Chapter Two

 

 

 

 

Benton

I admit it, I admired Isolde’s backside the entire time we were hiking through the forest, still hardly able to believe that she was there, in the flesh, right in front of me. The old feelings came flooding back in, swallowing me whole as forgotten memories blossomed like flowers in springtime. It had caught me off guard, to say the least, and I still had not voiced what I’d wanted to ask her so many times after our separation.

“What happened to you?”

Isolde didn’t stop walking, but the slight tilt to her head told me she’d heard me. Moments passed as the rustle of leaves, the snapping of twigs, and distant calls from the native animals kept the silence from becoming completely unbearable. I wanted her to speak, tell me all her thoughts, wants, needs. Anything to fill the void we’d left in each other’s lives when the war on Faerie started, and then again when Ciaran had taken her away and disappeared. We’d had a brief encounter when I’d helped her solve the mystery of where her kidnapped friends had been taken. She’d been a mother hen to a group of low-born faery kids who had practically no magic.

Where was her group now?

The coincidence that two Nephilim had just shown up right before Isolde herself was odd to me. I felt like it wasn’t by chance. There was a reason for all these half-angels showing up, and I worried that it meant the land of Faerie was preparing for something. What exactly that was, no one knew. I shoved it to the back of my mind for later.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” she finally answered.

I searched for any kind of response, stung by her dismissive tone. It mattered to me. What had happened to Isolde had left a huge chasm in my heart. I had no idea what had gone on after Ciaran, her second in command and unrequited love, had discovered her hidden Nephilim powers. She still held onto her secrets like they were more vital than breath.

I was about to pry more, but a noise up ahead distracted us. We stopped and listened as the forest surrounding us continued its eerie lullaby, full of bird calls and random demi-fey whizzing by, upturning their noses at us “humans.”

Man, faeries were so full of themselves.

“Did you hear that?” Isolde turned her head one way and then another as she grasped the hilt of her sword. I also peered around, not hearing a thing, but that didn’t mean nothing or no one was there. I knew better than to underestimate faeries.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

Kilara. She was as she’d always been—beautiful. Despite her long centuries of life, there was no sign of age on her face. I didn’t see any indication of the supposed withering disease. She appeared healthy. I wondered if she was really sick or if this was part of some larger plot. We wouldn’t have even known about her illness if not for her connection to Shade. It was true that Shade’s connection to Kilara made it possible for her to know what was going on with the Ancient, but I didn’t put it past her to find a way to trick my sister. Maybe it was all just a bunch of crap. I couldn’t even understand what she hoped to get by showing up here at the Teleen Caverns.

“Ah, Benton.” Kilara leveled her gaze at me as if I had voiced my suspicions out loud. “How nice of you to come escort me, elemental. Did you bring Shade with you?”

I shook my head. “No way would we have ever brought Shade here with us, out in the open.”

“That’s a mighty shame,” she said.

I hoped she got to the point so we could return to the caverns with her in tow. She was all I expected her to be: nonchalant, conniving, and seemingly disinterested in the passage of time… even if she was wasting ours.

I peered at her, cocking my head to the side and wondering if there was any bit of sanity left inside that pretty head of hers. Probably not. I must say, it was nice to know that I wasn’t related to her in any way. Shade was, through her faery father. I shuddered at the thought of sharing DNA with this creature. Pretty on the outside, but a fierce beast on the inside.

“What is it that you want, Kilara?” I asked.

Her face morphed into a wicked smirk. It was amazing how someone so beautiful could be so dark and twisted. There was no redemption for her, no return to any innocence she may have once possessed. I wasn’t sure she understood that we were much too busy for her machinations and far too careful to fall for her tricks this time around. But if she did, she certainly wasn’t going to admit it.

“Fine,” I grumbled, scratching the back of my sweaty head. We were at the edge of a clearing, and the sun was bearing down on us. I was thirsty and hungry. No patience for this stuff. None. Isolde threw me a guarded look as if to tell me to be careful. “We don’t want any funny business, got it? You’ll speak to Shade and you’ll get to the point. No magical tricks.”

Kilara’s smile remained on her face, but it appeared stuck, like she wasn’t going to let it fall. It was a mask. “I’m not waiting for your approval. I need to speak to Shade and her alone, not some mortal who has nothing to do with what’s going on. Take me to her, or I’ll find someone else who’ll be much more willing than you to do my bidding.”

I crossed my arms. “Go right ahead and try. Like it or not, you get in on my say-so. If I decide you can’t be trusted, you won’t get anywhere near the caverns, and Shade won’t wait for you forever.”

She briefly glanced at Isolde, but to the girl’s credit, she gave her an unyielding glare in response.

“I’m actually a bit underwhelmed,” I continued, deciding to see if she could be at all rattled. “You have nothing on my sister, and I barely recognize that you both are made of the same stuff. Well, maybe. I’m not quite sure, now that I’ve seen you up close. Shade is much more agreeable, wittier, more intelligent….” I smiled, trying to convey the impression that Kilara didn’t scare the begeezus out of me. She did. Any of the Ancients were no joke to go against. I wasn’t willing to face off with any of them. The only reason I was feeling so bold was because whether she liked it or not, Kilara needed me… for the moment.

Isolde threw me a warning stare, trying to get me to shut up. She was my equal in every way. Maybe that’s why we were so attracted to each other. We were so alike, but it could also work against us too. We’d bumped heads often.

“Maybe your girlfriend here would be more willing to help me, then. Or someone like Iana.” She snickered, knowing that the name of the recently discovered witch, Soap’s mother, would probably set me off. She obviously didn’t care about Iana one bit. Maybe she’d never even met her. It was all fine and dandy because she was majorly wrong. Her knowledge of Iana wouldn’t be enough to shake me. In fact, I’d calmed down a lot after the war while hunting scads of banished Unseelie who’d infested the human realm. I’d taken out my aggression out on them. With everything else happening, especially after my sister Anna had been taken to the Unseelie Castle to wed an Unseelie king, I had pretty much given up on fighting lost battles. This war was still waging, but not in the way people thought.

The war inside me had calmed to a serenity no one could disturb. Not anymore. There were so many things that were out of my control, and I found that getting angry and losing my top would get me nowhere.

“I see what you’re trying to do, Kilara,” I answered, cool as a cucumber. “Not going to work with me, just to let you know. Neither I, Shade, Iana, nor even Isolde here are ever going to fall for your treachery again. You tried to kill us in The Withering Palace. You tried to harm us multiple times to gain power over us. But you failed. You failed over Rowan too. Oh, by the way, do you even care to know what has become of your sister Rowan? Do you even wonder what she’s up to nowadays?”

Kilara peered at me as curiosity flashed across her face before a faint fear ignited within it. What was it with this woman and the other Ancients? Note to self: I’d have to involve Corb—and possibly Rowan—in my future dealings with Kilara. Returning to fetch Rowan at Stone Rock Island would be the least of my favorite tasks, but we might need her help defeating her sister if it came down to it. She and Corb might be our only recourse against this psychopath who obviously had cruel intentions.

“You’ve seen Rowan?” It was less a question and more an astute observation. I nodded, throwing her a wicked smile, hoping it would throw her off some and make her think I had something up my sleeve. “How is that strange little pixie? Never one to be much help, even when required. Still, she could always see right through me. There’s not much that gets past Rowan, even though she seems quite childlike. But actually doing anything… that’s always been her problem. Try not to involve her in things much too serious for her to deal with. She has nothing to do with Shade and me.”

“Oh, but you chose to include her in your treachery against all of the land of Faerie though, right? Tried to steal her magic, thinking your dunce of a sister wasn’t quite right in the head. She’s more there than you are.”

“She’s never been quite right. I’ve had to help Rowan out of so many messes; you’d never understand our bond.” She laughed out with a malice that made my skin turn frigid. “Even so, something’s wrong with Faerie, and I intend to find out what it is. Rowan will be needed eventually, but not now. Now, I have favors to ask of your sister, and she will comply. Take me to her, mortal, before I lose my scant patience.” She turned away, dismissing Isolde and me without so much as a nod. The next move was ours.

Kilara waited quietly, her eyes roaming over the land, along the forest’s edge, across the grasses to the sky. This silent, whimsical state of hers was odd and awkward for me, and I glanced at Isolde for guidance. She threw me another sharp glare, shrugging and motioning for us to leave. Maybe she was right. Something had happened to Kilara, and only Shade was equipped to deal with it. Not us. That woman was all kinds crazy, and when she stared off in the distance, a twinkle of madness fluctuated in her pupils that couldn’t be denied. I didn’t want to provoke it any further.

“All right,” I said. “Shade’s waiting for us. For you. Let’s get out of here.”

I hoped Shade knew what she was doing with this crazy Ancient. If not, we’d need all the worldly help we could get—even otherworldly, for that matter. Good thing we had a few big guns on our side back in the Teleen Caverns. Even Isolde’s newfound Nephilim powers might come in handy sooner than I could imagine.