I shot upright, blinking into the darkness.
Not a dream.
Connor.
I surged to my feet and drew a throwing ax from the ether, powering up a fireball in my hand as I spun to face the truck.
The Ice King.
He blended with the shadows, his dark cloak and hair merging seamlessly with the night. Only his blazing blue eyes were distinct.
Somehow, he’d broken through Connor’s wards. Just him, no backup. He’d be the only one strong enough. I hadn’t thought it possible to get past Connor’s magic, but I shouldn’t have underestimated him. He’d dragged Connor out of the truck and held his limp body upright.
Please be unconscious.
“Let him go!” I hurled my fireball at the bastard. He dodged, surging toward me, never letting go of Connor.
I called upon another fireball, a massive one that was so bright it cast golden light on the king’s face even though I still held it.
I hated him in that moment, with a visceral rage that made me vibrate. When I threw the fireball, I put so much force into it that he couldn’t dodge. The flame caught on his cloak, spreading quickly.
His roar of pain rent the night, and I chucked the throwing ax at him, aiming for his chest. It slammed into his shoulder, and he jerked backward.
Hatred gleamed in his eyes right before he disappeared into the ether, dragging my brother with him.
“No!” I dropped to my knees, heart tearing in two.
What the hell had just happened?
Panic beat within my chest, making my breath heave and my skin chill. He’d taken Connor.
And he hadn’t attacked me.
He’d had time. It had all happened so fast, but there had been moments when he could have thrown a deadly ice spear at me.
He hadn’t.
I rocked back on my heels.
What the hell did it all mean?
Connor had been unconscious, but not dead. I’d have felt it if he were dead.
I surged to my feet.
I didn’t want to call him on his comms charm—the king would hear my voice coming from it. I had to go after him.
It was risky. I knew I shouldn’t go into the heart of the Ice Fae’s Court. Connor wouldn’t want me to. My own Court wouldn’t want me to.
They’d want me to lie low, protecting my own life so I could one day save theirs.
But he was my brother.
I’d do anything for him.
I didn’t know what had knocked him unconscious, but what if he needed treatment?
The Ice King had to know I’d come for Connor—it could have been why he’d taken him.
I would be walking into a trap. But I didn’t see how I had a choice.
I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and quickly dialed Cass. It went right to voice mail, so she had to be out of signal.
The beep sounded. “Hey, Cass. It’s Claire. I’m about to do something dangerous. If you don’t hear from me in two days, I’m at the Court of the Ice Fae in Cornwall. Maybe dead.”
Shit. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that?
Whatever. It was done.
I hung up and strode to the cave where I’d been sleeping and grabbed my bug-out bag. Quickly, I rifled through it. There was a collection of various potions at the bottom of the bag—everything from healing potions to sleeping spells—courtesy of my potion master brother. Anything that might come in handy. But right now, the transport charm was going to be the most valuable. I grabbed it from the bottom of the bag. With a last glance at Connor’s truck, I threw the charm to the ground.
A poof of glittery gray smoke exploded upward, and I stepped into it, imagining the rocky coast of Cornwall, close to where the Ice Fae’s kingdom was supposed to be.
The ether sucked me in and hurled me through space, making my stomach turn and my head spin. I stumbled out onto the thick green grass that covered the hillside nearly halfway across the world.
Cool wind whipped across my face, and the red sun headed toward the horizon in the distance. It was nearing sunset, thank fates. I could use the cover, and most Fae realms only opened at dusk and dawn.
I drew a deep breath of salty sea air into my lungs and spun in a circle, inspecting my surroundings.
Just as I’d imagined it. As I remembered it.
So different than Dartmoor, but familiar all the same. I’d rarely come to Cornwall or the coast, but the few times I had, the majestic scenery had burned itself into my mind.
Behind me, the slope of the hillside rose steeply upward. Thorny bushes competed with yellow gorse for space. In front of me, the sea crashed against the rocks below. I stood on a little flat patch of grass that had managed to grow between the tiny yellow flowers of the gorse and the evil prickers of the bushes.
I scanned the land around me, looking for anything familiar. I’d only been to this specific spot once before, long ago. I’d come on a reconnaissance mission to give my younger self the lay of the land. The Ice Fae were the closest Fae Court to ours, so we’d always been aware of them. Especially since their king was meant to kill me.
Our Courts hadn’t always been enemies, but the time when we’d gotten along was so far back in history that no one alive today had been around.
We had stories, though, passed down about their kingdom. One story even said they’d once been Sea Fae, but I didn’t know if it were true. I’d learned them all as a child, and I cast my mind back, trying to remember the one about the Fire Fae smugglers.
For centuries, the rocky coast of Cornwall had been a hotbed of smuggling activity. Humans had smuggled liquor, tea, and tobacco, but the Fae had been in on it as well. A group of Fire Fae smugglers had found a way into the Ice Fae kingdom, and I needed to retrace their steps. Literally. There should be stairs carved into the cliffside here. It was possible the king had no idea they existed, since it was a carefully kept Fire Fae secret.
But first, I’d have to find the entrance to their realm.
Fae Courts didn’t exist on the same plane as the human realm. They were located on earth—technically. Except for the fact that they were in another realm. Each Court had a secret entrance. I’d been to both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts in Scotland, but I’d never actually been into the realm of the Ice Fae.
I started down the path, heading west, toward the setting sun. Magic prickled against my skin, calling to me. Dark was coming quickly, so I picked up the pace.
When I spotted the stone archway partway up the hillside, I grinned.
Then my gaze landed on the thorny bushes between me and the arch. It was surrounded by them, and I’d have to cut through twenty yards of the most insane, spikey bushes I’d ever seen.
“If I had my wings, it wouldn’t be an issue,” I muttered.
I’d long since given up my bitterness over my missing Fae wings.
Mostly.
Until things like this happened.
Things that should be easy for a normal Fae—like flying over the human-repelling brambles to reach the entrance to a Fae realm.
But when I was stuck in situations like this…
Yeah, I became a little bitter.
I drew in a deep breath and plowed through the thorny bushes. They scraped against my fighting leathers, the tough fabric blocking them. At first.
As I neared the stone arch, the thorns began to cut through, gouging my skin. I winced, tears rising to my eyes as the wounds began to burn.
I gasped raggedly as the searing pain shot from my legs up to my arms, lighting my whole body on fire.