Page 46 of The Succubus's Song

All her sudden feelings for Finley, the way they had been circling each other ever since they met, the rapid onset intensity and chemistry they had…

Of course. It’s been right in front of us the whole time. He’s my mate.

The news settled over Mara and gave her a calm, steely resolve. Her panic and tears slowly faded into the background, and her righteous indignation returned. While her heart and mind were soothed by the knowledge Finley was her mate, her rage lit up every nerve ending in her body.

They will not take anyone from me this time, Mara swore to herself as Emmett grabbed his coat, and they prepared to head to the nearest portal. No one is going to take Finley McEwan away.

“Where’s the closest portal?” Pippa followed them out the door, bouncing in place while Emmett locked up his office. Even in the face of all that chaos, Pippa’s never-ending eagerness to crack skulls brought a smile to Mara’s face.

And Emmett’s, by the look of it. Mara noted for the second time that morning how Emmett watched Pippa when she wasn’t looking.

“Calum’s office—what the fuck?” Emmett stepped into the library and saw all the carnage that Mara’s rogue magic had created. Sprites and brownies were whizzing through the air, their high-pitched speech echoing through the library as they frantically tried to put it all back together.

Mara had the decency to look a little embarrassed as she shrugged. “I was upset?”

Emmett shook his head, muttering under his breath, “Goddamn mated fae are ruining my serenity.” He pulled up the collar of his coat and led the way out of the library, bemoaning some of his favorite collections as he saw them strewn about.

“What’s he going on about?” Pippa whispered to Mara as she watched Emmett fret over the shelves that he sped past. Mara had to try and suppress a small giggle.

“Well, Calum was just mated, and that broke a curse, which inevitably led to Emmett now being in charge. Now, he may be a little annoyed that I have temporarily wrecked the library…”

“I’m very annoyed,” Emmett shouted over his shoulder in response, holding the library door open for Mara and Pippa. “If I have to deal with one more newly mated fae tantrum, I’m retiring.”

“Whatever you say, buddy,” Mara chuckled, patting Emmett on the back as they stormed across the lawn towards the Office of Highland Magic. She was grateful for a few moments of reprieve from the chaos whirring around in her head.

Groups of students, magical and non-magical, quickly parted as Pippa, Emmett, and Mara broke into a jog and hustled towards the office building. Each of them cut an imposing figure on their own—the bounty hunter, the reformed succubus, and the retired general—but as a group they were lethal, and a couple of faculty members nearly jumped out of their way.

The campus was desperately trying to embrace spring, and the ivy on all the university’s stone buildings was attempting to come to life. The grass was sprouting and some of the flowers were blooming on the lawn. It was Mara’s favorite time of year, but she didn’t have a spare thought to appreciate it.

With supernatural speed, they reached the office building and disappeared into the labyrinth of hallways that made up the Office of Highland Magic. The floor was practically covered in stacks of books, and filing cabinets lined the walls. Antiques and bronze statues were tucked into every spare corner, and traces of magic emanated from the sconces on the walls.

Mara loved to take her time walking through the hallways to see if she could spot something she’d never seen before, but they were all business as they stormed straight into Calum’s office.

If the rest of the building looked like a hoarder’s personal library, Calum’s office was more like a forgotten basement archive of the British Museum.

“Does anyone know how to use the portal…” Pippa trailed off when she saw Emmett making a beeline for the back corner of the office.

Emmett rushed straight to the fireplace, knocking the mantle twice. For such a small action, the entire wall shook in response.

Mara watched in awe as the fire sprang to life, only for the entire fireplace to fold in on itself a moment later. In its place was a glowing portal, glimmering with magic and a hazy view of Faerie beyond it.

A wave of nerves rushed over Mara at her first sight of Faerie in centuries. Pippa must have sensed this, and her hand slid into Mara’s and gave it a squeeze.

“Are you ready?” Emmett turned around to look at both, and Mara could only nod.

Emmett disappeared first, his massive form nearly taking up the entire portal as he ducked inside.

Mara took one more deep breath, and before she could second guess anything, she stepped into the portal.

History is not going to repeat itself.

* * *

Admittedly, Mara didn’t know where the portal in Calum’s office went to. They knew it went to Faerie, but there were numerous places that it could spit them out.

Mara tumbled onto a soft woven carpet and immediately jumped to her feet, prepared for anything. Being in Faerie was undoubtedly going to set her on edge.

Emmett and Pippa were helping dust each other off. The portal had dropped them in the middle of a great study, one clearly belonging to a castle. Mara recognized the insignia on the tapestries.

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