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Evalyn led us out of the hangar and into a landscape of breathtaking rock formations and alien vegetation. Every now and then, the air shimmered and I stumbled over a moss-covered log or a boulder without warning. I glanced at Evalyn, who walked along as if she was on smooth pavement. "What is with this place?"
She sent me a feral grin that wouldn't look out of place on her brother's face, but was shocking coming from the sweet little femme before me. "You're in the fae lands, Gesa. Nothing is ever as it seems."
Hisashi slipped a big hand onto my low back and guided me around a pine tree that appeared right behind the tropical-looking, leaf-covered fruit tree in my path. "The veil between realms is thin here," he explained. "The fae lands overlap with the natural environment of this world, thanks to the concentration of power in the ancient ceremonial sites and the large fae population."
I watched him step over and around every obstacle as if he saw them coming long before I did. Which, knowing his freaking way of seeing through things, he probably did. "Aren't you just a fucking fae encyclopedia all of the sudden."
His white skin turned faintly pink over his high cheekbones. "I um...did some research."
I rolled my eyes. Research. Right. He was absolutely infatuated with Oisin. I felt bad that I hadn't learned more about the fae clans here in America. All I had was the vague knowledge I'd gleaned in school, most of it about the clans in the old world. And when Oisin came along...well, he was a bit distracting. And I'd had no reason to think we'd be visiting his family any time soon.
I thought we'd be staying as far away from the demented assholes as possible, not walking right up to the front door and ringing the doorbell.
After a long time of wandering through the intermittently familiar and alien scenery, we finally arrived at what looked like a small hunting retreat. A cluster of rustic log cabins nestled under tall pines and were covered in sweet-scented flowering vines in a rainbow of colors.
"I feel like I have a head injury," I said, rubbing my temple as my brain tried to make sense of the jarring visual. Tiny, gossamer-winged things darted in and out of the cabin windows. It was way warmer here than it should be this time of year, when the rest of the state was covered in snow. "I'm hallucinating."
Evalyn chuckled. "I forget, sometimes, how strange the fae lands can seem to outsiders. Come, let's meet in the lodge." She shot me an accusatory glare. "You've left it until the last minute, Gesa. I've been expecting you to come storming in for over a week now. The solstice is tonight, and our sire has plans to complete his ritual power transfer then."
I huffed. "I would have been here the moment Oisin was taken, but there was a mutiny."
Kai laughed. "A magetiny."
Halstad was not laughing. "We had to prepare if these idiots had any chance of making it here and back with all their appendages and bodily fluids intact. I'm not getting paid to bring back corpses."
Hisashi sighed. "It was my fault, Evalyn. I had to learn how to tap into my power when I need it and...it took a while."
I didn't remind him that White had insisted on training Con too, for whatever reason. The poor human would think it was his fault then. If there was one thing my pride excelled at, it was self-flagellation.
Evalyn tilted her head, examining the fox with a curious expression. "You have gotten stronger, haven't you? I can see the aether dancing around you like a dear friend."
He grimaced. "More like a hungry ghost. But I at least have some chance of helping now. And...well, I kind of think I have to be here for Oisin to get free."
She pressed her lips together. "Nine-tails and their premonitions." Waving a hand, she dismissed his abilities like waving away smoke. "The future is a tricky, mercurial thing. Playing around with that will get you burned."
I watched them with a bad feeling growing in the pit of my stomach. Hisashi had always said his visions weren't one hundred percent reliable. But that hadn't bothered me when they were about what was coming in the mail or who was at the door—or even his seeing himself in my pride. Now though, that little detail was fucking terrifying.
In no time, we were seated at a round wooden table that had intricate runes burned into it. Halstad lurked behind my chair and I realized there was no chair left for him. I glanced around the room and opened my mouth—there were more chairs in the corner. But the mage put a strong hand on my shoulder and squeezed. "It feels good to stretch my legs," he muttered in his gravelly voice.
Fine. Weirdo. I turned back to the impromptu meeting of fae. "Not that I'm not grateful and all," I said to Evalyn, who was seated across from me at the table, her leaf-and-armor-clad fae friends around her. "But do you mind telling me what the hell is going on?"
One corner of her bowstring mouth lifted in a wry smirk. "The long version with all its sordid history?"
I rolled my eyes. Did I want to hear about the history of freaky fae politics? Fuck no. "The short version where we go get Oisin back right the fuck now, please." I drummed my fingers impatiently on the heavy wood tabletop. My inner beast was screeching its head off, demanding we go, fly, hunt. I shoved it down. Fae were schemers. They were all about tradition, and ceremony, and the big show.
Evalyn pushed her golden curls back out of her face and I noticed how drawn she looked. Her big purple eyes had dark circles under them, and she looked a bit more frail than usual. "My sire, Cadoc, is a master puppeteer and showman," she said bitterly. "He's made sure that Oisin's execution is not only a public event, but one that nearly all the elder fae in the clan support. He won't let them catch on that he's draining the power into himself, but he'll still find a way to end my brother in front of the others." Her eyes flicked upward, and she took a deep breath, fighting the anger that was clearly simmering beneath the surface.
"Cadoc's branded Oisin a traitor. A poisonous viper in the midst of the sanctity of clan and family. He's twisted everything around to suit him. Told everyone how his eldest heir, driven by greed and insanity, has secretly murdered every one of his other possible heirs. He even convinced them Oisin killed his own mother. As if, even at a tender age, he was a born monster." She sighed. "And he's convinced the clan that Oisin was selling fae secrets to humans and demons." Her purple eyes were full of sadness. "Why else would a strong, beautiful fae like Oisin leave the clan and take up with non-fae in some tiny city in the middle of nowhere?"
I growled. I'd seen the pain and horror in Oisin's eyes when he told me about witnessing his mother's draining and murder at his father’s hands. And he'd killed his siblings at their own request, to stop the power-hungry madman who fathered them. I knew him well enough to know that those deaths haunted him even now, hundreds of years later. I'd also seen him struggle with being separated from his clan and the magical bond that went along with it—even though apparently his clan was a bunch of blind, fuck-witted asshats willing to bow down to a crazy tyrant.
"What the hell does this have to do with anything?" I demanded, impatient. "I don't give a fuck what the other fae think. I want my mate back."
She shook her head. "Our sire called for a wild hunt. It will be starting soon. At nightfall. Supposedly, it's to punish anyone who aided the betrayer in our midst." She snorted. "In actuality, I have no idea who they'll be hunting. Probably some innocent bystanders who pissed Cadoc off somewhere along the line. Because Oisin had no friends." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "He had no help. He did it all himself because he couldn't trust anyone."
I pressed my fingertips into the wood beneath my hands, forcing my talons to recede before I ruined the pretty runes warding the fancy-ass fae table. "Well, he has help now. And a new fucking family. One that won't just abandon him."
She gave me a fond look, then her eyes glittered with Oisin-like levels of wickedness. "Not all the clan is so blind," she told me, tilting her pert nose up like the hoity-toity fae she was. "My sire might be the very definition of conniving. But I'm not without my own sway." She gestured at the fae seated around the table. Most were watching the proceedings with that calm mask that I knew was the fae way of hiding emotions and playing their little manipulation games. But several fae were glaring my way with blatant hatred in their jewel-bright eyes.
"Just what did you do to convince this lot to help?" I asked, staring at one of the pissed off fae until he crumpled under my gaze, his citrine eyes darting to the side. Yeah. I'm an alpha, bitch.
Evalyn seemed to ignore the byplay, but she answered my question with altogether too much satisfaction. "Well," she said with a smug grin. "Part of his whole web of lies is that Oisin killed all of his siblings. My sire thinks I'm dead because he can't sense my magic, with it dormant and hidden in Oisin's aura." She spread her hands wide. "But it's pretty obvious Cadoc is lying when I sit here, perfectly alive and well." She looked around the table at the various fae. "I was lucky that some of the younger generation were already convinced that the old ways no longer serve the clan. They just needed a nudge."
I watched her purple eyes warmly survey the gathered warriors and was surprised at the loyalty they showed her. Here she sat, all tiny and female and literally lacking any magical power. And they deferred to her.
I think Oisin and Evalyn's dear old pops might have made a big fucking miscalculation when he was breeding up his little kiddo snacks. He made sure they were strong and full of the qualities he wanted to steal. But he might have inadvertently created his own damned downfall.
Evalyn met my gaze. "We are on the border of the summer lands right now," she said intently. “We need to cross the river and navigate a strip of thin forest land to get to the older growth and the monoliths on the other side. Intel says that's where he's holding Oisin. The stones have power. They anchor this realm to the others, and they're perfect for channeling and rituals."
I glanced out the window at the fading daylight. "Well then, what are we waiting for?"
She grimaced. "The wild hunt. There are already spectators gathered. If we go now, we'll be easy targets. But if we wait until night...we can hide ourselves in the darkness and the chaos of the hunt."
I blinked at her. Kaimana scoffed at my side. "You plan to cross a moonlit field in fae territory in the middle of the wild hunt?" She tilted her head. "Did losing your magic addle your brain, sweetheart?"
Evalyn pulled a face at the kraken. They had become friendly when Evalyn stayed with us, before she got her magic resealed. "Have a bit of faith. Our little misfit band is strong."
Halstad spoke from behind me, making me jump. I'd forgotten he was there. "The fae will blend in with the rest of their kind easy enough. But it's gonna take a whole lot of cloaking to get the rest of us across that relatively open space."
I watched as a wave of hostile fae eyes turned my way. "What? He's not wrong."
Evalyn nodded. "But it's the best chance we have. We can't waltz over there in broad daylight."
"Won't the hounds sniff us out?" Hisashi asked softly.
I sucked in a deep breath. "Well fuck." The hounds. For a minute there, I almost thought we only had to deal with a bunch of psychotic fae huntsman. But no, of course not. There were also the hounds. Rumored to be some sort of fae-enhanced hellhounds. I didn't know if even half the stories I'd heard about them were true. But half would be bad enough.
Evalyn lifted one dainty shoulder in a shrug. "Do you want him back, or no?" She engaged Hisashi in a staring contest.
"I'll get him back," the fox said, his deep voice soft but full of emotion. "But I'd like to do it without losing the rest of my family."
She sat back and the confident armor she'd been wearing fell away. The little fae was tired and scared. "Me too. The hounds will stay closer to the riders. The first wave of hunters will be on foot—poorer members of the court who want in on the action, but aren't high ranking enough to have mounts. We can make our way through then, before the nobles get there."
I rubbed a hand over my face. "Let's get this shit show on the road."