Chapter Seventeen

 

 

 

 

Dylan

 

The waves lapped quietly against the boat as we drifted through the fog. We made our way across the channel from Rock Island to the mainland. The mist was thicker than before, making it hard to see land. The electricity along my skin, hidden beneath my glamour, crackled. Something awaited us in the fog. Something powerful.

“Dylan?”

I took a peek at James, who’d been unusually silent as we’d left the archives. He looked a bit green or pale… in the gloom, I wasn’t sure which.

“You all right, buddy?”

“We have to leave Faerie, don’t we?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Whatever is affecting Anna is probably starting to ail you as well.”

He frowned but gave me a tiny nod, closing his eyes. “Benton is waiting for us. He can help.”

I lifted an eyebrow and peered across the blanket of fog in our way. I knew Shade and her siblings could sense each other; it was part of their elemental magic. I was almost certain that they were far more powerful than just elementals. They were the most gifted humans I had ever met. It made me wonder what other powers lay beneath their exteriors. There was enough of a connection that none of them would ever leave the other’s sides for long.

I wished I had such a family myself. Missing Shade again, my heart protested. When would the pain stop? Probably never. If I survived losing her, it would be a miracle. My daughters were the reason I now lived. I couldn’t let that go nor did I want to. I had to take care of them. I needed to raise them, teach them, and remind them who their mother was before the magic of Faerie had changed her. I knew their aunt and uncles would help me do it.

Realization flurried in my head. I knew what I would have to do. I knew without a doubt that the magic in Faerie was fracturing. Soap had told me as much, and I had felt it crumbling around the Scren kingdom. How long would it take before Faerie suffered irreparable damage? What could stop it?

Shade could, I thought. But would she want to?

I sighed, squinting into the fog. It had laid a wet sheen across my skin which would have made me shiver had I not had my inner fire. Instead, it felt cool, heavenly, and calming. I turned toward James, who shivered beside me. His eyes remained closed. I reached out, knowing I would not harm him with my touch; he was immune to fire and heat. I warmed the air surrounding him, and he immediately stopped shivering but stayed still, his lips warming to a living pink once more.

“Hold on, James. We’re almost there. You’ll be home soon.”

“Ahoy there, land lubbers!” Benton’s voice echoed across the sound, the water amplifying his voice as the fog cleared and the beach appeared before us.

“Benton! We need to leave Faerie now! It’s James.”

His eyes widened. “Is he okay?” He stepped into the water up to his knees, stomping to get to the boat. Reaching it, he began tugging it toward the shore as I hopped out to help him. When it ran aground, Benton scooped his brother out and laid him on the sand.

“It’s happening to him as well,” Benton said flatly.

I breathed out a sigh of relief. He knew what was happening to his siblings. It was a miracle that he was here right when we needed him.

“Yes. We need to leave Faerie.”

Benton nodded and waved toward an approaching figure. Camulus. He bowed courteously, his face stoic. “Your Grace.”

I bowed my head at him, relieved to see the green-skinned pixie. “Camulus, I’m so glad to see you.”

Benton smiled as he motioned Isolde, his girlfriend, over. “I brought our ride. You might want to hold on. Everyone, hang tight.”

We grabbed on to Camulus as we held each other in a circle. I gripped James’s arm as Benton took his other one. Isolde took hold as well as Camulus reached out to complete the circle.

“Hold on, and don’t let go,” he said.

We all nodded just before we jaunted into the oblivion of his teleportation magic.

Opening my eyes, I found Shade’s old human dwelling before us, surrounded by a magical shield-dome that only magicals could see.

“Home, sweet home!” Benton smiled as he held up his brother, who was coming to beside him but leaning his weight against his sibling. “Hey, there, James. How are you feeling?”

“Ugh.” James rubbed his face, shaking his head. “I feel better now, but I was in a bad way back there. It’s what happened to Anna, isn’t it?”

Benton nodded.

“Why did it affect her so much sooner?” I asked.

“Probably because she’s in the Unseelie castle,” Benton answered. “It reeks of evil, even with new rulers. It probably started to wear at her faster than James since he was on the Seelie side. Dark magic is… denser.”

I had to agree. Anna’s residence at the Withering Palace had slowly eaten away at her shields and power, creating an unusual illness. James had been spared the intensity of the siphoning. The longer he stood here in the human realm, the more color returned to his cheeks.

I had never felt more relieved in my entire life. James wouldn’t die on my watch.

“Come on, little brother.” Benton ruffled James’s unruly hair. “It’s time to come back home.”

James grinned, looking happy as his eyes took in his childhood home. “Yeah. It’s about time.”