Page 6 of Dark Fate

Fadeyrn leans forward with keen interest and seriousness. "The Faerite stone you mentioned? It has been lost for countless generations." His ageless eyes gleam. "You think it's still here?"

I nod firmly. "It is here, and I have to find it. With the Faerite, I can stop Azrael and Moretemis' dark plans."

Fadeyrn's expression turns solemn. "Moretemis' ilk bring only chaos and destruction in their wake. But the Faerite's location hasn't been spoken of at all, even by most Fae. Seeking it will be no simple task."

Questions teemed in my head like uninvited guests—what's Azrael planning with my borrowed magic? How many frequent flier miles does portal-jumping get you, and do they expire?

Pushing the now toxic food away, my quiet words carve through the air like a quotation. "Fadeyrn, I can't play hide-and-seek in tree houses. Those I cherish—Rhyland,Lucian,Erik—are out there, and the thought of them in danger is driving me to distraction."

Taking my stand, I'm laser-focused—the antithesis of subtlety. "I've got enemies stacking up like Tetris, and we've got ground to cover. The clock's ticking."

He looks at me with confusion. My vocabulary going straight over his head. His interrogation feels weighty. "These friends—what do they mean to you?"

The seriousness doesn’t blur my vision. "Rhylandis my mate; his brothers,LucianandErik, are… family. And yeah, they might bite, but only when asked politely." I grab his wrist—an SOS in my grasp. "I'm not a betting woman, but they're the rare kind worth risking it all for—not your usual blood-sucking fiends."

Desperation is now a tangy flavor on my tongue.

But dread slams into me hard, a sucker punch to my senses. They're exposed to the sunlight, and time's a ticking bomb.

His face registers another shock. "Vampires? Damn, this isn't good." Faderyn's hand finds mine, the gesture unexpectedly grounding. "We'll find them, Dani."

My hold is unforgiving. "They need me—my blood is the liquid lifeline for vampires. Consider it an SPF upgrade for the sun-challenged."

Fadeyrn does a double-take, "SPF?"

I keep forgetting I'm in the land of doublets and codpieces. "Oh, yeah, it means it protects them from the sun."

The plot twist takes him by surprise. But it's onward and upward; our time is dwindling.

Just like that, I find myself hitching a wild ride astride a horse, and we're off, tearing through the forest with the kind of breakneck speed that would give even the trees whiplash.

"Hold on tight." Faderyn hollers over his shoulder.

Around us, the landscape is a masterclass in ‘Fae arts and crafts’—a spectacle to behold. But amidst the allure,Rhylandand his brothers are lost, and my heart yearns toward them, a magnet pulled by an invisible force.

After enduring what feels like an eternity's worth of sitting, complete with the agony of grade-A butt cramps—boom, it's like hitting the power button. Everything changes. The scene goes macabre. We horseback through a land of shadow, where even the bravest light fears to tread; it sucks all warmth from the air.

Soothing certainty flows from Fadeyrn, and I latch onto it, eyes closed and honing in on that invisible tether that binds me to Rhyland. My center of gravity shifts—something spiritual, not physical—a homing signal buried deep within.

We're walking over an ocean of volcanic glass, the sharp contours of the land both awe-inspiring and frightening. A forest of shadows looms, greedily swallowing every speck of available light—starkly contrasting the shimmering beauty we'd left behind.

I can't suppress the shiver that races up my spine—the kind that's an instinctive warning. Here, in this place, dark things tread.

"We enter the Shadow Court now," Fadeyrn says ominously. "The ancient lands of the Dark Fae."

The shiver I stifle is no performance; dread grips me, but it's quickly forged into a blade of unwavering purpose.Rhylandis here, in this dark webbed fortress, and I'll tear through hell to find him. "He's around here." I point to some black, creepy eye sore.

Fadeyrn's face fills with dismay. "The royal palace? If the Shadow Court has your mate captive..." He trails off ominously.

The chill of fear constricts my heart; visions of Rhyland's suffering flash through my mind, vivid and horrifying. I can almost hear the echo of my frantic heartbeats, loud in the silence of my resolve.

"Get us over there, please." The words rip from my throat, every syllable laced with urgency.

Fadeyrn responds immediately, kicking our horse into a full-on sprint. The world tilts dangerously as we barrel through the dark forest. My fingers dig into the solid muscle of his shoulders, seeking purchase.

Faderyn brings us to an abrupt stop. "This is as far as we can go."

I unstick myself from Fadeyrn, clumsily rolling off the horse, my legs shaky with adrenaline as I confront the monolith of Rhyland’s prison.

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