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PHAEDRA TIPPED HER head back and stared at the tall building looming over them. At her left stood Rothatin and En’im, and to her right, Gretchen, Arrian, and Titus. While she could not see them, she knew that several other Warrior Fae circled overhead on the backs of their massive birds of prey. Rothatin had assured them that they weren’t going into this place without backup. Selena, who had suffered Braxton-Hicks contractions after her last skirmish with Eranna and the Dark Fae, had been left behind. She’d complained about being treated like a child, but Titus wasn’t having it. Phaedra would be surprised if the poor girl would ever see action in battle again.
“Are you sure this is the right place?” Gretchen quipped. “I’d think she’d choose something more castle-y.”
Rothatin’s expression did not change, but Phaedra had known him long enough that she could tell when he was tickled. Gretchen seemed to be one of the only people who could amuse the Fae general these days.
“I can assure you we are in the right place,” he confirmed. “She settled into the penthouse of this building when she first arrived on Earth, then promptly cleared the entire building for the use of her Witches and Dark Fae.”
“Do you think she’s stupid enough to keep the girl she kidnapped here?” Phaedra asked, wrinkling her nose.
“There is only one way to find out,” he replied with a shrug. “If nothing else, this mission could secure the Eye of Mollac. Look out for each other in there, and keep your eyes open for prisoners or the Eye. We are here to recover the girl if she’s here, and the mirror. Taking Eranna out is not a priority until the girl is secure.”
Titus growled in obvious disapproval, but a withering glare from Rothatin shut him up. Having been personally victimized by Eranna, Titus would be the most likely to make a play against the queen on a recovery mission.
Charlotte Adams, age seventeen, had been missing now for twenty-four hours. Phaedra didn’t know if Eranna had already done away with the girl, but knew Rothatin was right not to assume. If the girl could be rescued and returned to her family, then a showdown with Eranna could wait.
“Stay near me,” Arrian murmured to Gretchen. “Your lightning combined with my water will make a powerful weapon.”
Phaedra turned her attention back to the double glass doors in front of her, trying to push down the feeling of envy welling up in her throat. It wasn’t that she thought Arrian was interested in Gretchen. The two had become friends, and she was glad, as Gretchen had once had a tough time fitting in. Now, among her own people, she didn’t have to be so isolated.
The problem was that Arrian and Phaedra had always fought so well together. It was usually her he turned to and spoke with about combining forces. But, she couldn’t exactly be mad at the guy for doing exactly what she’d told him to do. He was letting her go.
This is what you wanted, she reminded herself.
If that were the case, why did she feel as if someone had just stabbed her in the gut?
“Let’s go,” Rothatin commanded, starting toward the doors.
His silver, double-edged spear appeared in his hand with a flick of his wrist. He gave it a twirl as he reached out his free hand and caused the doors to part without touching them. The gurgle of water met her ears as they entered the building, and Phaedra turned toward the sound to find an indoor waterfall built into the wall of the lobby.
“Convenient,” she murmured, reaching out her hands and pulling on the water.
It came to her like a magnet, swirling around her in the air in languid circles, waiting for her command. Next to her, the pop and crackle of lightning sounded as Gretchen produced electricity between her fingers. Arrian pulled from his own water source—a water cooler resting through an open door of what appeared to be an office. Despite the place having the appearance of any other apartment in the city, the lobby remained empty and an eerie silence had settled over the entire first floor. No receptionist. No doorman. No security guards.
The stillness was disturbed only by the ripple of water, snap of lightning, and the crackle of Titus’ bones as he shifted from his two-legged form to his four-legged one. His enchanted garments simply disappeared beneath his fur, as opposed to tearing to shreds.
“They’re going to try to overwhelm us with numbers,” Rothatin warned as they ignored the gleaming, golden elevator doors in favor of the door leading to a stairwell. “Do not waste your energy trying to take them out. Fight them off, keep moving, get to the mirror and the girl.”
“I can see why she chose this place,” Phaedra muttered as they left the lobby behind. “Tacky gold and crystal crap everywhere ... it’s definitely her taste.”
“She would be all the way at the top,” Gretchen huffed as they began trotting up the stairwell with Rothatin leading the way and Titus bringing up the rear.
Phaedra had just opened her mouth to reply when the sound of a grunt warned her that Rothatin had made contact. The clash of metal against metal came next, and as they reached one of the landings between floors, they were rushed on either side by a horde of Witches. One of them had attempted to take Rothatin’s head off with a sharp, iron blade. He fought her off as the others converged on them from both sides.
She turned back to help Titus fight them off from the rear, swirling her water around her and whipping it into a roaring wave, then sending it crashing toward the dozen or so Witches running up the stairs toward them. She smirked in satisfaction as they were thrown back, pushed down an entire flight of the stairs, and landing in a tangle of arms and legs. Titus lunged for one who had avoided the wave, ending her life with a quick snap of his jaw around her throat. Crouching beside the body, Titus retrieved something from the Witch’s belt. Turning back to her, he thrust it toward her hand with his snout and made a sound in the back of his throat.
Accepting the cloth pouch, she opened it to find six of the round orbs the Witches and Sorcerers used as weapons.
Enchanted bombs.
“Score,” she murmured, reaching down to pet Titus’ head. “Nice job.”
Ahead of them, Arrian and Gretchen worked together to stun the rest of the Witches with a combination of water and lightning. The stairwell fell silent again as Rothatin and En’im continued to lead them up, leaping over the fallen bodies.
“Keep moving,” En’im said over her shoulder, her long strides easily keeping pace with Rothatin’s.
They’d barely made it up two floors before another door flew open, revealing four of the Dark Fae. They crashed through brandishing their silver weapons, catching Rothatin and En’im by surprise first.
Rothatin roared in anger and pain as the curved blade of a silver dagger sliced into his bicep, but he recovered quickly. Swinging his spear in a swift arc, he decapitated the Dark Fae that had assaulted him, kicking the head away from the body to keep it from reattaching. En’im reacted faster than Phaedra would have thought possible, lifting two twin daggers and plunging them into the eyes of the second Dark Fae, who had followed close on the heels of the first. They made quick work of the next two, tearing them apart with their blades within less than minute.
No one had to be told to keep moving as En’in slammed the door the Dark Fae had come through, and they continued ascending as one.
Reaching the tenth floor, Phaedra distinctly heard footsteps coming toward them from behind the closed door. With the others moving on ahead of her, she paused, peering through the small, square window. The sight of at least twenty Witches barreling down the corridor toward them tore a gasp from her throat.
She retrieved one of the golden orbs from the pouch Titus had given her and pressed a small circle on its side, hoping she had activated it correctly. Cracking the door swiftly, she tossed the bomb through the opening and slammed it, throwing her body weight against it.
“Titus, help!” she called out, knowing her slender frame wouldn’t be enough to hold it closed.
The collision of the Witches’ bodies against the door rattled the door in the frame, as well as her teeth, but Titus turned back just in time, slamming his oversized wolf’s body against it and adding to her weight. Gritting her teeth, she pushed with all her might, as they attempted to throw the door open, the sounds of their snarls reaching out at her through the heavy panel.
Seconds later, the entire stairwell shook as the explosion sounded, causing the weight against the door to abate. Breathing a sigh of relief, Phaedra sagged against it. Peering through the little window over her shoulder, she found nothing left of the Witches but ashes.
“Hey, guys, wait up!” she called out, moving away from the door and dashing up the steps with Titus on her heels.
Above her, about three floors up, Gretchen and Arrian worked against another group of Dark Fae who had suddenly appeared, separating them from Rothatin and En’im. Arrian had surrounded them in a gigantic orb of water, lifting them from the ground until they floated. With a flick of her wrist, Gretchen sent a jolt of lightning through the water, electrocuting them all at once. Arrian took the water back under his control, turning and hurling the Dark Fae down the stairs behind them before pulling the water back around to him.
“Save your strength for the penthouse,” Phaedra said, offering her pouch to them. “Anything comes through these doors, just toss a bomb and keep moving.”
Arrian took two, while Gretchen took one, leaving Phaedra with the remaining two. They continued up as a unit and found Rothatin and En’im on the fifteenth floor. Having been attacked by another swarm of Witches, they stood in the midst of the corridor, silver blades flashing as they fought back-to-back to ward them off.
“Rothatin, catch!” Arrian called out, tossing one of the golden bombs through the air down the hall.
Plucking the little sphere out of the air, Rothatin pressed its button before hurling it into the fray.
“Close the door!” he bellowed, taking En’im into his arms.
Arrian obeyed the command just before the Witches could make it back out to the stairwell, and Titus helped him hold it closed. Seconds later, Rothatin and En’im appeared, having teleported from the hallway. Just as they materialized beside Phaedra, the bomb in the hallway went off, signaling the end of that threat.
They continued up in a tight formation, using the rest of the bombs to ward off attacks from all sides. By the time they reached the penthouse, they had used all the bombs, but gotten through unscathed.
Finally reaching the top of the building, which housed the three-floor penthouse, they burst through the stairwell door, and found themselves confronted with the elevator on one side, and the double carved wooden doors leading into the apartment in front of them.
Without preamble, Arrian stepped forward and lifted one foot, kicking the doors in. He had barely stepped inside before three of the Dark Fae were on him at once. Producing a dagger he’d taken from the corpse of one of the other Eendi, he began fighting them off, his speed making it difficult for them to take him down.
As if they’d been expecting them, even more of the Dark Fae emerged from corners of what appeared to be a richly decorated great room. Finding herself picked off from the others, Phaedra continued working to use her water like a tidal wave, hurling it forward to throw one of the Eendi away from her, before pulling it back and repeating the motion, washing away another two.
Through large, floor to ceiling windows, she spotted Rothatin’s warriors circling outside on the backs of their birds, waiting to join the fray. Raising her fingers to her lips, En’im emitted a sharp, shrill whistle that caused Phaedra to wince. It shattered the glass panes, sending the glass flying outward. The shards danced on the air, glinting in the light of the sun for a moment before dropping out of sight.
The Warrior Fae swooped in, some remaining seated on their birds, other diving off and landing inside the penthouse on their feet. Phaedra was grateful for their presence—they could fight off the Dark Fae in a way the rest of them could not, freeing them up to concentrate on the other task at hand.
“Come on!” Gretchen bellowed, grabbing her hand and pulling her until they both crouched behind a massive marble statue. “We can check the second floor!”
Keeping her hand linked with Gretchen’s, she took off at a run, locating the curved staircase leading up to the second floor. The growl of a wolf warned her that Titus followed, and seconds later Arrian joined them—leaving Rothatin and his warriors to duke it out with the Eendi.
The upstairs proved quieter than the first floor—dark and quiet. Turning to glance back at the rest of them, she released Gretchen’s hand and placed a finger over her lips. They nodded their understanding and kept quiet as directed.
Remaining in a tight unit, they swept through the second floor, which contained what appeared to be an entertainment space. With the lights turned low, the shadows of musical instruments, a stocked bar, and oversized furniture filled the space. Pausing in the center of the room, she turned, searching for any sign of either the mirror or the missing girl.
Suddenly, a strong hand clamped down on her arm. Sucking in a sharp breath, she turned to find Arrian standing beside her—far too close. Clapping a hand over her mouth, he shook his head, eyes wide as if to remind her to be silent. She nodded her understanding and he lowered his hand. Then, tapping one of his ears with his index finger, he pointed across the room toward a closed door.
He’d heard something. Those ears of him could hear a bug crawling across the floor in the next room if he listened close enough.
She nodded again, then motioned for the others to follow, and they started across the room. Creeping forward on silent feet, they reached the closed door. Motioning for them to stand back, Arrian took hold of the doorknob and slowly turned it. After cracking it a bit, he jerked it open swiftly, revealing the huddled form of a teenage girl.
Phaedra grinned, her held breath escaping on a rush. Beside her, Gretchen pumped one fist in the air in victory. Titus wagged his tail.
The girl was unconscious, a rough-looking gag splitting her lips to keep her quiet. Her face appeared grubby, her hair a tangle mess around her face, but she seemed otherwise unharmed.
Bending down to lift her into his arms, Arrian stood and faced them.
“We need to signal one of the Warrior Fae to fly their bird past that window over there, and take her before they realize we’ve found her,” he whispered.
“I’m on it,” Gretchen declared, slipping away before she could be stopped.
Disappearing into the shadows, she slunk away, leaving Phaedra impressed. Gretchen might be new to the princess thing, but she was taking well to fighting and operations.
Arrian began edging toward the row of windows facing the outside, watching carefully for the approach of one of the Warrior Fae. Glancing over his shoulder, she noticed the jutting balconies from several floors below them. Farther down, a large, turquoise square glistened in the sun invitingly, surrounded by wicker furniture. A swimming pool. Even further down, the hustle and bustle of New York City was muted, with not even the sound of a honking horn penetrating the thick glass.
A large eagle came into view, flying straight toward their window. As it drew closer, she realized it was En’im. Her lips moved, but Phaedra couldn’t make out the words.
But Arrian could.
“The balcony,” he said, nodding toward a sliding glass door to their right.
Titus shifted swiftly to two legs, following Phaedra as they dashed toward the door. Pushing it open, she ran out onto the deck, with the two men and the unconscious girl hot on her heels. En’im came in for a landing, leaping down from the back of her bird and running forward to meet them. The eagle landed on the balcony rail, waited patiently for its master.
“She’s unconscious, but not harmed,” Arrian stated, placing the girl into En’im’s arms.
“I’ll get her back to the apartment,” she replied. “You have to get back in there and find the mirror.”
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we have company,” Titus said.
Phaedra turned back to find the second floor of the penthouse had begun to flood with Witches. So many witches, they would never be able to fight them all off. Not to mention, they were fresh out of bombs.
“Damn it!” Arrian spat, retrieving the dagger from his waistband as if determined to fight them all off.
En’im faltered for a moment with the girl still in her arms, seeming uncertain of whether to go or stay and help them fight.
“Go!” Phaedra bellowed, both hands clenching into fists at her sides. “I’ve got this.”
Starting toward the open balcony door, she narrowed her eyes, a plan rapidly formulating in her mind.
Arrian’s hand on her shoulder held her back. “What are you doing?”
Pausing, she glanced back at him, jerking her shoulder from his hold. “Saving our asses. Get up to the third floor and find the mirror. I’m going to flood this floor and wipe them all out.”
“Phaedra, don’t!”
Arrian’s words went through one ear and out the other as she continued back inside. He and Titus followed, but she ignored them, hoping the idiots would get the hell out of dodge so she could do what she had to do.
Coming to the center of the room, she lifted both hands to her sides and called on her power over water with all the strength she could muster. In a building this size, she could feel it pulsing through pipes in the walls, so much of it, she might as well have a lake at her fingertips.
Turning her head, she found Arrian and Titus still standing at the foot of the staircase, staring at her in abject horror. They’d managed to close the balcony doors and skirt the room, leaving her at the center with the witches preparing to converge on her.
“Five seconds to get out of the way,” she warned them, before going back to ignoring them completely.
She never did see if they left, before she swung her arms, clapping her hands together, and pulling the water to her from all sides. It filled the room in a rush too fast to stop. In seconds, it had reached her neck, and she shifted, taking on her Mermaid’s form as the entire second floor filled with water almost to the ceiling.
All around her, Witches flailed and tried to swim to freedom. She simply swam around them, flicking her tail and dipping and diving to avoid their thrashing and convulsing bodies as they began to drown.
Then, the sound of cracking glass filled her ears, and she glanced up to find spidery lines creeping along the windows. The pressure of the water was too much on the glass, but Phaedra had anticipated this. Swimming toward one of the large windows, she braced herself for a dive.
The windows shatter outward—first one, then two more, then the rest in a cacophony of splintering glass. The water washed outward, rushing down the side of the building like a waterfall. Straightening her body and giving a little twirl in the air, she dove downward, her gaze locked onto the swimming pool several stories below. Ignoring the bodies rushing past her and splatting onto balconies and the street below, she kept her stare focused on the pool, concentrating on keeping her body at the perfect angle.
Before she could hit the water, something came hurtling at her from midair, slamming into her body. Phaedra gasped as the air was knocked from her and something that felt like an iron club slammed into her middle.
No, she realized as the hard thing tightened around her waist ... not a club ... a man’s arm. Flailing and fighting to be free of the thick arm holding her against a hard, masculine body, Phaedra found herself going back up as if flying. Shaking her head, she threw her wet hair back from her face and turned, staring into the cold, dead eyes of one of the Eendi.
He had flown at her on the back of one of his birds—a massive black raven—catching her in midair and taking her hostage.
“Let me go!” she screamed, shifting back to two legs and squirming in his hold, putting her feet into it.
A blow from his fist stunned her and she went limp in his arms, groaning as the pain radiated from her cheekbone up into her eye and down toward her mouth.
“Be still!” the Eendi’s rough voice commanded. “Or the next one will knock you unconscious. Yes, I can see you’ll be quite the prize for my queen.”
Phaedra stiffened at the realization that this Dark Fae intended to take her to Eranna. But, for what? So the dark queen could suck her dry and feed her own dark power?
She would rather die than let that happen.
“Phaedra!”
The sound of a voice calling her name split through the sky, and she lifted her head again, trying to determine where it had come from. A flash of white feathers brought Rothatin’s giant owl, Archimedes, into view. On the bird’s back, Rothatin held the reins, his mouth set in a grim, determined line. Behind him sat Arrian, who held on to Rothatin’s shoulders, his dark brown locks flowing behind him in the wind.
It was Arrian who had called her name in that sharp, desperate cry. Arrian whose wide eyes conveyed fear as he watched her being carried away by the enemy. Tears sprung to her eyes, and she reached out one hand, wishing she could be close enough to grab hold of him.
“Arrian,” she whispered.
“I’m coming, Phaedra!” he bellowed, his voice made thin by the current of air created by the flap of wings, but still carrying to her.
The Dark Fae imprisoning her cursed, directing his bird to bank left. Rothatin and Arrian followed in hot pursuit. Two more of the Dark Fae and their birds appeared on the horizon, flying straight toward them. Behind them, Archimedes squawked as if in challenge toward the other two birds.
Phaedra watched as the other two birds converged on Archimedes, their riders swinging weapons at Rothatin and Arrian in an attempt at unseating them.
Her captor went higher, putting them out of sight again, but moments later, Archimedes appeared just below them.
“Jump!” Arrian called out, holding his arms up to her. “Jump, Phaedra!”
Her mind rebelled, but her heart told her not to think twice. He would catch her—he had to.
Turning her head, she took a good bit of her abductor’s thigh between her teeth and gave him a fierce bite. Bellowing in pain, he released his hold on her and flailed in his saddle. Before he could regain his bearings, she shifted her weight, throwing herself off his lap and straight down toward Archimedes and Arrian’s open arms. He stood, both legs braced in the footholds of the saddle, arms extended to catch her.
She slammed into him, her head jolting in a way that sent pain radiating through her neck and back. They teetered, with Arrian struggling to maintain his hold on her, while Archimedes took off across the sky like a shot.
Before she could get a good grip on Arrian, they were falling, toppled from the owl’s back and falling. A flash of black came into her field of vision, just before she slammed into something else ... something that seemed determined to hold on to her as tightly as Arrian did.
The raven-riding Eendi had caught up to them, catching her by the waist under one arm, with Arrian dangling off the side, holding tight to one of her hands. She hung almost upside down as they sped farther and farther away from Rothatin, now nearing the East River.
Her shoulders burned, but she lowered her hand and held on to one of Arrian’s with both of hers, determined not to drop him. They flew so fast, she feared he would be pulverized on impact if she let go.
“Phaedra,” he grunted. “Hold on ... don’t let go!”
Tears sprung to her eyes, and she felt as if his weight might tear her arms from their sockets.
“Arrian,” she gasped. “I’m trying!”
The river loomed ahead of them now, opening into a wide bay. The Dark Fae planned to take her out of the city.
“Listen to me,” he bellowed, glancing down at the water and back at her. “We’re over the water now ... let me go. I’ll be fine!”
Shaking her head, she blinked back the tears, and renewed her efforts to keep a hold on him. “No! No, I won’t let go!”
“You have to,” he insisted, his solemn gaze piercing hers while his jaw clenched in determination. “I will find you. Do you understand? I will not rest until I’ve found you.”
She nodded, one of the tears slipping free and racing down her cheek. It fell free, splashing onto one of Arrian’s hands, which still clutched hers.
“Hurry,” she whispered.
Then, she unclasped her fingers and let him go.
Arrian careened downward, as the raven swooped up, now free of the extra weight. Phaedra choked back another sob at the sight of him falling, determined not to lose sight of him for a second. It seemed his gaze stayed locked on her until just before he reached the water, hitting the bay with a splash before he disappeared.
Closing her eyes, she choked back a round of hysterical cries, determined not to show fear to the Dark Fae who had captured her.
Arrian was going to be all right. Like her, he had an affinity for the water. He would make it out of the bay and get back to the others. He was going to come for her.
Brutal fingers captured her hair in a tight hold, pulling her head up until she stared into a pair of dark eyes. The Dark Fae looked at her as if he had murder on his mind, but he wouldn’t kill her. No, Eranna wanted that pleasure. Instead, he simply jutted his head forward, slamming into her in a brutal headbutt. Stars exploded in her field of vision, then everything went dark.