to his. When I went to pull away, he stopped me and deepened the kiss. The heat from the growing flames added to the passionate moment. I tried to remember why this was a bad idea. Instead, I threw myself into the kiss and wrapped both arms around him.
“Now is not the time to start making out,” Violet admonished. “And I wouldn’t recommend getting down and dirty in the middle of a field where we just killed a dozen soldiers.”
My cheeks heated as I broke away from Sebastian. When I turned to Violet, I noticed the bodies had been moved ten feet away and were now burning in a massive bonfire. “Thanks for taking care of that.”
With the area was cleared, I was able to connect to the portal. The signature floated in the air a couple feet behind us. Still, the majority of the energy was beneath the ground. “Good catch, Aislinn. This is definitely what has tied the spell to the spot.”
A groan left me when I bent to uncover the rock. Sebastian was there immediately and helping me to my knees. I let that one go and started digging. Gras and dirt flew to the side. I still hadn’t uncovered the entire piece a few seconds later. How big was this thing?
Aislinn joined me while Violet stood aside and watched. I was glad she didn’t try to help with her arm still in pretty bad shape. Every second we spent out in the open, my heart rate increased. It was only a matter of time until more soldiers arrived.
I needed to figure out if this was going to be possible. I couldn’t carry a massive boulder with us. Accessing my magic, I called up my connection to the earth element then realized I had no idea what I was doing.
I looked up at Sebastian, who was standing sentinel above us. “I’m trying to use my earth element to see how big this thing is, but I have no idea what I’m doing. Can you help?”
He pursed his lips then knelt next to me. “Direct that energy toward the object you know holds the portal magic. Trace it with that elemental power. You should get a picture in your mind.”
I liked that he didn’t simply take over and do it for me. He had been paying attention and knew that I preferred to know how to do things. Closing my eyes, I did as he instructed and was shocked to find a horseshoe-shaped arch. And it seemed massive.
“It’s a big arch made of stone, so it’s hollow in the middle.”
Aislinn stopped digging and brushed her hands together. “Let’s use magic to move the soil. I don’t want to linger here any longer. With the five of us, we should make short work of this.”
Sebastian stood and offered me his hand. “Is that a good idea? Carrying a large stone archway will be a pain in the ass.”
“We’re doing it.” Looked like the honeymoon was already over. And we hadn’t really even begun.
To my surprise, Bas bobbed his head and gave me a peck on the lips. I stood stunned for a second before I lifted my hands and accessed my elemental power. Flames immediately flared to life in my palms. It wasn't a surprise because I had an affinity for fire.
Aislinn had explained that all Fae could connect with and use each of the elements. However, most had an affinity for one element in particular. It took effort for me to connect with the earth element.
Once I did, I used it to direct the dirt and grass to shift up and away from the stone. My pile grew while the others joined me. I freaking loved magic. What would have taken a backhoe a couple of hours was done in less than ten seconds.
We stood at the edge of the crater we’d created and looked at the object in the middle. The arch was at least twenty feet tall and had been engraved with runes along both sides. Before Sebastian could talk me out of it, I lifted the arbor and settled it over us.
“Let’s replace the dirt and get the hell out of here.” Aislinn, Finarr, and Argies immediately got to work while Sebastian stared at me for a second before complying. Instead of helping them, I tethered the archway to me and tried to heft it into the air. It took several tries to get air to do what I wanted.
After a few seconds, I was pretty confident using the air to make it float and push it along with us. Violet reached out and touched the side closest to her. “This is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I’ve seen more magic since you came home and unbound your powers than throughout my entire life.”
Sebastian rubbed his hands together then placed one on my lower back. “I can carry you that way you can heal and concentrate on keeping the portal with us.”
I shook my head from side to side. “Nope. I’ve got this.”
Bas fell into step beside me as I crossed to the forest. The second we reached the trees, I realized I’d need to turn it sideways so it was slim and wouldn’t pose a problem maneuvering through the area. With a flick of my finger, I directed air currents to the front of the arch and sent it sideways so we didn’t have to pause.
We walked in silence for half an hour. We were all tired, and I was adjusting where I sent my energy to keep the arch floating alongside us. Our progress was slowed because of it, but in the end, it would be best to have it moved to a new location.
Violet cradled her arm as we traipsed through the forest. “This reminds me of the time we went camping on Pymm’s Pondside when we were fourteen years old.”
“If you don’t include the battle, injuries, death, and blood. But we were lost then too.” At least the weather wasn’t cook-an-egg hot. The walk was wearing on everyone. None of us had gotten away from the fight unscathed.
My leg was killing me, making me wonder if it was broken after all. Sebastian had been right about the drain pulling the portal along with me was taking on my body. Oddly enough, my power level never reached critical levels. There was plenty of magic flowing through my veins.
Bas brushed a bug off his leg. It had landed close to a cut that hadn’t stopped bleeding. “You two were never in danger. I’d have led you back before anything happened. Let me carry you. You’ll heal faster.”
I hadn’t had time to really process the fact that we’d had sex right before crossing to Eidothea. Still, Sebastian had no problems knowing where he stood regarding me. He hovered and tried to do everything for me—something he never would have done before.
“No. We need to remain alert. More soldiers could find us any second. But more importantly, you watched us while we were out here?” Violet and I had been particularly boy crazy at fourteen, and I had no doubt we talked about something idiotic and embarrassing.
“I should have known you’d be out there,” Violet interjected before Bas could reply. “I used to have the biggest crush on you, so it’s probably good I didn’t consider it. I might have tried to talk Fiona into hunting you down.”
Sebastian lifted a low-hanging branch out of my way while watching me closely. “I’ve never been more grateful that Isidora put that spell on you,” he told Violet. “Otherwise, I’d have been forced to listen to more inane chatter.”
My
jaw dropped to my chest, and I rounded on Bas. “What did you just say? What spell did my grandmother put on Violet? And why?” It wasn’t a topic we’d discussed yet. I wondered why she’d been able to keep her true identity from me for so long. It made no sense.
Sebastian winced and cast me a sheepish look. It didn’t belong on his face. He was always so self-assured and confident. “I should have thought that through better. All I can tell you is what I overheard and observed. I knew she bound your powers, and until recently, I assumed it was because your parents were taking you to live in an all-human city. Three-year-olds are all impulse and no control. That’s one reason few of our kind live close to humans.”
I sighed, then screeched when the arch slammed into the branches of a tree. My hands flew up as if I could catch the heavy hunk of rock. Sebastian and Argies caught it before it snapped the thing in half. It was then that my brain finally rebooted, and I called up my air element and steadied the passage.
I wiped the sweat from my forehead. “I’ve got it. Sorry about that. I actually forgot I was hauling this thing along with us.” Despite the strain hoisting, this was on me long-term. I had been so distracted by hearing how far my grandmother went to hide the magical world from me.
That confused me more than anything. Here she was now encouraging and teaching me how to gain control and grow stronger. Logically, I knew she had protected me when I was younger, but I saw how much I had missed out on by not knowing about this world. If she had taught me from the beginning, I wouldn’t be so vulnerable now.
“Back to the topic. You watched Violet and I make a tree fort?”
Bas chuckled. “From the way I remember it, you guys didn’t erect a tree fort so much as spread some blankets on the ground.”
I smacked his shoulder while Violet and I laughed with him. “Hey! We tried. We were only fourteen, and neither of us knew anything about construction.”
“Really? I never would have known you weren’t general contractors.” Sebastian snorted. Actually, freaking snorted. I sounded like a pig when I did it, yet it was sexier than ever coming out of his mouth. “You carried one-two by four between you and had no tools. I think the board is still leaning against the oak.”
Violet fluffed her hair, then groaned and dropped her arm. She hadn’t been using her injured arm, but the movement must have caused pain in her other shoulder. “Our skills lie elsewhere. And if you saw so much of our night, I’d say you appreciated those skills, even back then. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been stalking us.”
Sebastian’s cheeks turned pink, and the sight made me smile. Alright, so it wasn’t precisely pink. It was more of a flash that was there and gone before anyone could notice. It was a small glimpse at his softer side.
“As if I’d let a couple young giggling girls, Isidora and Lauren’s girls at that, run into trouble. When your Grams gave me the land, I agreed to help her protect Pymm’s Pondside.”
Aislinn kicked a rock and sent it flying ahead of us. From somewhere in the bushes, we heard a high-pitched shout. “Oops. Sorry about that,” she called out to whatever had objected. No one seemed to react or get worried, so I let it go. “I missed out on so much being so far behind you guys in school.”
I glanced sideways at Aislinn. She was thirty-nine to my forty-two, almost forty-three. “Can you imagine the trouble we would have gotten into?”
“Trouble with a capital T. And chocolate,” Violet said. She was smiling, but there wasn’t much amusement in her voice.
“Speaking of, we need to do another Girl’s Night where we do dessert for dinner. I love those nights.” Aislinn’s face took on a faraway look, and a smile spread across her face.
I laughed at that. “You know you’re an adult, so we can have dessert anytime we want.”
Aislinn waved her hand through the air and jumped quickly over a fallen log. I envied how smoothly she moved. Those three years made a huge difference. “I know we’re adults, but the calories consumed during Girl’s Night don’t count. Everyone knows that. If I stuff my face with an entire chocolate cake all alone, I’m wracked with guilt, and my pants are instantly tighter.”
“I’m pretty sure you don’t gain weight that fast, but I finally know what you mean. Before moving here, Phoebe and I were too busy to go out much, and when we did, it was all about drinking wine and not about deserts. Before you two corrupted me, I couldn’t imagine a night with no wine or tequila would be fun.” I paused at the log and sent it over before I lifted one leg over. My feet slipped before I managed to get the other across, and I ended up jump hopping, so I didn’t impale myself on the short branch beneath me.
Sebastian flew over and grabbed my arms to pull me the rest of the way. Argies helped Violet, and before long, we were on our way again.
“How much further?” Violet asked, reminding me of my kids on long car rides.
“We have a way to go, but we can take a break,” Argies responds. “We could all use some food, too. I’ll go find some fruit while you guys settle down.”
I used air to maneuver the heavy portal and prop it against two massive evergreen-looking trees and sank to my butt. Bas settled next to me and started rubbing my leg in silence while I got out the bag of muffins I’d brought. No way was I eating what passed for fruit in Eidothea.
Chapter 10
“Are we there yet?” Aislinn tossed the stick she’d been swinging into the bushes off to the side. My mouth flew open to warn her the second her arm had cocked back, but she didn’t put much effort into the throw. Seemed like she remembered the rock hitting some poor creature before, after all.
“Five minutes closer than the last time you asked.” I used to think maybe Argies was into Aislinn, but now I had to wonder. His reply didn’t have any of the previous heat that had flared between them.
Aislinn bared her teeth at him. “Thanks, Captain Obvious. I was looking for a real estimate. I’ve never received one, and I need something to motivate me beyond protein bars and what passes for fruit here.”
Argies sighed and wiped the back of his hand over his forehead, smearing dirt that was there in the process. “It’s impossible to give you an accurate estimate, Princess. What with having to alter courses every hour or so. It seems like Vodor has all of his men roaming the forests, making it nearly impossible to avoid being caught.”
“Too bad we aren’t close to Midshield. Now is probably the perfect time to lay siege to the castle and kill Vodor. He can’t have many surrounding him with how often we are running into his fucking soldiers.” Finarr wasn’t wrong about that, but we were in no shape to attack at the moment.
We were all a sweaty freaking mess, tired and hungry. My heart went from trotting to galloping as I waited to see if Sebastian and Argies would push to divert our course. The archway slipped, and branches snapped above, drawing everyone’s attention. “That was me. Sorry. I lost my hold for a second. I’m good now.”
“Let’s take a break. I could use a breather.” We’d been walking most of the day, and Violet needed to stop more often than the rest of us. She was breathing hard as she spoke, and her coloring hadn’t improved much.
“Sounds good to me.” We stopped where we were because we hadn’t been traveling on any kind of road. I was utterly lost and relying on the guys to get us to our destination safely. It wasn’t something that came to me naturally. As much as I tried not to, I usually stepped up and took the lead in situations.
“Let me check your shoulder.” I settled the archway against the trees and turned to Violet.
She was hot to the touch and shivering. I wanted to curse our predicament. She likely had an infection and would become septic because we were in an alien world, and I couldn’t access antibiotics.
“That thing has a heartbeat of its own now,” Violet grumbled. “And it hurts worse now than it did before.”
Unwrapping the makeshift bandage, I held back my curse when I saw the puffy, red skin around the edges of the wound. I tugged her top aside and noticed t
he red streaking from her injury and down to her chest.
I looked at Sebastian and shook my head slightly. “I need some water. Can you get my water bladder out of my backpack?”
He peered over my shoulder and his lips pursed. “No problem. Finarr, can you find me some calendula and goldenrod?” He handed me the pouch. I pressed the mouthpiece and squeezed the bag so the liquid dribbled over Violet’s wound.
Violet sucked in a breath, pressed her head into the tree she was leaning against and closed her eyes. “It’s infected, isn’t it? That’s why I can’t stop shivering.”
I jumped as if she’d burned me with her question. “I think it might be, but we are going to take care of it. Or I can send you home right now. I can open the portal and get you home right away.”
I wanted nothing more than to open it and send her packing, but I couldn’t. It had to be her choice. I wouldn’t take that from her unless her life was in peril. Then I would make a choice for her.
Pressing my fingers to her wrist, I took her pulse and placed my ear to her chest to listen to her heart. To my relief, a strong, steady beat echoed throughout her chest. Her magic reached out and tingled beneath my cheek. She had always felt like a cool breeze to me.
At least, that’s how my mind interpreted her energy. Even before I knew she was a witch and had magic. Aislinn felt like water to me. Like the waves crashing against the cliffs close to her house.
Now, though, Violet felt more like a raging tempest. No longer a cool breeze, she was hot and blasted against me, leaving behind a slight sting. I wondered if that was the infection manifested. It didn’t seem like the reason, but I couldn’t really be sure. I just knew Violet wasn’t the same, and I hoped whatever Bas had planned would stop any infection from getting worse.
“What are you doing with those plants? Making a poultice?” I vaguely recalled reading about herbs and their uses in my family’s grimoire but hadn’t memorized all of the details. I remembered that goldenrod was used in a gout remedy and to help with hemorrhoids of all things. I’d bet it had an anti-inflammatory property.