Then I looked at the large number of guys and the one VW I had and wondered how the hell we were all going to get there.
Liam pulled his hood up, walked over to me, and handed me a piece of paper. “Take Elle and Cam and head for the Coeur d’Alene house. Mara said to meet her at this address. She’s installing a new door now—should be ready in an hour or so.”
I frowned. “What are you going to do?”
“It’s probably best you didn’t know,” he said with a wink.
Holy bad boy. That was hot. I was really hoping he wasn’t going to steal cars, but it was hot nonetheless.
“Go on,” Liam urged. “We’ll be right behind you.”
Without wasting another minute, I pulled out the pen and quickly summoned the VW. After we jumped inside, I took off out of the complex and headed for Idaho. Cam sat in the back seat, upset that Elle wouldn’t let him ride shotgun.
“They’re going to steal cars, aren’t they?” I asked him.
“Do you want the crystals or not?” was all he said in reply.
For a second, I’d forgotten that Liam and his friends were basically thugs, left on Earth to fend for themselves. That was why I was doing this. Once I had all the crystals and restored Faerie, we could all live together in harmony, and they wouldn’t need to break the law just to get by.
As I neared the home that Liam’s dad was using to create his new, sick little world, I pulled over and waited anxiously for the others.
So much had to be in place for this to work. Liam and his men had to take on the Sons of Darkness. Mara had to fix a new door nearby in time for us to get the crystals and get back. Liam had to be able to handle the dark crystals, assuming they would all be dark, and not lose his mind like last time. I had brought one of the jugs of healing water with me and left two at Mara’s. That way, the length of time Liam would have to hold the crystal would be lessened.
Just as I was starting to freak out that they’d been arrested or something, he arrived, a line of trucks and SUVs behind him. I felt like we were part of some high-stakes bank heist and I was about to rob the most heavily guarded vault.
Parking his car behind mine, Liam popped out and started to bark orders. It was clear he was used to being in charge and taking ownership. I was happy to let him plan the fighting; I would just help in any way I could. I was way out of my league here. Trissa had never trained me for this.
“I want you five to go to this address and guard it with your life.” Liam handed a group of men the address Mara had given them. “It’s our new portal home, and it’s right down the street.”
The boys nodded and started jogging toward the house.
Liam turned to me. “Lily and I will go in and get the crystals. Once we have them, we will signal you to leave. If people start dying, retreat.”
Geeze. That was his indicator that things were going south? If someone died?
“Meet at the new address if we’re split up,” I told everyone, and they nodded.
Some of them had guns, but most pulled swords. A few of them walked off with Cam and started to take off their shirts. I was wondering why the heck they were undressing when I saw patches of fur ripple across their skin.
Oh. Okay.
Giving them my back, I prepared myself for the fight we were about to get into.
“I’ll try to hold an illusion for any of the prying eyes on the mountain,” Elle muttered beside me, pulling out a few of her throwing knives. Luckily, it was sparsely populated here.
“Okay.” I looked at Liam. “Ready?”
“Ready.”
With that, we took off through the skies, hoping Elle’s illusion was working on any normies.
“Step one, we need to get the shield down,” Liam called out next to me.
I nodded, feeling that warm power pulse at my palms. “You freeze it, and I’ll knock it with sunlight. Let’s throw everything we have.”
As we came up over the treetops, my gaze fell on about a dozen soldiers standing before the protective dome, and my stomach sank. They were ready for us.
Everything happened so quickly. The Halflings came up behind us and engaged the Sons of Darkness while Liam slammed a wall of ice at the barricade. It wobbled and shook but held strong. Feeling the warmth overwhelm my palms, I let loose, my light bursting forth and saturating the shield before us.
The shield vibrated, rattling.
“More!” Liam shouted.
Gunshots rang out beneath us as I flooded the dome with the brightest light I’d ever seen. I just had to trust that Elle and everyone else had our backs, because I couldn’t worry about getting shot at right now. As the sunlight burst from my palms, buttery golden light covered the entire shield, and I had to turn my head to the side.
I was blown backward a little by the sheer force of the power coming from me. Dizziness overtook me then, and my wings locked up. As I fell to the ground, a cracking noise rang through the battlefield, and the dome shattered.
Bracing myself for the fall, I tightened all my muscles, overcome with weakness after using so much light magic.
But I never fell. Liam swooped underneath me and caught me into his arms. My body slammed against his chest, and he tucked me into him as he lowered us to the ground.
The fight raged around us. I tried to track Elle but couldn’t find her.
“You did it,” Liam breathed. “Are you okay?”
I still felt dizzy. Everything was spinning, and to be honest, I felt like I was going
