Chapter 23

TWENTY-THREE

BASTIEN

Tallulah’s feet flew up over her head, and her arms pinwheeled right in front of me. I leapt forward to try and grab her, but it was too late. My fingers found only cold air. I slid full speed into the jade stone slab. My face slammed into the cold surface. The portal had closed after her. One second she’d been right there in front of me, the next she was a sea of red curls flying backwards.

Fuck, I hope she wasn’t important .

This hall was dangerous for anyone who was na?ve to our world. This hall was one of my mother’s dirty little secrets. There was only supposed to be one portal per realm, the one that led straight into the Emerald, yet somehow my mother had found a way to create portals out of crystal slabs. Upon entering this room, it would look like nothing more than a strange room of crystals, but if a member of the Royal Family walked by them, they would come to life.

With a silent curse, I slammed my hand on the slab where Tallulah had fallen in. I was going to have to take care of that later. Who falls into a portal? And how did that just happen? I must have been closer than I realized. I must have unintentionally opened the portal for her. I couldn’t even remember which of these went where. I only knew a few of them for certain and those were the ones in the back. This jade one was a mystery. I’d never seen anyone use it. I knew I needed to track her down—Collins wouldn’t take well to this—but I had bigger fish to fry.

Collins.

She wasn’t safe anywhere in First Realm. My mother and sisters would find her. Not even Megelle Island was safe enough. And I’d left her there. I needed to go back and get her, the real Collins. Now. Once I had her secure and was able to tell her the plan, we’d hunt down Tallulah together. My family didn’t know I’d taken her, so they had no reason to go looking.

I took a deep breath and then turned and marched down the long hall to the emerald slab at the end. That one would take me to, well, The Emerald. Once there, I’d fly to Megelle Island and find the real Collins.

Light flashed from the citrine slab to my right. When I looked over, I caught a glance of the Santa Monica Pier in California. Over on the left, there was a fire opal slab that revealed the flashing lights of Las Vegas Boulevard. I didn’t stop at any of these, but as I walked, the portals opened on their own. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw several different locations like Stonehenge in England, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and half a dozen spots here in Third Realm.

And then I spotted a new slab that hadn’t been there before. It was black obsidian and the energy rolling off of it was super possessive. I slowed down as I approached, curious to see where it led, but when the portal opened and revealed its destination . . . I froze.

This wasn’t a portal to a booming city. No, this was one that lead to a room made completely of black stone. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all obsidian. At the center of the room, a small figure sat huddled on the floor. Her head was slumped forward, and her shoulders were hunched over. Her legs were twisted at weird angles. Thick chains were wrapped around her wrists and ankles. Golden wings with turquoise tips were broken and draped over her back and on the floor. She shuddered and feathers fell to the ground around her.

My heart stopped. My mother was up to her games. Again.

I stepped into the cell and crouched down. The woman’s head lolled on her shoulders, but then she looked up and I gasped. Jada. Bloody, dark bruises marred the whole right side of her face. She groaned low in her throat. I lifted my hand to brush her hair out of her eyes and she flinched like I was going to inflict more pain on her. I shook my head and pressed my fingers to my lips. SHHHHH.

Her dark eyes widened, but she remained silent. I wrapped my hand around one of the cuffs on her wrist and examined the lock. If I took her out of here, my mother would know betrayal hid in the castle. But I couldn’t leave her here. It was wrong on so many levels. I couldn’t. When I yanked at the chains, she whimpered. I wish I had some soothing words to offer, or something to reassure her, but all I could give was silent assistance.

“Beautiful, isn’t she, Son?”

I froze. An ice-cold chill slid down my spine. I hadn’t heard him approaching. I was too distracted. Get your head in the game, Bash. I licked my lips and forced a chuckle, despite it not making a sound. Then I stood up straight and turned to face my father.

A cocky grin played on his face. He was my height with a slightly thicker build, darker olive skin, and dark-green hair. His eyes were just as dark as his hair and yet they still danced with joy as he approached the cell. It was the one time that I was grateful that my features favored my mother, though I loathed her just as much.

He popped the collar of his thick black fur coat and stopped beside me. He leaned against the wall and eyed Jada like she was dessert. “You may have failed to get the Stone Keeper, but your mother hasn’t. She’s brought the girl here.”

My heart rate spiked, but I was used to showing no reaction and this was no different. It’d never been more important to keep my emotions in check. Collins was here. In the Fae Realm. The Stone Keeper was here.

He gave a chuckle. “Nothing to say for yourself?”

I arched one eyebrow at him.

All my years of planning, and it was coming down to this moment right here. This was it, what I’d been waiting and planning for. All the years of pretending not to loathe every member of my family, pretending I was in on their sick, twisted little games. If my mother had Collins, then time was of the essence, because the second my mother got her hands on the Chaos Stone, she’d kill her. That meant nothing else mattered right now. I had to get to her. I glanced down at Jada, and my stomach turned. Jada was supposed to be her Nephilim protector, the one to help her stay alive here, but of course my mother had gotten ahold of her first.

Leaving Jada here wasn’t a good option. I was fully prepared to help Collins succeed in her tasks, but my gut told me we’d need her Nephilim, which meant I had to get her out of here somehow . . . around my father.

“Beautiful, shiny new toy we’ve got.” My father purred and stretched. The way he looked at her made me violently angry. “I’m going to play with this one while your mother is . . . occupied.”

Decision made. It’s showtime.

I flicked my wrist and shot my magic right into him. I willed his senses to fade into nothingness. He screamed a stream of obscenities at me, then sucked in a deep breath. I knew what was coming next. He was about to use his sonic scream on me. I fisted his hair and slammed his face into me knee. The crack of bone filled the air and he slumped to the ground in front of me. With both hands, I grabbed the back of his coat and threw him head first into the back wall of the cell. His skull cracked under the force, and when he slipped to the ground a pool of blood seeped from his skull.

“ What in the Heavens . . . ” Jada whispered.

I sprinted back to Jada, then sank to my knees in front of her. Jada looked from my father to me and back again. She held her hand out toward me. The cuffs weren’t the easiest thing to break, but I’d done it before. My mother had used it on me a time or two, so I’d studied the intricate lock and knew it well. The first cuff’s lock snapped, and the chains clanked to the ground. The sound of voices carried down the hall.

Jada’s eyes widened. “Hurry.”

Shit. We’re out of time. I leapt to my feet and jumped back from her. She frowned and shook her head. I held my finger to my mouth. The door behind me flew open, but the sound was drowned out by the cackle of my sisters laughing.

I knew the moment they saw our father unconscious on the floor because they both gasped.

“What happened to him?” my sister Marigold growled. She was closest in age to me but was still centuries older. “Is he dead?”

I shook my head.

Marigold stomped around Jada and over to him on the floor. She was one of the deadliest of all of my siblings. A true menace to every society. She kicked Father’s side and brushed her bright-red hair out of her face. Her purple eyes made her look the most sinister of the crew and it was fitting.

Helena narrowed her eyes at the cuff laying on the ground in front of Jada. “What’s this?”

Helena was the most beautiful of us all. Her eyes were a vivid light-green and they swirled like a wheel. Dark-purple hair flowed around her face, framing it perfectly. It was always perfect. There wasn’t a time that she wasn’t perfect or using her powers over someone to make her believe that she wasn’t, including me and everyone else.

I couldn’t take them both down now, not by myself and definitely not with Jada in chains. Marigold would put me to sleep before my magic even reached her. It was a favorite game of hers: put me to sleep and drop me over a volcano to see if I would wake up in time. And Helena would hypnotize me to kill myself. She had tried a time or two. Luckily, my attempts never worked. I needed to play the long game. The only one who mattered was Collins, and I had to get to her before it was too late.

All I had to do now was tell one little lie to them, like I had many times before. I straightened my face and pointed from Jada to my father and mouthed, She did it.

“He always was the weakest of us all.” Marigold kicked him once again and he didn’t move. She stepped over him and got in Jada’s face. “And now, my little angel . . .”

I forced my muscles not to tense, to not give a single sign that I would attack if she harmed a hair on Jada’s head.

Helena groaned. “Bored now.”

Marigold sighed. “We just got here.”

“Yeah, and Mom said we’re not allowed to kill her yet, so what’s the point?” Helena flipped her long purple hair over her shoulder. “Bored.”

“Fine.” Marigold shoved her away and marched out of the cell. She paused at the doorway and looked at me over her shoulder. “Come on, baby brother. Mother has big plans for today.”

I arched one eyebrow in question. I needed all the insider information I could get.

Helena grabbed the cuff off the floor and snapped it back around Jada’s wrist. She walked over to me and stopped. “We’re about to meet mother. She’s got the Stone Keeper, and we’re going to take over the realm. Come with us. That bitch needs to die.”

Do nothing . . . kill her later. I nodded

I pressed my lips into a thin line and motioned for Helena to go in front of me. She snickered in my direction but followed behind Marigold. I glanced back at Jada and winked, then I pressed my finger to my lips and smiled.

I’ll be back for you.