“I don’t know how you did it, Lacey, but that was impressive. Seriously impressive.” In order for my plan to work, each and every piece had to fall into place. As much as I wanted to mastermind things, I knew it would be impossible to pull off without Lacey’s help. It was her court. She knew the ins and outs of it in a way I couldn’t possibly.
“Are you asking about where the guards were?” Frost stretched out his legs. “Because I have no idea how you pulled that off.”
“Yes. Exactly. Lacey told me she had it handled, but I was definitely a bit nervous.” It’s not that I’d doubted her, but I knew even the best laid plans didn’t always pan out the way you wanted them too.
“A bit nervous?” James raised an eyebrow. “You Fae must be really good under pressure.”
“Not all of us.” Lacey wiped her brow. “Now that that’s over, I think it’s all hitting me.”
I knew exactly how she felt. All the adrenalin built up with our evening escape was slowly seeping away, and I was left feeling utterly exhausted and stressed. But I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s faith in things by admitting to it. Instead, I focused on another truth. “You were amazing. Absolutely amazing.”
“In what way?” Lacey yawned. “All I did was follow my instinct and do the right thing.”
“It still took guts,” I pointed out. “I’m going to acknowledge that.”
“Where are we going exactly?” Preston interjected. “Does everyone else know?”
“I take it the driver already knows where the chasm is?” James asked his own question before I had time to answer Preston. “Otherwise someone should probably tell her.”
“We need to go in a zigzag pattern. In case we are spotted it needs to look like we were actually headed to Autumn Court.” I didn’t want us followed. Dealing with the unknown in Energo would be hard enough. We didn’t need Spring guards chasing after us too.
“We snuck out. I don’t think King Leon is going to accept that we stuck to the plan.” Preston put his hands behind his head and leaned back into them.
“He will know something is up, but he might not figure out exactly what.” I’d of course thought through all this information. “We need a head start. We can’t get followed back into Energo that quickly.”
“Wait. What?” Preston narrowed his eyes. “We’re going to Energo?”
“Interesting.” James made a tsking noise with his tongue. “You never told the kid you were heading to another world. That is probably important information for him to have in order to make an informed decision.”
“We’re going to another world?” Preston gasped. “That’s awesome.”
“Yeah, how did I guess that’s how you would react?” Frost shook his head. “Focused on the adventure not the risk.”
“How else should I react?” Preston’s brow furrowed. “And you mean to tell me you aren’t the least bit excited about going to another world?”
“How should you react?” James laughed dryly. “Oh, I adore this kid. Let me see. Maybe nervous? That is how most people would feel.”
“I’m not most people.” Preston raised his chin. “This is awesome. I’m incredibly glad you asked me to tag along on the trip to Spring Court, Frost. It’s been way more eventful than I expected.”
Frost shook his head. “How long is this trip going to take? Despite the zigzag.”
“It depends on the conditions.” There was a roll of thunder as if right on cue.
“If you’re asking how far the chasm is, the answer is not far. So it all depends on the zigzag bit.” James stretched. “But I do need to know where all those guards went. I am more than a little bit intrigued.”
“It’s Thursday night,” Lacey said simply.
“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” James crossed his legs at the ankles. “Or is it some fae tradition to leave your courts unprotected one night a week?”
“Very funny.” Lacey rolled her eyes. “It’s poker night.”
“So all the guards play together at the same time?” Frost’s eyes widened. “How horribly irresponsible.”
“Not usually,” Lacey explained. “But Matilda helped spread the word about an extra big jackpot.” She grinned. “That did the trick.”
“Matilda is loyal, isn’t she?” It was rare to find someone you could trust so completely.
“She is. And motivated. And she trusts my judgment. Helping me is worth the risk for her.” Lacey folded her hands in her lap.
“She knows you will protect her,” I pointed out. “That makes a huge difference.”
“Of course. But there are always risks.” Lacey was realistic. I often gave her a hard time for having her head in the clouds, but when it came down to it, she understood that not everything in life could go according to plan.
“Do you think the guards are going to be playing for much longer?” Preston asked. “I mean I get this whole zigzag plan in theory, but if they predict our destination they can cut us off.”
“I don’t see why they would predict it.” I had thought through that exact scenario of course, but there was no perfect solution. It was impossible to create a perfect plan. “What would make them suspect it? Why head to another world? What good would that do for us in the selfish sense?”
“They will assume all your decisions are selfish?” Elron asked.
“I have no clue.” Maybe I had made miscalculations about everything.
There was a roar of thunder.
“You think the storms are going to follow us?” Lacey wrapped her arms over her chest.
“To Autumn?” This was yet another question I’d considered myself. “I don’t know. I guess it depends if it’s really Summer behind them.”
“Who else could be behind them?” Preston yawned again. It was late. Extremely late.
“In theory, anyone.” There was magic in all the courts, which made everyone a suspect. “It’s dangerous to write any possibility off.”
“Wren’s right.” Lacey sighed. “It could be any court, whether someone working in an official capacity or someone working on their own accord.”
“It could even be our own parents,” I let the admission slip out even though I didn’t really believe it. At least with my mother. I knew she was capable of a lot and she had many working for her who could wield magic, but she wouldn’t have put me in that kind of danger if it didn’t serve a purpose. And those storms wouldn’t have served her in any meaningful way I could conceive of.
“It could.” Lacey seemed to mull over the suggestion. “But I don’t think it’s likely.”
“Likely or not, it is possible.” Elron rubbed his shoulder. “Never write off a suspect because they seem innocent. I learned that the hard way many a time.”
“I take it you know war too?” I hadn’t had a chance to talk to the elf much yet, but I had a feeling there was a lot to learn. Was he a healer? Or only knowledgeable of the practice? Was he highborn? Did he have a title? But often you could find out more by asking less.
“Oh yes.” He rubbed his shoulder again. Was he injured? “Far too well. And I am sorry you will be learning all about it too.”
“I barely remember our last war.” Frost sounded so far away as he answered. He stared off into the distance. I knew he was probably lost in memories.
Elron nodded in a knowing way. “You are lucky then.”
“Or I was lucky. I suppose I’m not lucky now.” Frost spoke exactly what I felt.
“Only time will tell.” Elron had this way of making even the most mundane statements sound wise.
“Time is a strange thing.” Sometimes it went so fast and other times so slow. It changed some things, but some things never changed. “A very strange thing.”
“You okay?” Frost caught my eye.
“Yeah.” I tried to reassure him with my eyes. “This is all just a lot.”
“I get it. I absolutely get it.” Frost put an arm around me. “None of us saw this coming.”
Lacey pushed back the curtain. A flash of lightning lit up the sky. “Those storms must be following us.”
“I believe you are right.” I watched another flash of lightning. It was getting closer. It made no sense unless it was following us. But why? Who was trying to deter us? Did they know where we planned to go?
“It’s going to be okay.” Frost kissed my cheek. “I promise it's going to be okay.”
He couldn’t make that promise, just as I couldn’t make the promise to Lacey about her mother, but sometimes making promises like that were okay because it was better than the alternative. And maybe, just maybe, making a promise would make it more likely to come to fruition.
“I know.” I leaned into him. He was so warm, and I wanted to wrap myself up in him and never leave. “I’m so glad you’re with me.”
“You knew I’d be with you. I wasn’t going to let you go through this alone.” He nuzzled his face in my neck. Something had changed between us. Any other time I would have focused on over analyzing that, but there were too many other things to deal with at the moment.
“I know.” I snuggled into him more. I knew we weren’t alone, and I was probably going to have a million questions from Lacey to answer. But, in the scheme of things I didn’t care.
Thunder rolled again.
“Maybe we should scrap the zigzag idea and get out of here.” James leaned forward to get a better look out the window. “If getting to Energo is the goal, we need to do it before this storm makes travel impossible.”
“I agree.” I lifted my head. “We should tell the driver.”
“I’ll do it.” Lacey opened the window connecting the passenger cabin to the front. “We are ready to go directly to the chasm now.” She closed the window.
“So this is it.” Preston rested his hands on his knees. “We’re really about to enter another world.”
James laughed. “I take back my earlier comments. I love this reaction. It’s so optimistic. I hope you keep it as time marches on.”
“Enough about time.” Elron groaned. “James, you know full well the power of it.”
“Oh, I do. For better or worse.” James leaned back against the seat.
“Why do I get the sense I’m missing something?” Frost asked.
“We have already told you we’ve seen lots of battle.” Elron set his satchel down at his feet. We were cramped in the carriage, but so far no one had complained.
“That’s going to be us one day.” Preston had way too much excitement in his voice. “Waxing nostalgic about our war days.”
“I doubt that.” Frost frowned. I was positive he was thinking the same thing I was about Preston’s reaction. “I don’t think I’ll ever get nostalgic about war.”
I thought about it. About nostalgia and the way we view the past. “I suppose it’s going to depend on whether we win. Right? The victors and the losers remember war very differently.”
“Wise words.” Elron nodded. “Very wise words. We would be best to win this.”
“We will.” Lacey blinked a few times. “I know we will.”
“Yes.” I mustered as much enthusiasm and confidence as I could. “We absolutely will, which is why we need to get to Energo. We need to get to the heart of this and make sure nothing else steps through.”
“So that’s what we’re doing.” Preston’s eyes lit up. “Got it.”
“I’m sorry we haven’t filled you in more, Preston.” I hadn’t had the time before we left, and the stress had hit me hard once we boarded the carriage. “It’s all been quite a whirlwind.”
“I get it. I’m just glad I wasn’t left behind.”
“Your brother would have never left you behind.”
“No. He wouldn’t have.” Preston looked over at Frost with a look of respect and admiration. “He never would.”
Frost moved his leg, and it brushed against mine. “Let’s just all get through this alive.” Okay?”
“That is a lovely plan.” James grinned. “Although that should always be part of the plan. Death is overrated.”
“Is that supposed to be some sort of joke?” Lacey snapped.
“No. Just a statement on the obsession of the glory of death in battle. Sure, heroics are important, but living to fight another day is extremely important too.”
“I agree.” Frost set his gaze on James. “As crazy as it is to admit, I agree with you.”’
James smiled. “I have been telling you since the beginning. We are on the same side. Maybe now you will believe me.”
“Let’s stop at my agreeing with you. There is no reason to get ahead of ourselves.”