“I’m not leaving you.”
“You have to. We need to save Tarron.”
“Not at the expense of you.”
“I’ll be fine. Delayed maybe, but fine.” I gripped her arm. “Please. I’d do it for you.”
“Leave me behind?” She arched a brow.
“You know what I mean.” I shoved her. “Now go.”
She glared at me and took the root. “Fine, but I’m coming back for you as soon as I get this ingredient to Magic’s Bend.”
“Fine, whatever. Just go.”
She nodded, then flipped up the hood on her white suit and disappeared.
The door in front of me creaked open as she slipped out, and I followed, determined to distract them from Aeri.
There had to be at least a dozen patrons and six guards, all scattered throughout the room, standing amongst the trees that grew up from the floor.
Now they were all looking at me.
“Intruder!” shouted one of the guards. He pointed to me, brow furrowed.
“Hey there!” I grinned and waved, then called upon my wings.
The ceiling wasn’t high, but the tree branches provided cover. The guards began to hurl blasts of white magic at me. I darted and dived, narrowly avoiding the blows. A blast of white light hit a tree to my left, and the thing shuddered and dropped its leaves.
“Bitch!” shouted one of the guards.
I hissed but didn’t attack. They were just doing their jobs. Running seemed fairest and safest.
I flew toward the door, racing for freedom.
A blast of green light hit my arm, and pain flared. I screamed, clutching my bicep as it went numb. Shocked, I looked behind me.
One of the patrons, a guy with a skinny black mustache and a long ponytail, grinned evilly at me.
He was just attacking for the hell of it!
Bastard.
I drew a potion bomb from the ether—a stunner, just to be nice—and chucked it at him. The glass exploded against his chest, tiny shards of blue glass flying through the air. The liquid soaked into his shirt, and he toppled backward, his eyes rolling back in his head.
Two guards sent massive blasts of white light at me, and I managed to narrowly avoid them, darting hard to the right and taking cover behind some tree limbs.
The branches shook, dropping their leaves.
I spun to face the door. Nearly there.
The corridor with the birds was so close.
Panting, I gave it one last burst of speed, my wings beating fast, and dived low through the doorway that led into the corridor. Guards shouted and sprinted after me.
“Hey, birdies!” I called, trying to sound as friendly as possible.
They started up a racket, turning dozens of pairs of beady red eyes on me. They snapped their black beaks and shifted restlessly, leaning toward me.
“Get her!” shouted one of the guards. “Go on, you useless birds!”
My heart pounded as I dug into my pocket and yanked out a small handful of the gold-wrapped butterscotch candies. I chucked them in the air ahead of me. “For my buddies!”
The birds all gave a loud caw of delight and lunged off their branches, flying toward the golden candies. I darted past them, covering my face as I flew through the hordes of birds going the other direction.
“Don’t forget to share!” I shouted as I raced toward the exit.
One last guard stood in front of it, braced for battle with his sword raised high.
There was no time to hunt for a stunning potion. I drew my blade from the ether and landed in front of him.
His blade was twice as long as mine. He swung it hard and fast for my abdomen, and I jumped backward, sucking in my stomach as the steel whooshed past.
“That was close.” I grinned and sliced out with my own blade, going for his sword arm.
He tried to parry, but was too slow. My steel cut deep, slicing a wound that made him howl. He clutched the injury and staggered. I charged and kicked him in the gut, sending him to the ground.
Fast as I could, I leapt over him and shoved at the door, racing out into the cold night air. I sprinted through the alley and up the stairs, appearing on the wide flagstone street. Somewhere else in the city, bagpipes were playing, their plaintive wails sounding high above the majestic stone buildings.
“Good to see you again, Scotland.” With that, I called upon my transport magic and disappeared. The last thing I heard was the frustrated roar of Penriel, the Fae without a court.
I appeared back on the street in front of my house. Darklane was quiet at this time of day. Late afternoon was often one of the less busy periods, and there was no one on the street as I raced up the stairs to my townhouse.
As I disengaged the security charms that protected the front door, a roar sounded from within.
No.
Tarron.
I raced inside and down the hall, hurtling into the workshop at the back.
Tarron had somehow escaped his bindings and had Aeri cornered. He was about seven feet from her, backing her up against the wall. She swung her mace, her brow creased and a debate in her eyes.
My heart thundered.
Shit. They would kill each other.
3
Tarron roared and charged Aeri, his eyes golden and wild. Black veins shot through the glowing irises, evidence of the false queen’s control. He was so enraged that he didn’t even see me standing to the side.
Quickly, I reached into the ether and fumbled for a stunning charm in the bag.
Crap, I couldn’t find one!
It took me far too long, but finally, my sweating fingers closed around the familiar shape. I withdrew it, heart thundering as I threw it at him, praying that my aim was true.
The blue glass globe spun through the air and slammed into his back, soaking his shirt with the solution. He flew forward and crashed onto his front, unconscious.
“Where is Declan?” I demanded as I hurried toward Tarron. “You shouldn’t have been alone!”
“He’s getting Connor. He wasn’t picking up the phone. Anyway, I could handle him.” She glared at me.
“But the mace, Aeri? You could have crushed his skull.”
“I was just trying to scare him.”
I laughed as I knelt at his side. “Scare Tarron?”
“Good point.” She nudged him with her toe. “Big bastard doesn’t look like he’s scared of anything.”
“Hey, that’s the man I love you’re talking about.”
She met my gaze. “Love?”
“Yeah.” I shrugged. “Apparently so.” I swept the hair back from the side of his face, pleased to see that he hadn’t landed straight on it. “Though he’s clearly not at his best right now.”
“No kidding.” She crouched by his side. “So you really love him? It’s not just the fated mates thing?”
“This wasn’t really where I expected to have this heart to heart.”
“What, you imagined more of a martini and Manhattan situation? Maybe while watching some True Blood and eating ice cream?”
“Well, yeah.” I rolled Tarron over and felt his ribs, trying to make sure nothing was broken. He was unconscious, but he might still wince if I pressed a particularly sore spot. “But then again, none of this is what I expected.”
“You’re preaching to the choir here.” She reached over and gripped my hand. “You’re sure it’s love?”