Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
SERAFINA
T he cold air whips at my skin as I push aside a low-hanging branch that sparkles like emeralds.
Cadmus pauses and then crouches, one hand raised in the air.
We all stop walking immediately, recognizing the universal signal for “stop.” Apparently, it doesn’t change whether you’re on Earth or Faerie.
His brows furrow as he stares down at the ground. One of his hands tentatively runs through the dirt there. After a long moment of silence, he sighs and stands, wiping mud off his pants.
“We need to stop for the night. Find shelter. A storm is coming.”
The five of us—me, Kian, Tristan, Foster, and Cadmus—have been walking for hours now. We stopped only once to grab a stack of books from the library that Cadmus deemed important before resuming our trek to the portal.
For the first time since we began this journey, there’s a skip to my step. Hope fizzes and bubbles in my chest like a can of soda that spent the day rolling around in the back of a pickup truck.
Cadmus can heal V.
All we need to do is get to him.
“We can’t stop!” I protest immediately, peering up at the clear blue sky. Not a single rain cloud is visible. “We’re only a few hours away from the portal.”
“And the sky is clear,” Foster adds. “I don’t even see storm clouds on the horizon.”
Cadmus’s expression remains impassive as he shifts his pack from one shoulder to the other. “It’s not that type of storm,” he tells us cryptically. Then he jerks his chin towards a pathway weaving between the trees—almost like a road of red, compacted dirt—and says, “Come on. There’s an abandoned town a short walk that way.”
Kian scratches at the nape of his neck. “I thought you said it wasn’t safe to stay in any of the towns. Because of the…err…monsters.”
Cadmus walks quickly, but very purposely, in the direction he indicated, not bothering to slow his pace. We have to practically jog to catch up. Well, the guys have to jog. I have to run like I’m a sprinter about to cross the finish line. Curse my short legs.
“Monsters won’t be out during the storm,” Cadmus tells us over his shoulder. “Even they aren’t that stupid.”
Nerves eat at my stomach like termites, and a cold, seeping chill winds its way down my spine.
A storm bad enough to scare monsters away? Fun times.
Before any of us can comment, the ground beneath us shakes and trembles. Foster and Kian both fall onto their asses. Only Tristan and I manage to remain upright—a product of our quick reflexes.
“Is that an earthquake?” Foster asks in alarm.
He uses the pad of his middle finger to push his glasses back into place.
“No.” Cadmus’s lips firm as he looks in both directions. “Thunder.”
“Thunder?” Tristan and I exclaim simultaneously.
A tendril of fear manifests in my chest and coils around my heart.
At the same moment, the ground gives another deafening shake, and water explodes from it like a geyser. It’s the strangest thing to see—almost as if it’s raining backwards. Millions of water droplets rush up towards the sky in a steady stream.
In less than a second, I’m soaked to the bone. A shiver reverberates through me as the temperature drops about twenty degrees in a span of seconds.
“Hurry!” Cadmus bellows. “Before it begins to lightning too.”
Oh…
Oh fuck.
We don’t need any more convincing.
Tristan helps Kian stand at the same time I reach for Foster. Then, the four of us take off after Cadmus, the strange rain pelting my feet and thighs. It’s painful . Each slice of the water against my bare flesh resembles the swipe of a knife.
Cadmus halts abruptly, and I nearly run into his broad back. He holds his arm out, indicating for us to stop, just as a white light shoots through the ground in a zigzag shape, illuminating the forest. Dry leaves and fallen logs immediately burst into flames.
Fuck. Fuck.
Fuck!
“This way!” Cadmus steers us to the right, and we run as fast as we can.
Foster’s grip is brutal as he drags me after him, forcing my tiny legs to keep up. I’m suddenly grateful for the gymnastics classes my parents put me in when I was younger—their attempt to make me agile, nimble, and quick.
I’d be dead if it wasn’t for them.
A line of square buildings comes into view, each dwarfed by a mushroom-like roof. Cadmus pauses at the very first house and pulls open the door. We all spill inside in a tangle of limbs and curses.
I immediately focus on the floor, half expecting for the rain to shoot through the boards. Or for lightning to burn the house down, reducing it to nothing but ashes.
Cadmus follows the direction of my gaze and runs a hand through his dark hair, the wet strands kissing the angles of his face. “These houses are safe. All buildings in Faerie were designed to withstand these types of storms. The floors are imbued with very strong magic, as are the walls.”
I try to take comfort in his words, but my fear remains, regardless. The rain sounds like a million drums pounding against the walls and roof of the building. How can such a dilapidated building hold out against a storm like that ?
As the basilisk shifter moves towards a fireplace—fortunately surrounded by old logs—I take a moment to study my surroundings.
The house is tinier than the one I entered with Xander. There appears to be a kitchen that bleeds into a living room, both of them constructed entirely out of wood. Wood walls. Wood ceiling. Wood furniture. There are two doors against the far wall, and I suspect one leads to a bathroom and the other a bedroom.
With a skilled expertise that suggests this isn’t his first rodeo, Cadmus stokes a fire to life. Heat instantly engulfs the room, and I feel some of the muscles in my shoulders loosening. I didn’t realize how cold I’ve become until face-to-face with blessed fire.
The strange fae doesn’t turn his attention away from the flickering flames as he addresses us, his voice sibilant and soft. “You guys should check the bedroom for any clothes left behind. Get dry. These storms usually last a few hours, so we’ll have time to decompress and unwind.”
His yellow eyes slide to me, and my breath hitches.
I can't help but remember his earlier words to me.
The same words I’ve been trying to forget.
“You, Serafina, are the next ruler of Faerie, and you may just be the one who can save us all.”
That’s fucking insanity. I don’t know the first thing about this world or ruling it. This isn’t like some silly fantasy book where the inexperienced, na?ve girl suddenly becomes the supreme ruler over an entire species overnight.
Nope. Not today, Satan. Find someone else for the job. I’ll even help Cadmus set up an Indeed account. I’m sure there are plenty of capable fae. The queen, for starters, and even V, who has been trained for this. Hell, Cadmus could easily be Faerie’s ruler. He effortlessly commanded the respect of every fae back at his camp—even that damn succubus who cried and begged for him not to go with us.
Is it selfish that I don’t give a shit about this world? About saving it? All I can think about is V and Gage and what fresh hell they’re going through.
Is V in pain?
Is Gage still imprisoned?
What about the lords and ladies? Are they okay?
I need to focus on saving my own world before I can even think about anyone else’s.
And my world revolves around seven completely different men.
Tristan. Gage. Kian. Foster. V. Devyn. Xander.
I look away from Cadmus and swallow heavily. Out of my periphery, I notice disbelief flicker across his face, chased by a deep hurt.
No, he won’t want me as a ruler once he knows the true me. He’ll run in the opposite direction screaming for mercy. But for now…
For now, I’ll greedily accept his help, knowing it may be the only way to save the men I love.
“Come on.” Tristan wiggles his fingers in front of my face, encouraging me to take them. “Let’s change our clothes and get dry. It seems as if this is going to be a long night.”