“We cannot go yet.” Zanthiel withdrew his sword suddenly, and his voice dropped to a low whisper. “Something is coming.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
He stepped toward the dense trees, and Adrius moved protectively to my side.
The bushes parted and King Oberon, my father, stepped out from them. He greeted the wizard with a nod, then shifted his dark eyes to me, ignoring both Zanthiel and Adrius entirely. “You are leaving. I am pleased,” Oberon stated.
I shrugged a shoulder. “Of course you are.” What else could I expect from a man who’d given me life and then tried to kill me? I peered behind him, to see who he was with. “Where’s Venus?”
“She is somewhere safe.” He nodded. “It will take some time for your gifts to return to normal. You need rest in order to make that happen, something you cannot achieve amidst this chaos. Refraining from all dark magic is the only way you can fully heal.” He scanned me from head to toe. “It is good you are well. I would never have wanted any harm to come to you.”
“Uh-huh, well, you have a funny way of showing it.” I took a step back, but kept my hand wrapped tightly on the hilt of my sword.
He chuckled. “You are so like your mother, child. You have her temper. And her tenacity.”
I didn’t respond. For a time we stood there facing one another without words. Finally I broke the silence. “You’re not going to try to stop us then?”
“You see me as the enemy. I am not. I had to force you into using your powers. I have watched you from afar, Ilyandra. I know the trouble you have had in conjuring your gifts. This was the way, to not only keep you from seeking your elven prince, but to convince you that you can summon your magic, should you choose. Clearly both attempts were failures. You’ve found the elven prince and your powers grew darker despite my intentions.”
“So, you were motivating me,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “Coaching really isn't your strong suit.”
He frowned, finding no humor in my sarcasm. “I will do whatever is needed or called for, in the situation at hand. If that makes me ruthless, then so be it. However, I believe it is a sign of power, not tyranny, to show force and use methods deemed questionable by others, when looking out for one’s kin.”
Interesting way to spin it. I wished I had good comeback, but I was exhausted and suffering from brain fog. Right now all I wanted was to get out of this place. Forever. I'd had more than my fill of living the life of a Faery Princess. It was nothing like the storybooks make it out to be.
“Know this. No matter what the elves would have you believe, you are not an abomination, Lorelei. You are a gift. Your sister as well. Never let anyone convince you otherwise. Your birth was an auspicious occasion, not only for your mother and I, but for your world. And mine. Even if no one knows it yet, our worlds are far better places, with you being you. I may not be the father figure you dreamt of as a child, but let me impart this one piece of fatherly wisdom: Claim who you are and own it proudly. And know that you are loved deeply, just the way you are.”
“Wow, that was… sappy.” I half-smiled. I still wasn’t fond of him, but he had helped break the curse Venus had over Adrius.
He grinned in return. “I was aiming for heartfelt, but perhaps I overdid it.”
“Just a bit.”
“Still, every word was meant.”
“Thanks. And don’t be a stranger. You can visit sometimes, you know.”
He nodded warmly, but I knew that he never would.
Oberon’s gaze dropped to the pendant nestled around my neck and he gave a mercurial smirk. “You will always have support from unseen places.”
“I’m lucky that way, I guess.” I glanced up at Adrius, whose expression remained stoic and wary, and when I looked back at my father, he was looking at Adrius too.
“Many decisions lie before you now,” Oberon said. “I pray you choose the right ones.” Then, cocking an eyebrow, his gaze shifted to Zanthiel, who gave a wry half-smile in return.
I fingered the Inner Eye necklace at my throat, then tucked it beneath the lace trim of my corseted top.
“Now hurry. You haven’t much time before the veil no longer supports your travels. Cross over into your rightful life, Ilyandra, the life we chose for your highest good. Do not look back and do not return. To do so would result in unending loss and pain.”
I knew he was speaking from experience.
The wail of horns sounded in the distance.
I looked about wildly. “Are those Mab’s guards?” Fear stuck in my throat.
Oberon’s face tightened. “I came to warn you. Word of your return and your impending coronation has spread. Not only Queen Mab’s guards are searching you. Crimson Riders are coming for you, for it is your magic they need to sustain them. They were dying and it was Octãhvia who fed them prior to her death. They in turn offered her human sacrifices. And now that she is gone, they sense her magic flowing in your veins. They will feed on it on any way they can. Even if it means pulling the veins from your body like thread from a spool.”
I recoiled from him, bile rising into my throat.
“We won’t let that happen,” Adrius spoke firmly.
My father looked at him and then Zanthiel. “No, I do not believe that you would. Intentionally.”
Hawthrin cleared his throat. “I hate to be the voice of urgency, but we need to make haste. Time is of the essence.”
We heard the pounding of hooves grow closer. Riders. Several of them. But it wasn’t the king’s guards, like the last time I fled Mythlandria. These were Crimson Riders, the faceless, soulless un-dead, mounted on jet black demon-steeds with glowing red eyes. Their decaying flesh rotted from the inside out, stretched over their rat-like faces, which were obscured by the blackened void beneath their crimson hoods. I remembered them all too well.
We ran, pushing through the dense forests of Mythlandria, into the darker forests of the Oakenwylde. Our feet pummeled the carpet of broken sticks and dead leaves. We raced toward the invisible gateway, like our lives depended on it. Which of course they did. Didn’t they always?
“This way,” Adrius hollered over his shoulder. My lungs were bursting, and my legs burned. Yet all I could think of was getting to the veil in time to keep it from closing. Without it, there would be no freedom. No escape. My stomach felt sick and ready to hurl its meager contents, but I kept running until finally Hawthrin slowed in the midst of a clearing, and then stopped.
“We're here,” Adrius said, circling back, his sword sliced through the air as he scanned the trees for our pursuers.
Towering neon trees formed a perfect circle. At the base of each one was a chandelier hung above a six-foot gilded mirror, curved and garishly ornate. It reminded me of the picnic Adrius had surprised me with in the woods in Drearyton Cove. Had a doorway into his world been a breath away that night?
“Get to work, wizard. I shall keep watch.” Zanthiel marched toward the darkest edge of the forest.
“You’ll have to do more than watch,” Hawthrin growled. The prisms of the chandeliers trembled as the ground quaked.
They’d found us. It would only be a few moments before they burst through into the clearing.
“How many?” Adrius snarled.
“Twenty. Thirty. I can’t tell. But I can hold them off.”
Hooves pounded, vibrating the ground and shaking leaves from the trees.
Turning, I lifted my hands. I was ready. Protecting those I loved was becoming second nature, even if the magic I was tapping into wasn’t.
As the first of the Crimson Riders appeared, a stream of liquid air slammed into them, forcing them backwards. They fell, tumbling from their mounts to the ground. It was working. Again and again they fell, as I forced blasts of fire and ice in their direction. Adrius was by my side, his sword streaking the air with viridian flames that lashed at a Crimson Rider about to plunge its blade into my back. The rider fell, and his body disintegrated into ash at my feet.
“Thanks,” I breathed.
He nodded once.
“How much longer?” I shouted to Hawthrin, as I spun around to lash at another rider.
Hawthrin replied with a grunt.
Zanthiel remained close to Hawthrin, making sure none of the riders got close to him. Any that tried were sliced in two by the indigo flames of his sword.
A blast of wizard’s magic could have taken care of them all in one shot. But we needed him to focus his attention on repairing the veil before nightfall. Before it was too late, and I was locked into fulfilling my fate.
In a few moments, they were gone, all of the riders cut down or incinerated. Bodies and blood littered the circle, staining the grass with dark red pools.
We were safe. For now. Hawthrin remained focused on the invisible doorway, bent on manipulating the magic spelling it.
I turned to Zanthiel. “This doesn’t have to be good-bye.”
Zanthiel came to my side. He placed a cold hand on my back. “It is not necessary for you to feel so much guilt, Lorelei. My intention was to keep you safe, not cause you further pain. You have suffered enough for several lifetimes.”
“Zanthiel, I…” I didn’t know what to say. I had no idea how I even felt, in that moment. He’d been my childhood guide, my savior, my friend and so much more lately. But Adrius and I, our love felt written in the stars. There was a gravitational pull drawing us to one another. And though fate tried to intercede, it only made the force that much stronger.
“I have long known where your true affections lie,” Zanthiel whispered against my ear.
Adrius didn’t move from where he stood by the tree. I didn’t need access to his thoughts to know the stoic unreadable expression on his face masked a myriad of guilt, shame and regret.
“Then you also know I have true affection for you as well, Zanthiel. I do.” A tear slipped down my cheek. “But I am sorry, I can’t marry you.”
“Shhh. I know. He is bonded to you, tethered to your soul. You could not fully be mine, even if it were what your heart desired. We both know it is not. I have to leave now, before I change my mind.”
I shook my head. “Change your mind. Come with us. I can’t leave you here to face Mab’s wrath alone. The spell will restore the veil and you can still come and go as freely as you like.”
“You cannot have it both ways, Lorelei. In order for you to return to your life, someone must remain here to see to the consequences. If the veil remains open, there will be nothing stopping them from coming after you there.”
“Okay, but that someone isn’t going to be you. I agreed to this plan to help keep you safe too. I won’t just leave and let you take the fall for this. No way.” I grabbed on to his arm.
“You will not be able to save me, Lorelei. I cannot hide in your world. And I most certainly cannot stand the pretense of life as a human for another mind-numbing day.” He made a face, then his expression softened. Reaching out, he gently brushed a tear from my cheek. It frosted on touch and then fell to the ground a tiny drop of ice. “It will be alright. I am not without my own means or defenses. I have not lived under Mab’s rule for some time now. She does not frighten me.”
“She should.” His mother was nothing, if not terrifying.
“Your father has been taking measures to ensure my safety for some time. I expect I can rely on him to continue to do the same.” He’d said it hoping to sooth my worry. It didn’t.
“My father?” I whispered loudly. “That’s who you’re betting on to keep you alive? You might as well just turn yourself over to Mab now and save him the trouble.”
“As I mentioned, there is much you do not know of him, Lorelei. I can trust him. He did not want this pairing, any more than we did.”
Adrius had generously given us our space, but now he stepped forward.
I nodded and swiped another tear. “Good-bye, Zanthiel. I know it isn’t the last time we’ll see one another.”
He grinned, bright and dazzling. “No, you can be certain it is not. Think of me whenever you sing, and I shall be there, if only in spirit. You know I’ll always be drawn to your music.” He kissed the top of my head, and looked at Adrius. “Look after her, elf.” He said. “Or I will kill you.”
Adrius nodded. “With every inch of my being, you know that I will.”
This was the closest I’d ever come to catching a faint glimpse of the friendship they had once shared. It was one tiny step beyond their usual exchange of restrained civility, into the realm of mutual respect. They wouldn’t be besties anytime soon, but it was a start.
“It is ready,” Hawthrin said.
I reached for Adrius, and then froze.
An arrow whizzed toward me.
It all happened in slow motion. I felt my legs buckle and each muscle in my body turn to liquid, refusing to support my weight. “Adrius!” I shrieked his name, unsure if my voice made a sound. I wilted, then the ground rushed up to meet me as I collided with it, knocking the wind from my lungs. I clawed at the ground, trying to crawl forward. I reached toward him. My hands shook, my fingernails filled with dried blood and dirt as they met with nothing but cold.
Adrius grabbed hold of me. The heat from his fingers burned my skin. His breathing was ragged and shallow.
“Lorelei.”
He spoke my name too slowly. Too cautiously.
“Stay still.”
My body writhed in pain.
“It’s her magic. It’s working against her somehow. Dark magic always comes at a price,” Hawthrin said.
A warm hand took hold of mine. Adrius. I would always know his touch.
“No, this wasn’t the result of her powers. This was an attack. She’s losing a lot of blood.”
“What happened?” I recognized that cold, concerned voice. Zanthiel was still here.
“She was struck. We’re not sure where it came from.”
Their voices were so clear, and yet I couldn’t see them. Or move. Or speak. What was happening to me?
“She’s in your care for an instant and yet you could not secure her safety.”
“This is not my fault, nor my doing. You know there are still those who hunt her. Both here and there. She will never be truly safe from them.”
“You are wrong. She will never be safe with you. She was with me because I will always put her first. Whilst you— you put your life, your kingdom, and your king before all else.”
“And the truth spills out. Are those the lies you fed to make her agree to forfeit her freedom and marry you?”
“I believe your affection for her sister took care of that.”
A hint of pipe smoke drifted over me. “If you are truly concerned for the girl, then you must get her back to her world now.”
Hawthrin. He was here too. Wherever here was. It was like a cold empty space between here and there. And I was trapped, alone in the void.
“Go,” Zanthiel’s voice commanded, followed by the cold hiss of rasping metal. “I will hold them off.”
My body was lifted by strong arms and held against a warm, firm chest.
“You’re just going to let her leave? Not try to stop her? To claim her?” Adrius’ voice was closer now. Next to my ear.
“I would not force my will upon her.”
“You are wasting precious time that we have precious little of,” Hawthrin snapped. “I cannot hold this indefinitely, while you two squabble like hens. Once my spell fades, we do not know whether the porthole will remain open or close permanently. You must leave now.”
The sounds around me blurred into one.
A cold hand touched my cheek, briefly.
There was a clash of metal.
Screams carried on the wind.
The scent of burning thyme.
Then nothing.