Chapter Three

 

I stood in the middle of mountains, though they didn’t look like the ones I’d been to in the Rockies. These were gentler, more rounded, as though age had softened them. We were by a stream, flat emerald green land spreading as far as my eye could see.

It looked a bit like the northernmost parts of Faery.

We seemed to be at the base of a mountain, and I could smell the salt of the sea, hear the crashing of waves, though they seemed to come from below us.

I should have worn a coat because it was cold and there was a soft twilight, though I’d thought it was still day. When we’d come through the painting, I’d glanced at the clock in the office and it had read a bit after one p.m.

“Is everyone here?” Eddie had fallen to the soft earth. He looked up at us with weary eyes.

Rhys bent down and picked up the small demon, cradling him in strong arms. “We’re all here.”

“Even…” Eddie began

Rhys nodded. “Even the unborn. They’re fine. As always, you have served us with strength and honor, my friend.”

Devinshea moved in behind me, his hand covering my belly as though he wanted to ensure Rhys was right. I felt him sigh in relief. Arwyna had made it, too. She clung to Dev’s hair.

“You did great.” Lee gave Eddie a thumbs-up. “You should take a nap and when you wake up, I’ll have a hunk of meat for you.”

“But I must get our domicile ready for my mistress,” Eddie argued.

Kelsey was right there, taking his clawed hand in hers. “All I need is to be here with you and Trent and Fen and Gray.”

Eddie looked away. “I am afraid Master Gray is not in residence at this time, but we expect him soon.”

Oh, something was wrong there. I feared Kelsey was handling the entire situation far better than I was, but now I worried things were about to go wrong for her. Twelve years. So much could happen in twelve years. Where was everyone? This valley we were in looked empty. Would we jump again? Was that where I would find Neil and Sarah and my dad?

How old was my dad now?

Twelve years. Those two words sent panic through me.

“And Trent’s not here either,” Evan said.

“Dad’s on assignment back in the States.” Fen was stepping into jeans that looked to have come out of the backpack Evan had been carrying. She pulled a sweater out and handed it to him. “When Eddie’s had a chance to rest, I’ll take you to him, Mom. I can’t tell you how happy he’s going to be to see you. And he’s going to be relieved the ritual worked. Dad told me about it. He wasn’t sure, but I knew he had hope. The baby is Gray’s right?”

Kelsey nodded, worry plain on her face. “Yes. That was the plan. Gray and I would have a child, and then Trent and I. Where is Gray?”

Fen pulled the sweater on and ran a hand over his mass of dark hair, pulling it back and tying it at the base of his neck. “I think Dad should explain that to you. Gray’s alive. He’s not a prisoner or anything. Having you back might help.”

“Why do you call Trent Dad but Gray is Gray?” Kelsey got to the heart of the matter.

Evan put his boots on the grass, a move it looked like she’d done a thousand times since Fen didn’t even have to look down to shove his feet inside.

“Again, I would rather talk about it with Dad around. Mom, we’ve waited twelve years. You can be patient about this,” Fen said in a calm voice. “I don’t know everything. Dad should be the one to talk to you, and he’s in Atlanta right now.”

“I’ll have you there in no time at all,” Eddie promised though his voice shook.

“In the morning,” Rhys corrected.

“But, I can…”

“The morning is fine,” Kelsey interrupted. Her voice was calm, though I could see her clear frustration in the way her jaw was tight. “You need your rest. You’re not used to transporting so many. You did great, Eddie. But where are we?”

Dev had moved away, his hands on his hips as he took in the landscape around us. “I suspect we’re in Huldrefólk country.”

Lee moved in, a huge smile on his face as he held his arms open. “Hey, Mom. Long time, no see.”

I was still numb as he enveloped me. I’d promised him I would see him in the morning. I told him not to worry and called him my darling, and then he’d been left on his own. He’d been left to fight and suffer and bleed. He’d lost his eye. I hadn’t been here to protect him.

I had to fix it.

He seemed to realize I wasn’t responding and stepped back.

Daniel moved in and pulled Lee into a bear hug. “It’s good to see you, son. I want all the stories, but first we should get your mother somewhere warm. Where are we?”

The smile was back on Lee’s face. “Papa’s right. We’re in Iceland, at the northernmost tip. We should get inside. It’s much warmer in the mountain.”

Dev had Evan wrapped in a hug, Fen watching carefully.

I had to get it together. I wasn’t going to allow this timeline to stand, but that didn’t mean my children didn’t deserve their mother’s love. I reached out to Rhys, who still carried Eddie. “Hey, baby.”

He went still and took a long breath, as though fortifying himself. “Hey, Momma.”

He was trying to be strong. Lee’s scars were on the outside, but it was obvious to me that Rhys had been through a lot, too. Rhys was fully Fae. Any wounds he’d taken would heal, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t feel them all in his soul.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

He looked into my eyes and nodded slightly. “We should get inside.” He seemed to shake off his emotion and he lowered Eddie to the ground. The small demon appeared to be recuperating quickly. “But first, who is this? Why is he traveling with you?”

Dean. He was talking about Dean. And Rhys didn’t seem to feel the cold the way I was. Dean’s shoulders straightened as he realized all eyes were on him.

“My name is Dean Malone. I’m here to kill the wizard Myrddin.”

Lee’s laughter seemed to bounce off the mountains.

Evan slapped her brother’s arm. “Lee, manners.”

“He has none, sister.” Rhys’s lips had quirked up, the first sign he was anything but serious. “And you have to admit it’s pretty funny. Thank the goddess. Dean Malone is here. We are saved. Who the fuck is Dean Malone?”

Fen moved around Dean as a light snow began to fall. “He smells like a witch.”

That pronouncement had Rhys and Lee both going predatory.

“You brought a witch?” Rhys asked. “You do understand we’re at war with the witches. I know you haven’t been back long, but I assumed Olivia Carey had brought the point home.”

“Dean isn’t from this plane,” Kelsey explained.

I had to stop this argument. It seemed my boys had turned dangerous. “He’s a friend.”

My teeth were starting to chatter.

“He’s the baby Myrddin sent off world.” Kelsey didn’t feel the cold the way I did. “Trent has to have explained this to you.”

A brow cocked over Rhys’s eyes, an expression so like his father’s that it made my heart clench. “The one with the power to kill Myrddin?”

“It’s more complicated than that,” Kelsey replied. “But the important thing is Dean is trustworthy. If he’s the reason you’ve brought us here instead of to your home base, then he and I will make our way to the nearest village. We’ll find a way to Atlanta ourselves.”

Eddie’s black eyes looked endless as he stared up at Kelsey. “No, my mistress. You can’t do that. It is too far.”

There was nothing that Eddie feared more than one of his charges being uncomfortable. It kind of made me wish Albert was here since he likely would have made me a coat by now. He would have hunted down some furry creature and I would feel guilty but warm. I was okay with that in the moment.

Dean was pointing to the base of the mountain. “No, we’re here, Kelsey. There’s some kind of doorway, right there. It’s good magic. Is it Fae?”

“It’s supposed to be undetectable is what it is,” Rhys complained. “I’m going to have a long talk with our guardians.”

Dev had stopped staring down Fenrir and had me cuddled against him. Arwyna had burrowed under Dev’s shirt. I wished I could do that, too.

“Is it warmer inside?” Dev asked. “Or do you plan to freeze your mother? We need to get in out of the elements. We have much to talk about.”

And we had to plan how to get out of this timeline.

“Rhys’s putting off the moment when he has to face the music.” Evan shook her head and strode forward, waving her hand.

The air around us shimmered and the entrance to what appeared to be a cave was suddenly in front of us. I could see torches lighting the way inside.

Rhys frowned. “Or I’m making sure we don’t invite the enemy into what’s supposed to be a secret base of operations.”

Evan tossed her braid over her shoulder. “Momma wouldn’t bring the enemy with her, and you know all about the prophecy concerning Lee. If they’ve found the other half to that prophecy, then good for them. It means we have two chances instead of one. It might make the years we’ve lost worthwhile. You’re afraid of what Sasha is going to do when he finds out where we’ve been, and he should be awake by now. Come along, brother. He’ll be less likely to murder us when he realizes we were right.”

“I doubt that.” Rhys stepped up to the doorway. “He was clear about us not going today, but damn it, I was right. And hey, Dad’s back. Dad, don’t let Sasha kill me. Dad is Sasha’s king no matter what Myrddin says. Goddess, it’s good to be the son of a king again.”

“A king without a crown,” Lee said as he gestured for us to move through the doorway. “We’re outlaws. It’s a bit more fun, don’t you think?” He stopped Dean before he could enter. “You should know that if you betray my family, I will kill you. I don’t care what kind of magic you have. I have rage and hate, and they will win every time.”

Dean stopped and stared at him. “You aren’t full of hate, Lee Donovan-Quinn. You should be. You should be a ball of misery, but you still have light. You’re everything I dreamed you would be. It is good to meet you.”

Despite the fact that I could feel the warmth coming from inside, I stopped and watched because this felt…important.

Lee had lost that devil-may-care look on his face, and he stared down at the hand Dean was offering him.

“We truly believe he’s the child Nemcox talked about. Did Trent ever tell you about the two people on the Earth plane who could kill Myrddin?” I didn’t want Lee to turn down that hand. Since the moment I’d realized what Dean might be able to do, I’d wanted him to take Lee’s place, to be the one with the burden. But it felt wrong. It felt like they should be in this together. Against all odds, against every machination of the world’s wickedest wizard, they were here together. They were the same age, seeming opposites of each other. Lee’s looks were dark like his father’s, while Dean was white as the snow that fell around us.

They seemed like pieces of a puzzle finally falling into place.

Dev’s hand slipped into mine, as though he felt the moment, too.

“He told us what Kelsey learned from the demon known as Nemcox.” Evan was watching Dean now.

Lee finally reached out and took Dean’s hand. “If you are who they think you are, then we can work together. But you need to understand that I will kill that wizard.”

Dean’s lips curled up as he took in my baby boy. Turned up in a way that made me wonder just what had been in those dreams he’d been having. “Then I shall help you, Prince Lee.”

Lee shook his head and took his hand back. “Just Lee. I was never a prince. But I would be glad for someone with magic who doesn’t attempt to kill me. Come inside and I’ll buy you a beer. No one makes ale quite like trolls can.”

The electricity between the two was palpable. They had chemistry, those two men.

Like Danny and Dev had from the moment they’d met.

It was odd because I’d always thought he would end up with Mia. As children, Lee and Sarah’s daughter had clung to each other, been the best of friends. I’d worried because Lee was human and Mia both a witch and a companion. She’d gotten her magic from her mother and that glow that vampires loved from her fallen-angel father. “Where is Mia? Is she still with you?”

Lee’s expression shuttered. “Mia died along with her parents. Myrddin killed them, and I shall have his head for it. Grandfather is dead as well, and at the wizard’s hand. Though Grandad still manages to be a pain in my ass. Welcome home, Mother.”