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ROTHATIN PAUSED ON his path toward the kitchen, whirling around to face the door to the apartment as it swung open to admit Arrian. He’d been pacing for so long, he was surprised he hadn’t worn a hole in the floor. Hands clenched tight behind his back, every muscle rigid and coiled to spring, he felt as if the torrent of emotions roiling through him might just cause him to burst at the seams. He was generally quite rational in every situation, but the prospect of possibly losing one of the royal daughters before the prophecy could be fulfilled had him desperate to act. Part of him wanted nothing more than to whistle for Archimedes, fly away from this place, and search every corner of the city until Phaedra was found—even if he had to tear its every structure down with his bare hands.
Yet, that infuriatingly rational side of him knew better. Arrian had gone after Phaedra and the Dark Fae who’d taken her. It had been hours since the Elf had disappeared, falling into the bay and out of sight. Waiting for him to return with news was agony, but Rothatin wouldn’t risk endangering Phaedra further.
He crossed the room in a few swift strides, but found his way impeded by Selena and Gretchen, who had both leapt from the couch at the sound of the door opening. They rushed Arrian at once, both their voices clamoring as they inquired about Phaedra.
The Elf was soaked from head to toe, his hair hanging limply around his face, which had gone pale from the cold night air.
“Phaedra is alive,” Arrian announced, once the door had been closed behind him. “She’s unharmed ... for now.”
Titus appeared from the kitchen, worry knitting his brow. “Where did they take her?”
“I followed them to an island off the bay,” Arrian replied. “It’s not very large. There’s nothing on it but a few hollowed-out buildings and trees. All the structures seem to be abandoned.”
“I think you’re talking about Hart Island,” Gretchen supplied. “It’s the world’s largest mass grave site.”
Selena wrinkled her nose in distaste. “A mass burial island?”
Shrugging, Gretchen acted as if nothing seemed strange to her about an entire island being dedicated to bulk burials. “They’ve been burying people over there for over a hundred years. Stillborn babies, unclaimed bodies, people whose families couldn’t afford burials ... you name it. The prisoners from Rikers Island conduct the burials, but as far as I know it’s uninhabited otherwise.”
Selena shuddered. “Creepy much?”
“Did you determine Phaedra’s location on the island?” Rothatin asked, trying not to become impatient.
“There’s an abandoned building in the heart of the island,” the Elf replied. “It’s where Eranna has hidden the Eye of Mollac. It is also the place she is gathering the kidnapped girls. I snuck inside and hid in the shadows, hoping to overhear anything that could be helpful to us. It would seem she needs ten girls in all to complete the ritual that will restore her power. She will not begin the rite without all ten.”
“I take it she intends for Phaedra to be one of them,” Rothatin mused aloud.
“So it would seem,” Arrian said. “There were four girls in all, including Phaedra. The girl we rescued was surely intended to be the fifth. I wanted to rush in and steal Phaedra, but it was too risky. There are many Witches and a few Dark Fae keeping guard. I might have gotten us both killed.”
Placing a hand on Arrian’s shoulder, Rothatin nodded. “You did the right thing. Phaedra should go unharmed until Eranna has gathered the remaining six girls.”
“So, what now?” Titus asked. “We can’t just sit around waiting for her to kidnap six more girls. The longer Phaedra remains in her clutches, the closer we come to losing her forever.”
Arrian stiffened, as if the notion physically pained him. Rothatin pitied the man, understanding how he felt. It had not been long since he’d found himself terrified at the prospect of losing Jocylene. He did not know precisely what had occurred between the princess and the Elf, and it was none of his affair. However, it was clear to him that Arrian still loved Phaedra, and would likely do anything to get her back.
“We attack Hart Island,” Arrian declared. “Now. Tonight.”
Glancing out at the rising moon, Rothatin shook his head. “No, it’s too soon.”
“Too soon?” Selena protested. “If we don’t go now, we run the risk of it being too late!”
“There is no ‘we’ in this,” Titus objected, giving his mate a stern look. “You’re supposed to be resting.”
Selena opened her mouth as if to argue with Titus, but Rothatin jumped in, hoping to circumvent an argument.
“The city is overrun by Dark Fae,” he argued. “We do not know where they could be at any given time, or how quickly they can be summoned to Hart Island. I need to gather my Warriors and conduct an overhead sweep of the city. If we’re going to extract Phaedra and the other kidnapped girls, we need to develop a plan of attack. I will not risk any more of our royal daughters by going in blind.”
“Take me with you,” Arrian demanded. “I want to see what we’re dealing with.”
Raising an eyebrow, Rothatin looked the Elf over from head to toe. “Are you certain you’re up for it?”
With a shrug, Arrian brushed past him. “Give me a moment to change into dry clothing, and I’ll be fine.”
Gretchen’s jaw dropped as she only just seemed to realize that Arrian was standing there dripping water all over the carpet. “Dude, you swam all the way to Hart Island and back?”
Arrian smirked. “I told you, my people have a connection to the water.”
“Is that connection a parent who’s secretly part fish?” Gretchen murmured.
Rothatin could have sworn he heard a chuckle as Arrian made his way toward the bedroom he had once shared with Phaedra. After the two had ended their relationship, he’d taken to sleeping on the couch; but, his clothing was still stored inside the closet he shared with Phaedra.
Turning to Selena, he found her chewing her bottom lip, arms crossed over her chest as she peered out the window toward the bay. Grasping one of her shoulders, Rothatin gave it a gentle squeeze.
“I know that you are worried,” he murmured. “But Phaedra is strong. She will be just fine.”
Forcing a smile, Selena nodded. “I know that, of course. It’s just ... we’re used to being together when faced with overwhelming odds. I don’t like the idea of her stuck in Eranna’s hold, all by herself.”
“It won’t be long,” he assured her. “Once I’ve got a better idea of what we’re facing, we are going rescue the kidnapped girls and get Phaedra back.”
Before Selena could respond, Titus appeared at her side once more, extending a dinner plate laden with foods Rothatin knew to be some of her favorites. Lately, the smells of food made the princess ill, and her mate was doing everything he could to coax her to eat.
“Sit down, and eat this,” Titus said in a firm but gentle tone.
While she typically bristled at Titus telling her what to do, Selena obeyed, accepting the plate and lowering herself onto the couch. Smiling gratefully at her mate, she lifted her fork and began to eat. Titus’ shoulders lost a bit of their tension as he watched her take several bites without becoming ill.
Turning back to face Rothatin, he wrinkled his brow. “I want to come with you, but I’m afraid Selena will want to tag along.”
He had lowered his voice, but Selena paused between bites as if she’d heard every word. Or, perhaps, the anxiety her mate felt had begun to radiate at her in palpable waves.
“There are kidnaped girls who need rescuing,” Rothatin reminded him. “We’ll need a place to bring them to ensure they are unharmed and that they possess no memory of what they’ve been through before we return them to their homes. Perhaps you and Selena could remain behind together to see to the task. I’ll leave a handful of my warriors here for protection. Any one of them should be able to help you ensure the memories of being taken by Eranna are stricken from the minds of the young women.”
Titus nodded in agreement. “I think that’s a good idea. We’ll stay here, and you can send the girls back here the moment they are freed. I know you might have to fight your way out of there, so we’ll keep them safe until you return.”
“Then it is settled,” he declared. “Perhaps being able to contribute in some way will keep our princess from putting herself or the child at risk.”
“I can hear you both, you know,” Selena muttered.
Titus’ face flushed red, and he lowered his eyes. “Please, don’t make this difficult, Selena.”
Inclining her head, she pursed her lips at the back of her mate’s head. “I don’t intend to. I understand that the doctor instructed me to rest, and that having a pregnant girl in the way is only going to distract the rest of you. I’m happy to stay behind and do what I can to help. And maybe ...”
Rothatin glanced at her when she trailed off, hesitating to continue. “Yes, Princess?”
She cleared her throat and kept her gaze on her plate. “Maybe after we get this done, I should go back to Fallada. I wanted to come and help find my sister, and I did that. Now, I just feel like a burden.”
Her voice cracked, and Titus went pale. He swept across the room and sank down onto the sofa beside her. Taking her plate and putting it aside, he took both her hands in his. Rothatin looked away, feeling like an intruder on a private moment.
“You’re not in the way,” he murmured. “You’ve been a big help in making sure everyone eats and sleeps well ... to remind us all to smile and laugh once in a while. And you worked together with Phaedra, Arrian, and Gretchen to take down Eranna in the first place. You’ve been an asset, not a burden.”
Sniffling, Selena swiped at her watering eyes. “I feel so stupid for crying. Must be the baby hormones. I know I’m not completely useless, but I still think going back to Fallada might be a good idea. I might be of more use there, and now that Gretchen’s here, you guys will still be at the same number of people you were when we first came to New York.”
Rothatin frowned, turning back to them. “Since you mention it, Princess, I should inform you that a return to Fallada might be in order for all of us much sooner than expected.”
Titus glanced up at him, confusion pulling at the corners of his mouth. “Why would we need to return to Fallada now?”
Arrian re-entered the room wearing dry clothing, his long hair pulled into a ponytail. “Because, Eranna has the Eye of Mollac ... which means if she hasn’t looked into it yet to see what her daughter is up to, she will. It’s only a matter of time before she tries to return to take back what Desdemona has claimed.”
“He’s right,” Rothatin agreed. “She will return, join forces with Kalodan, assemble her army, and launch an attack to wrestle Mollac from Desdemona’s control. At this point it is all but inevitable.”
“So, it’s starting, isn’t it?” Selena asked, her eyes growing wide.
Rothatin nodded, his mouth pinching into a grim line. “Yes, Princess. Fallada now approaches all-out war.”
Phaedra groaned as she awakened to a throbbing pain between her eyes. Turning her head to the side, she kept her eyes closed, fighting back the sensation of nausea. Her shoulders hurt as well, and when she tried to move her arms from their position stretched over her head, she found that she could not. Metal bit into her wrists; she must be handcuffed. Attempting to bend her legs, she found her ankles shackled as well.
Taking a deep breath and forcing a swallow past the bile lingering in her throat, she opened her eyes. It took a few moments to adjust to the dim lighting, but Phaedra eventually made out a roof overhead, which sported several holes. Turning her head to the left, she found an empty cot with a worn mattress and thin sheet. To her right, the cot was occupied by a slender girl with long, silky black hair. Her eyes—so dark they appeared almost black—peered out from a porcelain face, wide with fear. Like Phaedra, she lay awake and silent in her cot, with her arms and legs shackled to the rickety frame of the cot. The girl’s gaze darted about the room, her brow knitting in confusion as if she tried to remember how she’d gotten here.
Phaedra looked around and determined that they were alone for the time being. Glancing back over at the girl, she forced a smile.
“Hey, I’m Phaedra. What’s your name?”
The girl’s stare focused on Phaedra, and she seemed to calm. “Maxine Cho. Everyone calls me Max.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Max,” she said. “Are you hurt?”
Maxine shook her head, but then winced, as if the motion had pained her. “Maybe just a little. I feel like I took a sledgehammer to the head.”
She frowned as she remembered the Dark Fae who had headbutted her. What she wouldn’t give to drown that jerk with a tidal wave. Of course, it wouldn’t kill him; only the element of iron could destroy the Fae, dark or otherwise.
“Do you know where we are?” she asked.
Maxine shook her head. “All I remember is being attacked on my way home by two blond men. Then one of them took me onto the back of the biggest bird I’ve ever seen. I tried to fight him, and he knocked me out.”
So, wherever she was, it served as Eranna’s hiding place for the kidnapped girls. Raising her head a bit, she peered over Maxine and counted two others. Both remained unconscious.
“A giant bird, huh?” she asked with a snort. “Must have been trippy.”
Maxine grew silent, turning her head and staring up at the ceiling. “It was, but ...”
Phaedra frowned. “But, what?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly. “What do you think they want from us?”
To drain our souls to feed the beauty and power of a demented queen.
The words went unsaid. The last thing Phaedra wanted to do was scare this girl with talk of things she couldn’t possibly understand.
She’d just opened her mouth to offer some useless reassurance, when the sound of an object crashing against the wall in another room resounded. Maxine flinched, her eyes going wide. A door opened, slamming against a wall and causing Phaedra’s heart to pound in double time.
“Close your eyes!” Phaedra hissed.
Quickly lowering her own eyelids, she didn’t wait to see if Maxine followed her order. The cadence of footsteps quickly became muffled by the sound of an enraged woman’s voice. A voice Phaedra knew well.
“How dare she? Does she think that she can take my kingdom from me, and I will just give it up without a fight? The nerve!”
Phaedra suppressed the impulse to open her eyes, but from the sound of things guessed that Eranna was pacing as she bellowed her rage to some other person.
“What would you have us do, my queen?” a rough voice answered.
Another crash, like something being thrown against a wall reverberated through the room. The sound caused her to flinch, but she fought to remain still and control her breathing. She wanted to know what was going on and couldn’t risk clueing Eranna in on her state of consciousness.
“I would have you cease your sniveling and prattling, Ushma!” Eranna railed. “I would have the remaining six girls that I need to enact the ritual ... and then I will return and take my kingdom back from that ungrateful girl!”
Phaedra stiffened, fear lancing through her at what she was hearing. If Eranna knew that Desdemona had taken over Mollac, then that meant the Eye of Mollac hadn’t been inside the penthouse. The queen had had it in her possession the entire time.
Part of her wanted to struggle against the shackles binding her to the bed. She needed to get out of here, and fast. From the sound of things, there wouldn’t be much time left before Eranna hightailed it back to Fallada. But, with Eranna occupying this building, there must be Dark Fae and Witches around to guard it—which meant she didn’t have a chance fighting her way out on her own.
Please, let him find me, she prayed. She had faith that Arrian would stay true to his promise to come for her.
Once he did, Phaedra intended to take back everything she’d said about wanting him to leave her alone. That was the last thing she wanted, and she needed him to know that. In fact, it was the complete opposite of what she wanted.
“Ensure that these four remain asleep,” Eranna commanded, seeming more in control of her emotions now. “I don’t need any of them causing trouble. Spread the word to the Dark Fae that I don’t have time for them to be fastidious. At this point, any girls will do, so long as there are six. The sooner I can return to Fallada, the better.”
The sound of Eranna’s footsteps echoed and then faded away completely, followed by the sound of a door being closed.
Phaedra opened her eyes, and found that Maxine had done the same. Her mouth hung open, and she furrowed her brow as if confused.
“Fallada,” Maxine whispered.
Her eyes widened, as it occurred to her that Maxine’s voice held recognition. “You know about Fallada?”
Maxine nodded, her chin trembling as she seemed to attempt to hold back tears. “Yes, I do.”
“How?” Phaedra urged, her glance shifting as she heard someone shuffling toward them.
A dark shape came into view near the foot of her cot, and a familiar scent tickled her nostrils.
Pixie dust.
She widened her eyes, silently urging Maxine to speak before they went unconscious again. The dust wafted over her, and Phaedra sucked in a sharp breath of clean air, determined to avoid breathing in the Pixie dust until the last possible second.
Her lungs burned, and she noticed that Maxine’s eyes were already drooping, the golden dust drifting down to coat her hair and eyelashes.
“From my dreams,” she whispered, just before her eyes slid closed.
Phaedra released her held breath in a rush, unable to avoid inhaling for another second. As the enchanted dust worked its magic and pulled her under, a sudden realization occurred to her. Through the haze clouding her vision and turning her brain into cotton, the thought rang through, as clear as a bell.
She had just discovered the seventh lost daughter of Fallada.