Chapter One

“F uck!” I hear Storm curse as we make it through the other side of the portal. Of course, I can’t see anything thanks to the purple haze impairing our vision, but at least it seems to be fading quicker than last time when we went through the green portal that brought us into the Warrior games.

Reassuringly enough, I still have hold of Rival’s hand, and Storm’s wing is still wrapped around me, so I know that they are safe at least.

“Guys, are you alright?” Storm asks, “Can anyone see yet?”

One by one the guys all say that they are okay and that, like us, the purple is starting to fade from their vision. I should probably point out that it’s not necessarily a good idea to be speaking so loudly when we don’t know where we are, but I can’t hear anything to be concerned about, and I’m as worried about them as Storm is. I also know that my magic would’ve warned me by now if there was something I needed to be concerned about.

Finally, the purple fades from my eyes, and I get the first good look at our surroundings.

Fuck, we are unmistakably in the Shadowlands. I should probably be worried, maybe even scared. I know the guys will most likely be concerned when they realise where we are, but I’m not; I’m excited. I fucking love it here; after all it was two years before my father upped his search for me and made himself a deadly nuisance, and those two years were spent here.

The guys are in for one hell of a shock, not just because of my connection to this place but because the stories don’t give it justice, and the harsh reality of the place is actually kind of comforting, or at least it is to me.

“Where are we?” Reaper asks, looking around at the others who are all doing the same and studying our surroundings until realisation dawns on them.

“We’re in the Shadowlands,” I reply, trying to keep my smile at bay. I fucking love this place.

“This is not good,” Storm mutters, his body tense and his gaze moving around the area.

We’ve ended up in the barren lands that separate the rest of the Shadowlands from the border, it’s patrolled regularly both by magic and by people, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re visited very soon.

They all move closer to me as if to protect me, which is cute because until they really understand how the Shadowlands work, I’m going to be protecting them. Before anyone can say anything else, there’s a flash of purple light, and the scroll drops straight into Zev’s hands.

He shrugs, “I guess I’m the one who gets to read it out this time.”

Kill looks around at the others, “Remember, no one else is to touch it. We don’t want it to disintegrate again. The other scroll could’ve had more information on it that might’ve helped.”

“Good point,” Mayhem murmurs in agreement, keeping his voice low and his eyes on the wasteland around us.

I clear my throat, “You won’t see them coming.”

Rival’s head snaps around to look at me as he narrows his eyes slightly, “What?”

“There’s no point keeping an eye on your surroundings. Stay alert, yes, but you won’t see them. One minute you’ll be surrounded by nothing but desert, and the next, you’ll find yourself in the middle of about twenty Shadowlaidians.”

“Shadowlaidians?” Loki questions.

“Yeah, that’s what they call themselves here.”

“I’m getting more and more curious about your connection to this place,” Killian adds, raising his eyebrow as his tail moves languidly behind him.

I roll my eyes, “We’re getting distracted, Zev; what does the scroll say?”

Zev clears his throat dramatically as he unrolls the scroll, “It says that there’s unrest in the Shadowlands, that dark magic has become a threat. Someone is trying to set a great evil onto the fae world, and they’re using the Shadowlands as a gateway. We are to find the culprit and prevent it from happening.”

Everyone is silent for a few moments as we think over what the scroll has just told us.

“What about a time limit?” Rival asks, his orange eyes sparking with intensity.

Zev looks over the scroll again before frowning, “It doesn’t have one.”

“That’s concerning,” I mutter thoughtfully.

“I read as much as I possibly could about the Warrior Games, and nowhere in anything that I’ve read has there been any mention of a time limit not being given.” Rival replies, his eyebrows furrowed as he scrubs his hand through his blue hair. Rival loves knowledge, and I think the current lack of it is driving him mad.

“Did it say anywhere how long the longest level lasted for?” Storm asks.

Rival nods, “Yeah, two weeks, I think. Everyone thought that they’d failed because it took so long for them to get back.”

“Okay, well hopefully, it will be two weeks for us as well.” Storm replies.

“They were still told how long it was going to take them. It was one of the questions everyone asked them and the only question they answered.” Rival points out with a concerned frown.

I interrupt, “Also, from what the scroll said, there’s a huge issue here, one that’s going to take longer than two weeks to solve. Regardless of that though, the Fae realm clearly wants us here, and we’re just going to have to trust that she knows what she’s doing.”

“I’m starting to think that the Shadowlands is not what we’ve been made to think it is,” Reaper muses, his eyes on me. Almost as if he’s trying to pluck the knowledge from my head.

“I agree. The Fae Realm wants us to protect it, to keep it safe, and just that in itself means that the Shadowlands are important, or the Fae Realm would leave it to its fate.” Mayhem adds.

“That doesn’t surprise you, does it, Love?” Loki asks me.

My lips tilt up into a smile, “You’ll see.”

Before any of them can question me any more, we suddenly find ourselves surrounded by multiple different supernaturals. We all move into a circle formation so that we’re covered on all sides. Whereas the guys draw their weapons and Kill and Storm call forth their shadows, I stay deceptively relaxed. I can get to my weapon within seconds if I need to, but I have a feeling I won’t, not unless these supernaturals are bandits, which there is a good possibility that they could be.

They don’t immediately move to attack us, most likely sensing our strength, they start to talk in the language that they’ve developed here, and the guys side-eye each other questioningly as they keep an eye on the threat.

Loki starts to talk out of the side of his mouth like they won’t realise that he’s saying something, and I have to suppress my chuckle as he says, “Maybe they want to welcome us?”

I can practically hear Storm roll his eyes as he replies, “Dude, you see the weapons pointed at us, the magic sparking in their hands? I’m fairly certain that means they aren’t feeling too welcoming right now.”

The supe in front of me smiles slightly at Storm’s words, clearly amused. Something that not many outsiders realise is that although they have their own language they speak fluent Fae as well and can understand us.

Reaper is standing next to me and I catch his eyes switch to those of his dragon before he mutters, “Ryu wants to know if we can eat them?”

Of course, his words make the Shadowlaidians surrounding us tense and start shouting as they begin to advance.

For fuck sake.

Rolling my eyes I call out over the sounds of their shouting and in their own language, “We’re not here to cause trouble.”

I’m not about to give them any information about who we are, especially Killian and Storm. There are quite a few people who are here because of their hatred for the king, and if they ever figured out that Kill and Storm are the king's sons then that really wouldn’t go well for anyone involved.

As soon as they hear me speak, they stop yelling. No outsider knows their language, and the fact that I have just used it is enough to make them listen. They move so that they aren’t surrounding us anymore and are instead standing in front of us; they no longer think that we are a threat, and the guys all cautiously move as well so that they can see them properly.

I step forward, making both sides tense before I lift my shirt and mutter a spell under my breath that will lift the concealment I have on my mark. The change of seeing the Shadowland mark on my skin is instantaneous as their weapons disappear and the sparks of magic fizzle out. The guys are still tense though, and I can’t say that I blame them. They’ve been told their entire lives that the Shadowlands are full of dangerous and deadly supernaturals, that if they step foot inside the barrier, they will be killed immediately, and while to an extent, that is true, and there are creatures here that are incredibly dangerous, it’s also not, and it’s going to take them a while to get used it.

“Sorry, we had no idea that you were one of us. Are they, too?” one of them asks.

I shake my head with a smile, “Don’t worry about it, and no, they’re not. Would you mind if we switched to Fae so that they can understand what we’re saying?”

“Sure,” he replies in Fae, and the guys jolt slightly.

“So, what are you guys doing this far out?” a woman with dark red skin and cat-shaped eyes asks us curiously.

“We’ve heard about some unrest, and we’re here to investigate,” I reply, keeping it as vague as possible while still giving them enough information to satiate their curiosity.

A man with bright purple cat eyes frowns slightly, “You just arrived?”

We share a look before Storm replies, crossing his arms over his chest, as he replies bluntly, “Yes.”

I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes at his prickly attitude; he’s not going to get us any information that way. My curiosity peaks as the crowd shares raised eyebrows and confused looks.

“What’s going on?” Killian asks, only mildly more polite than Storm was.

“Excuse our confusion,” the original speaker starts, “but the borders have been locked down for a month now. No one can get in or out, and people are starting to panic.”

Well that wasn’t what I was expecting to hear, but I’m guessing that it has something to do with what the realm said in the scroll.

The woman with cat eyes shakes his head, “Tensions are running higher than usual. It’s not safe for outsiders to be here at the moment.”

With that warning, they all pop out of existence again, leaving us to absorb that information in silence.

“We’re stuck here?” Rival clarifies.

Zev frowns, “It looks like it.” His eyes briefly turn white as he gets a glimpse of the future, and then he says, “I think we’re going to be stuck here until we fix everything.”

“Fuck,” Reaper growls.

Storm turns to look at me and narrows his eyes, “Farren, can you see if you can use the Void to get out?”

I shrug, “I can try.”

It takes no effort at all to pull myself into the Void, and it greets me like an old friend, pressing around me comfortingly before moving back and settling. I’ve never felt anything like it before; it doesn’t usually feel like this. As I try to call a path to take me just outside of the border to the Shadowlands, I’m met with resistance, and I get the overwhelming sense that I’m not going to be able to leave using the Void. I try a different destination just to make sure and get the same reaction.

I have this indescribable feeling that it's more than just the Fae Realm involved in this, being able to disable part of my gift is on a god or goddess level, and that makes me nervous. We need more fucking information.

Pulling myself out of the Void, I deliberately try to position myself in a different place to the one I left, just to see if I can. Unsurprisingly, I end up stepping out of it just behind Storm, just like I had envisioned.

“So the good news is,” I start and then try to hide my smile as Storm jumps, not having noticed me step back out of the Void. I’m the only one that manages to control my reaction though as Loki snorts and the others start chuckling.

Storm spins around and glares at me, although I can see amusement in his eyes, so his glare doesn’t have the effect that it usually does, “Really Farren?”

I shrug, “I needed to see if it was going to work.”

Everyone becomes serious again, as Mayhem asks, “So you can’t get out?”

I shake my head, “No when I tried, there was like this resistance. I’ve got this feeling that this isn’t just the Fae Realm pulling the strings.”

Rival nods in agreement, “No, I don’t think it is either. There’s something bigger than even the Fae Realm at play, and that’s something that wasn’t mentioned in any of the books or in any of the information that I’ve read.”

“Great.” Storm grumbles as he starts to pace, his wings moving agitatedly behind him.

I’m really glad that he’s still got them out and isn’t keeping them as immobile as he was before. I wasn’t lying when we were in the cave. I am okay with them, which isn’t entirely that shocking since I have caught feelings for the man they belong to.

“Wait,” Loki suddenly says, and we all look at him expectantly. He points at me, “You said good news when you first came back and scared the shit out of Storm.”

Storm huffs, “She didn’t scare me.”

Loki chuckles, enjoying winding him up despite the situation we’re currently in as he adds, “Sure, mate.”

I decide to intervene before we have a fight on our hands and start to attract some of the creatures that hunt on the outskirts of the Shadowlands. I am surprised that our only visitor has been the Shadowlaidians.

“The good news is that I can use the Void to travel through the Shadowlands, hence why I appeared behind Storm.” I reply, and then add, “Although, I’m not sure what use that will be because it’s a waste of magic reserves to just use it for popping around the room, and it takes a while as well, so it wouldn’t be good in a fight.”

“Alright, we need more information, a lot more information,” Rival mutters, and I can clearly see how much the lack of information is bothering him, I want to go over to him and comfort him in some way, but I have no idea how, or if it would be well received so I stay where I am.

“The more pressing issue right now is that we need somewhere safe to stay before something not so unusually friendly makes an appearance.” Reaper points out just as we hear a clicking noise.

I instantly drop into a defensive crouch, drawing my chain whip with the blade on the end and infusing it with my magic. The guys follow my lead as I explain quickly, “Too late Reaper, that’s the sound of a Ripmarou. A huge snake-like creature clicks when it's on the hunt and eats everything. The only way to kill it is through the roof of its mouth, stabbing up into the brain. Don’t get bitten.”

I don’t have time to make sure that they understand what I just said, and they don’t have time to ask any questions because as soon as I’ve finished, the Ripmarou comes into sight.

“Fucking hell, that’s gross,” Loki mutters.

Maybe I should’ve explained that they look like they’re rotting, and the smell is just as fucking bad. Unlike a snake, instead of moving from side to side to slither across the ground, it moves up and down in the same kind of motion, like a wave.

As it approaches, Killian and Storm gain my attention as they share a look and using the same hand movements; they mutter something simultaneously too low for me to hear. Shadows burst from them, rushing toward the rapidly approaching Ripmarou. As the shadows start to wrap around the huge body, slowing it down, Reaper transforms and lets Ryu out to play. Ryu roars triumphantly and turns to look at me.

“Worry not, little mate, I’ve got this,” his voice booms through my mind, and I smile.

As he bounds toward the now almost stationary Ripmarou, I urgently call out after him, “Ryu, don’t eat him; it will kill you.”

“Smells bad, not eat.” He replies, less eloquent than he was moments ago.

I chuckle, and although I stay on guard, I’m reasonably sure that the other three have this handled. Loki strolls up next to me, smiling wide, his sword resting on his shoulder and his vampire teeth on full display.

I shouldn’t find that so fucking hot, should I?

“I kind of wish I had a snack of some sort while we watch this show. I’ve missed Ryu, and he’s got so much pent-up energy because he was kept on lock down for so long that I have a feeling this is going to be brutal.” He says excitedly as Zev and Rival join us.

Grinning, I don’t bother to reply as we watch Ryu. He doesn’t bother going for the weak spot I told him about, instead choosing to raise his huge spiked tail and repeatedly beat the Ripmarou’s head until there’s nothing but mangled pulp left and then just to make sure it’s dead, he stomps all over it.

“I think he’s just playing now,” Storm mutters as he comes to stand beside us. I was so focused on Ryu that I hadn’t noticed that Storm and Killian had called their shadows back.

Arms wrap around me from behind and I sink back into Killian’s embrace, comfort flowing through me.

“Let him play for a minute. It’s not hurting anyone,” Loki mutters and then chuckles as he amends, “Well, he’s only hurting something that’s trying to kill us.”

“He’s got five more minutes,” Storm replies, “we need to find somewhere safe to stay before something else decides it wants to eat us.”

“Good point,” Rival mutters, his thoughts elsewhere, most likely on the information that we’re missing.