CHAPTER 68

COMMANDER RYATT

I stare between the two fae, all my senses prickling. They're obviously keeping something from us, and I don't like it one bit.

When I first saw the man about to kick the woman, I just burst into action and raced over to rip him away from her.

For a flash, it reminded me of all the times I saw Slade's father hit my mother. All those times I was helpless and far too young to do anything. So seeing that man fling back his foot made my vision go red.

But this woman isn't my mother. She's a fae. A Stone Sword. And if there's one thing that's been made very clear in my life, it's that you can't trust a fae. Save for my brother and Auren, I've hated every other one I've ever known or come across.

I need answers, and it's clear neither fae wants to give them to me. I glare down at the woman's bruised face, eyeing the strange small antler growing out of her left ear and curling around it in thin swoops.

Despite how badly beaten she is, I have to remind myself not to take pity on her. She's a soldier. She marched here with the intention to invade and massacre us.

She and the other fae are having some sort of stare-off. I don't understand the questions she asked him, but he's glaring daggers at her.

But it's her expression I'm more interested in. Because there's a gleam in those strange eyes of hers that looks a lot like excited hope. And anything she's excited about can't possibly be good for us.

"You said where does it lead ," I repeat, looking right at her as I hold her by the collar. "What does that mean? What are you talking about?"

"Say nothing, or I will crush you!" the other fae shouts at her, just as he tries to lash out at Lu.

But he's clearly underestimated her, because when he tries to hit her leg to knock her back, Lu just swings back her foot and kicks him in the temple. Just like he was going to do to the woman, so I don't think Lu did it by coincidence. His brown eyes flare for a split second before he slumps into unconsciousness.

My brows lift, but Lu just glances at me and shrugs.

I look over at the patch of grass. It's grown up from the snow to form a perfect circle, and there are even white and purple flowers blooming through it. Way too strange to be natural.

"What does this mean?" I ask the fae woman. "Did you make this?"

She snorts, though it comes out more like a wheeze. I think her nose may be broken. "Me? Don't be ridiculous. My magic has nothing to do with grass."

"So it's his magic?"

She hesitates. "I didn't say that."

I grind my teeth around a growl. "You will start giving me answers, or you will find yourself at the end of my sword again."

"But I did give you an answer," she snaps with irritation. "I told you it's not my magic."

"You could be lying."

Her lips press together, and then her hand comes up and slaps the side of my face—not hard, but with enough force that I blink in surprise.

"You—" Whatever I was about to say cuts off as her face suddenly starts to change.

I rear back in shock, watching her skin stretch and pale, her hair darkening, face shape morphing and jawline sharpening. Then I gape even more, because she's somehow turned into…me.

She's still swollen and bruised, but it's definitely my face.

I let go like she's on fire, and she goes tumbling back, landing ass-first in the snow.

"What the fuck?" I shout, my pulse whipping around in my ears.

" What the fuck ," she mocks with a low-pitched voice that apparently is supposed to sound like me.

Behind me, I hear Lu snort under her breath.

The fae screws up her face and rolls her one eye. My eye. It's green now instead of the red-orange it was before.

"You tried to say I was lying. Well, this proves I'm not. I have glamour magic," she tells me before she morphs back into herself, feature by feature. "See? That grass has nothing to do with me."

She tries to push herself up as I glare at her. "So you didn't lie, but you're a liar by nature," I counter. "Every time you use your magic, you're lying about who you are."

"Yeah…well…" She pants as she attempts to pivot her body sideways so she can get up, but then she turns pale and presses a hand against her ribs. "I—" She blows out a breath, giving up as she slumps back in the snow. "I can't come up with a witty retort at the moment. Too much pain takes away from one's humor."

"Oh for Divine's sake," I hear Rissa exclaim, and then she comes hurrying over. She skirts past me and kneels down in front of the woman before I can stop her.

" Rissa ," Osrik growls.

She whips her head around and pins him with a glare, stopping him from following. "Don't Rissa me," she tells him before her ire turns on me. "And you . What is wrong with you, Commander? Can't you see this woman is hurt?"

"She's a fae ."

"Yes, well, according to all of you, so is your brother," Rissa seethes. "And so is Auren, so you can—"

"Wait," the fae blurts out, blinking in shock. "Did you say Auren ?"

Everyone pauses.

"Yes…" Rissa starts carefully, eyes roving over her.

"I know Auren!" she exclaims, making Rissa suck in a surprised breath.

But I shake my head in disgust. "Enough," I growl before looking at Rissa. "She's tricking you. Don't fall for it."

"I am not!"

What a little liar.

"Fine." I cross my arms in front of me. "Then how do you know Auren?"

Her gaze darts around as if to gauge everyone's expressions.

Digby steps forward. "What does she look like?" His face is creased in distrust, but there's a flicker of hope there in his eyes that I want to shake my head at. He should know better.

"Yeah," Lu challenges. "If you know her, you can easily describe her."

I watch this play out, and unsurprisingly, the fae hesitates. I can practically see her thoughts spinning a web of lies to wrap us in.

"See?" I say, pointing at her face. "She's trying to deceive us. She latched onto the first piece of information that slipped out. Nothing but fae trickery."

She narrows her eyes on me, though the effect doesn't do much because they're nearly swollen shut anyway. "It's not a trick," she snaps. "And I don't like you. You have bad tones. Tone. A bad tone." She blinks and sways where she sits, but Rissa's grip keeps her upright. "I'll prove I'm not lying."

The fae drags a hand from brow to chin, and suddenly, her face seems to drip with a waterless deluge. Then, shiny, glittering gold skin appears in its wake, cheeks glistening, irises the same gold as Auren's.

My eyes widen. I hear Digby suck in a breath.

"Great Divine, she does know her!" Rissa exclaims.

The fae rubs at her face like she's wiping sweat away, and the glamour magic dissolves, her skin returning to her normal tone again. "There," she says with haughty triumph. "Now how do you know Auren?"

"We know her," I say before anyone else can give this fae more information to use against us. "That's all you need to know."

Rissa shakes her head at me, two pink spots appearing at her cheeks that mark her irritation. "What is wrong with you?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with you?" the fae repeats.

My molars grind together in irritation, but I keep my attention on Rissa. "That only proved that she's seen Auren. We don't know if she's friend or foe."

Rissa doesn't look impressed. "Come on, let's get you up," she says to the woman. "Nice and easy."

With Rissa's help, the fae manages to stand. She breathes hard, expression morphing into pain as the blood drains from her face. She sways slightly on her feet, but Rissa keeps hold of her.

"Thanks," she grits out. Then her eyes latch onto something behind us, and she goes still. "Great skies, what is that ?"

We all turn to see Argo land next to us. His head swings in the direction of the unconscious fae, and he lets out a growl.

"Timberwing," Rissa says dismissively. "Can you tell me if Auren is okay? Is she still in the fae realm? Did King Ravinger find her?"

" Rissa —" I growl, just as Osrik comes stomping over.

"I don't know anything about a Ravinger king, but she's there. Last I saw her, she was fighting the Stone King, and then he fled—grabbed me with him."

My thoughts churn with her answers, but I can't help but notice how perfectly worded they are. Just enough information to make it seem like she knows a lot, without actually telling us much of anything.

Lu and I exchange a wary look.

When Osrik moves to grab hold of Rissa's arm, she shrugs him off, refusing him. I hear him curse under his breath.

"What's your name?" she asks the fae.

"Emonie."

I blink incredulously. "Your name rhymes with enemy ?"

She makes a sound that's something between a snort and a scoff. It wheezes either way. "It's actually a bit funny if you think about it," she says, but when we all just keep staring at her, she sighs. "Oreans need better senses of humor. Look, I know you don't trust fae right now because of the whole we invaded your world and tried to kill you thing, but I'm not a Stone Sword. I'm on your side."

I lift a brow. "We might be more inclined to believe you if you weren't wearing Stone Sword armor," I point out through gritted teeth.

She glances down at the pebbled chest plate like she forgot she was wearing it. "Oh, this. I had to be in disguise to fit in with the soldiers."

"Convenient."

A sharp breath comes out of her. "Look, you don't trust me, and I understand that. But I am on your side, and Auren is my friend."

I stare at her for a few seconds. "Alright then, if she's your friend, if you're really here to help, then prove it to us. Tell me what that circle of grass is."

Her gaze wavers over everyone, including the still passed-out fae.

When she continues to stay silent, I shake my head. "We should just toss her over the fucking edge."

"It's a fairy ring!" Emonie blurts out.

I go still. "A…fairy ring?"

But I've heard that term before. A long time ago.

Lu's brows dip. Osrik and Digby glance toward the grass.

"What's a fairy ring?" Rissa asks curiously.

"Shit in a stew, I better not regret this…" Emonie mumbles beneath her breath before she seems to shore herself up, looking right at me. "A fairy ring is a foothold. Ringers make them by tapping into Annwyn's vein."

"That was a lot of words to speak to not say anything," Lu drawls.

"Said simply, it's a way to transport you. If you go into a fairy ring, you're taken somewhere else."

My breath freezes. Everyone's eyes dart around, like we're all looking to see how each of us take in this information.

But then her previous question to the other fae pops in my head. "Wait a second… You asked the other fae where it leads." My pulse starts racing. "Where does this ring lead?" I ask carefully, my question suspended.

"Well…" she begins slowly. "I think it connects to Annwyn."

I'm riddled with shock.

With possibilities.

With hope .

"Are you saying…we can get to Annwyn?" Lu asks incredulously.

Emonie glances over at the other fae. "I think so. He's not a ringer though—his magic worked with his twin, who died in the collapse. But still, I think they were using it somehow."

"We can go to Annwyn to find them," Digby says, gaze darting to me.

My heart knocks its fists against my chest, threatening to punch through.

But Lu comes over and grips my arm, turning me away from the fae. "I know what you're thinking," she whispers, her serious eyes locked on me. "But we don't know if we can trust this."

I drag a hand over my hair in frustration. "I know."

Thoughts whirl, and I keep seeing my brother's face before he left Fourth. Keep remembering what he said to me.

Orea has a chance because of you.

He believed in me. Trusted me. And now that Orea is safe, all I want to do is make sure that he's safe. That our mother is, and Auren too.

I shake my head, looking at Lu. "We have to."

It's probably a trick. These fae are probably setting up a trap. But we have to try to find them.

I look from her to Osrik. To Digby. To Rissa.

"I'll go," I finally say.

"No."

The reply comes from all four of them at once. Even Argo makes a noise.

Os shakes his head. "We do this? Then we fucking do it together. All or none."

"Wait, you all actually want to go into Annwyn?" Emonie asks in surprise.

"We need to find Auren and the others," Rissa explains.

The fae shoves her orange-tipped hair away from her face. "You all care about her?"

Digby answers simply. "Yes."

No other elaboration, just that one word, but it's spoken so true that she doesn't question it.

"Fine. We can try. But you have to let me go through too," Emonie says, wetting her dried, cracked lips, eyes rounded in desperation. "I don't belong here."

"On that we can agree," I say. "Tell us how it works."

"I dunno," she says, wincing as she presses at her ribs again. "It's not my magic, remember? But that's a fairy ring, even if it is about three times bigger than I've ever seen. All I know is we stand in it. The ringer does the rest. I suggest waking up Friano over there for more details. He was way too twitchy about it."

"If you're lying…"

"Yeah, yeah. Threats and such," she slurs with a sigh. "You think I want to stick around here? No offense, but Orea stinks. Terrible air quality."

My jaw tightens. This fae is getting under my skin.

I turn away. "Os?"

"Yep," he says before he strides over to Friano.

Without preamble, he yanks the unconscious fae up from the snow, holding him by the front of his jerkin until his feet dangle in the air. With his other hand, Os punches him in the gut.

A strangled noise tears from Friano's throat as he springs awake, body jerking. When he realizes he's being held up, he tries to claw Osrik's hand away, which does nothing.

I walk over and point my sword at his eye. He freezes.

"Listen to me very carefully," I say quietly, my tone colder than the snow I stand on. "I don't give a fuck about your life, but you do. And if you want to keep it, you will take us through this fairy ring into Annwyn right now."

His eyes flare and then he flicks his attention to lock onto Emonie. "You traitorous little wench! I will kill you!"

"The only one who will be killed is you. Unless you take us through."

Fury hardens his face. " Fine ."

I put my sword away and turn.

"Everyone stand around it. We'll step in at the same time," I direct.

Rissa helps Emonie hobble over, while the rest of us circle around the ring. Argo whines and scrapes his talons as he paces just outside the circle. "Go back to Fourth, Argo," I call to him, but he snarls at me, snapping his teeth.

Friano starts to struggle again, legs kicking out, but Osrik doesn't budge. "Let me go, you Orean filth," the fae spits.

"Nope," Os replies before reaching out to grab Rissa with his free hand.

I look around at my group, my muscles stiffening, pulse pounding.

Now or never.

"On three," I murmur. "One, two, three …"

Everyone steps inside the ring at the same time, and I hold my breath. We barely fit, arms pressing in together, everyone tense and waiting.

But…nothing happens.

My eyes swing to Emonie, but she's looking at Friano.

"Make it work," she demands, with an edge of desperation. "Take us back to Annwyn right now."

Friano glares at her in silent refusal.

In a blink, Osrik has him by the throat and shoves him down until the fae is forced to kneel. "Make it work, fae," he growls.

When all Friano does is continue to glare, Lu whips out her dagger and starts cutting across his throat. Her blade drags, making his blood drip. Making it clear she'll just slice his Divine-damned throat here and now.

The fae instantly panics.

His head jerks, eyes nearly popping out of his skull. "Okay!" he screams.

"Last chance at life," I snap. "Because guess what? If we kill you, it doesn't fucking matter to me. I don't actually believe this ring is going to take us anywhere. I think you're full of shit."

The hatred that pours off Friano is so heated I can feel the temperature rising.

"Our soldiers on the other side are going to tear you apart. All of you," he threatens, burning his gaze into Emonie. "I'll enjoy watching."

He slams his hand down. Instantly, a flare ignites beneath his palm, and I hear Argo let out a shrill cry.

The light burns white and spreads from his hand, jutting up from the grassy circle. I hear gasps of surprise as the whole ring lights up. My body braces for an attack, my hand gripped around the hilt of my sword.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Argo launch into the air, flying toward us in a panic. A roar tumbles out of his throat just as he crosses into the illuminated ring.

Then the world dissolves in fracturing light.

I suck in a breath as something seems to lash out and grab hold of me. It wraps around me with invisible, spindly fingers that have no true touch and yet keep me hostage anyway.

Nausea roils through me, and my panic makes me break out into a cold sweat. I try to call out to the others, but I can't breathe. I feel like I'm being squeezed. Like I'm tipping over an edge.

Anger rushes into me.

This is a fucking trick. This fae is killing us.

I can't take in a breath. I can't see anything but this blinding light. We're going to die grasped in this constricting magic that won't let go.

Suddenly, hard ground slams against my side as I land, no more bodiless fingers squeezing, and I'm able to yank in a breath.

We all topple over each other, just a tangle of limbs, and my eyes swing around.

Then, I hear a scream .