Chapter 30

THIRTY

COLLINS

When I heard about the existence of supernatural species, I’d automatically sorted them into categories of terrifying or fascinating. Shifters were the latter. One, because a person who could become an animal was about the coolest thing I’d ever heard—and two, because my stepfather turned into a giant eagle in front of me. I’d known enough about the dealings of fae to know they couldn’t be trusted and fear was usually the best emotion to feel around them, which was an odd thought to have about my own species. The vampires I’d assumed would be terrifying, perhaps Hollywood was to blame for that. I’d only seen the three on Megelle Island, yet I did not feel fear around them. I found myself wanting to study them, to get to know them. They were unnervingly beautiful and a bit hypnotic in their auras, but I felt no fear. So, I’d been wrong on that one.

But the mages . . . I’d never been more wrong in my life.

Their auras were tangible. An actual visible, pulsing energy hovering around them at all times. I wasn’t sure if it was because these mages were Royal or of Nephilim blood, but the seven of them were the most terrifying people I’d ever seen. It was a different kind of scary than Queen Tephine. She was unhinged. Evil to her core. I knew to expect horror from her at all times. But these mages were the good guys. They were warriors who’d gone into war and come out the victors.

I knew without a sliver of a doubt that if Bash or I made one wrong move, we’d be dead.

The three mage-Nephilim marched behind us in their full Heavenly armor of gold and silver. The purple tips on their golden wings felt like a threat. Or maybe it was the swords they each held at the ready. They weren’t pointed at our backs, but I had no doubts about their agility and speed. Who am I kidding? It’s the magic bombs in their hands! Each of them held a glowing orb of raw power waiting to be tossed at us.

I glanced over my shoulder, and my heart sank. They weren’t looking at me. All three pairs of eyes were latched on Bash’s back. The trust had not quite been earned yet. I knew that. Bash knew that. But they’d given us a stay of execution . . . a chance for him to prove himself.

Directly in front of us was Maren, the Queen’s wife. She was different from the others. She didn’t have that aura they did. The others had magic at their hands but Maren held a wand, like in Harry Potter. I knew better than to underestimate her for that. You didn’t become the Queen’s wife without learning a thing or two. She held that wand perched between two fingers like she was ready to swish and flick my ass back to creation. The way she walked with total ease having two swords strapped to her back told me this woman was lethal on the battlefield. But that wasn’t the scariest part about Maren. In each of the other mages’ auras, I felt an intense protection for her. If I tripped her on accident, I’d be buried six feet under. I respected that love. It just made me a tad uncomfortable.

I looked up to Bash as we walked, but his pale-blue gaze was locked on the Queen’s back. I’d only just met the man, but I was already learning some of his ticks and tells. And that expression was fear. My heart broke for him. I couldn’t imagine what his life was like. To want your own flesh and blood dead meant they had to have been monsters to you. I felt my own protectiveness surge for him, which was silly. He was eighty years old and a powerful Fae Prince. But these emotions he was making me feel were intense. I laced my fingers with his and squeezed. He hadn’t let go of my hand since he took it, and if he wasn’t letting go, then I sure as hell wasn’t.

I needed my head on straight for this, so I forced myself to look away from him and at our surroundings. I had no idea where we were, but it was breathtaking. We appeared to be in a massive garden at the base of an impressive castle. The flowers were bright and vibrant, their scents intoxicating. The garden seemed to be somewhere between summer and autumn because while the flowers were colorful and green, the trees all held red or yellow leaves. The combination was stunning.

And then a thought occurred to me. “Wait, I thought your realm was dying?”

“It was,” Prince Stellan said with a velvety voice. “Ellie saved us. She got our Astral Stone back and our realm returned to life. It’s still adjusting to seasons though. It hasn’t had one in two centuries.”

Ellie, the Stone Keeper for the mages. My stomach tightened into knots. A cold chill washed over my whole body. Ellie had saved them. She’d gotten their Stone back . . . and that was my job. It was so much pressure I was terrified I’d buckle beneath it.

Cleo hissed—silver magic exploded around her. She flipped upside down in the air, her long navy-blue hair dragging on the stone pathway. Prince Stellan was telekinetic. When we left that glass room with the portal, he’d used his magic to lift Cleo off the ground and carry her with us. Her feet still had not touched the ground. Prince Stellan didn’t even seem to be trying. His magic was just that easy and natural for him.

Lucky. Being Prince of the Realm, he probably has had his magic since he was born. He was probably raised with it, trained with it. I still didn’t understand why the Stone Keepers were forced to live as humans until it was time. It forced us to be the underdog, and I loathed that.

Cleo snarled through my vine gag—red magic coiled around her body. She screamed. It was muffled, but it was sharp. I gasped as her body twitched and spasmed. Prince Stellan flipped her right side up, but she still trembled and shrieked.

Queen Savina glanced over her shoulder and I flinched. The rage in those pretty green eyes made my steps falter, and she wasn’t even looking at me. That red magic slid away from Cleo and raced back to the Queen as fast as it’d came on. She said nothing, just turned her eyes back to the pathway in front of her.

Bash chuckled.

Queen Savina’s face snapped back to look at him—and then she smirked and nodded. I wondered what trauma the Queen had endured to make her the terrifying creature that she was. There was no doubt that she was good , her aura was pure light, but damn was it fierce.

We rounded a corner around a massive purple wisteria tree—a wall of power slammed into me. My breath was knocked from my lungs. My feet slid backwards over the stone floor. My wings popped out and my feet left the ground. Bash’s eyes widened. He tightened his grip on my hand and pulled me back down to his side.

“I thought that might happen,” Ellie said softly. She stood ahead of us just watching me with a curious expression in those purple eyes.

Prince Stellan glanced back and forth between me and Ellie. “What happened? What was that?”

Ellie shrugged. “Third Realm is mostly crystals, remember? I’m guessing that their Stone Keeper can control and manipulate crystals, right?”

I gripped Bash’s coat and hung on because the power of that stone was still trying to push me back, and my wings were ready to fly me away. “Y-yes. That’s true. I can.” Ellie is smart and observant. Remember that.

“The Astral Stone is obviously a crystal, and it contains a strong sapphire from Third Realm, so I expected it to hit you hard.” She crossed the distance between us, then took my free hand in hers. The second our skin touched, my feet hit the ground. Purple magic coiled around my body. “Better?”

I took a deep breath. It was better. Her purple magic was warm, like a summer breeze but in the most refreshing way. It was tingly and chased all the chill in my bones away. I nodded. “Yes, thank you. What did you do?”

She smiled. “I just introduced you to the Astral Stone. It felt your presence, and well, it’s a bit protective of us. I’m sure you know what I mean, as a crystal-bender.”

I chuckled. “I actually do.”

“I know what you’re feeling. Being Stone Keeper sucks right now at the start, but I promise once you train and get used to it, you’ll find it . . . quite nice.” She gave me a wink and a warm smile, then let go of my hand and backed away. She lifted her hand and pointed behind her. “All right. We’re here. This is the Astral Stone.”

Then she took a step to the side and my jaw dropped.

The Astral Stone was a massive six-inch-tall oval-shaped purple crystal. The same purple aura that clung to Ellie radiated from the Stone. I stumbled forward, reaching for the glowing purple?—

My feet slid backwards over the stone floor. I glanced down and found silver magic coiled around my ankles.

I sighed. “Dude, really?”

“I just don’t think you should be touching our Stone.” Prince Stellan crossed his arms over his chest and arched one eyebrow.

He was definitely pretty and definitely Tallulah’s type. Thinking about her sent a sharp twist of pain through my whole body. All the unknowns raced through my mind like it was the Daytona 500. I had so many questions and even more concerns. I was frustrated, aggravated, irritated—I was all of the ateds.

I spun around to face Prince Stellan with my hands on my hips and every ounce of attitude I had in my face. “Excuse me. I may be new to this, but I do believe men of Royal ranking thinking of them as their Stones is how we all got into this mess—and subsequently, the exact reason I was even born.”

Everyone else gasped.

Bash grinned .

“I am not trying to disrespect you in your own realm, but if you or your magic touch me against my will again, I promise I will.”

He narrowed those green eyes at me. His aura pulsed with rage, but I respected the control he had over himself. “You don’t know me?—”

“Nor you me?—”

“You came here with him , and I don’t trust him? — ”

“Then why are we here?” I threw my arms out and gestured around us. “Why escort us all the way here from the portal? Why show us precisely where the Astral Stone is? I don’t think you understand what trust means, your highness. ”

“I beg your pardon.”

“How dare you accept our story and agree to help us but keep your weapons pointed at us the entire time. Trust isn’t conditional, you either have it or you don’t. If you don’t, that’s your prerogative, but be honest. Then at least I’ll know to be ready for the stab in my back.” I held my hand out and pushed with my magic. I felt it connect with the vines I’d wrapped around Cleo, then I pulled. Cleo soared through the air to me, then continued hovering two feet off the ground. The vines grew thicker and greener. Flowers popped out, one on top of the other, until it looked more like a flower vine. I arched an eyebrow at him. “If you’re only helping us because you want to kill Cleo, that’s also fine, but don’t think I don’t see right through you.”

Stellan shook his head. “You think you know everything, don’t you? You’re new here. I’ve been at this since I was a kid.”

“And yet you still think you and Ellie managed to escape Third Realm without help.”

“You have no idea how powerful we are?—”

“On the contrary, I do. I can feel it. In your aura.” I looked to Bash who was sporting a shit-eating grin. “You can see their auras, can’t you? The colors?”

He nodded without hesitation, then he pointed to his pointed ear. Fae thing.

I nodded. I’d suspected as such. “So, you see, your highness, I can feel your power. I can see it too. It hovers around each of you like a cloud in the same color of the magic that you wield. But that means so did Queen Bitchface and her little monsterettes. I may loathe their very existence, but I know they have extensive power. For example, did you know that Queen Tephine could shapeshift?”

Their eyes all widened.

I smirked. “Yeah, found that one out the hard way myself. She pretended to be Jada, my Fae-Nephilim protector, with the gold and turquoise wings and all.”

Nickel gasped. “Is Jada okay?”

“No, I hardly think so. Bash saw her imprisoned in one of Tephine’s secret portals?—”

“ Secret portals? ” Weston hissed. “No, everyone only has the one back to The Emerald.”

“And the illegal one into Fifth.”

“Nope. She has an entire room of them. Gotta be like a dozen. Right, Bash?”

Everyone turned to Bash.

He nodded, but the grin was gone.

“Still think the two of you were able to beat all seven of them on your own? A mage with telekinesis and a Stone Keeper new to her powers?”

Stellan narrowed his eyes. “How’d she get all of those?”

“One of the many questions we can ask him once he gets his voice back.” I threw my hand out and my palm slammed into the Astral Stone.

Purple and turquoise magic surged toward each other like crashing waves. They swirled together instantly, and a rush of warm, electric energy surged inside of me. My wings popped back out and fluttered, causing my feet to lift off the ground. Flowers sprouted from the long strands of my colorful hair. A green vine slithered up my arm like a snake until it got to my neck. Little amethyst crystals the size of golf balls floated out of the Astral Stone and flew in circles around my head.

Images and words flashed in my mind. I still saw everyone in front of me, even saw their shocked and nervous expressions, but I wasn’t seeing them anymore. The Astral Stone was implanting information in my head, like downloading from iCloud. It went too fast to process, yet instantly was part of my memories, like this was information I’d always had.

Ellie’s face popped into my mind. I saw her holding my hand. The Astral Stone was giving me instructions, and I knew it would be foolish to ignore them, so I reached out toward Ellie. Her hand took mine instantly.

“ Ellie—”

“It’s okay, Stellan,” Ellie said in a soft, calm voice. “The Stone wants to show us something.”

I felt each of their auras tense, but Bash’s turned sharp and cold . . . like he knew exactly what it wanted to show us.

And then more images flooded my mind. I saw Cleo kneeling in the green grass around Crystal-henge, except I saw it from the perspective of the stones. Cleo was a young girl, possibly even a toddler. I saw a dark-blue crystal being embedded into her skin. I saw her laughing through the pain like some cheesy cartoon villain. Ellie’s aura tingled, so I knew she was seeing it too. Hundreds, if not thousands, of images were hitting me in rapid succession—or maybe even all at once.

All of the images came from the perspective of the sapphire in Cleo’s chest.

All of them showing the extent of monster this fae princess was and had always been. From her days in Ancient Egypt as their Pharoah to the last few decades of abusing her brother, and even the events with Stellan and Ellie. I felt sick to my stomach. I felt like I was screaming at the top of my lungs, yet no one heard me, like I was trapped inside my own body. Like I was praying for death every day.

Those feelings weren’t my own. They were the stone’s.

And then my body filled with warmth. I felt surrounded and loved, like I was in the middle of a group hug. I closed my eyes and leaned into the feeling. A man’s voice sang in the distance, and it sent little warm pulses through my body. The sound was soft, too soft to hear the words he sang but loud enough to hear the hum of the melody. It sounded like a lullaby— no, that’s not right. It was a pained sound. A song of anguish and rage. Of being hurt yet also scared and lost. It was a song for the tortured.

So far, the stones hadn’t used words to communicate with me—us—but now it was and I couldn’t hear it. I took a deep breath and pushed my magic softly into the Stone, like I was brushing its hair off its face and tucking it behind its ear. That singing stopped short. There was a brief pause and then it grew louder. The song increased in tempo until it sounded panicked.

“ What is that?” Ellie whispered.

I shook my head. Show me. I’m listening. What are you singing to me?

Bash’s face filled my mind—but not the version of it standing a few feet in front of me. No, this was a younger Bastien. This face was void of anger and fatigue. These eyes sparkled with hope and laughter. The face in my mind smiled and it made his pale-blue eyes sparkle.

This was the Bastien who Cleo stole when she cursed him. She’d taken more than just his voice, she’d taken his happiness with it.

Ellie gasped.

My eyes flew open, but I didn’t look to Bash. I looked right at the monster in front of me.

Cleopatra .

I narrowed my eyes on the vines wrapped around her head, the ones blinding her, and pushed until they dropped to the stone floor. Her sapphire eyes met mine in an instant. They were the exact shade of the crystal she’d betrayed, the one she’d tapped of its power yet used only for harm.

“How dare you,” I growled.

She snarled. I nodded my head and her gag vanished. For some reason, I needed to hear her speak right now.

“You know nothing, peasant,” she hissed.

“I know you’ll pay for what you did to that crystal.” I chuckled and sent more vines to bind her mouth closed again. “And I know we’ll all enjoy watching it.”

“Set her on the ground. The realm wants to feel it.” Ellie held her hand out. “Bastien, please take my hand.”

Stellan’s eyes widened. He glanced back and forth between us, then turned to Savina. “What’s happening and are we allowing it?”

Bash didn’t move. His gaze locked on the Queen.

Queen Savina cocked her head to the side and watched us for a moment. She pursed her lips and nodded. “My brother, I understand your fear and hesitation. I do. I also have a soulmate whose life means more to me than my own. However, you trust Eloise unconditionally, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Then we have to trust that she knows what she’s doing.” Savina shrugged and pointed to us. “They are both Stone Keepers. This is their party. We’re just invited. Nickel? Weston? Shylock? ”

“I’ve had no preparation for the Origin Stones being capable of communicating in any way, and it hasn’t attempted it with Eloise before . . .” Shylock pursed his lips. His blue eyes twinkled with fascination. “However, Collins is the Stone Keeper for Third Realm—a realm made of crystals, home to the glorious Crystal-henge we’ve all heard stories about. I suspect it was waiting to talk to her, and we should trust her instinct on the matter.”

Weston made a clicking noise. “Did it . . . feel ?”

I nodded. “Both of them did.”

“Both?”

“The Astral Stone?—”

“And the sapphire once gifted to Cleo,” Ellie finished for me. “I am certain I did not receive the same messages as Collins, at least not to the extent she did, but I am certain that Prince Bastien is to be trusted. The Stone was very clear on that.”

“The Stone said that?” Nickel asked as she sheathed her sword on her back.

Ellie nodded. “It showed us what his family, and him, are capable of. What their powers are—their gifts, like the ones we have. And Collins was right. We wouldn’t have gotten out of Third Realm alive if Prince Bastien had been on his mother’s side.”

Bash took a deep breath, then exhaled roughly, like he hadn’t been sure they’d trust him.

Stellan’s face fell. He turned to Bash and nodded. “Then we thank you. How shall we return the favor?”

I smirked. “By letting Bash take Ellie’s hand.”

Stellan stepped aside and gestured for him to go. Bash nodded to him once and then strolled toward us.

Nickel narrowed her eyes. “What are you going to do?”

“Us? Nothing.” I grinned. “But the stones have something to say.”

Nickel chuckled. “Noice.”

Ellie held her hand out. “We’re just going to channel it for you, as it’s not safe for anyone but a Stone Keeper to work with an Origin Stone.”

Bash met my eyes. I smiled and gave him a little wink. That’d been Bash’s voice singing in my head. I knew it. Now that I’d heard that warm tone, I needed to hear it for real, I needed to hear him in real life. I wasn’t quite sure what was about to happen or how, or what I even needed to do, but Ellie was confident. I felt that in her aura without question.

The moment Bash’s hand touched Ellie’s, magic like I’d never felt burst into my hand from the Astral Stone. I gasped as it rushed through my body like a racing river. Purple and turquoise smoke washed over me. The trees and plants around us grew taller and brighter in color. Every tree that’d been red or yellow turned bright green. Vines and flowers shot out of my body like a firework. Crystals of every shape and color pooled on the ground under our feet. Yessss. MORE. I clenched my teeth and pushed my magic out of me.

The smoke shot down my left arm and into Ellie’s hand. She gasped and her back arched. Wind slammed into us, blowing our hair over our shoulders. Lightning the same color as Ellie’s eyes cracked across the sky. Little purple flames danced over her chest.

“Bash?” I waited until those moonstone eyes met mine, then I smiled and nodded. “Press your hand to where her stone was.”

Without hesitation, he reached forward and pressed his whole palm to Cleo’s chest. Pale-blue smoke billowed from under his hand. Cleo hissed and her back arched. Sapphire-blue smoke poured out of her and shot right at him. The two blues crashed like two opposing armies in war. The pale-blue of Bash’s magic pulsed with wild, raw energy and swallowed every ounce of Cleo’s. It spread to cover both of their bodies.

Light flashed from inside Cleo’s body, then pierced through her skin like rays of sunlight shining through a forest. The vines binding her mouth and eyes burst into little purple flames. Cleo threw her head back and screamed.

I didn’t look to Bash, even though I wanted to. His aura was strong and growing stronger by the second. I knew he was fine. I focused my intent on Cleo. I pushed all of my magic into her. The Astral Stone’s energy rippled. That energy inside of it, the one coming from Cleo’s gifted sapphire, sang with the fire only revenge could sing.

The ground rumbled under our feet. Branches cracked all around us. Trees and plants swayed. There was a roar in the distance, growing louder and louder, like there was a river or an avalanche rushing toward us. I braced myself for impact. Ellie’s magic was elemental, so whatever this was, she’d be able to handle it. And if it was a tide of crystals, then I’d take it.

But then the hedges parted like the Red Sea and—I gasped. My heart stopped.

They were snakes. Hundreds and hundreds of snakes of every color slithered toward us. They were piled on top of each other, moving with blinding speed. Their beady eyes were unnerving. Their energy was furious.

Cleo’s scream broke off. She burst into laughter between coughs.

My pulse skipped. Her power was snakes. I’d already witnessed it myself. The snakes of Second Realm were coming to her rescue. SHIT. What do we do now? You froze them before. You can do it again. I held steady. There were powerful mages surrounding us. We could take some?—

The snakes lunged for Cleo.

My heart stopped. All I could do was stare.

Cleo shrieked and thrashed as hundreds of snakes descended on her at once. They coiled around her body, around each of her limbs, and sank their teeth into her flesh. She cried out. Tears of sapphire-blue rained from her eyes.

If I hadn’t just witnessed all the horrific acts of her entire life, this may have been difficult to watch. But this fae princess was a monster of monsters and fate was delivering its punishment. We all watched in stunned silence as the stone and magic once gifted to her attacked her. This was revenge in its purist of forms.

A purple cloud burst from the Astral Stone and ripped through the garden like a wave. The snakes hissed and leapt off Cleo. Just as quick as they came, they vanished back into the gardens and out of sight.

But that purple cloud of magic swallowed Cleo whole.

Give his voice back, please, I whispered in my mind.

Her body lifted off the ground, then spun in tight spirals like a tornado. A purple light so bright it was almost white illuminated every inch of her. It grew brighter and brighter with each of Cleo’s screams—then exploded into one single white light.

When the light faded, Cleo was gone.

That blue smoke rushed back into Bash’s hand. It shined through his clothes as it moved across his body toward Ellie. When the blue hit the purple, the colors blended together and shot right at me. It happened too fast to even watch, but I felt the electricity racing through my veins. My breath was knocked from my lungs and then the magic slammed back into the Astral Stone.

And everything went still.

I sucked in a breath and looked to the shining purple Astral Stone beneath my palm. “Thank you. Be at peace.”

For a moment, there was silence.

And then Nickel threw her head back and cackled so hard she had tears in her eyes.

Prince Stellan chuckled and scratched the back of his neck. “Now that’s what you call revenge.”

“Oh, good, so you hadn’t missed the memo.” Ellie rolled her shoulders and released our hands. “The Stone is a happy stone now.”

Weston scrubbed his face with his hands, then pushed them into the dark strands of his hair. “Wait, so is she dead? Truly?”

Shylock shoved his hands in his pockets. “It would stand to reason.”

“Stand to reason? The bloody Stone just swallowed her.” Weston motioned to the Stone.

Shylock’s dark brows furrowed. “Yes, and?”

“That’s reasonable?”

“Quite.”

Weston rolled his eyes. “Right.”

“How do you not follow?” Shylock shook his head. “She is dead.”

Savina stretched her arms out wide and smiled. “She feels gone.”

Maren walked over to the spot where Cleo had been, her wand still gripped tight in her hand. “What if she comes back?”

I shrugged. “We’ll burn that bridge when we get there.”

Bash spun to me with wide, moonstone eyes. There was a strange sparkle in them I hadn’t seen before, like he was excited about something. He shook his head. “That . . . that is not the saying.”

His voice was sweet and smooth like honey. It was warm and rumbly. The sound felt like smores over a campfire to my ears, or that was the warm and fuzzy image and feeling it gave me. I’d been trying to imagine what his voice would sound like, but never could I have prepared for that. It sent my pulse into a tailspin. Butterflies danced in my stomach.

But then his words registered. I opened my mouth, then closed it. “Wait, what?”

He grinned and shook his head. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

My face split into what I knew was a wide grin. My jaw burned and cracked. Heat filled my cheeks, and I knew I was blushing. I shrugged one shoulder. “Why cross it when we can burn it and fly away?”

He opened his mouth to speak, and I held my breath. I wanted to hear the sound again without my own stupid breathing interfering.

“SAVINA!” a man’s voice screamed from behind her.

Everyone froze.

“NICKEL!” The man screamed again.

Her eyes widened. “ DAD? ”

Just then a man rounded the corner so fast his feet slipped and his knees crashed to the stone floor. “HURRY! HURRY!”

“Dad, what’s wrong?”

Savina’s red magic coiled in her palms. “What happened?”

The man who Nickel called her father looked up at her with fear pouring from his eyes. “Queen Tephine has attacked Vegas. You must go. NOW.”