TWENTY

NINETEEN

THE UNIVERSE FLOATED beneath me, countless stars twinkled as the tiny fragments caught the light.

"Figures he"d use one of his illusions," Owen muttered.

Callie hushed him.

"Noctessa, the realm of shadow and nightmare. First among the Fae realms. In the height of its reign, it was considered our center. It wasn"t until later that the other realms were established," Travis said, his voice taking on the cadence of a story teller.

"Is this really necessary?" I asked. "Can"t you just tell me the story? There"s no need for show and tell."

Travis ignored me, his form hidden by his illusion. "It was led by one of our firsts."

I sighed. I guessed we were really doing this.

Who knew Fae would have such a thing for story time?

A creature burst into existence. Not human by any stretch of the word. He was a construct of shadow and night. They formed his cloak. Moonlight was imbued in his skin. A crown of stars sat on his head. There were deep abysses where his eyes should have been, his features both terrifying and beautiful.

"Our legends say the king came into existence at the same time as our realm, making the two inextricably bound."

The king stretched out a hand, the realm around him blooming into being. Grass spread from his feet and ancient trees raised their skeletal heads. The world he created was wondrous and strange, dreamlike with an edge of danger running underneath everything.

"For a time, the king existed alone, creating creatures born of his own shadows to keep him company."

The king stood on a bluff, shadows taking shape around him. Monsters, by anyone"s definition.

Strangely, I didn"t feel fear, but a sense of connection, as if I was seeing friends that I had all but forgotten. There was a touch of familiarity about this scene that I couldn"t place my finger on.

It was an itch inside my brain that wouldn"t quite go away.

Don stepped into being, his eyes so young as he took in the new world around him. Next, Callie moved out of the shadows, her snakes still small hatchlings as she danced in the moonlight.

"The king grew lonely and sought out others like himself, inviting many fae into his realm."

Travis stepped through a portal. He saw the king and his monsters and placed his hand on his chest and bowed.

"But the king was still not happy. He created his Firsts, weaving his dreams and nightmares into their existence. Some remained by his side, others left to explore the many realms that branched off his."

A man appeared, his hair made of fire and light. He was followed by two women and another man, not all in humanoid forms. Each was entirely unique. Two of them had forms that shifted amid the shadows.

"The realm grew powerful and home to many the King deemed worthy. An inner circle formed around the king. The power of his followers was great and they were steadfast in their loyalty."

We stood in a throne room. Astrid and Owen joining Travis and the rest. The only ones missing were the twins.

"Still the king knew loneliness. All of the Fae he gathered, all of his children, didn"t fill the void inside him."

The view shifted to the king disappearing into his hills, his back lonely as if he held the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"He entrusted his crown to his youngest with the understanding a new ruler would be chosen to replace the first."

A man with grayish blue eyes identical to mine held up a crown, examining it with a frown. He studied those of the inner circle, before turning and walking away from them. The scene shifted. The youngest stood on a cliff and cast the crown into the night.

Shadows boiled up from the ground, eating everything in sight. What didn"t flee before them was enveloped.

"The youngest shirked his duty and fled. His weakness doomed us all."

Images of the Fae begging for shelter in other realms. Kings refusing them. Some slaughtering those who approached on bended knee.

"The rest of the realms already feared us. When we came to them, we were met with hatred. They killed us on sight. Those who survived had to hide what they were. They became the nightmares the rest hated."

An image of Callie, Don, and others hunting down enemies and slaughtering them while laughing over their bodies.

The illusion faded, the room coming back into focus.

With what Travis had shown me still lingering in my brain, I looked the room over with new eyes. Noting the familiar lines. The spot where a throne had once sat.

"What does any of this have to do with me?" I asked.

A part of me already knew. The youngest. His face was a little different from the photo I had. Less human. More beautiful. Even with his perfect features dialed down and the fire in his eyes muted, he was still recognizable.

Travis prowled in my direction. "The king"s youngest. Brin. Your father."

I didn"t react.

The colors around Travis soured. He"d hoped for more, I was betting.

"That"s an interesting story you"ve told. Got any proof?"

Illusions were easily crafted. Callie and Don had both been in my apartment. They could have broken into my safe and taken the photos. This could all be a manipulation designed to take advantage of my obvious desire to find the father I never knew.

The twins smirked at my stubbornness.

"At first, I wasn"t sure," Travis admitted. "It wasn"t until your waking as a vampire that I caught a whiff of the familiar. Still, I thought I'd imagined it."

We all knew what came next.

He convinced me to avoid all vampires and human blood, nearly causing me to devolve.

"I started researching shortly after." His eyes never left mine. "Imagine my surprise when I found out that your father was only your adoptive father. Bryan Volsk is the man listed on your birth certificate."

The twins ooed and awed at the revelation.

I ignored them, and my anger at having personal information revealed in such a public manner.

"None of that proves he is your lost lord," I said.

Fury sparked off Travis.

"He"s not our lord," he hissed.

Evidently, I'd hit a sore point. Good to know.

Callie and Don shared a glance.

Travis took a deep breath, his anger draining away as he brushed his hair back. "Your father is a coward who fled his responsibilities."

This time when he smiled at me, he reminded me of a shark. "But that"s alright. He finally did something right. He gave us you."

My eyes narrowed. And now we were getting to the important part of the matter.

Travis stopped in front of me. "You"re going to find that crown for us."

"No."

He had another thing coming if he thought I was going to do anything after all this. He and the rest of them could rot.

"You don"t believe us," Astrid said, a mystified look on her face.

It didn"t matter if I believed them or not. I didn"t trust any of them. Call me crazy, but I had a policy of not bowing to the demands of people who kidnapped me.

"There"s a chance she"s not who we think she is." Owen scratched his chin. "We"ve made that mistake with other magic breakers. None of them survived."

Astrid looked up at him. "We could always shove her through the veil to see. Whether she survives or doesn"t, we"ll learn something either way."

"We"re not doing that," Callie argued.

Astrid frowned at her. "I think it"s a fine plan."

"Aileen," Travis started, with barely concealed impatience.

"I trusted you," I burst out, the feelings I"d stamped down suddenly unable to be denied. "You were my colleague, my friend. I respected you. Now you think I"m going to do anything for you? I wouldn"t even push you out of the way of a bus."

I had a scorched earth policy for something like this.

Any friendship we once had was dead. I didn"t even think he cared one way or another. All he cared about was how he could use me then discard me.

That thread of deceit I kept sensing? I was pretty sure it came from him.

I doubted even his fellow Scattered realized how far he was willing to go to get that crown.

That told me one thing; he wanted it for himself. I was willing to bet he planned to kill to ensure it.

I"d listened to him once. Never again.

When he"d told me to stay away from vampires, I"d done it. I"d risked my life, lived with hardship. Nearly died more than once. That was to say nothing about the loneliness that stalked my nights and days. The times when I thought I would have been better off if I"d died in that dumpster.

He could pack sand. I wasn"t doing anything for him.

"That was your first mistake," Owen said. "Never trust a Fae."

I didn"t hide my scorn when I focused on him. "How fucking sad is that?"

There wasn"t anything worse than facing this world alone, unable to trust those you considered friend. I"d done that. I never wanted to go back to those days.

If that"s what they all wanted, I pitied them. I truly did.

Owen started to argue, then hesitated. A thoughtful look crossed his face. He shut his mouth and nodded as if agreeing with whatever thought he"d had.

"Blame your father for your current situation," Travis said unfeelingly.

It was clear he didn"t care about any of what I"d said. Not that I"d really expected anything different.

"You"ll do what we tell you," he informed me.

"If I don"t?"

His smile didn"t reach his eyes. "What do you think the vampires will do when they learn about your abilities? Magic breakers are highly sought after. They"ll turn you into a tool."

Joke was on him. The important vampires already knew about my abilities.

"What about the Fae?" Travis continued. "They"re always looking for your kind. How long do you think you"ll last?"

I didn"t respond.

"Travis," Callie said reproachfully.

Travis didn"t look at her. "Give me what I want, Aileen. If you do, I"ll make sure you have a place with us when this is all over."

Yeah, so he could use me in the exact same way as the people he was threatening me with. I"d prefer being the tool of either of those than giving him what he wanted.

Thomas could have warned him about how stubborn I could get when backed into a corner. I doubted it would matter. Travis wasn't the type to listen to others.

"Enough, Travis," Callie barked. Her attention focused on me. "I know this is difficult."

I scoffed. Looked like they were going to try good cop now.

"You"ve always been different," Don said, catching my attention. His gaze was distant as if he was looking at something that only he could see. "You tried to pretend you weren"t, but you always knew. You didn"t fit in with the rest of the prey. They either loved or hated you for it. Everywhere you went you tried to find a place for yourself, but never could."

I snorted. "Do you think a couple of guesses are going to convince me? That I"ll suddenly say, how did you know? Jokes on you. I was as normal as they came."

Don"s eyes met mine. "No, you weren"t."

His assurance silenced me. There was a little too much truth in what he"d said. That still didn"t mean I"d fall in line.

Travis"s expression turned cruel. "Also, if you don"t do what we want, I will hurt you until you do."

I hovered on the cusp of daring him to do exactly that.

Baran caught my eye and shook his head once.

I hesitated as Breandan mouthed, "Buy time."

Callie stepped forward, her expression pleading. "We don"t want that. You have to understand. There are so many of us who have lived on the outskirts for so long. They"re weaker than us and can"t protect themselves the way we can. Every day they fade a little more without a realm to sustain them. Already many of them have gone."

My gaze dropped as I considered my options.

As much as my temper urged me to give the captain and the rest a giant middle finger, the twins were likely right. Buying time was a better plan than allowing my stubbornness to force them to hurt me.

If he really did torture me, my chances of escaping on my own would be zero. At least this gave me time to plan.

There was also the fact the twins had gotten excited at hearing high Fae nosing around. Maybe they knew something I didn"t. If so, I needed to give their rescuer time to get to us.

Much as it galled me, I was going to have to suck it up and work with them. At least for now.

"How exactly do you expect me to find anything?" I asked in a scathing voice.

I couldn"t give in easily or else Travis would realize what I was planning.

Also, it was a relevant question.

If they, the uber-powerful Fae couldn"t figure this out, then how was I supposed to?

"After he left, you father clawed back enough of our stronghold for us to have somewhere to retreat when needed," Callie said, gesturing to the surroundings.

Again, I detected fury from Travis.

Whatever issues he had, he didn"t like my alleged father getting the credit for anything.

"So, he didn"t abandon you entirely," I said to see what Travis would do.

He didn"t disappoint. "Don"t think because he made a small bolt hole for emergencies that it absolves him of his failures."

Yup, definitely a tender spot.

Travis stalked to the door. "Let"s get moving. It"ll be easier to show her than tell her."

Owen lumbered after him, Astrid skipping at his side.

Callie paused next to me. "I apologize for Travis. He was once close to Brin. He took his abandonment the hardest."

"What about you?"

Callie hesitated, sadness but not anger filtering through her emotions. "Brin had a great burden placed on him. I understood why he took the path he did."

"Yet, you"re trying to reverse it now," I pointed out.

She glanced at Don where he waited next to the door. "Things have changed."

"What things?" I asked.

She shook her head. "You"ll find out soon enough, I expect."

I gritted my teeth. Vague warnings and veiled hints. Two things I hated most.

The twins flanked me.

"Do you know something I don"t?" I asked them in a low voice.

"We know many things you don"t," they said as they moved past me.

Great. Callie wasn"t the only one who insisted on being annoyingly vague.

Left with no choice, I followed them into the hallway, pausing to take in the magnitude of what I saw. The Keep was cold and silent, a mausoleum tainted by our mere presence.

Banners, faded and covered with dust, lined the walls. Large columns supported a ceiling shrouded in shadow.

Our footsteps echoed as we moved down the hall.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the flutter of wings as the shadow that had accompanied me back from the dark morphed into a black bird. It shot after us, clearing the door and lifting toward the ceiling.

After the first bug-eyed stare, I worked on ignoring it.

Bad enough I now saw emotions as clearly as I did color. I didn"t want my hosts realizing I was also seeing things that shouldn"t be there. No telling how they would react.

Why was it so interested in me, anyway?

I didn"t get the sense it wished me harm.

Leaving the question of the shadow bird behind for now, I followed the rest.

We passed rooms with doors of night. The others carefully didn"t look at them, walking single file down the middle of the hallway as if afraid of what those doors housed.

I paused next to one, tempted to touch it.

Breandan caught my hand before I could. "I wouldn"t. Curiosity killed the cat."

Baran looked over his shoulder. "Not all of the king"s creatures were expelled when the realm closed. Some of his worst monsters remained behind, locked away."

My hand lowered, and I took a step back, the memory of the monsters I"d seen in the illusion fresh in my mind. Best not to tempt fate.

The shadow bird swooped, darting through one door. The shadows swallowed it with barely a ripple. The bird exited out of another door further along the corridor. It climbed, circling before winging its way back to me.

This place was so strange.

We started walking again, only to stop minutes later on the landing of a set of stairs.

Owen leaned against a wall, waiting for us with a bored expression.

Astrid stood on one of the steps leading up, rocking back and forth on her toes as she examined the black veil preventing her from going any further.

The stairs to the level below had a similar veil over it.

There was no seeing past it. It was like someone had pushed back the abyss and this was where it had stopped. What remained was a broken, discombobulated version of what had been.

Like the portal we"d traveled to reach Noctessa, the black shimmered with a never-ending Aurora Borealis.

Once again, I found myself mesmerized by the play of light and colors. They danced to a tune only they could hear. Briefly I found myself caught up in it, nearly swaying to the faint strain of music.

I took a baby step toward the veil as it whispered my name. A hard hand on my shoulder yanked me back. The nascent bond that had started to form snapped.

"What do you think you"re doing?" Travis barked.

My thoughts felt scattered and slow.

He forced me a step further away. "I didn"t arrange all this only to have you kill yourself in seconds."

Finally, my brain kicked back online. "Gee, you"re all heart."

I shook his hand off me. "Don"t go losing your mind. I was simply trying to get a better look at the veil."

"Until you understand the deadening better, it"s best to keep your distance for now," Callie advised.

Astrid frowned at all of us. "I don"t understand why you pulled her back. We"ll eventually have to send her through either way."

"But not before we prepare her the best we can," Callie argued.

I ignored the two of them, noticing the shadow bird"s restlessness as it rustled its wings, hopping a step closer to the veil then away again.

On the other side, a dark shape moved as if a great leviathan was swimming toward the surface.

The shadow bird rustled its wings, hopping another step closer to the veil.

Don appeared next to us, umbrella in hand and shadow horns curling from his forehead. "Pull her back. Something is coming through."

The veil started to move, as if a magnet was dragging it toward us.

Travis wasted no time listening, putting distance between us and it, seconds before the veil spat a dark blob out of its depths.

A creature like the one that had attacked me in the gym stood upright. Like the other, it wasn"t fully formed. There were holes in its torso exposing hollow insides except for the bright lights held stationary by black veins and dull gray ribs. A butterfly sat inside, slowly opening and shutting its wings in time with the creature"s chest rising and falling.

Its neck was too long and its head lolled. It saw us, mouth opening on a piercing scream.

Don and Owen thundered toward it.

Don attacked its lower body as Owen swung a massive ax at its neck.

One hand shot out, extending like it was formed of black liquid. Owen dodged, slashing the limb with his massive ax. The limb hit the floor, followed by a pained screech.

Numbness spread in my mind as if responding to the creature"s agony.

Another limb shot out toward Don; he flipped over it. His sword bit into the creature"s torso seconds later.

"Stop!" I screamed.

They were hurting it for no reason.

Not thinking, I lunged forward.

Travis grabbed for me and missed.

Owen moved to intercept, a big hand reaching for me as Don guarded his back.

I slid under him, punching the side of his knee. It collapsed.

I scrambled to my feet in front of the creature, not surprised when it didn"t attack me. I"d never been its target.

I shoved my hand into its chest, reaching for the butterfly that powered it.

"Come to me," I whispered.

It came gladly. The construct unraveled even faster than it had last time, as if now it recognized me and was glad to listen.

I waited until there was nothing but a puddle of night at my feet, my gaze locked on the butterfly perched on the tip of my finger.

Travis approached, watching that butterfly as if it was mana from the heavens. Greed wended through his emotions.

"What do you have there?" he asked softly.

The butterfly"s wings stretched then closed, but it made no move to flit away. It was comfortable right where it was.

The Scattered watched me with varying expressions of disbelief and awe.

"That shouldn"t have been possible," Callie said.

Astrid"s head tilted. "The old legends said the strongest of the magic breakers could unravel anything containing magic, including another Fae."

"So, she is Brin"s daughter," Owen said cautiously.

"The veil attacked. Would it have done that to the progeny of Brin?" Don asked.

Owen regarded me thoughtfully. "I"m not so sure it did attack."

Through it all, Travis stole closer, his eyes never leaving my butterfly. He held out an imperious hand. "Aileen, give it to me."

I hesitated. To keep up my ruse of pretending to look for their crown, I should listen.

I looked back at the butterfly, feeling its trust and love. It had come to me when I asked.

It held the potential to become more, I knew. I could breathe my hopes and dreams into it and see them realized.

Or I could give it to my former captain and see him breathe it into being.

The shadow bird watched me from its perch on the small portion of visible stair railing. It tilted its head, asking me what was I going to do.

"Aileen," Travis demanded.

He expected me to obey.

My mouth firmed. He really should have known better.

I lifted my hand, thinking, "GO".

Nothing happened.

"No!" Travis lunged forward.

The butterfly took off, fluttering back to the other side of the veil.

Violence twisted Travis"s features as he grabbed me, his grip pinching my skin. "Why did you do that?"

I smiled. "Because I could."

Fury rattled his chest, a dark fire igniting in his eyes. This was the real Travis. Greedy and vengeful. How had I ever thought him good and honorable?

Owen placed a large hand on Travis"s shoulder. "That"s enough. She can"t help us if she"s dead."

With visible effort, Travis composed himself. "Of course. You"re right. I simply lost myself for a moment. The power source could have bought us more time. My apologies."

Lie.

A big one.

He practically had an arrow pointing to him, and a neon sign.

Yet, none of the others reacted. Curious.

The Fae, much like vampires, could sense when someone was telling an outright lie. Until now, Travis had been careful to avoid that, shading his words in half truths.

Owen watched Travis carefully, not lifting his hand until Travis moved away from me.

Hm. Someone didn"t trust my former captain.

Was there a way to exploit that?

"She"s our only hope unless we capture Brin. Let"s try not to overly damage her," Owen told Travis"s back as he finally moved away. Owen"s gaze met mine. "You. Try not to do any other stupid things."

I stiffened. It was only stupid because I hadn"t done what they wanted.

"We"re here now. Does anyone want to tell me why?" I said, resisting the urge to argue.

Astrid folded her arms on the banister, straying close to the bird. When she rested her chin on her arms, the bird"s beak was even with her eye. If it wanted, it could pluck it out before she ever realized.

"The veil is the reason we lost our realm. It kills everyone who enters," she said.

I was starting to get a bad feeling in my stomach.

"Let me guess. I have to go through there to find this crown," I said.

Astrid tapped the veil with one finger. "I hope you do better than the other magic breakers we found. None of them returned."

That was just great.

"Try not to die, Aileen," Travis said with a nasty smile.

I snarled at him, the urge to do severe bodily harm difficult to deny.

His hands curled as if he wanted to pick me up and hurl me through the veil.

"She still needs to be prepared for what might await her," Callie said in a neutral voice.

Travis waved an impatient hand.

An invisible fist squeezed my insides. The realm stuttered as if something had made it skip a beat.

As if in answer, the veil heaved, a stair on either side vanishing as it reclaimed a small piece of the realm.

"What was that?" I asked.

No one paid me any attention.

"Someone"s penetrated the wards," Astrid murmured in a distracted voice. "At least two intruders."

To Owen and Astrid, Travis ordered, "Stay with her. She goes nowhere until I get back."

Owen grunted in agreement.

Travis spun on his heel. "Callie, Don, you"re with me."

"What about the twins?" Don asked.

Travis hesitated, sending them a brief glance. "Bring them. They could be useful."

Breandan bounced in place. "An invasion, how fun."

Travis pointed at them. "You"d better not try anything or I"ll rip your spines out through your mouths."

"So sensitive. I"m beginning to think they don"t trust us, twin." Baran started down the hallway after Travis.

"You would be right," Don said with a small bow.

With one last glance in my direction, Callie glided after them.

Alone with my two keepers and the shadow bird, I stretched. "Anyone got any ideas of how to pass the time?"

Owen's stare was humorless. "I suggest silence."

"Sounds boring." I shrugged like I didn"t care, while inside I was desperately hoping the intruders were the cavalry.

Astrid and Owen ignored me, keeping one eye on the veil and the other on the long hallway.

"Who do you think it is?" I asked, holding my hands up to the veil, pretending to examine its magic.

I didn"t make the mistake of getting too close like last time. One dread creature was more than enough.

"Not your vampire lover, if that"s what you"re hoping," Astrid said. "The intruders are Fae. Most likely they"re scouts from another realm. They make incursions every now and then. If Travis or the others don"t drive them off, the realm"s guardian will."

"What guardian?"

Her lips twisted, "An undying Fae hound. He"s guarded our borders for eternity."

"Sounds like a thankless job," I muttered.

"I don"t expect one such as you to understand."

"What does that mean?"

Astrid drew herself up. "You"re the daughter of a traitor. Take it any way you want."

"A daughter you"re hoping to exploit," I pointed out.

Her eyes flared but before she could respond a noise came from the opposite end of the hallway.

Owen unholstered his ax, taking up a defensive stance in front of me as he faced the door to the hallway.

He inhaled, sucking in a huge gust of air and exhaling magic. He grew a foot, his muscles getting bigger and his skin taking on a grayish cast.

The gold runes painted on the visible portion of his chest and arms sparked, power running through them.

He stamped his foot, snorting like a bull ready to charge.

The Norse once had stories of berserkers, men who became so overcome with the spirit of battle they"d slay any in their path, foe or ally. Looking at Owen, I thought I saw where some of those stories came from.

Astrid glided toward me, one hand lifting to touch my chest. I scooted away from her and closer to the veil. I got the feeling her touch would not end well for me.

"Smart people listen to their instincts," she said before holding one finger up to her lips.

She flared, light fracturing around her like a super nova. When I could see again, Astrid was all but invisible except for a faint violet line around her body and a slight shimmer when she moved.

How did she do that?

I wish I knew. It would certainly come in handy during my job. I had a feeling that to others she would be invisible.

Her outline moved as she took her place beside the troll.

From the hall came the sound of metal dragging against stone. The person was still out of sight, but coming closer.

The sound stopped.

After an eternity, Nathan stepped into the doorway. Even covered in blood and carrying a sword dripping more of the same, he was a sight for sore eyes. He lifted a hand, licking some of the excess blood from his fingers.

I blinked.

He was alive.

I could hardly believe it.

"Yummy," he said, still licking the blood off his skin.

"How did you escape the oubliette?" Owen asked.

Nathan"s head tilted. "Was that supposed to be hard?"

Owen"s laugh held the sound of goliath"s colliding. "You should have left this place while you had the chance."

"You have something of ours." His wink at me left no doubt what that was.

Owen stamped his foot again. "Then come and claim it, fool."

"Don"t mind if I do," Nathan said.

Owen held his position as Astrid lunged forward.

I tackled her, slamming her into the ground. We rolled. I got my arm around her neck, using it to crank her torso back.

Nathan regarded me with bemusement. "What are you doing?"

My glare was filled with irritation. "You mean you don"t see the shimmering waif I"m wrestling with."

"No?" he said, making it sound like a question.

Figured. I saved him and he never even realized.

Diamond tipped claws came up, shredding the forearm I held across her throat. Blood splashed across my skin.

Nathan"s eyes widened. "I see that though."

Owen lunged forward, his ax swinging in a wide arc. Nathan was already moving.

"If you wanted a vacation, you just needed to tell us." Nathan grunted as Owen barreled into him. He whirled, using Owen"s momentum to shove him forward. "I"m sure Liam would have loved to accompany you somewhere warm and tropical. You didn"t need to go to such lengths."

I snarled a garbled response.

This wasn"t the time for jokes.

Owen caught Nathan"s shoulder and threw him into a stone wall. My friend hit with a groan and fell forward.

Astrid took advantage of my distraction, sinking her elbow into my side. I curled around the pain. She wormed free, racing to Owen"s side.

"Great friends you have there," Nathan said, still not standing quite straight.

I found my feet. "They"re not as advertised."

That had him chuckling, the sound wheezy. The way he held himself, I was willing to bet he had a cracked rib.

"I"ll give you one chance to come over here," Owen said, pointing his ax at me.

"You should know, I"m not very good at taking orders."

Nathan slid me a look. "Now that"s an understatement."

Owen shook his head. "Very well. I"d hoped to go easy on you. You"re right. We"re being selfish demanding your help, but we"ve been pushed to the brink. You"ll do what we want even if we have force the issue."

"Nice job offer you have there," I said with a thumbs up. "The benefits are really stellar."

"Sarcasm, again. Do you have any other forms of communication?" he asked.

I lifted a shoulder. "It"s my love language."

Nathan snorted.

"You got a plan or were you winging this?" I asked.

"Everyone"s a critic," Nathan said, his voice tight with pain.

"Bring her," Owen told Astrid.

I braced. This wasn"t going to be pretty.

Nathan started laughing.

They stopped, looking at him with identical expressions of confusion.

"You really should have been less focused on me," he explained.

A slit in the fabric of this realm opened above them. Inara and Lowen dove through, war cries ripping from their throats, their faces painted for battle.

They swarmed Owen"s head.

That wasn"t what held the majority of my attention. No, it was Liam plunging through the opening after them. He slammed into Owen.

"It"s about time," Nathan muttered, racing forward.

The pixies broke off their attack as he replaced them.

Inara held up two tiny glass bottles, knocking them together and throwing them. A noxious vapor rose. Astrid blinked into full color as she coughed violently.

The pixies screamed and dove.

Astrid fled.

Lowen followed, but Inara broke off, swooping toward me. Her eyes glowed with the thrill of victory.

"Having fun?" I asked.

Her smile revealed sharp teeth. "You have the most interesting things happen to you."

As much as I wanted to, I couldn"t disagree.

"We leave for one night to track down Niall to ask about the Scattered and you end up kidnapped," Inara scolded.

"It's not like I set out to be taken; it just kind of happened," I said defensively.

Inara sneered, letting me know what she thought of that excuse.

Liam and Owen clashed, their movements a tangle of slashes and jabs. Nathan darted in and out of Owen"s reach while he was distracted, landing a few impressive blows of his own.

He targeted the same knee I had. Not surprising since he"d taught me that move.

There was a crack as Owen"s leg collapsed. He grunted, the only sound of pain he allowed himself, as he struggled to rise.

Liam was there in the next second, hammering a powerful blow into the side of Owen"s temple.

Owen crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

"How did you find me?" I asked.

Inara"s jaw worked and she looked like she wanted to spit. "Arlan."

I guess that made sense if Travis really had kidnapped the twins.

"Cadel and Niall helped too." She alighted on my wrist, tapping my oak tree. "This came in handy as a reference point."

I smiled down at Liam"s mark. The one I had once resented. Seemed like it had saved me this time.

A thought occurred to me. "Astrid said she sensed Fae intruders."

Inara nodded. "Arlan and Niall. We thought they"d cause less suspicion than Liam. Nathan and Makoto had already halfway freed themselves from the oubliette when we arrived to find them."

"So, I was the last one to see a rescue?" I asked in an arch tone.

Inara gave me a look from under her eyelashes. "Would you have preferred we not come at all?"

I grinned. "I suppose I don"t mind too much."

She grunted. "Good, because it was Nathan"s job to track you down while we kept the rest from suspecting our presence."

It was actually a pretty brilliant scheme. Even more surprising because vampires and Fae willingly working together was almost unheard of. I was impressed.

Liam rose from Owen"s fallen form, his gaze capturing mine.

He took a step toward me, a tangle of emotions saturating the air around him. Relief. An obsessive love that bordered on possessive as it stroked against me. He"d never be an easy man, but he"d try for my sake.

This was a man who"d do anything for me. He"d kill for me—die for me.

I"d spend the rest of my life making sure I was worthy of such devotion. I had a feeling it would be all too easy to abuse the totality of what he felt. That someone had done that in the past.

Once his respect was lost, so too would be his love.

He blanched, fear replacing the love I felt.

A hard force wrapped around my waist, yanking me through the veil amid a primal roar of denial.