Chapter 1

1

T he frozen tip of my nose threatened to break off and join the snow-blanketed ground. I stood in the middle of nowhere, burrowing deep into my thick coat and wishing I could turn back time. Northern Faerie was cold . Understatement of the century.

"Caer isn't here," I said to Axel, a grumpy-yet-loyal sorcerer, who had been helping me track down the wily druid. We'd followed her through the portal, into the fae realm, across the rolling hills now teeming with life, through the warm summer lands, and up where ice was more common than air itself.

We stood on a frozen field, staring at a stretch of rocky foothills that backed up to a looming mountain covered in ice and crisp white snow. We'd heard rumours that Caer hid in these hills now, lurking inside a hut with no roof. But there was nothing to see here other than ice. And more ice.

And then a little bit more ice .

"No," the sorcerer grunted. Axel towered over me, and he was built more like a werewolf than a human. He had long hair and a bushy beard, tattoos spiralling across muscular arms that were now hidden beneath his thick coat.

At first, I'd been a little hesitant about asking him for help, but he'd saved Lugh's life once before. If I could trust any sorcerer, it would be him. With the magic of the ley lines running through his veins, he could use the magic in ways that I could not. And he knew how to track anyone down, so long as he had a name in his mind.

Unfortunately, it turned out his magic didn't work as well in Faerie as it did in the mortal realm. We'd been able to track Caer this far, but Axel couldn't pinpoint her exact location. She could be anywhere inside the twenty mile radius in which we stood.

I blew out a breath that fogged before me. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking it's colder than a vampire's teat."

"You're not wrong there." I gazed across the frozen tundra. "Think we should search the mountains? It looks like the perfect place for a druid to hide."

"Thing is, Moira," the sorcerer began, shoving his hands deep into his coat pockets, "it's clear this Caer mate of yours is a wee bit shy."

I snorted. "Caer? Shy? That's not even close to being true. She loves blasting people with prophecies."

"Maybe ‘shy' is the wrong word," he corrected. " But she sure as hell doesn't want to be found right now. She could be in those mountains, but even if she was, she won't let us find her. She's been on the move since we arrived in Faerie."

"You think she knows we're looking for her?" I turned to gaze up at the towering sorcerer. "It's not like her to avoid the chance to give someone a grim, terrifying prophecy that will haunt their every last waking moment. Plus, I brought her a gift."

I held up the box of treats—chocolate covered bugs—and shook it.

Axel shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you. All I know is she's been evading us all this time, and I'm ready to head back home."

A strange chill suddenly swept down my spine. Stiffening, I cocked my head and focused my enhanced fae hearing on the snow-packed ground behind us. Something snapped, but it was impossible to tell what. Was someone here?

"Caer?" I called out, twisting around to face the empty space behind us.

Axel went rigid, and his hand slipped back into his pockets. I wasn't entirely sure what he hid in there, but I knew it was a weapon of some sort. Every time even something even mildly threatening had happened along our journey together, he'd shoved his hands right back into his pockets again.

Another snap. And then another.

I narrowed my eyes. "I know someone is there. I can hear you. Show yourself. "

Three imposing fae whispered out of shadows that had not been there a moment before. I blinked and stepped back, more from surprise than anything else. There weren't any trees to hide behind. There were no rocks. Just miles and miles of snow. The shadows vanished as easily as they'd appeared.

The fae were all dressed in ancient garb. Leather armor with shields and swords, along with helmets that covered their unruly hair. All female warriors, and all looking very ready for a fight.

"What are you doing here?" The tallest stepped forward, rolling back her shoulders in a classic move meant to intimidate. Didn't really work on me. She might have caught me by surprise, but she'd have nothing on my skill with the blade.

"I'm looking for Caer." I dropped my hand to the hilt of my sword and rubbed my thumb against the soothing gold. "She's a druid, and—"

"The Goddess of Prophecies and Dreams," the fae said, cutting me off. She narrowed her eyes. "Do not merely refer to her as a druid. It's blasphemy."

Blasphemy?

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "Yeah, all right. Sure. The goddess of prophecies and dreams. Have you seen her?"

"No one may see Caer. She is a Goddess. You may offer her your prayers, and then you must go. We know you have been tracking her, and you must stop. Or you will face the wrath of the blade."

Okay, so this was weird. Caer had returned to Faerie two years ago, seemingly alone. The world here had still been rebuilding itself from a long-ago war, and most fae still preferred the luxuries of the human world to a forgotten land. But some must have followed her here. And they were…worshipping her now?

"Look, I know Caer. We kind of go way back. I just want to talk to her about a prophecy she gave me a long time ago." I curled my fingers around the hilt of my sword. "So I'll ask again. Do you know where I can find her?"

The fae stepped forward and hissed. "Caer will no longer be dispensing prophecies like candies. You will offer your prayers, and a sacrifice if you wish, and you will be deemed worthy or not."

"I'm thinking unworthy," one of the other fae said in a bored voice.

I cut my eyes to Axel. "You happen to have a potion that gets rid of three pesky fae?"

"That would be a negative," he said with a minute shake of his head. "Though I don't think that'll solve our problem if you want to see Caer. Maybe just do the prayer thingy."

"Right." I turned back to the strange armoured fae. "What exactly does the prayer thingy entail?"

The leader pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. "You do not seem to be taking this very seriously."

"I just don't understand it," I insisted. "Tell me what I have to do, and then I can make an informed decision. "

She twisted to glance at her buddies. They both shook their heads. Hmm. Not a great sign.

When she turned back, I swore her eyes flashed with glee. "You must prostrate yourself on the frozen ground and offer your life in service to Caer. If you are worthy, then we will take you to see her."

My eyebrows shot up. "Prostrate myself? You've got to be bloody joking."

Her lips went white as she pressed them tightly together. Right. So, not joking then.

"I'm not really a prostrating kind of person," I mumbled as I glanced back at Axel. He merely gave me a shrug, as if to say, ‘How badly do you want to ask Caer about your prophecy?'

My heart thumped. I'd pretty much do anything at this point. As much as it pained me to admit, Caer had the answers that I needed. It had been weeks since I'd seen Lugh, and it felt like a hole had been punched through my heart. Every day, I thought about going back to him, and every day, I had to talk myself out of it. His life was on the line. I would not allow myself the luxury of his company just because I selfishly didn't want to be without him.

Being with him would only end in his death.

Our relationship was doomed. Unless Caer knew a way out of it.

I sucked in a deep breath and sank down to my knees. Then before I could talk myself out of it, I fell face forward onto the snow. A second later, hysterical laughter echoed all around me. I jerked up from the ground, narrowing my eyes to see the three fae doubled over, tears running down their faces.

"I didn't think she'd actually do it!" the leader shrieked, pointing at me.

I jumped to my feet and drew my sword. The steel sang as it whistled through the air. Their laughter died on their lips.

"Tell me what the fuck is going on. Now." I growled the words. "I did what you said. Where the hell is Caer?"

"Who knows?" the leader said with a shrug, and then grinned again. "We're not really her worshippers. We're just bored and haven't seen anyone come through here in a long time. We thought it'd be fun…" Her eyes flicked to my sword. "Honestly, it was just for a laugh. No harm, no foul. Right?"

"No harm?" I growled, stalking closer. "No foul? You just made me bloody prostrate myself before you."

"Yeah, you must really, really want to see Caer." She took a step back. "Please put that away. We don't want any trouble."

"If you didn't want any trouble, then you shouldn't have acted like a bunch of bloody wankers," I snapped back.

Axel's strong, warm hand found my arm, and he dragged me back. "They're not worth it."

No, they weren't worth it, but the anger rushing through my veins was more than just that. It was sorrow and pain, roiling through me like a snake. Caer had been my only hope for finding a way to break the prophecy. For a moment, I'd felt hope that we'd finally managed to track her down. Instead, I'd gotten pied in the face.

Silently, Axel led me away from the still-laughing trio. We stomped through the snow toward the white-peaked mountains, but took a left at the fork in the path. We were heading back south, down toward the portal, instead of continuing further north where Caer was hiding in the hills. I didn't even try to argue with his choice. I knew it was the right one to make. Caer clearly did not want me to find her, which meant I never would. We'd been searching for her for weeks.

Finally, after what felt like hours of silence, Axel gave a shake of his head. "Well, that didn't really go according to plan."

No, it hadn't. Another understatement of the century. I was practically swimming in them at this point. For the past month, I'd been on the hunt for anything that could give me a cure, anything that could tell me how to reverse the damn prophecy.

My heart ached when I thought of Lugh. I couldn't get his handsome face, his dark eyes, and those midnight blue strands of hair out of my head.

Lugh was my mate, and I still didn't know if I could ever see him again.