Chapter 5

5

To Farrah’s delight, I not only took a shower, but I put on one of the fancy dresses in my closet. She loved dressing up, and, well, it made sense since everyone else in this castle was always ready for a ball.

We had dinner together in the main dining room—even the vampires, though they didn’t need to eat. The table was full: Drake at the head with Thea to one side, Aurora to the other. Then the princes Dorian, Aston, Gray, princess Lyra and Prince Ward, Prince Killian, Lavinia, Wyatt, Farrah, Zadkiel, Elisa, Sally, and two other witches I had just met, Mila and Violet.

The food was delicious and I even allowed myself to drink a glass of wine, though I wanted to keep my mind sharp in case of trouble. We weren’t foreseeing anything right now, but I had been too relaxed before when danger found us.

After dinner, we gathered in one of the largest sitting rooms. Lord Drake, the princes, the princess, and Prince Ward sat to one side, talking about some disturbance on the west coast, while the rest of us spread out on the other, talking about everything but our troubles.

Aurora entertained us all when she lifted her hands and neon butterflies sprouted from thin air and flew around us. We all stared at the little girl. She was a mystery to us all—sometimes she was just a kid, but sometimes she spoke as though she had the wisdom of an old witch. She had magic beyond anyone’s comprehension, but she still had a lot to learn, especially when it came to control.

A neon blue butterfly landed on my shoulder, then it shuddered and disappeared.

The next morning, I woke up early and went to a training session with Zad before the day got busy. Farrah, determined to spend as much time as she could with me, tagged along. Unfortunately, this session wasn’t any better than the last one, which only made me more frustrated.

“Tomorrow let’s talk to the witches about your magic,” Zad suggested as we made our way back to the castle for lunch.

After that, the castle was a flurry of movement as our friends and guests arrived for tonight’s meeting.

Drake and Thea had arranged so maids were ready. Each group that arrived was escorted to their suites in the guests’ wing, and then invited to join everyone in the larger sitting room on the castle’s first floor.

Farrah stayed with me for a while, but Queen Kayden, her mate Fox, Farrah’s brother, Daleigh, and Twyla arrived, and Farrah decided to be their host, dismissing the maids.

I had met Kayden and Daleigh years ago, right after meeting Farrah, and we had all become friends. Last year, I met Twyla. Lavinia and Killian had rescued us from the warlocks who wanted to take our powers. She was the daughter of the previous fae king, and because of that, people had hated her. So, we almost disappeared together. Two souls lost in the human world. But in the end, Farrah had gotten through to her and offered her a deal. Twyla proved she wasn’t her father’s daughter, helped them, and she was now a general in the Frost Court’s army.

Daleigh, the lord of the Frost Court, was her fated mate.

I hadn’t met Fox yet, though, Kayden’s childhood friend, turned bodyguard, turned fated mate.

I frowned, realizing everyone had their own mates.

My bond had been forced, unnatural, not fate at all.

Or was it?

According to Farrah, everything was about fate. Meant to be.

“You’re coming with us, right?” Farrah asked, bringing me back to the moment.

I gestured to myself. “I got out of training and I stink. I’ll take a shower and find you later.”

She gave me one suspicious look. Several times now I had promised to meet them later and ended up leaving without a goodbye.

“Don’t worry, I won’t run away.” One corner of my lips tugged up. “Yet.”

She fake-glared at me, but I knew she was still hurt about all of those times.

After promising again to see them later, I excused myself, went back to my room, took a shower, got dressed in a pretty gown, and instead of finding Farrah and her family and friends, I headed to the library. Knowing the evening was only going to get busier, I wanted a moment of peace and quiet and to do something for myself.

At the library, I tried getting my mind busy and researched more about the underworld.

So far, there weren’t any real facts, everything was speculation. The only facts I had found were what we already knew: the underworld was another realm, larger than anyone knew, and the house of its king and his allies, which a few years ago was a supreme demon and his thousands, maybe millions, of demons.

Now, demon hunter Tanner was the king, and many of the demons had fled the underworld and were causing chaos in the human world.

As far as I knew, Tanner was assembling a team of warriors, and alongside the demon hunters, they were hunting these demons. To either kill or imprison them, it depended on their crimes and intentions.

Once upon a time, angels would be helping them.

But no. Ylena thought humans and all other supernaturals were plagues in this world. She wanted to eradicate them and start anew with a “purer” crop.

I put down my book and shook my head, still in shock. I had been under her wing for many years and I hadn’t seen one hint, one clue. To me, she had been the most righteous, powerful, and right of all of us.

How wrong had I been.

“What’s with the long face?”

I looked up and found Abbie, Maggie, and Lacey standing in front of me, and a maid behind them.

“Sorry, Ariella,” the maid started. “They insisted on seeing you before I showed them to their rooms.”

“We won’t be using any rooms,” Abbie said as she stepped forward and hugged me. “We’ll portal out once the meeting is done.“

I nodded to the maid, who spun on her heels and left.

“How are you?” Maggie asked me once she hugged me.

“Frustrated.” I hugged Lacey next. “How about you? Have you found anything?”

“We’ve been researching almost nonstop since you left,” Lacey said, “but when we think we find something, another book says something completely different.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Like, one book said the fiery pits aren’t literal; it can mean the underworld in general, while another said the fiery pits is one single place where evil souls go to burn. And a third book said the fiery pits are several places, one more horrible than the other.”

“There’s no consensus on any information we’ve found so far,” Abbie said.

“This sucks.” I let out a long breath. “King Tanner is coming tonight. I haven’t seen him in a while, but I’m sure he’ll talk to me about this if I ask. As king, he might know the underworld better than anyone.”

The girls nodded.

Tired of being stuck in this library, though it was a pretty impressive one, I took the girls on a quick tour through the castle.

Outside the library, we bumped into Erin and Rey, who the girls had already met. This time, Harvey, Ava, Claire, Harper, Doreen, and Andre, all demon hunters and close friends, accompanied them.

We stopped for a quick hi and introductions, but they continued toward their suites as the maid seemed eager to keep moving.

A few minutes later, while we were walking through winding corridors of the castle and admiring the beautiful artwork, we ran into Hazel, Sean, Evelyn, and Ash, and three others I didn’t know.

The girls had met Evelyn and Ash, but not the others. I introduced the girls, and jokingly told them Hazel was the one who messed up the summoning spell and bound me to Levi. She was mortified, but Lacey reassured her it was for the best. That I had been a blessing to Levi.

Even if he was now in the underworld because of me.

Then Hazel told us about the other three: Brita, Anna, and Shade. Brita and Anna were witches and sisters, who had been alive for over five hundred years, and had been best friends with Hazel in her first life. Shade was Hazel’s familiar, and he had been in her first life too.

Insane.

I asked them if they had heard from Kaz. I had given his number to Drake, and he said he tried calling, but Kaz wasn’t answering.

“He’s not coming,” Evelyn said. She was a rare light witch with dark magic who could sense and use dragon magic. She had tried gaining the dragon shifters’ trust, but that was a challenging thing to do. “I called him too, he didn’t answer, but he texted back saying he was busy.”

It was a shame the only dragon shifter we knew—those two old geezers that had been with Kaz last time I saw him didn’t count—couldn’t make the meeting. Kaz probably thought they were protected from any other evil in the world seeing as they lived on a hidden magical island. Hopefully, he was right.

We continued the tour for several more minutes and had made it to the maze, before bumping into Lord Drake, Queen Thea, and little Aurora.

“Lord Drake, Queen Thea, Princess Aurora, this is Abbigail, keeper of the Great Eternity Hall, her sister Magnolia, and Lacey, Levi’s sister.”

Drake shook Abigail’s hand. “I’ve been at the Great Eternity Hall before. Long ago. The keeper’s name was Alyssa.”

Abbie nodded. “My great-grandmother.”

I stared at the vampire. “You’ve been at the hall before?”

“A couple of times, actually,” he said.

“Sounds like an interesting place,” Thea said.

“Well, you’re invited to come for a visit,” Abbie told them.

“I would like that.” Thea glanced at Aurora. “Wouldn’t you?”

Aurora fixed her big green eyes on Abbie. “You’re different.”

Abbie frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Your magic,” the girl said. “It’s ancient, carried from generation to generation. And powerful.” Aurora tugged at Thea’s skirts. “Mommy, she’s probably more powerful than you.”

Thea smiled. “I bet she is.”

“And you’re pretty.” Aurora looked at the other witches. “You all are.”

“Aw, thank you,” Maggie said. “You’re pretty too.”

“You can see magic,” Abbie said. It wasn’t a question.

“Sometimes, if it wants to be seen,” Aurora said. “Sometimes, the magic hides. Like hers.” She pointed to me. “I know your magic is inside you, but it’s hiding from my view.”

My brows curled down. “Why?”

Aurora shrugged. “Maybe it’s shy?”

I looked at Abbie. “Maybe it’s more …”

Abbie nodded at me, probably thinking what I was thinking: We needed to investigate this.

“You’re a bright witch,” Abbie told Aurora.

“Thank you.” The little girl smiled wide. “Mommy, can we go?”

“Of course, sweetie.” Thea waved at us. “We’ll see you later for dinner.”

The two of them headed to the maze, but Lord Drake lagged behind.

“Aurora’s words and magic are unique and we don’t fully comprehend its extent yet,” he said. “Most of the time, she can see and find things no one else knows. But sometimes, her magic fails.”

“We should take heed of her words anyway and investigate,” I said. Better safe than sorry.

He nodded. “I agree. You should. Just make sure you know this new clue can lead you down a road with no exit. I don’t want you to be disappointed.”

“I understand. Thanks for your concern.”

He rested his hand on my shoulder before following his mate and their daughter into the maze. Apparently, they would spend some quality family time before the parents got stuck in a long meeting for hours.

As soon as Drake was gone, I turned to Abbie. “You can see magic too, right?”

“Not like that, no,” Abbie said. “I can see things like fated mates’ bond or other magical connections much clearer.”

“But it seems the little witch was on to something,” Lacey added. “We should probably look into it.”

Maggie nodded. “I agree.”

Shame it was already getting late, and the evening’s event would start. Otherwise, I would take them back to the library right now.

What I did know was that this castle would be full of powerful witches soon, and I could talk to a few of them about what Aurora had said.

After finishing the outside tour, I took the girls back inside the castle, where I showed them a few more places—the ballroom, the old throne room, which had been converted into a reception hall, Thea’s workshop, and then my bedroom.

We spent another hour there, getting ready for the evening. I took another shower and changed into a beautiful black gown with a tight bodice. It wasn’t as fancy as the gowns the others would be using, I was sure, but that was how I liked it.

Lacey pulled my silver-blond hair back and into an intricate braid, the long tail coming over my shoulder.

When I looked in the mirror after applying a little makeup, a pang cut through my chest. I actually looked pretty and Levi wasn’t here to see it.

Since they hadn’t come with any bags, Abbie opened a portal to the Great Eternity Hall. The girls stepped through and came out half an hour later in their gowns, makeup, and hairdo.

Supposedly, it was almost impossible to open portals inside the castle, but maybe Abbie and the hall were special and their magic different.

“Gwen, Britt, and Nate were mad at us for not bringing them,” Maggie said.

I would probably have been too.

A few minutes prior to the appointed time, the girls and I started for the dining room where the events were located. On the way, we met with Farrah, Wyatt, Daleigh, Twyla, Kayden, and Fox. I introduced them to Abbie, Maggie, and Lacey.

Farrah hooked her arm through mine. “I heard you’ve taken good care of my best friend.”

Abbie smiled at her. “She can be a little handful sometimes, but we managed.”

Everyone laughed and I pretended to glare at them.

“Thank you,” Farrah said, heartfelt.

Together, we all walked to the dining room.

As expected, Drake and Thea were already there, along with Prince Dorian, Prince Aston, Prince Gray, Prince Killian, Lavinia, Princess Lyra, Prince Ward, Elisa, and Zadkiel.

I introduced the girls to the ones they hadn’t yet met, while Farrah and her gang greeted the ones they hadn’t yet seen.

Mila stood beside Lord Drake and Queen Thea and acted as a host, leading us to our places at the tables. And that was when I noticed the long rectangular tables were gone, replaced by large round tables that seated ten each.

She took the girls and me to a table right in the middle, and I wasn’t surprised when I saw Farrah, Wyatt, Daleigh, Twyla, Kayden, and Fox arriving at the same table.

Though no one sat. A waiter arrived and offered us drinks. Each of us took a glass—I chose white wine—and we started small talk.

Kayden told me how she had gotten together with Fox—I had heard about it, but didn’t know any details—and how it was to rule the kingdom after the tyrant Shadow King.

Also, they mentioned the rumors of a Shadow Prince hidden somewhere on Earth.

Twyla lifted her hands. “My father was as promiscuous as he was evil. He might have had several children.”

“And you’re concerned they will want the throne?” I asked.

“Technically, the throne belonged to the Blaze Court before the Shadow King took it by force,” Fox said. “So even if they come, they have no official claim.”

“But they sure will have allies,” Kayden said. She explained a lot of Shadow fae were still upset they had lost their privileges since she took over.

“It’s more than that,” Daleigh added. “Because the Shadow King was evil, everyone is suspicious of them.” He looked at Twyla, his mate. “Even Twyla has a hard time with it, and she has proven herself time and time again.”

Twyla shrugged. “It doesn’t bother me.”

“It shouldn’t,” Kayden said. “Shadow fae are fae, just like the others. Hopefully, with time, this suspicion will go away.”

“Hopefully, this Shadow prince won’t decide he wants revenge and come back,” Wyatt said. “That’s the only way we’ll have peace.”

“I don’t want to talk about this fake prince anymore,” Kayden announced. She tipped her champagne glass and drank it to the last drop. “I know we’re here on official business, but we’re all together again, and that only happens once every blue moon. We should enjoy it and not talk about depressing topics.”

“True,” Fox added.

I grimaced, thinking of the topic Lord Drake and I would bring up later. That was not only depressing but worrying too.

They started talking about some festival they were planning for summer, and my attention shifted to the entrance, where Luana, Keeran, and Almae arrived.

I hadn’t seen them yet, so I excused myself and met them as they finished greeting Drake and Thea.

Luana was the alpha of the Starlight Pack, a pack of wolf shifters with amazing, magical powers. Her mate, Keeran, was the Warlock Lord, the most powerful warlock alive.

Almae was an old witch from the Silverblood coven, the same as Thea’s, and she was Keeran’s mother. She was powerful and had the gift of prophecies and visions, like Maggie, though the older witch had a lot more control and knowledge about it.

She was one of the candidates for me to talk to about my unstable magic. Though, not right now. I would seek her out after the meeting.

“How are you doing, dear?” Almae asked, sounding like a doting mother, as usual.

“I’m hanging in there,” I answered honestly.

Luana also scolded me for disappearing, and Keeran joked about putting a GPS tracker on me.

Next, the demon hunters entered the room—Erin, Rey, Harvey, Ava, Claire, Harper, Doreen, and Andre. We had already seen them earlier, but after greeting the party hosts, the group approached us and we all formed a circle between the tables, the conversation flowing freely about several subjects at once.

Not long after, Hazel, Sean, Evelyn, Ash, Brita, Anna, and Shade arrived. I waved at them from my spot and they came to join us.

A few minutes later, the wolf shifters arrived. The Nightshade Alpha Shane, his mate. Raika, his brother and beta. Tyren, his other beta. Dom, and his mate. Anne, and Raika’s sister, Ivy, and … Thierry? The demon hunter?

After greeting Drake and Thea, Raika rushed to me and squeezed me in a tight hug. “Seriously, I had heard about your disappearing act, but I didn’t think you would leave like that.”

I pulled back, a little flustered for being put in the spotlight. “I had lost my magic. I was of no help to you guys. If I tried fighting, I would only end up messing it all up.”

“Nonsense,” Shane said. “You’re a great fighter.”

“Not against dozens of supernaturals when I’m powerless.”

“But you have your magic back, right?” Tyren asked.

I nodded. “I do, but it’s acting up. I'll tell you everything about it after dinner.” Then I turned to Ivy and pointed to her hand in Thierry’s. “What’s going on there?”

Ivy smiled. “It’s a long story.”

“It’s not that long,” Thierry said.

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. We were on a mission, and we got stuck in a cabin in the mountains.”

“Let me guess. Snowed in?”

“You got it,” Thierry said.

“Well, the rest is history,” Ivy said.

I smiled and shook my head. Only in our world would these surreal things happen.

Then I realized someone was missing. “Where’s Minsi?” She was Shane’s younger sister, who had crippling anxiety and some other problems. But even through all that, she was super sweet and kind.

“She’s here actually,” Shane said.

Raika nodded. “With Aurora.” I had heard the two of them had a special friendship. “Rue and Sally are watching over them.”

Oh, Rue was an old wolf shifter from their pack, kind and gracious, and like a grandmother to Shane, Raika, and their family.

“That’s good,” I said.

Last but not least, the two supernaturals I had been looking for arrived.

The king and the princess of the underworld were here.