25. Unicorn’s Aid

25

Unicorn's Aid

Merin

M erin paced back and forth in the living room of Adrian's manor, his mind racing with a thousand thoughts, a thousand fears. He had called everyone back - Vale, Dominic, and Peter - and now they were all gathered around him, their faces etched with worry and confusion.

"What's going on, Mer?" Dominic asked, his voice tight with concern. "The creatures, they just… vanished. Into thin air, like they'd never even been there at all."

Merin sighed, running a hand through his hair as he tried to find the words, tried to explain the horror and the heartbreak of what had just happened.

"Wanda's dead," he said finally, his voice hoarse and raw with emotion. "I had to… I had to take her soul core, the part of her that was infected by Riordan's dark magic. And when I did, it… it killed her."

He could see the shock, the disbelief, flickering across their faces. But beneath that, in Peter's eyes there was something else. A flicker of relief, of grim satisfaction, that made Merin's heart clench with understanding.

Wanda had been Peter's tormentor, his nightmare made flesh. And now, with her gone… he was free. Free from the pain and the fear and the constant, crushing weight of her cruelty.

But even as Merin watched that realization dawn on his friend's face, even as he felt a flicker of his own relief, his own sense of closure he knew that it was short-lived. Knew that they couldn't rest, couldn't let their guard down for even a moment.

Peter, who had brought Wyatt to the manor earlier, spoke up, his voice a mixture of emotions. "And Wyatt? Where is he now?"

Merin turned to Peter, his expression somber. "He stayed behind to… to take care of Wanda's remains. He said he needed to do it alone, to give her proper rites despite everything she'd done."

Chrissy and Mira were still out there, still in the clutches of the monsters who had taken them.

"They got them," Benjamin said softly, his voice thick with grief and anger. "Chrissy and Mira. While we were fighting, while we were distracted… they took them."

A gasp rippled through the room, a wave of horror and disbelief that made Merin's stomach twist with nausea. Vale's eyes flashed with fury, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. Dominic's face went pale, his mouth falling open in a wordless cry of rage and despair.

"How?" Peter demanded, his voice shaking with a mix of fear and confusion. "How could this happen, how could we let them slip through our fingers like that?"

Merin shook his head, his own heart heavy with the weight of his failure, his guilt. "We were fighting," he said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. "Wanda, she was a diversion, a distraction to keep us occupied while her minions did their dirty work."

He swallowed hard, his throat tight with the bitter taste of bile. "And we fell for it. We let our guard down, let ourselves be blinded by our own arrogance and our own fucking need for revenge. And now… now they're gone. And it's our fault, it's my fault for not seeing it sooner, for not being there to protect them when they needed us most."

Merin could feel their eyes on him, could feel the weight of their own grief and guilt and despair pressing down on him like a physical thing.

But it was Dominic who broke the silence, his voice low and rough with a mix of anger and confusion. "But why Chrissy?" he asked, his brow furrowed with a frown. "She's just a child, an innocent in all of this. Mira, I can understand. She's a phoenix, a creature of power and magic. But Chrissy? What could they possibly want with her?"

Merin sighed, his jaw clenching with a grim, terrible understanding. He had been asking himself that same question, had been turning it over and over in his mind like a puzzle he couldn't quite solve.

But now, with a sickening sense of clarity he thought he might know the answer.

"Her power," he said softly, his voice filled with a quiet, aching dread. "Chrissy's ability to sense a person's soul, to see into the very heart of their being just by looking at them. It's… it's rare, and it's powerful. And in the wrong hands…"

He trailed off, his stomach churning with nausea at the thought of what Riordan and his minions might do with that kind of power, that kind of insight into the weaknesses and the fears of their enemies.

Jimmy chose that moment to make his presence known, leaping up onto the table with a grace and a fluidity that belied his age. He sat down, his tail curling around his paws as he began to groom himself with a studied nonchalance.

"The boy's right," Jimmy said finally, his voice low and serious. "Chrissy's power, it's not something to be taken lightly. In the hands of someone like Riordan, someone with no conscience and no moral compass… it could be devastating." He paused, his eyes flicking up to meet Merin's gaze with a look of grim, unyielding understanding. "He could use her to find his enemies' weaknesses, to exploit their fears and their doubts and their deepest, darkest secrets. He could twist her power, corrupt it until it was nothing more than a tool for his own twisted ends."

He wouldn't let Riordan break her. Wouldn't let him shatter that strength, that light, that shone so brightly in the darkness of the world.

"Do we even know where they took them?" Peter asked, his brow furrowed with worry and frustration.

Merin sighed, running a hand through his hair as he tried to think, tried to piece together the clues and the fragments of information that Jimmy had given them. "There's only one place they would take them," he said finally, his voice low and grim. "The Fae realm. It's the heart of Riordan's power, the place where the veil between worlds is thinnest and the dark magic runs deepest."

Benjamin nodded, his face set in grim lines. "Then we need to get to Roman and the others, and quick. They're our best chance of navigating the Fae realm, of finding our way through the twists and turns of the Unseelie lands."

He paused, his brow furrowing with a sudden, frustrated realization. "But how?" he asked, his voice tight with worry. "We're stuck here, in the mortal realm. And without a way to open a portal, to bridge the gap between worlds…"

Vale transformed, his form shimmering and shifting until a magnificent unicorn stood in his place, his coat gleaming with an otherworldly light and his horn glinting like a polished blade.

"Ahem," he said, his voice dripping with sass and exasperation. "Forgetting something, are we? Like, oh, I don't know… the fact that you have a fucking unicorn standing right in front of you?"

"Vale, you can do that? You can take us to the Fae realm, to Roman and the others?" Merin asked.

Vale snorted, tossing his mane with a haughty, indignant air. "Well, duh. I'm a unicorn, aren't I? Portals are kind of our thing, in case you hadn't noticed."

Dominic frowned, his brow furrowing with a sudden, uncertain thought. "But I thought only certain creatures could open portals. Like dragons, or… or ancient, powerful beings like Jimmy."

Vale rolled his eyes, his tail swishing with irritation. "Please. Dragons are overrated, and Jimmy's magic is still on the fritz after that whole debacle with being asleep for a long time. But me? I'm in peak condition, baby. Ready and raring to go, whenever and wherever you need me."

Vale was right. He was their ticket out of here, their way to cross the veil and join forces with the others.

They could do this. They could find Chrissy and Mira, could stop Riordan and his minions and bring an end to the darkness that threatened to swallow them all.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Dominic said, his voice ringing with a fierce, unwavering determination. "Let's go, let's get our asses to the Fae realm and show those Unseelie bastards what happens when they mess with our family."

Merin nodded, a grim smile tugging at his lips as he stepped forward, his hand coming to rest on Vale's flank in a gesture of comfort and support. "Dominic's right," he said softly, his voice filled with a quiet, aching conviction. "We can't afford to waste any more time, can't let Riordan get any further ahead of us than he already is."

He turned to Vale, his eyes searching the unicorn's face for any hint of doubt, of hesitation or fear. "What do you need from us?" he asked, his voice low and serious. "To open the portal, to take us to Roman and the others… what do we need to do?"

Vale's eyes softened, a flicker of warmth and affection shining in their depths. "Just touch my horn," he said gently, his voice filled with a quiet, unwavering strength. "Focus on your bond with Roman, on the connection that ties you together across the realms. The spirit orb that Larry and Steve gave you… it will guide us, will light the way to the ones we seek."

Merin nodded, his heart pounding in his chest as he reached up, his fingers trembling slightly as they brushed against the smooth, pearlescent surface of Vale's horn. He could feel the unicorn's magic thrumming beneath his touch, a warm, pulsing energy that seemed to fill him with a sense of calm, of purpose, of sheer, unshakable determination.

With his free hand, he reached into his shirt, his fingers closing around the small, glowing orb that Larry had helped him fashion into a necklace. He had kept it close to his heart, had drawn strength and comfort from its steady, unwavering light in the darkest of moments.

And now, as he held it up to the light, as he focused all of his energy, all of his intention, on the image of Roman's face, on the bond that tied them together across the vast expanse of realms and realities…

He felt a jolt, a rush of power that seemed to flow from the orb and into his very soul, filling him with a warmth and a certainty that took his breath away.

Vale's horn began to glow, a soft, pulsing light that grew brighter and brighter with each passing second, until it was almost blinding in its intensity. Merin squinted against the glare, his hand tightening around the orb as he poured every ounce of his love, his longing, his sheer, desperate need to be reunited with his mate into the swirling, shimmering vortex of magic that had begun to form around them.

"That's it," Vale murmured, his voice low and encouraging. "Just a little more, Mer. You're doing great, just keep focusing on Roman."

Merin gritted his teeth, sweat beading on his brow as he pushed himself harder, deeper, into the maelstrom of power that threatened to consume him. He could feel it, could sense Roman's presence, his essence, just beyond the veil, just out of reach.

And he would be damned if he let anything, even the fabric of reality itself, keep him from the man he loved.

With a final, desperate surge of energy, he felt something give way, felt the barriers between the realms shatter and dissolve like mist beneath the force of his will and his magic. And then, with a blinding flash of light and a rush of wind that nearly knocked him off his feet.

The portal opened, a swirling, shimmering gateway that seemed to beckon them forward, to draw them into its depths with a siren's call of promise and possibility.

"It's ready," Vale said, his voice ringing with a fierce, unbridled joy. "You can let go now, Mer. The way is open, the path is clear. All we have to do is step through, and we'll be with Roman and the others in no time."

Merin let out a shaky breath, his hand falling away from Vale's horn as he stared at the portal with a mix of awe and trepidation. He knew that this was it, that there was no turning back now. Once they stepped through that shimmering, ethereal doorway…

There was no telling what challenges they would face, what dangers they would have to overcome to find Chrissy and Mira and bring them home.

But he also knew that they had no choice, that they could not - would not - rest until their family was whole and safe and happy once more.

"Wait," Merin said suddenly, his voice tight with worry as he stepped forward, his hand coming to rest on Merin's arm. "What about Leo? We can't just leave him here, not with everything that's happening. What if something goes wrong, what if he needs us and we're not there to protect him?"

Merin felt a pang of guilt, of fear, at the thought of leaving the tiny, precious bundle that was Benjamin and Adrian's son behind.

"I asked Margareth to take him away for now," Benjamin said softly, his voice filled with a quiet, aching sorrow. "Margareth and my dads, they'll keep him safe, will watch over him until we get back. They don't want anything to happen to him, to their grandchild, any more than we do."

Merin nodded. He knew that Margareth and the others would lay down their lives to protect Leo, knew that they loved him with a fierceness and a devotion that rivaled even Benjamin and Adrian's own.

"Alright, then," he said, his voice steady and sure. "Let's do this. Let's go find our girls and bring them home."

Merin closed his eyes, his mind filled with images of Roman, of Chrissy and Mira, of the family he had fought so hard to protect and the love that had given him the strength to keep going, even in the darkest of moments.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in a forest clearing, the air around him thick with the scent of pine and the hum of ancient, primal magic. The others were there with him, their faces set with grim determination as they took in their surroundings, as they tried to get their bearings in this strange, unfamiliar world.

But it was the crater that caught Merin's attention, the gaping, jagged wound in the earth that seemed to pulse and throb with a dark, malevolent energy. He could feel it, could sense the wrongness, the evil that had been unleashed in this place.

And he knew, with a bone-deep certainty, that something terrible had happened here.

"Fuck," Dominic breathed, his eyes wide with horror as he stared at the crater, at the blackened, twisted trees that ringed its edges like the fingers of a grasping, skeletal hand. "What the hell happened here? It looks like a bomb went off, like the very earth itself was ripped apart by some kind of unholy force."

Vale shook his head, his eyes distant and haunted as he pawed at the ground, as he tried to make sense of the dark, twisted energies that swirled and eddied around them like a living, breathing thing.

"I don't know," he said softly, his voice filled with a quiet, aching dread. "But I can feel them, Merin. Roman and the others, they're close. Closer than we ever could have hoped, given the vastness of the Fae realm and the twists and turns of the Unseelie lands."

Merin's heart leapt in his chest, a sudden, fierce hope kindling in his gut. If Vale was right, if Roman and the others were nearby…

Then they had a chance. A chance to find them, to join forces and put an end to Riordan's twisted, evil plans before it was too late.

"Then we need to go," he said, his voice ringing out clear and strong in the stillness of the clearing. "We need to find them, need to warn them about what's happened to Chrissy and Mira and come up with a plan to get them back."

Peter nodded, his face set with a grim, unyielding determination. "Merin's right. Every second we waste here is another second that Riordan has to complete his ritual, to spill Mira's blood and use Chrissy's power for his own twisted ends."

Dominic stepped forward, his hand coming to rest on Vale's flank in a gesture of comfort and support. "Lead the way, big guy," he said softly, his voice filled with a quiet, unwavering trust. "You're our compass, our guide through this fucked-up wonderland of horrors. We'll follow you