“Timur, it would be best to take Sixx directly to the healer. I heard she was poisoned,” Erebus stated calmly. He strode toward us, coming down the hall, wearing a different set of leathers than I’d seen on him before. These looked more worn and scarred.
“Wait, has Olezka arrived?” I asked.
“He is on his way,” Erebus hedged, which was something I was unused to hearing from the King of the Dark fae. He had always been solid and straightforward.
“But…”
“Timur, take her.”
Suddenly, I felt like I was being pushed aside again; viewed as nothing but a pawn to be used only to bring out the power players. I didn’t like the feeling. I had people to protect. I was done being just the sidekick.
Tugging my arm from Timur’s grip, I faced Erebus, who’d stopped to speak with his council member.
“Where is my mate?” I demanded confidently. I refused to be healed until I knew he was okay. I didn’t want to be left in the dark anymore. Erebus’s frigid, arctic blue eyes bored into mine. For an instant, I was convinced this was how I would die. He was finished tolerating my presence. Until his lips twitched, though he refused to smile.
“Your mate is on his way, but he had to make a personal stop for me. The best gift I can give to him in return for doing this task is to have his mate healed.”
“Why so many secrets?” I put my hands on my hips, raising my brow.
Because the walls have ears, Erebus’s voice echoed in my head. I startled, my eyes widening. That was Erebus’s way of reminding me that until we were in a secure room, I needed to keep my head. Passion could be a great motivator, but it also caused people to make mistakes.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize, Sixx. I appreciate your candor,” Erebus said with another nudge of his chin in the direction he wanted me to go.
I pressed my lips together and tried to smother my embarrassment. Between me and Ana, I was the one who typically thought things through before reacting. But when it came to my mate, my cautious tendencies flew out the window. I needed to remember that Erebus wouldn’t send me away without reason, especially knowing how protective Olezka and I were of each other.
Erebus must suspect that someone in his inner circle was betraying him. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities, especially considering how well-informed Key and King Malcolm were. If he’d tasked Olezka with bringing something to him, my gut told me it was probably the identity of the fae who was betraying them.
Timur waited until I caught up with him again before he wrapped an arm around my shoulders, giving me a squeeze. “Very brave, going up to the King like that,” Timur said with a smile.
We weren’t in the human realm anymore. They handled things differently on this side of the Veil. I longed for the days before I knew the male I thought was merely a para nightclub owner was the King of the Dark Fae on the other side of the Veil. Cringing, I made a face at Timur, who only laughed.
“Do not fear. His ego will not be so easily bruised. You are a tiny human, after all,” Timur joked with a proud smile on his face. His features were more animalistic on this side of the Veil, and his smile revealed the flash of canines. Now that we were back within the palace, he loosened up a bit, but I could tell he was still on alert. His grip on me didn’t loosen. His eyes darted around, paying attention to everything.
We walked through a dark, cavernous hallway only illuminated by strange torches secured along the walls. The light they emitted didn’t look like fire, and they gave off no heat. We didn’t pass any other fae, and I started to wonder if they had secret hallways.
The walls felt like they were creeping closer the further we walked. We finally exited the tight hallway into a strangely modern room that looked like it could be featured in a house in the human realm. The room wasn’t overly bright, but it took a moment for my eyes to adjust after being in the darkness for so long. Machines and other technology that looked at home in a hospital whirred and blinked.
“Whoa.”
“Are you the human with the poison?” a lavender-haired fae asked. She had dusky, dark skin and shockingly violet eyes that searched over me. As with most fae, she stood miles above me and was ridiculously attractive.
“Yes.”
“Onto the bed, please,” she said curtly.
I scrambled to move at her command. Her sharp, elegant features looked bored as she waited. There were several hospital beds in a row, but I walked over to the one closest to her. Nerves started to get the better of me. What if something worse happened when we tried to stop the poison? A fine sheen of sweat broke out across the back of my neck, and my vision blurred. I made a noise in the back of my throat as I approached the bed.
“Hmm, it is powerful,” the fae murmured.
“How do you mean, Selene?” Timur asked, following on my heels.
“Do you feel a sudden spike of anxiety about having me remove the curse from you?” Selene asked with her head cocked.
I opened my mouth to answer, but it only came out in a croak.
“Yes, I’m not surprised.” Selene stepped a little closer then lifted her hand to my cheek and trailed her finger against my temple.
The crushing stress that I’d felt only moments before swept away in a blink, and I was left with a refreshingly cool, relaxed feeling. Sleepy almost. I smiled up at the pretty healer and Timur.
“I feel better.”
“Yes, sorry, I might have overdone it a bit, but hop up. This shouldn’t take too long.” Selene gestured to the bed once again. This wasn’t like any hospital bed I was used to seeing. This one was squishy and comfortable. I settled in, waiting for further instructions. “Lie back.”
Following her command, I reclined and tried to let the cooling relaxation overtake me again. Eventually, the combination of lying in a soft bed and feeling unnaturally safe quickly pulled me into a deep sleep.
****
“You’re sure it worked?”
“Positive.”
“She is very important to my Kingdom. If her life is in danger, I need to know.”
“My King, the poison has been stripped from her body. It is healing itself as we speak. She is no longer in danger from that.”
“Thank you, Selene. I appreciate your discretion concerning her wellbeing,” Erebus said.
I groaned. Though I was glad to learn I didn’t have poison running through me, the calming presence Selene had forced on me faded away. In its wake, I felt the soreness of the ride back here and the worries conjured by returning to the Veil once again.
“Hello, Sixx.”
I opened my eyes, knowing I couldn’t run from this conversation forever. Selene looked at both of us curiously. At a nod from Erebus, she left the room. It got eerily quiet between us; a heavy weight settled into the space. I had a feeling he was about to ask me something I wouldn’t like at all.
“Hi,” I said awkwardly. I never really had a buddy-buddy friendship with Erebus. If anything, even now, he terrified me. He had the power to destroy my entire world. Olezka trusted him, and I knew Ana had feelings for him since they were mates, but he was still a pretty intimidating fae.
“I have spies in the human realm who have gotten close to Key. We are getting as much information as we can, but while we wait for Olezka, I thought I would ask you what information you have. What do you think he is up to?”
“Why ask me?”
“Because, Sixx, you have had the unfortunate experience of being in Key’s presence and captured by him not once but twice. At Nova, and then more recently within the fighting rings. I already know he is planning something that will involve humans. I hate to ask you to repeat your experience in the rings again, but anything can help.”
I recounted every moment I could remember during my time observing the fighting rings. Then I told Erebus about my theory that Key wanted to strengthen humans and use them as disposable soldiers to fight paras. But I still didn’t understand Key’s motive for opening the
tears or if he was truly at fault. What was the purpose?
One of the tears we found was in the Light Court. The one we found with Effie’s help opened into a dark forest belonging to the Dark Court, which was how the unicorn escaped. We still didn’t know where the one Axel was guarding led, but we knew that two Dark High Fae exited, and one returned with humans dangling on each arm.
It appeared that Key was bribing members of the Dark and Light Courts to back him in his claims for the Dark throne by allowing them unlimited access to humans. Just having Ana in his possession wasn’t a foolproof plan. King Malcolm didn’t know her and didn’t have the affection of years being together running through his veins. Sometimes experiences trumped blood relations. I wasn’t convinced the Light King had any feelings for his daughter other than what use she could be to him.
Erebus listened to my working theories and the research I’d managed to pull up while we were in the human realm. When I quieted down, Erebus got a faraway look in his eye.
“The drug… Do you think he is using his Lure magic, along with Ana’s, to control humans?”
“Yes.”
He nodded. “That is a rather large problem as Ana can control High Fae. But even more troubling is the thought that if he starts mass-producing the drug, he will be able to control humans at his will.”
“But why would he want humans?”
“Power.”
Chapter 19
Erebus was called out of the room not long after that after receiving word that more of his borders were under attack. I wanted to ask him about the Light fae posted at the gate, but we didn’t have time. Shortly after, Timur stepped back in to escort me back to Olezka’s room. I asked him to take me to their library instead. Hopefully, I could find something to help Tess close the tears.
Timur took me through a well-lit hallway that led to a set of stairs leading up. It was strange how the palace layout worked, but when I asked Timur, he explained that some sections were hidden to outsiders and heavily protected with wards. Unless they were part of the Dark Court, outsiders couldn’t access them. There were specific rooms assigned to outsiders, visitors, and the general public.
The instant I mated to Olezka, I became a member of the Dark Court. This was my home even if it wasn’t really mine. As such, the magic of the palace recognized me as part of its court. That meant, apparently, I would get full access to the library now.
All I could think about was that this was exactly what a cliché castle hallway looked like, something from Beauty and the Beast's east wing side, the nicer side. A thick rug ran the length of the hallway, muffling our steps. Sticking with the medieval vibe, it was black and trimmed with silver scrollwork. Suits of armor stood on guard along the hall, and the walls were constructed of heavy, slate gray stone.
Timur led me to a door situated at the far end of the hall. The oversized, ornate door boasted breathtaking designs carved into the wood. Timur opened the door for me, and I stepped over the threshold, unable to smother the startled gasp that left my lips. For a minute, I thought my eyes would bug out of my head. This had nothing on Belle’s library, but even so, there were floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, each shelf crammed with books, scrolls, trinkets, and other sights that boggled the mind.
I adored books, but this was overwhelming and distracting. I loved the creativity that went into them—the work and effort each author poured into their work. My eyes crossed as I tried to take in the varied sights. And research was a girl’s best friend, but even I had to blink a couple of times. I didn’t know where to begin looking for information that would help our cause.
“You might want to lift your jaw from the floor,” Timur said with a smile.
“Not sure if I can,” I whispered and stepped forward.
We stood on a small balcony that overlooked the massive room. The sheer volume of books and scrolls made me nervous, especially when I noticed another room positioned further back. How big was this place? Two sets of beautifully carved stairs arched around and led to the ground floor. Timur took one side, and I took the other, trailing my fingers over the spines of the books on the walls. Most were leather-bound; others were an old cloth material that felt both sturdy and fragile.
Once I reached the bottom of the staircase, I stood face to face with an aisle that held nothing but rolled-up scrolls. I reached out and touched one, examining the red embossed seal and foreign words etched on its surface. I suddenly realized a flaw in my plan to do something productive to help Tess’s cause.
I couldn’t read fae language.
Or really any other language besides English and a bit of Spanish.
Roman had attempted to teach me the Russian alphabet, and at the time, I thought my brain would melt from trying to understand a whole new set of letters. I’d unwisely decided to hold off on learning it for a little longer.
I wanted to help, but I couldn’t.
“Well, this was a bust,” I muttered.
“How so?” Timur asked, pulling out a book and thumbing through the pages. I looked over at the book, but there was no title, nothing to give me an idea if it was the history of the fae or a trashy romance novel that found its way into the library. I highly doubted the latter.
“I can’t read any of these languages. If I can’t read them, how can I help Tess find a way to close the tears?”
Timur got quiet before his eyes lit up with an idea.
“Do you trust me, kroshka?”
“Yes?” I answered hesitantly, understandably nervous. Anytime someone asked that question, it usually meant they were about to do something scary.
“May I borrow your glasses?”
“Because you left yours in the human realm?” I quipped.
“Nyet; trust me.” He held his hand out, waiting for me to take my glasses off. I removed them and handed them to Timur with a slight shake of my head. He was careful with them, promising to be back soon.
I wasn’t legally blind without them, but things were definitely blurry like when you opened your eyes underwater without goggles on. I concentrated hard to see the bookshelf right in front of my face, knowing I’d have a headache later.
I wandered aimlessly through the first few rows as I waited for Timur to return. The room was lit by the uncanny non-fire torches, which was probably for the best in such a highly flammable area. I wondered if the books were put in any specific order.
“Sixx?” Timur called.
I stepped back into the main aisle and headed toward the stairs where Timur stood with another fae. This one was as stunning as the rest, but he actually looked aged, which made me wonder exactly how old he was. I tried to contain my shock.
“Sixx, this is the keeper of the library, Telmis. He’ll help you seek what you need, but with a simple spell, he can make it so your glasses will translate the words.” Timur wore a proud smile.
My face lit up. “Yes, very much, yes! I would like that,” I said with jittery excitement.
Timur gave him my glasses as the other fae gave me a withering gaze. This was the first fae I’d ever seen who looked older than twenty-five. Considering he was probably hundreds if not thousands of years old, I was curious if my behavior made him nervous or uncomfortable. How long had it been since he’d seen a human?
Most High Fae I’d interacted with were very reserved and outwardly calm. They had bouts of anger but were careful to keep their emotions hidden, for the most part. The most relaxed I’d ever seen them act was at the balls I’d attended with the others. But Telmis seemed unable – or unwilling – to hide his distaste for me.
The library keeper closed his eyes and muttered something. With a flash of soft green light, the lenses of my glasses sparkled and slowly faded.
When he opened his eyes, he blinked once at me. “You are a strange creature,” he said. “What is it that you seek, human?” Telmis handed my glasses back, careful not to touch my skin.
“A druid and a warlock are in the human realm, trying to repair a tear that opened betwe
en the Veil and the human realm, but they don’t have enough resources to make it happen.”
“A druid? Why would a druid journey to the human realm?” Telmis asked, alarmed. He glanced to Timur, who shifted his weight and looked uncomfortable with the question.
“What’s wrong with that?” I asked when Timur was quiet for too long. A lead weight settled in my stomach, afraid to hear the answer.
“When a druid leaves our realm, their magic and their entire being is tainted,” Telmis answered haltingly. “They cannot return to our world. Your world is, in a sense, a poison and their prison.”
My vision darkened around the edges, and my heart slammed to a stop in my chest. I recalled the reactions of the brothers now as we stood upon the threshold of the tear. They didn’t want Tess to have anything to do with our escape plan, but when she came with us, they all clammed up when we landed in the human realm. Until now, I hadn’t realized why. How would I have known?
“But… surely there is a way?” I asked, feeling helpless, guilt mixed with pure heartbreak. She wouldn’t be able to return to her home. To her gardens. Tess sacrificed everything to escape with me. Why?
“Sixx, I know how you must be feeling, but she made her decision. Right now, we need to focus on the bigger problem at hand, which is helping Tess find a way to fix the tears between our worlds.”
Timur was right, but it still stung. I would work tirelessly to find a way to help her heal the tears. Then I wouldn’t rest until we found a way to get her home. I wouldn’t stop searching until I found something.
Telmis looked annoyed with the information he’d just received. He watched us with a disapproving glare. The pit in my stomach grew. I nodded, my lips tightening as I blinked back tears. Why did the brothers keep this from me?
“We need any information you have on unsanctioned gates and how they can be closed.”
“That will not be an easy feat. I will suggest an area for you to start, and in the meantime, I’ll begin searching the archives. We stopped making temporary gates a long time ago. They are too dangerous to leave unattended,” Telmis said.
Sixx Saves the World: The Sidekick Chronicles Page 12