38. The Fae Life for Me
The Fae Life for Me
Levi
Walking out of the portal and into a room decorated in blues and forest green doesn’t faze me much. Anything can happen in the Fae Realm, but what’s in front of me does surprise me.
Fuck. I guess I should have listened to Knox.
“Hello Leviathan. It took you long enough.” Emer smiles as she stands from the sofa in front of me and then scowls. “What the fuck is that?” she howls, pointing at my feet.
I glance down to see Reaper pulling on his leash.
I grab the end of it and help him get untangled, and once he does, Reaper turns his focus onto Emer and growls.
Turning, I notice we’re the only ones standing before Emer, and I immediately turn around and see the portal gone.
What in the world? Where did the portal go, and will the others be okay without me?
I unclench my jaw, take in a deep breath, and turn back to face this detour I have now found myself in.
“It’s okay, Reaper,” I try to calm him before I set my eyes back on my ex.
“Emer, to what reason do we owe this summons?”
She rolls her eyes as she walks over to me, side-eyeing Reaper before she runs her hand down my black leather corset, drinking in how it contours my muscles.
“You know, at first, I wasn’t into this look,” she says, looking up at me with a sly smile.
“But I do see how it has its perks.” She nibbles on her bottom lip, and for some reason, it looks familiar, but I can’t place where I know it from.
“I like it!” she says, rubbing over my heart in a circular motion.
I quickly grab her hand, stopping her movement, and she immediately pouts. “Aww, I thought you liked it when I rubbed your chest?” She bats her eyes.
If she knew I was rotting from the inside out, would she care?
I’ve seen so many different sides of her, I don’t know which is real anymore.
It was her curse that started this in the first place.
This festering sore that, with each pass of her hand, sends the anchor further into my soul, having the opposite effect I’m sure she’s hoping for.
“I’ve changed,” I admit, dropping her hand and letting Reaper off his leash before walking over to the double windows in the room.
“Where are we? And where’s your entourage?
” I ask nonchalantly. I’m not as annoyed as I would have been in the past by her presence, which is confusing to say the least. This has to be from the potion.
I know the Fae Realm is one of the most dangerous places to be if you’re without an escort, so I’m nervous about the rest of my family, but I also know they can handle themselves.
That is, if that even ended up in the Fae Realm.
I’m pretty sure they had to, since Murmur wouldn’t have lied to us, and he knew what places we were supposed to visit.
And if Emer redirected my portal here, then there’s a good chance the portal was already set for this realm.
I want to know why the fuck I’m here or for how long, though.
Looking out the window, I realize I already know where we’re at—the Summer Fae Palace.
I can see the famous bailey—courtyard—from here.
In the middle of the inner circle is a ten-foot statue of the King of the Elves standing on the bones of his ‘enemies’, and elves bowing down, worshipping him.
I’ve seen that image in so many photos over the years that it’s become ingrained in my mind.
“We’re at Thornbark Castle, home of the Summer Kingdom, and it’s just us right now. The girls are around the castle somewhere.” She walks over to the sofa and sits down.
The girls. The ones who tried to kill Rez while she was hurt, alone, and powerless in the Ever Woods.
When Rez told us about that, I had an initial gut reaction of worry, but the pain in my chest quickly remedied that.
Instead, my thoughts turned to who got hurt from the Thunder stag.
They are one of the most dangerous creatures around.
I wasn’t close to Janika, but since she was a mage, we often had the same classes.
I can’t remember what she wanted to study and practice once she went to Earth, but I do recall she was talented.
Either way, I guess she got what she deserved.
The Gauntlet isn’t a place to fuck around in, and at least Rez did what she must to make it back to my brothers.
Speaking of which, I need to know where they are at.
“Where’s the rest of my family?” I turn, leaning my back against the window. From the corner of my eye, I catch Reaper sniffing around the sofa and bookcase that’s across the room.
“Your family, or a certain human trash bin?” She arches an eyebrow.
“My family, of course,” I sigh, getting tired of her constantly feeling inferior to Rez.
She’s a Fae Royal for Fates’ sake, and she’s constantly comparing herself to others, never happy with what she’s been given on a golden platter, and that’s always been her downfall.
She’s never had to work a day in her life—a spoiled heir.
Of course, Rez is a part of my family; even if this curse is pulling us apart, she’s my brothers’ mate.
“You took me away from them, and I’m their main healer.
You and I both know this Realm is one of the deadliest ones around, where everything down to the flowers can kill you. ”
“They will be fine, I promise, and if anything happens, the guards have been instructed to find us and let you know they need help,” Emer relents, flipping a loose pink curl off her brow. “Ugh. I don’t remember you being this anal about your family before.”
“I’ve changed,” I deadpan. I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but knowing that as a Fae, she can’t lie does ease my nerves. Bending the truth, though, is another matter.
“Although they might not say anything if a certain trash can parasite is about to meet her untimely end,” she mumbles under her breath.
Reaper’s attention snaps to Emer, his fiery hackles rising as his lips curl, showing his teeth, and an ungodly snarl rips out of him.
She freezes as she takes in the most dangerous being in the room.
“He really is protective of her, huh?” she observes, barely moving.
“Yes, he is. So I would be careful what I say if I were you, because he really doesn’t listen to me.
He only listens to her and Knox, and neither one of them is here,” I tell her, easily fibbing.
Reaper listens to all of us, but she doesn’t need to know that.
“And he’s more than the normal Hellhound.
” Reaper, being the amazing dog he is, shoots his flames higher, causing Emer’s eyes to widen as she audibly swallows before composing herself once again.
She eyes me a moment longer before nodding.
“Well, I’ll keep that in mind. Come. Have a seat.
Would you like to watch the Gauntlet with me?
I’ve found it quite entertaining when it’s not me fighting for my life,” she says, patting the seat next to her.
She presses a button for a control on the stand next to her while she rearranges herself on the sofa.
The picture on the wall retracts, and a TV replaces it.
The image flashes to a group of Poseidon’s students still in the Ever Woods, climbing out of a bog.
Hmm. Guess their scientific gadgets aren’t helping them much.
They must be on the West side of the woods, where the Naga lurk.
Sure enough, as soon as I think it, one pops up in the background as one of the last students emerges from the swamp, pulling off some moss from their shoulders.
This is the first time I’ve seen Naga not in a book.
The humanoid creature has a snake body, a human torso and arms, but a fish head, with scales covering it from head to toe.
I know they come in different colors, but this one almost blends in with the fog.
Shit, there’s no way they’ll be able to know it’s there.
As the Naga rises above the bog and starts twisting along the water, a ringing sound alerts the group, and a ball falls in front of the student who’s at the water's edge. He bends down and opens the ball, allowing us a better view of the Naga that’s now a few feet away as everyone focuses on the ball.
“Oh, my God. This team is beyond dumb. If they would just look up, they would see their death coming, already,” Emer drones.
“No wonder they are in last place. I bet they just throw them a bone to increase tension,” she recaps before looking down at her nails.
“Shit, I chipped a nail,” she whines, getting up.
With her out of the room to find stuff for her nail, I concentrate back on the TV in time to see the wide-eyed student turn in terror and be skewered by the Naga’s spear before being thrown into the bog. Reaper comes over and leans against my leg and whines softly.
“It’s okay, buddy,” I reassure him. “I’ll get back to them soon enough.
” I reach down and scratch behind his ear, feeling his warmth and trying to offer him some comfort.
I didn’t completely lie. While he listens to all of us, he does have a stronger connection to almost everyone else besides me, so while this isn’t familiar, it isn’t an unwelcome feeling.
So I continue to pet him while I watch the Naga make quick work of the rest of the team.
Damn. They didn’t have a chance.
“Aww, did I miss the slaughter?” Emer asks, coming back in with a nail kit. Needing to know the purpose of my being here, I turn to look at her directly, and she immediately perks up. “Yes, Leviathan?”
“Why am I here?” I ask once again, still waiting for the answer.
She cocks her head to the side and narrows her eyes slightly.
“Well, that depends on your answer,” she says coyly.
“To what question, Emer? Stop playing games.”
She sets down her kit and mirrors my position, turning to face me.