Page 82 of Fate and Flame
“I think someone switched my mate, G.”
“Worry about it later. Ready?”
She was nervous, her eyes focused but her hands fidgety. She’d done this a thousand times, she claimed, but still, never with someone in tow.
“Should we practice first? What if it doesn’t work?”I asked.
“Let’s pop in on Fen and Greeve. If they can’t see us, we know it’s going to work.”
I nodded and hopped down from the solid table, standing on the back of a fallen guard. Gaea grabbed my hand and we disappeared, but rather than reappearing like we usually did, we spirited fluidly through a room I recognized. It took me a few seconds to acclimate myself with the process, and I thought Fen would sense my nearness if not able to see us, but he looked completely unaware as he and Greeve stood, each with a decanter in their hands.
“Ten minutes,” Fen said, his voice surrounding us as we moved, never in one spot long enough to be seen.
“And if they aren’t back?”
“You’re not helping.” Fen placed his arms behind his back, gripping his wrist tightly as he worked his jaw.
“Why didn’t you tell her no, then?” Greeve’s voice was a step away from commanding.
“Because I’m not in charge of her. Because I don’t want to fight with her. Because she can make her own choices and she’s smart and just as lethal as you are.”
My heart jumped a little at those words; though his conviction was not as strong as I would have liked, he was trying. Gaea spirited us to her new room, and we stood for a moment, orienting ourselves. Or at least I was, she was wringing her hands.
“We don’t have to go. We can find another way.” I rested my hand on her forearm, trying to comfort her. She was afraid of being trapped and stuck there again. I didn’t blame her. “I won’t let anything happen to you, G. Promise.”
“You’re the closest thing I’ve had to a real friend, Ara. You know I’m in this with you.”
I bumped her shoulder. “The closest? Don’t be an asshole. Wearefriends. Suck it up.”
“Yeah, yeah. Tell me about the Hunt. Everything you know.” She sighed, trying to build her courage.
“Most of what I know is lore. It’s not specifically true. The Hunt was the one thing my father did not want to talk about.” I took a deep breath and sat on a chair in the corner.
She crossed the room, uncorked a wine bottle and took a healthy swallow, then held it out to me.
But I shook my head and continued.“Coro’s father was gifted the Hunt. Some say he made a deal with the devil himself, and others say it was the work of the elves. Regardless, the magic was dark and dangerous. The Wild Hunt’s job is to enter the human realm and drag their souls to hell. In exchange, they said the God of Death gave him the power to take the vilest of faeries also.”
“So maybe Coro’s wrong and the Hunt can’t be used to bring the humans here.” She took another drink.
“I’ve seen a human recently. I know they can still come. I’m guessing Morwena enchanted a member of the Hunt and he did just that. I think he was probably the test. She wanted more power and that’s why she was trying to steal it. Unaware that it couldn’t be stolen. My father would never agree to meet her face to face, and I think that’s why. So he could make sure the Hunt wasn’t used as a weapon and so she couldn’t enchant him.”
“Tell me about your magic,” she said carefully, picking at her fingers.
I let out a long breath. “No one has really spelled it out for me, but from what we have put together, it was gifted to me so I could destroy the world. Only I would never do that. I’m trying so fucking hard to keep it reigned in every day. I can barely control it when I let it loose. I’m working on it. But when I use a massive amount, it basically tries to suffocate me so I will lose control. And even worse, every time I use a big piece of it, it creates a tear in our soul. If I’m not really, really careful . . . my magic could end the world, or Fen and I, or literally everything.”
She dropped her hands to her side and shook her head. “Then we have to go. We have to see if we can find anything to help us.”
“We have to hurry too. Fen’s counting the minutes, I promise.”
She grabbed my hand and we were instantly traveling around a cold, stone castle, devoid of color or any sign of happiness. A thousand voices echoed through the halls as we moved, unable to lock onto one single conversation for more than a few seconds. Gaea was hunting and she knew what or who she was looking for. I just had to watch and listen, never being tangible in one space for more than a fraction of a second, as if the particles of my body were scattered and moving as fluidly as her magic directed them through the Wind Court castle.
One second we were scouring through the castle, and the next we were outside, a blizzard tearing through us as we searched the grounds for proof of a large human army. Finding nothing, she spirited us back to her rooms.“There’s one more place we can try. I didn’t see a single council member as we were spying. I think they’re in a meeting. We won’t have long though.”
I nodded and she reached for me again. This was going to be the most dangerous part. The king would also be in the council meeting. Still, we whisked away and were instantly circling a large hollow room with a grand table and several large gaps between each chair. I held my breath as we moved, hoping not to make a single sound.
The king was unaware as he screamed at his council.“How many have died?”
A tall skinny old fae with beady eyes stood, shaking. “Nearly a thousand. They grow thinner by the day. We did not know they required sustenance so frequently.”
