Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
MERI
M adoc strides in and pecks me on the lips, then turns me toward Cormal. “Go to him. He needs you.” There’s a disturbing glint in his eye that tells me their visit with Oryn didn’t go well.
Worried, I swivel to the door and see conflicting joy and devastation in Cormal’s eyes. The second I get close, he jerks me in his arms and eases down to the floor. Silent tears roll down his face until he buries it in my shoulder. I wrap my arms and legs around him the best I can and hold him tightly.
“My sister’s alive,” he begins, his voice haggard with conflicting emotions. “She’s queen of the dark Fae and has been for the last nine hundred years. Almost the entire time she’s been gone. That’s why the trail went dark and cold.”
His tone changes to something bitter and unrecognizable. “That’s the good news. She’s trapped. Denir is controlling her with a torque, and he’s the only one who can remove it. In the meantime, he taps into her power as if it’s a well.”
Dropping his head back against the wall, he takes a deep breath. “Oryn says most of the time her eyes are blank, displaying little emotion. But he noticed that there are days when he sees a flicker of light in her eyes. A glimpse of anger or a spark of humor. It’s why he’s tried to check into her background without Denir finding out.”
He sighs. “He’s an ally and will do anything to help us get her away from Denir. I didn’t tell him our plans, but he’ll be ready, regardless.”
“Oh, Cormal. I’m sorry.” My voice breaks, and I pause to gather my thoughts. “She’s alive, right?” When he nods, I brush his silky dark hair from his face. “Which means you can save her, and lucky for her, you’re damn good at saving people.”
The torment in his expression eases.
“We have to kill Denir, anyway,” I reflect with a casualness I don’t feel. It hurts me to see him so broken when he’s done everything he can to find her. “But maybe we can find some way to torture him first. Crush him until he begs for mercy.”
The smallest smile appears.
“We all want a piece. Me, you, Madoc, Leandra, and your sister, of course,” I drawl. “But I say, whoever gets to him first wins. A competition. We both know how competitive you are, and Madoc… the man is a machine. Doesn’t know when to stop.”
A loud snort sounds from across the room.
Cormal’s hands wrap around both sides of my head. “Thank you.”
His hoarse voice is still tight with emotion, but the lines of his face are beginning to set in the expression I love most on him. Determination. The implacable will of someone who rules his world.
I nod at the sight. “Good. Are you ready to get up and start kicking some ass?”
He chuckles and produces his trusty notebook.
I roll my eyes. “After we plan, of course. I mean, it’s not like we can spontaneously jump into the abyss. Or ride off and kill someone.”
A knife clatters to the ground beside me, and I turn and glare at Madoc. “Good try. My shield is up.”
The surly Fae winks at me, and my jaw drops. “Cormal, you better call Kavi and make sure hell didn’t freeze over.”
Cormal waves his hand and sends the knife straight toward Madoc, who catches it with his bare hands.
Show off.
“Did you check with Arden while we were gone to see if the tracing spell is working?” Cormal says, standing with me in his arms. He lets my feet drop.
I peek at Rivan and silently urge him to say something.
“We were busy,” he replies with a huge grin that makes it obvious what we were doing.
Madoc spears him with a look that borders on murderous. “I checked with them.” Surprising all of us. “They are close. Should have a location for us within the next hour or two.”
“While you get the coordinates and plan the attack, I’m going to see Solandis,” I inform them.
In the light Fae world, I saw her almost every day. I miss her. And I need to see her before we go after Leandra to remind myself what real love is and how it feels.
Vargas opens the door, clothes wrinkled, and a surly expression on his face.
“What’s going on?” I murmur, stepping into their suite of rooms.
He merely extends his hand toward the couch.
Solandis is sitting on the couch, feet propped up on the coffee table, eating ice cream. Showing considerably more than she did a week ago. Her eyes are puffy, as if she’s been crying.
“What’s going on? Is it the baby?” I ask, starting to panic.
Solandis licks the spoon and gestures down to her growing stomach. “The doctor says everything is fine. I mean, Fae are born relatively quickly, although not usually this quick.” Tears begin to flow down her face, and Vargas curses.
“It’s okay,” I assure her. “You’ve got this. And us. We’ll help you through everything.”
She sniffs and points to the ice cream. “I can’t stop eating.”
I look at her bowl, then dart a glance at Vargas, who’s throwing his hands up in the air. “He or she must really love ice cream, and right now, they’re growing so fast, they need more of everything.”
She stops for a second to think about it. “Maybe. It was never like this with Callyx.”
Tilting my head, I stare at her in disbelief. “Really? I mean, he was pretty unique too, right? Son of a chaos demon and the Princess of the Light Fae. And he turned out great.”
She puts down her spoon and hands me the bowl. “You’re right. Maybe I wasn’t like this. All these years later, it feels different.”
Vargas comes over and sits down beside her. “All better?”
Solandis grips his hand tightly. “Definitely better, but my emotions are all over the place.” She raises an eyebrow and turns to me. “Tell me what’s been going on.”
It takes the better part of an hour, but I bring her up to date on everything.
She studies me for a long minute. “Don’t let Leandra get to you. You’re not the same person anymore.” She sighs. “I wish I could go with you. Give her a taste of my power.”
It’s my turn to sniff. “That would be fun to see.” It would too. Solandis is not the sugary sweet princess she portrays. “Thank you.”
She lets go of Vargas to pull me in close, and I hug her tightly, breathing in the scent of her. “Give Cormal a hug from me, too. Tell him to focus on the things he can fix, not the past.” She places a kiss on my cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I murmur.
Arden walks into the room with a bag full of food. “I’ve got a little of everything in here for all of your cravings.” She hands the bag to Vargas. “We narrowed it down to two possible locations, which I handed to Madoc a few minutes ago. Leandra could be at either one. We offered to go with you, but all three said they had plenty of back-up.”
I shrug. “I haven’t heard the plan yet, but if I need you, I’ll call. Thank you for finding her.” I give her a hug. “Does this place have secure dungeons?”
“Very,” she replies in a smug tone. “Plus, she won’t be able to harm any of us who live here. The Abbey won’t let her.”
“Thanks,” I say with a grim smile. “See you soon.”
Everything is packed and ready to go when I return. Madoc’s pacing from one end of the room to the other. Cormal’s meticulously ticking off his list. Rivan’s studying the strategy.
“So, where are we going?”
“They have two possible locations for Leandra. One is in the Underworld and one in the human world,” Madoc grumbles with a wave of his hand.
Cormal instantly says Underworld at the same time I say human.
“Leandra hates humans,” Cormal reminds me.
“Precisely,” I stress. “Not once did we think to search for her here.” Not in a million, gazillion, quadrillion… whatever, years did I think of checking for her in the human world. I wouldn’t even know where to start. Near a coven? Far from civilization? In the heart of one of the cities? She could stand in the middle of a busy sidewalk, and we wouldn’t see her.
“All right. We check here first,” he agrees, clapping his hands together. “My magic is pushing at the seams, itching to burst free and kill someone.”
“We can’t kill her,” Madoc barks. “Maim her. Take off a couple of limbs. But don’t remove her tongue or hands. Everything else is fair game.”
I look at Rivan, but he’s storing weapons in every conceivable area on his body.
I glance out the window and see it’s near sunset. Running a hand down my body, I change into form-fitting grey clothes. Picking a color between night and day will help me blend into both.
“Let’s go.”
The portal takes us to a house in the countryside. The little brick cottage sits alone on the dirt road. Ruffled curtains blow in the breeze. Window boxes overflowing with flowers sit on the sills. The lawn is freshly mowed.
Full of doubt, I ask Madoc, “Are you sure you have the right coordinates?”
He gives me a droll look, then points down the dirt road to another house. “There. Aamon is joining us here. Leandra’s magic won’t work on him.”
Hmm, good to know.
Rustling in the bush has us all grabbing our weapons, but Aamon laughs when he steps out of them. “Just me.”
“Hi, Aamon,” I greet him with a smile, which he returns. My eyes widen in alarm, and I look at Cormal. His silent laughter brings an even bigger smile to my face.
“Make sure you smile at Leandra, Aamon,” I urge him. “She’ll love it.”
He tilts his head to the side, then shrugs.
Madoc shakes his head at my comment, but I don’t care. Aamon’s smile is utterly terrifying, with multiple rows of very, very sharp teeth. One bite and you’d be gone. He might be a sweetie, but Leandra doesn’t know that.
Madoc and Cormal take to the shadows. I walk up the road to the other house with Rivan on one side and Aamon on the other. When we get close, Rivan kisses me on the cheek and shoots into the sky. I continue along until I’m standing in front of the house.
This is definitely more her style. Completely rundown. Derelict. Rotting siding, peeling paint, overgrown yard, you name it. The dirty, half torn curtain in the front window twitches open, then closed. I tense. Magic buzzes around my fists, and Aamon lets out a soft growl.
Leandra walks out of the house and down the front steps, looking every bit as regal as the last time I saw her. Lush, dark brown hair cascades in waves to the middle of her back, framing her perfect body. Square jaw meets high cheekbones in a stunning visage. Everything about her is designed for seduction, except for her eyes.
Windows to her soul, they terrify everyone who meets her gaze. Cold and calculating, with wild sparks of madness and magic, they return my stare. “Took you long enough to find me.”
Those aren’t the words I imagined her saying.
“You were the one hiding. If you wanted me to visit, all you had to do was send me an invitation.”
She holds the amulet out to me. “Timing wasn’t right. I knew exactly when you would find me, and poof, here you are,” she asserts. “Everything is falling into place. Denir’s coronation is close. I’m sure he’s panicking, and I plan to be there to see him fall.”
I chuckle. “From where? The dungeons? Do you think we’re going to leave you alive?”
She lifts her chin. “I’ve seen my death, and it’s not by your hand. Nor Cormal’s.” She peers at the walls of her house. “You can come out from the shadows. I know you’re on the porch.”
But it isn’t Cormal on the porch, it’s Madoc. With his usual arrogant stride, he walks up to her wearing an expression so dark and full of hatred, she should count her blessings that her death isn’t on his agenda, then snatches the amulet from her hand.
She blanches. “How did you get out?”
“An angel gave me his wings,” he says sardonically. “With my freedom and power, I’ll take my crown and kingdom.”
Leandra throws her beautiful head back and laughs and laughs. “Wouldn’t that be the greatest twist? To return the power I stole and make you king in his stead. The deliciousness of that moment is worth considering.” She holds her hands out to me. “Put on the golden cuffs. Go ahead. I won’t bite.”
Aamon steps forward with the cuffs and grins at her.
She falters for a second, but then moves to meet him. “I meant what I said. I’ve been waiting for you.” She cackles loudly. “Guess you finally met the monster inside you, Meri, my pet. Good thing I’m going to remove it.”
“Can you remove it without killing her?” Madoc asks, his voice harsh.
“Good question. Can I?” Leandra asks, tapping her finger against her thigh. “For the right price, maybe.”