Page 36 of Drawn in Blood
“How do we get there?” Ember asked, as she focused on Asteria. “We’ve never even been to the Fae territory.”
“Meet me at the Echopoint going toward Heksheim,” Asteria replied. “I’ll lead you to the gate and get you in. He was very adamant that it must be you three, no exceptions.”
Ember nodded as she chewed on the inside of her cheek. “Tonight then.”
Fen sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. “Mum is going to kill me.”
_______
Rain peltedthe side of Ember’s face as she sneaked down the long drive and toward the Echopoint on the other side of the front gate. With a house as big as Lothbrok Manor, it had been easy enough to sneak out without being noticed and make her way to the barn to grab Maia. Ember thought she should feel relieved that she didn’t have such a watchful eye on her, but something about it made her chest ache. She missed the coziness of the Kitts’, something she didn’t quite feel here.
Not yet anyway.
Maia nuzzled her hand as she held her breath and grabbed the low hanging branch on the Echopoint, the familiar pull in her stomach before she dropped to the ground on the side of the road leading to Heksheim. She brushed the dust off her jeans and quickly adjusted the strap of her bag while she looked down the road. Just as she turned her head, she heard two thuds back-to-back and turned to see Fen and Killian in a tangled mess at the trunk of the tree. Maia clicked her disapproval and let out a low growl.
“Honestly,” Ember breathed, as she rolled her eyes with a grin, “I don’t know how the pair of you ever get anything productive done.”
Killian brushed the dirt off his shirt as he cut his eyes toward Fen. “I told you to wait till five minutes after twelve sothis,”he motioned toward the spot they had fallen, “wouldn’t happen.”
“Ididwait,” Fen replied, as he shot him a dirty look. “You were just five minutes too late.”
“Maybe you can continue this argument later,” a voice echoed from behind them.
Ember whipped her head around to see Asteria standing just a few steps down the road. When had she gotten there? Ember hadn’t even heard anyone walk up, and she hadn’t used the Echopoint.
“We must hurry,” Asteria said, as she nodded toward the looming tree line. “We don’t have any time to waste.”
Ember nodded and tugged both bickering boys down the road, placing herself between them to try and keep the peace for the remainder of their walk. As they reached the ward surrounding the school, Ember sucked in a breath as they veered left, toward the entrance to the forest.
“Into the bloody forest we go again,” Fen grumbled, as he shoved both hands in the pocket of his hoodie. “I was hoping we were done with this place.”
“Sometimes the place we least want to go,” Asteria replied, “is the place we are most needed.”
Ember felt a chill run down her spine as she wrapped her arms around her waist.
“Cold, Starshine?” Killian whispered, a little too close for comfort.
Ember felt another chill run down her spine as she shook her head. “I’m fine, it’s just the rain,” she replied softly, as heat crept up her neck.
Killian nodded and pulled something out of his pocket, a small piece of cloth. He mumbled something under his breath that Ember didn’t quite catch, and then the piece of cloth suddenly turned into a full-sized jacket with a hood. He smirked as he draped it over Ember’s shoulders. “Packed it just in case.” He shrugged, as if he was answering a question Ember hadn’t asked out loud.
“How did you do that,” she whispered, as she rubbed the fabric between her fingers, inspecting the zipper and the stitching. “We haven’t learned that spell.”
Killian shrugged again and shoved his hands in his pockets. “When you live with the family that I do, you get good at hiding things.”
Ember nodded as she averted her eyes. “Thank you,” she said under her breath.
“Don’t mention it, Starshine,” he said, as a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Killian shifted into his wolf form, keeping close by Ember’s side as they walked in silence for another hour.
Just when Ember was starting to doubt her trust in the Fae, she stopped abruptly in front of them.
In the deafening silence of the forest around them, Ember almost jumped out of her skin when the faint sound of tiny bells erupted behind her. Killian let out a low growl, the white fur on his neck standing straight up as he bared his teeth. Maia didn’t seem to notice, or maybe she knew something the rest of them didn’t.
White flashed between the trees, and Ember felt her magic thrum wildly in her veins, preparing to defend herself and her friends from whatever lurked in the trees. Fen’s face had gone pale, his eyes wide, but Asteria just had a small smirk painted on her mouth.
Ember let out a breath and heard Killian do the same beside her, watching as Odette Quinn waltzed out of the tree line and onto the trail.
