I looked over at the guards. It made me uncomfortable to have them watching. Tejus picked up on my awkwardness, and turned to one of them.
“Can you give us a moment?” he asked. “If you would just wait above.”
“Of course, Commander,” the guard replied. He bowed his head again in my direction, his eyes meeting mine for a brief moment. They were clear and unwavering—and I couldn’t avoid seeing the respect and awe in his glance. I smiled tentatively back, not knowing what else to do.
The guards left swiftly, leaving us alone with the captive.
“They love you, you know,” Jenus cooed, breaking his silence. “Whoever would have thought that a mere scrap like you could bring down the mighty Queen Trina Seraq?”
Tejus kicked the bar with his foot.
“What the hell did I just say?” he hissed at his brother. “I am not making false threats, Jenus—your life is just about worthless right now, so don’t tempt me.”
I looked at Jenus in disgust. I almost loathed him more than I had Queen Trina—she might have been pure evil, but at least she had a spine. Then I remembered that he was providing dinner, so instead I smiled at him, and began to feed.
The energy flooded through me—it was dark and potent, so unlike the energy of Tejus or Ruby. It left a bitter taste in my mouth, and I immediately felt like I wanted a hot shower, but it was still energy, and I needed it. I drained Jenus till he was writhing around on the floor in pain. His agony should have made me pause, like it had done the day we’d rescued him from the forest prison, just before Tejus told me to stop, but this time I couldn’t help myself. He deserved everything he got. The more I drank, the more the darkness of his energy became as tempting as it was repulsive.
I started to ‘feel’ around for memories – as unpracticed as I was, there were clear images that sifted like sand through Jenus’s mind. I saw a pool of black tar, thick and gooey, Queen Trina reclining back in it like she was taking a luxurious bubble-bath. The image was disturbing. I could also sense Jenus’s lust for her in that moment and it made my own stomach heave.
“Enough,” Tejus muttered.
Thank God.
I nodded, gently extricating my mind from Jenus’s.
“You’re a vile creature,” he sniveled on the floor. “Foul like your lover! No different from the queen you killed in cold blood—no different from a common murderer!”
I rolled my eyes at Tejus. I’d heard enough of Jenus and his whining. Whatever dark energy I’d just taken from Jenus made me feel powerful and strong—no longer haunted by the small shreds of guilt at ending Queen Trina’s life, no longer feeling an ounce of pity for my meal.
“Let’s go,” Tejus announced, holding out his hand. I took it gratefully, loving the feel of his skin against mine. I felt lust twisting and turning in my stomach, just as overwhelming as my hunger had been a few moments ago. Tejus smiled down at me, his eyes alight. I guessed he sensed what I was feeling.
We met the guards again at the top of the stairs, and they traipsed back down to maintain their watch. When we were back out in the light of the main corridor, Tejus turned to me.
“Hazel, you need to be careful—I should have thought about this before, but taking…dark energy, like I sense Jenus’s is right now, can have an effect.” Tejus spoke softly, his arms snaking around my waist and pulling me toward him.
“I know,” I replied honestly, looking up at him. “I can feel it. Maybe I should go easy on him, maybe use some of the other sentries like before—as long as they don’t mind?” I asked, referring to the time that I’d syphoned off the accommodating minister by the walls of Hellswan.
“I think that would be a good idea.”
“I also saw something… a memory, while I was syphoning. It was him and Queen Trina, sitting in some pool of tar-like liquid. It was powerful, whatever it was…and disturbing. I think you need to do the same. Maybe you can get more out of him than I can?” I hoped so. I didn’t want to have to delve into Jenus’s mind again. It was sick and twisted, but on the other hand, I didn’t really like the thought of Tejus doing it either.
“Perhaps we were right then,” he mused. “It sounds like – predictably – Jenus may have been drawn to whatever power was feeding Queen Trina. I’ll take another look.”
“You’re dark enough already.” I laughed. “It’s a lot less dangerous for me to do it.”
“We can argue about this later,” he said, bringing his lips down to meet mine. The warmth of his lips sent shivers running up and down my spine.
“Do we have a room, or are we camping?” I asked softly, breaking away. His pupils were dilated, making his eyes almost completely black as he looked down at me.
“We have a room. You don’t think I’d let my future wife sleep on the floor, do you?”
I felt heat rising to my cheeks at his words.
My future wife.
The idea made my head spin.
Rose
The sunset was fading from the distance, casting even more darkness over the strange land. Now the gray piles of stones looked like hunched bodies, and we could see more clearly the small trickles of flame that were still burning down in the lower levels of the castle.
“I just can’t bear waiting here like this. If we know the children aren’t here, what are we waiting for?” Claudia’s high-pitched tone came from the other side of the rubble pile I was perched on.
“I think it’s better to be cautious,” a softer, more musical voice replied. Claudia had obviously taken Sherus’s sister, Lidera, hostage.
“In this instance, I don’t,” Claudia replied stoutly. “The moment I get my hands on Ruby’s kidnappers I’m going to tear them limb from limb—rip the skin from their faces—”
“Claudia.”
I interrupted before the hot-headed vamp could traumatize the fae any further. I jumped swiftly over the pile, landing a few feet from Claudia. Her expression was furious.
“Don’t tell me that you don’t want to do the same, Rose—I’m just telling it like it is. We’re all thinking the same thing.”
“I know that, but maybe keep a lid on it until we find them? You’re just going to make everyone more anxious than they already are,” I argued.
“Try thinking about the bigger picture. It’s not just your children who are in danger here,” added Lidera, unhelpfully. Claudia hissed at her, and I groaned inwardly. I needed to keep Claudia occupied or we’d never get any peace. In the distance, I could see Yuri walking with Erik, overturning rubble in the hunt for clues as to what creatures might inhabit this dimension.
“Claudia, why don’t you help Yuri? It will take your mind off things,” I suggested.
“I’m going to find Ben,” Lidera said, before Claudia could reply. As the copper-haired fae walked off, Claudia grunted in disapproval.
“I can’t get used to the fae.” She grimaced.
“But you’re used to Ben, Lucas, and Grace?”
“They’ve only got the bodies of fae, not the weird mindset. The fae are so mysterious all the time, and…hoity. Like they think they’re better than we are.” Claudia continued her grumbling, but I blocked it out, trying to slowly edge the blonde vampire toward her husband. I knew why Claudia was being this way—she was just worried about the kids, and desperate to be doing something…but she was getting on my nerves.
As I herded her over to Yuri, I paused for a moment, standing frozen on a large piece of gray stone. I heard the unmistakable sound of wings flapping through the still night. The dragons were back.
Please have seen the kids.
“They’re back!” I exclaimed, hurrying off in the direction of my father, with Claudia hot on my heels. I could see Grace and Lawrence running from another direction, followed by Aiden and then Caleb, and soon the whole team was gathered east of the palace, waiting impatiently for the dragons to land.
Lethe was the first to land, followed by Azaiah, Ridan and Jeriad.
“The army you heard leaving t
he cove is staying east from here, at another castle, this one unaffected by the earthquakes.” Jeriad addressed his report to my father, while the others remained silent behind him. “Their numbers are significant—some are camping outside. We can also see a strange barrier…almost like a translucent bubble covering the castle. We wouldn’t have seen it except the sunset flared up at the right moment, revealing it. It’s obviously some kind of magic.”
Mona, Corrine and Ibrahim exchanged glances, looking concerned. I had never heard of a barrier that fit that description…but perhaps they had?
“The creatures are human-appearing in many respects, except they are freakishly tall. They ride strange horses that have the appearance of bulls, as well as using the vultures we thought we saw earlier for transport. We couldn’t find out much more than that—the castle was heavily guarded.”
“And the children?” my father asked.
Lethe shook his head, his eyes downcast. “We did not see them.”
My head swam a bit as the disappointment floored me. Rationally, I had known that it was unlikely the dragons would return with news of the children, but that hadn’t stopped me from holding onto a small sliver of hope.
“But they’re still our best bet in locating the kids.” Jeriad turned to me, his voice solemn. “We didn’t see another soul as we flew over the land. I’m convinced that if the kids are anywhere, they’re in that castle—perhaps under guard.”
I nodded. At least we had a starting point.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“Let’s get moving then,” Claudia interjected.
My father glared at her. “Hold on. We will go to the castle, but I want to discuss the stones first. If this army has put some form of barrier up to protect themselves, then they’re as threatened as we are by what those stones might contain.”
I hadn’t thought about that. Clearly we had the same enemy. I could only see it as good news; if we had the same goal in mind, then perhaps they would be up for negotiations.
“Nuriya,” my father continued, addressing the jinni queen, “do you think you could close the stones at all – even if it’s just temporarily keeping them sealed? Only for a short while to get us access to the portal?”
The jinni shook her head sadly. “That magic was lost to my people a long time ago. I traveled to see some of the elder jinn before we left, but none of them knew the magic of the stones—what was in them, or how to open them…so I am assuming none know how to close them either.”
“What are you thinking?” my mother asked. “Why would we want to get back to the portal?”
Everyone turned to my father in confusion. We hadn’t even come close to finding the children yet. Was he planning to leave already?
“I’m hoping that we can offer the army safe passage out of here—perhaps in return for the children, if they’re keeping them hostage,” my father replied. “And if not through the portal, perhaps some other land across the sea – wherever they might feel safe.”
“Good idea.” Ben nodded, catching on to his plan.
“But perhaps impossible,” Sherus intoned, shaking his head. Clearly, he still thought arriving in this land had been a mistake. I was starting to feel a little impatient with the fae king—we were trying to save the In-Between too, it wasn’t just our mission that we were here for.
“Are there any other ways in which we might be able to contain the stones?” my father asked again, looking at the witches.
“If we knew what was coming out of them, maybe,” Ibrahim replied. “But if we don’t know what we’re up against…”
Suddenly, I had an idea. “Wait, surely if there are stones here, then the jinn that locked up these creatures can’t be far away? Perhaps there’s another group of jinn living in this dimension? Nuriya, is that possible?”
She shrugged, her jet-black hair bouncing in the moonlight. “It’s possible, but if this land is as hostile as it seems, they would have wanted to leave – as your father says, perhaps somewhere across the ocean like The Dunes… assuming this really is the supernatural dimension. But still, there might be a chance they’ve remained here. I can’t sense any, but that doesn’t mean they’re not around. Jinn are good at concealing themselves if necessary.”
“But if there were jinn here, don’t you think they’d be trying to close the stones already?” my mom asked. “It seems like a bit of a long shot.”
“But perhaps the only chance we have,” my father observed.
“And if there are jinn here, then the best way to find out would be getting to the castle…so let’s get going.” It was Claudia, riling my father yet again.
He sighed. “All right. We move out in an hour. Everyone get your packs ready. Leave whatever’s not necessary, we need to travel light.”
I nodded, hearing the unspoken implication that if anything went wrong we might have to run for our lives.
The group dispersed, and I was left standing with Caleb.
“Are you okay?” he asked, lifting my chin up to meet his gaze.
“Tired, worried, anxious…the list kind of goes on… You?”
“The same. I’m glad Claudia’s pushing your father to get to the castle. It’s the not knowing that’s driving me crazy.”
I nodded. “I get why he’s being cautious—if Sherus is right then this enemy’s going to be unlike anything we’ve faced before…but all I can think about is Hazel and Benedict. Were they in this castle when it came crashing down?” I shivered. They left here alive, according to the werewolves, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t been wounded or afraid.
“Let’s try not to think about it,” Caleb replied softly.
“I know, but I can’t help it.”
“We have to keep believing that they’re fine, Rose, or we won’t make it through this.”
My husband was right. I grasped his hand in mine, squeezing it gratefully. We were getting closer all the time. I shouldn’t be giving up hope now.
Julian
“All I can think about is how we’re being left out, again,” Benedict huffed, trying to get comfortable on the stone floor. “I think we would be good on a recon mission—we’re smaller than the sentries, so we could get closer without being seen. Which I would have pointed out if we’d been invited.”
We’d listened in secretly to the meeting that Ash and Tejus had held, knowing that they’d be making plans for our next attack. Now we’d found a corner of the castle where we could remain undisturbed. I had just wanted to get away from the craziness of the close-to-bursting castle, but Benedict saw it as an opportunity to plot our way into the action.
“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” I asked. “I mean—all those stones opening? We don’t even know what’s in them…and the entity? Not sure I want to come face to face with that.” I felt queasy at the thought. I didn’t understand how Benedict was so up for reuniting with the power that had possessed him. Maybe he’d conveniently forgotten how scared he’d been? How scared we’d all been? From the days of our short-lived Hell Raker group, I’d definitely had a change of heart about blindly going off to battle the beasts and evils that Nevertide had lurking in every corner. I’d learnt my lesson after a stint in Queen Trina’s dungeons. Clearly Benedict still hadn’t.
“It’s just a recon mission, Julian. We won’t actually have to fight them or anything. I want to know what’s going to come out of those stones.”
“Well, I don’t think we can.” I sighed. “We can’t get out of here—the barriers are going to be heavily guarded and watched the whole time. And if you think Hazel and Ruby will let us go, then you’ve gone mad.”
Benedict tugged on a leaf of the nearest potted plant, his face gloomy.
“This sucks,” he moaned.
“Do you want to go and look at the fang-beasts?” I asked, trying to cheer him up. The bizarre creatures that Queen Memenion had begun keeping as pets had been penned up near the stables. They looked like wolves, but much larger and about a million times
more ferocious. Like testosterone-injected wolves with rabies.
“Why don’t we hide in the stables? That way, when Ragnhild and the rest of them ride out, we can hide beneath the bull-horses or something and run out with them?” Benedict’s eyes lit up.
“That’s so stupid.”
Yelena echoed my thoughts perfectly. She strode around the corner of the wall we’d been leaning against, hands on her hips, looking down pityingly at us both.
“What are you doing here?” Benedict groaned. “I thought you were with the others—and by the way, that’s not a very polite way to speak to the person who saved your life. Twice!”
She rolled her eyes. “I already said thank you—what else do you want, a medal?”
“Wouldn’t mind.”
I exhaled in frustration. I’d thought that Benedict and Yelena would get along better now that Benedict had put his neck out for her in such heroic ways, but clearly not. I was starting to think that they actually enjoyed aggravating one another.
“I actually have a better plan,” Yelena announced.
“Surprise, surprise,” Benedict muttered.
She cast him a baleful look before continuing.
“I’ve done a bit of investigating of my own, and there are a couple of places where the barrier isn’t guarded as well as it should be. I think, if you want to join the recon mission, we take a horse now and hide out behind the stables…there’s loads of wild, overgrown bushes and trees near there. When the army leaves in the morning, we wait till the last moment, before the barrier closes, and ride right out! Getting far away enough that they can’t send us back!”
This still sounded highly dubious to me.
“That was my plan!” Benedict exclaimed. “You’ve literally just said my plan back to me!”
“It’s completely different,” Yelena corrected, “and doesn’t have the stupid idea of hiding beneath a horse. Seriously, that would never work.”
I let them argue on while I thought about the logistics of it. And how much trouble we’d be in when we got found out.