Episode One Hundred One

I GUESS I'M THE BAIT

With Lethea, her Autumn Court soldiers, and the six Autumn Court beasts joining our group, we stick to the river as we head toward the Summer Palace. As we walk, we talk about the plan.

"We needed to take the Summer Queen by surprise," I say, stepping over a large rock jutting out from the river's current. "But I don't know that surprise is on our side now."

"We stick to the original plan," Arion says ahead of me.

The sun has risen above the treeline and the air has grown hotter and more humid. Sweat beads at the back of my neck. Fighting against the river's current is making the journey a bit slower, but I'm thankful for the cool water to balance out some of the day's heat.

Arion steps up on a boulder half submerged in the river, then jumps off it, splashing water.

One thing I've noticed about a lot of the fae here, or the higher ranking fae, is that they move with such grace and surety. Like they've been balancing on high wires and leaping off cliff edges since birth.

Will I ever possess that kind of grace?

Bran holds out his hand for me as we come upon a fallen branch that crosses the river from bank to bank. I frown at his hand and decide to clamber over on my own. I slip on a wet rock underfoot, then get my shirt caught on a broken branch.

Bran watches me with amusement.

"Quit smiling," I say with a grumble.

Lethea plants her hand on the branch and then practically vaults herself, clearing it easily.

Dammit.

Bran continues the conversation once I'm over the branch. "I agree with you," he says to Arion. "Sticking to the original plan is our best option. But in reverse," he adds.

Arion waits for us to catch up and thinks over the new tactic. "I think I see where you're headed with this."

Bran nods.

"I don't. Someone clue me in."

"What was your original plan?" Lethea asks.

"Use magic to cast illusions," I explain. "So we'd sneak in through a back door looking like someone else."

"What do you mean by reverse?" She looks over at Arion. Arion's face is blank, but so is hers. They are both very good at pretending to feel nothing.

Do they have history? Have they ever worked together? I never thought to ask. But there is clearly some tension there.

Lethea's expression finally changes and it's one of instant understanding. "Oh. I see." She gives Arion a tight smile. "You want to use me as the bait."

"Who better?" he challenges. "You know how to fight when your back is against the wall."

Should I be offended that he's indirectly suggesting I don't?

"Fine." She huffs out a breath. "I promised my sister I'd do whatever it took to secure peace. If playing the bait is our best option, then I guess I'm the bait."

We move forward with our plan and Baspin and Bianca perform the magic they had preconceived before crossing over to the fae realm.

Originally, we'd planned to make myself, Bran, and Arion look like someone else so we could enter the Summer Palace undetected and find and locate the Summer Queen so we could put a sword in her back.

Now that she knows we're here, we have to adjust.

As Baspin and Bianca work their magic with the morning sun at their backs, I close my eyes and let the heat of daylight and the warmth of their magic envelope me.

There's a tingling along my spine and down across my arms, but it's not the same as the buzzing I've felt whenever I cross over to the fae realm. The buzzing feels wrong. The tingling feels right, like magic working the way it's supposed to work. And I realize this is one more clue as to how to zero in on my own magic. Look for that easy feeling of rightness. That's how I'll know when I'm on the correct path.

Despite having my eyes closed, there's the sensation of flashing light, then a rush of air.

I stagger back into Bran's waiting arms.

"I got you, Mouse." His voice is husky but reassuring at the soft shell of my ear.

"Wow," Bianca utters. "I wasn't sure if that would work but…"

I open my eyes and when I look over at Lethea, I see myself. She looks just like me in every way. The dark hair. The smattering of freckles. But her stance is different, her shoulders more rigid.

I glance down to see I'm wearing Lethea's Autumn Court hooded tunic. My hands are crisscrossed with scars.

"This is so weird." I look at Bran. "Is it weird for you?"

"Your scent is still the same," he tells me. "I would know you in total darkness."

His words catch me off guard and butterflies create a whirlwind in my belly. He gives me a naughty grin.

God he knows how to get to me.

"Everyone know their places?" Arion asks.

The group nods. The six Autumn beasts go into hiding in the woods, waiting for their cue.

Lethea heads to the Summer Palace with several fae and vampire at her back.

My mission is much different and it's one that Arion and Bran fought me over.

Too risky, they said.

Too dangerous, they said.

But there's too much at stake to play it safe. I need to throw it all on the line.

I'm going to walk right in the front door.