“Good to see your false confidence is still high.” He sighs but doesn’t let go of her hand, the two of them sharing a moment that’s shocking and tender all at once.
“Taylor.” He turns to me, his eyes stark. “We must find her.”
“Be still. You took a sword through the back.”
He grimaces. “I told you we couldn’t trust Para.”
“You never trust anyone.” I clasp his forearm, relief filtering down through the veil of grief that shades my soul.
“I know. That’s the way to avoid a blade in the back.” His breath catches on a cough.
I pour him a cup of water and lift his head. He drinks, then settles back down.
“Cenet took her.” His hands curl into fists. “Bastard stole right out of the woods and took her. Killed Para—no loss there. But Taylor. Have you found her?” He looks at me with hopeful eyes, but he’s a warrior too. Just like me, he knows that things are never simple. Never easy.
“Ravella is scrying for her through the vale.” I resume pacing. “Did you see anything else? Any clue where she’s gone?”
He shakes his head slightly. “Para took me out. That shame rests squarely on my shoulders. I didn’t protect my queen. I have failed her.” He meets my gaze, his dark eyes giving way to sadness. “Just as I have failed you.”
“Your oath is still good, old friend.” I stop beside him. “We are going to take her back. We have to.”
“Ravella can find her, right?” Beth chews her lower lip.
“I don’t know.” I hate the answer. “She’s been able to scry before, but not in the Gray Mountains.” Saying it out loud is a fresh dagger through me. Where is my Taylor? “She’s tried to find the missing lesser fae and changelings, but her vision stops at the edge of those lands. Nothing passes through there, not even her spectral form.”
“Maybe this time—”
“No.” Ravella leans back against the cabin wall, her face wan, her eyes back to normal. “I followed the trail as far as I could, but I couldn’t see past the mountains. The trail leads to those damnable peaks, but I can go no farther.”
I can’t stop the roar that rips from me, the sound shaking the timbers of the cabin and sending puffs of dust down from the rafters.
“Me too.” Beth taps her heart. “But in here.”
Ravella wipes the sweat from her brow.
Gray rises and pours her some water.
“Thanks.” She drains it. “But I did see someone in the vale. Someone who could possibly help us.” Her expression darkens even further. “But it will be costly.”
“I’ll pay any price to find her.” No hesitation.
“I was afraid you’d say that.” She drains another cup, then crosses her legs again. “I’ll bring her. Brace yourselves.” Her eyes turn white, and she’s gone into the vale again.
Gray opens one of the provisions bags and starts setting out a meal. “We need to eat. Keep our strength in case the summer realm gets suicidal again.”
I wave the food away. I can’t eat, can barely function. What I need is Taylor. Everything inside me clamors for my mate, and the feral howls with longing. I won’t sit idle. I must follow her, even if my path takes me to the darkest Spire.
“Gray’s right,” Gareth chides. “Eat while you can. When we set off for the Gray Mountains, there may not be food for—”
“We?” I arch a brow. “You aren’t going anywhere.”
“I damn well am.” He sputters. “I watch your back, remember?”
“Might need to keep a better eye on your own.” Gray snorts.
“You’ll pay for that comment.”
“Not till later.” Gray cuts a hunk of bread.
“Then start counting interest.” Gareth’s tone is stronger, but still reedy.
“Stop getting him excited.” I take a piece of bread from Gray’s grip. “I’m eating.” I point at Gareth. “You’re staying.”
“She’s my queen, too, Leander. I am to blame for her capture. I must honor my oath to her.”
“You almost died.” I toss a crust of bread at him.
His reflexes are deadened, the bread bouncing off his tunic and proving my point. “You are no use to me like this. Stay here, recover, and wait for my return.” I swipe the crumbs off him and down the bread. “That’s the end of it.”
His cheeks redden, his eyes furious. “That is not the end of—”
“She’s here.” Ravella sits forward right as a knock sounds on the door.
5
Taylor
An undead guard leads me down a darkened corridor, the faint lights hung at intervals barely revealing the path underfoot. Shathinor hurried me out of his throne room after Cenet appeared, and the two of them engaged in a heated argument as the guard gestured for me to follow. I was too dazed to disobey, not to mention the row of additional soldiers lining the damp underground hallways discouraged me from any escape attempt.
The guard turns abruptly and swings open a worn wooden door. He doesn’t enter, but his rotting hand points the way for me. I step inside a crude bedroom, and the door closes behind me. When I turn to try the door handle, it doesn’t budge.
“You’re here.” Cecile sits in a chair next to a small bed. The other me lies there, her eyes still closed.
“Is she alive?” I hurry over.
“Yes.” Cecile holds her hand between both of her own. “She’s breathing.” Looking up at me, her red-rimmed eyes are teary. “Why won’t she wake?”
“I don’t know.” I run my hand along her forehead and try to ignore the creepy feeling that touching my own face elicits. “She’s not feverish, but that lump on her head isn’t so great.” I pull her hair back and look more closely at it. “I don’t see a dent or anything, so maybe it’s just a superficial bruise. Your head has a really good blood supply, so any injuries there tend to look worse than they are.”
“But she won’t wake.” Cecile’s defeated tone hits a sad note inside me.
“Give her more time.” I pull up the threadbare blanket and tuck it around her, doing my best to ward off the dank chill that pervades this stone prison.
“You’re mated.” Cecile stares at the mark peeking from beneath my shirt.
“Yes.” My cheeks heat.
“I guess all you needed to finally get laid was a little push from me.”
“A little push?” The pity I felt for her starts to drain away. “You call sending me to another dimension—or whatever this is—a little push?”
She shrugs. “Well, it worked, didn’t it?”
I would strangle her, but that would leave me with one fewer ally. So, maybe later when I’ve gotten out of this mess.
I rub my eyes and plop down on the hearth where a small purple fire burns. “By the way, did you know we’re sisters?”
She turns her head toward me, her now-pointy ears thrown in sharp relief. “Did you hit your head, too?”