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FOCUSING ON GORM’S house, the gem took me to the yard just as I’d instructed it to. It probably wouldn’t be wise to appear directly inside the building. I didn’t want to startle anyone into firing their gun or throwing a spell at me. It wouldn’t kill me, but there was an off chance that Asha could get caught in the crossfire.
Sending out my senses, they were reflected back at me. Gorm’s magic was intricate and multi-layered. He’d been a devious little being and far too clever. I couldn’t tell if anyone was inside or how many of my team members were present.
Left with little choice, I walked over to the door and knocked. Almost a full minute passed before it was yanked open. My gaze flashed over Harley, Pru, Leroy and Asha, then lodged on a face I hadn’t expected to see. “Emelia?” I said in astonishment.
“Jake Everett,” she said coolly and nodded in greeting. “Are you well?”
Her formal tone had me grinning inwardly. She was even more beautiful than I remembered after months of seeing only Unseelie warriors and monsters. She put the two courtiers that I’d bedded to shame. “I’m fine, darlin’,” I drawled, then looked at my team. “Are you going to let me in, or do I have to stand in the doorway all day?”
“It’s good to see you, boss honky,” Leroy said with a grin that showed off his gold tooth.
“We were worried about you,” Asha said and stepped forward to hug me. I was tempted to grab her and leave immediately, but my father hadn’t specified when I needed to bring her back. I was curious about why Emelia was here and stepped inside. I submitted to a quick embrace from Harley and a longer hug from Pru before we walked over to the living area.
“Where’s Rudy?” I asked as I sank down onto the enlarged armchair.
“He’s gone rogue,” the ghost told me. “We had to lock him in a cell to keep him from going on a killing spree.” He hiked his thumb towards the hallway that led deeper into the house.
“What do you mean he’s gone rogue?” I asked in bewilderment. A cup of coffee appeared in front of me and I picked it up. The taste was almost bland after the stuff the brownies had given me in the goblin dungeon, but I drank it anyway.
Pru frowned at me, but she didn’t say anything. She exchanged a look with Asha and I wondered what was on their minds. Harley launched into an explanation and I pushed my misgivings aside. “So, Rudy has basically turned into an evil monster who will kill anyone he sees?” I summed up when the kid was done. I had to swallow more coffee to stifle the laugh that wanted to escape from me.
“Are you okay?” Asha asked me. She was looking at me strangely.
“I’m fine, sweetheart. Why do you ask?”
“You seem different,” Pru replied for her. She’d been studying me closely since I’d walked in the door.
“I’m the same man I was when I left here,” I lied with a grin.
“He’s an Unseelie fairy,” a small female voice said from somewhere in the room. “You need to get him out of here before he kills us all.”
“He’s only half Unseelie,” Asha said to the invisible person. “He has Seelie blood as well.”
“I don’t think he’s the same person you used to know,” the unseen female replied. “I can’t sense any Seelie magic in him at all. He feels just as evil as every other Unseelie fairy I’ve ever met.”
All eyes went to me and a silver sword appeared in Emelia’s hand. The warrior rose fluidly to her feet to confront me. “What happened to you in King Lod’s dungeon, Jake Everett?” she asked in a commanding tone. It had no effect on me, except to make me aroused. Knowing my real name didn’t compel me to answer her like it would have if I was a lesser fae creature.
Rising as well, I allowed my amusement to show. “I did what the Seer told me to do, darlin’. I embraced my Unseelie side.”
Dismayed looks were exchanged when they recalled the two possible outcomes of the prophecy. “Did you succumb to the darkness?” Asha asked in a small voice. A tiny pixie with green hair and lavender eyes appeared on her shoulder, glowing brightly and staring at me warily.
“Yep,” I admitted. “Frankly, I don’t know why I resisted for so long. I’m far more powerful now. Especially now that I have this back.” The gem appeared on my palm at a thought. “I have one pesky little task to perform, but I’ll be back soon,” I said with a wink at Emelia, then looked at the dryad. “You’ll be coming with me, sweetheart. Your father tasked me with taking you to the Unseelie realm.”
I saw Leroy flick a frantic look at Emelia, but didn’t realize she was wearing his ring until after she spoke. “Get them out of here,” she ordered. The phantom zoomed forward and collected everyone except for the fairy and used the veil to transport them elsewhere. My senses swept out now that the spell wasn’t reflecting them. Rudy was the only other being in the building.
“Alone at last, darlin’,” I said and advanced on the warrior. I could easily use the gem to divest her of her weapon, but I didn’t want to make this too easy for myself. I’d always preferred a challenge to doing things the easy way.
Instead of backing away, she held her ground. She wore a silver dress rather than her usual armor. It clung to her curves, highlighting how fragile, yet lush she was. Seeing the frayed gold thread that still bound her to the warrior who had abused her, my rage spiked. “By the way, Syanil is dead,” I told her.
She gasped in shock and her sword dipped for a moment. “You took the life of a fairy?” she asked in horror.
“He and Prince Sindarian are both gone,” I confirmed with a smirk.
“The Dark Prince is also dead?” She couldn’t even conceive that two lives had been snuffed out.
“The Unseelie realm isn’t a stable place to be in right now,” I told her. “They weren’t kidding when they said it would upset the balance to take a fae life, let alone two of them.”
“This has to be put to rights,” she muttered as if it was something she had to worry about personally.
“Why would you care if the Unseelie realm is in chaos?” I asked, moving closer until I was a bare two feet away.
“If the chaos is left unchecked, it will eventually spill into the Seelie lands,” she explained, watching me warily. “When it does, the border between the realms will be put into jeopardy. The boundary will become blurred and no one knows what will happen then.” Whatever the outcome would be, she seemed to think it wouldn’t be particularly good.
“Why are you here?” I asked her, watching her face intently.
“The Seer foresaw disaster and tasked me with helping your team,” she told me stiffly. “Tell me, Jake, what are your intentions?”
I met her eyes that had turned a stormy blue and my smile widened. “I’m going to get you naked and ruin you for all other men, darlin’,” I replied.
Reaching out, I touched her cheek and the spell I’d created to protect her kicked in. Instead of flinging me away, it locked me into place and I was inundated with her memories.
