ELEVEN #3
I curved toward the right, watching as everyone effortlessly did the same, a few of the younger ones rolling in the air, showing off.
I soared forward a bit, sidling in beside Tsar and Smoky, figuring she could subtly guide me if I fell off course.
I still had a vague memory of the way to the Dark Court, even if I hadn't been there myself.
Everyone knew where it was. It was the only way to make sure you didn't accidentally end up there.
We flew for an hour before around us, the birds started to disappear, the trees got more gnarly, more prone to diseases of the bark without the tree fae to care for them, take care of them. Most Earth fae being of the Light realm.
In my head, I could feel this odd nose-wrinkling sensation that wasn't my own, but instead a collection from all the Draca around me.
With heightened senses, they were all experiencing the acrid stench of the Dark realm, the way the air smelled always of ash and death.
I tried pushing a message through, unsure if that muscle was one I could still stretch, trying to tell them that we were getting close.
Close, though, was a relative term.
The Dark was as vast as the Light, as massive a trek to get through it to find the deepest, most protected of areas.
Where the Court would be.
It took another few hours, even with our massive wingspans, to get to where the scent was almost overwhelming, making you want to hold your breath instead of take it in.
"We're almost there," Smoky's voice called. "Just beyond those trees," she added, holding an arm out to where the tree line thickened, then thinned out, likely to accommodate the massive area that was the Court.
I looked over at Sal, suddenly realizing we hadn't discussed what they might be in charge of, what they were to do.
Too late now, I decided, trying to shrug that off.
We didn't have time to stop, to Change, to regroup.
Amy was in that Court.
Amy was having who-knew what happen to her in that Court.
I wasn't going to waste a second when we were this close.
It was about then that I heard Smoky's voice, raised to be heard over the rush of air whipped over our - and her - bodies.
"Swoop down by the windows,so I can look inside. See if I can find her," she suggested, making me nod.
I took a slow, deep breath as we flew over the thick part of the forest, breaking into the clearing.
The Court was massive, as one would expect. The castle itself was bigger than the Winters' compound - a giant structure in its own right - by at least four times over, sprawling, dark, but kept.
The gates were opened, Dark fae allowed to come and go, trade wares, seek asylum, settle disputes, wait to speak to the King.
It was maybe ten seconds before heads started to twist, turn up, wondering what was banking the sun out of the sky.
Expecting, I imagine, a storm, the shocked awe on their faces was enough to bring a smirk to my face before all thoughts of them drifted away, pushed beneath the bone-deep need to find Amy.
We all seemed to break apart at once, some drifting up, some going to swing around the castle.
Me, Tsar/Smoky, and Raisa/Sal swooped downward, low enough that my tale scraped the top of the guard wall, making a few nearby fae squeal as my gaze went to the windows, trying to get close enough as I sailed to sniff, to see if her scent was around, trying to hear past all the chaos below us, trying to find her voice.
A growing dread filled me when I smelled, saw, heard nothing of her, wondering if she was below ground, in a cell somewhere.
What the fuck were we supposed to do then? I wasn't leaving her.
I didn't care if it came down to staying behind on my own, and burning the entire fucking place down to find her.
She was coming back with me.
No matter the wreckage.
Something happened even as the thought formed, as the fire within raged, begging to be used, to burst forth like it was meant to.
A window opened.
And I smelled her.
I whipped around so fast that I knocked a row of bricks off the front of the building with the edge of my stomach, making it crumble downward, fae running and screaming to get out of the way.
But I barely registered it.
All that could break through my mind was her.
Amy.
The Draca part of me screamed something the other part of me had known for a long time.
Mine.
She was mine.
And she was close.
I followed the track I had lead even as I saw an empty cart set ablaze, making the nearest guards run for their lives.
And there was a window wedged open that hadn't been before.
And a woman hanging halfway out, her mouth open wide. A familiar mouth. A mouth I had kissed countless times, had felt moving all over me, had curved into brilliant smiles for me.
Her eyes were just as round, taking in the spectacle of it all, not seeming to understand the reason behind it, too overtaken with awe to realize we were here for her.
I was here for her.
I swooped low, just below the window, watching as she shocked back a bit, surprised, not recognizing me.
It wasn't until she moved forward a step again, gaze fixed on my eye that a slow, relieved smile split her face.
"Drake," she exhaled, eyes filling a bit.
"No fucking shit," another voice said from behind her. A male voice. The Draca in me, possessive and jealous as it was, let out a growl, my mouth parting to let out a small burst of fire as my gaze sought the source.
He was standing there behind Amy, head shaking.
I didn't have to know him to know him.
The Dark Prince.
In all his royal glory.
"The fuck are you waiting for?" Jet's voice called to Amy, making her head swivel over her shoulder to him. "You were waiting for your out, Amethyst. It doesn't get any better than this. Go. You," he added, moving behind Amy to talk to me. "You need to burn me."
My head shook, remembering my promise to the elders. I had Amy. There was no need for damage, for anyone to get hurt. Least of all the Dark Prince. "It can't look like I let her go," he growled, making his honey-brown eyes flash violently.
My head shook again, making Amy look between us, seeming lost before suddenly closing her hands over a chair situated beside the window.