A gasp died in my throat as I saw the earth move in a rolling wave, water from the river sloshing upon the shore and the trees shaking and falling over.
Earthquake.
People started screaming, running all over the village, but I couldn’t make much out from that far away. They just looked like little flecks through the clear protection dome.
Something was gravely wrong.
On instinct, I pushed my wings faster, flying closer to Spring. Liam flew next to me at great speed. I was about to descend into the forest to reach the dome and open it when a huge crack ran the length of the dome and splintered out into multiple tiny spiderwebs.
“No!” I screamed.
The entire thing shattered and fell in huge chunks before disintegrating into nothing. Shock ripped through me, causing me to halt in midair and watch the total destruction of my village’s protection. For almost twenty years, it had stood as a symbol of our separation from the outside world, from the darkness that had taken our brethren.
Now it was gone.
The clean part of the river mixed with the black, and our safe little part of Faerie ended in that moment.
What could cause the dome to fall?
It hit me in that moment.
“No!” I screamed, flying for the Elders’ house. Liam was right behind me. “Check on your brothers!” I shouted at him.
He nodded and took off for the mud camp.
I neared the village, and my throat tightened with emotion. Fae were flying everywhere, screaming and taking to the skies. Some held crying babies, their piercing wails filling the space. It was chaos.
Using my Seeker ability, I tapped into the crystals and…
Oh, gods.
No, no, no.
Pivoting in midair, I nearly slammed a fellow fae. I didn’t even stop to apologize—I just flew madly through the air, over the village and toward the entrance of the cave that held the enchanted shell.
My Seeker ability was telling me that all of Faerie’s crystals were being moved. The fucking Winter King was here, and he’d taken them.
Dropping to the ground, I skidded my bare feet in the sand bank of the river. I was where the edge of the dome should be, near the blue lagoon where the enchanted shell was, but now…the dome was gone, and a sickly black smoke wafted into the air.
The problem was that the enchanted shell was in a cave that could only be reached by swimming in the river and under a rock shelf. So, psycho fish or not, I was going.
Holding the bottom of my shirt over my mouth and nose so that I didn’t breathe in the black smoke, I ran in and leapt into the once-blue waters. The dark, murky liquid surrounded me as I swam through the river. I held my breath, slipped underneath the rock shelf, and pumped my legs, kicking hard so that when I popped up I would enter the cave and not bonk my head on the stone wall.
When I broke the surface of the water, my stomach dropped at the sight of the Winter King and his witch, Chrys, emerging into the cave. Bags hung around their necks, heavy from the weight of what I assumed where the crystals of Faerie. What was that black smoke, and if they left with these crystals, would it engulf us all and kill us? My mind raced with unanswered questions.
I couldn’t let that happen.
“Stop!” I shouted, thrusting my hand out and aiming a beam of light at one of the bags they were carrying. The fabric tore, and a crystal tumbled out onto the ground.
The Winter King grabbed the bottom of the torn bag to keep it from releasing more and lunged for the enchanted shell, Chrys right after him.
“No!” I roared as their fingers touched the shell, and then…
They were gone.
They had come like thieves in the night and stolen everything we had. Why the hell hadn’t I thought of the enchanted shell? Of course the king would know where it was. We should have had a guard on it—hell, it shouldn’t even exist anymore. Not with so many enemies of Faerie.
Trying to force my sobs down, I stood upon the shore with shaky legs and looked at the beautiful bluish crystal.
One. I’d saved one.
How could the Winter King touch them if Indra couldn’t? Maybe he was a Seeker, too. Maybe all royals were. Hell, I couldn’t trust anything I’d been told anymore.
Reaching down to pick up the crystal, I gripped it firmly in my hands, then brought it down hard and fast, smashing the shell portal to pieces. A shockwave of power blasted outward, throwing me back. My wings pumped hard to keep me from slamming into the wall, and quickly, the invisible force that had thrown me was gone.
I couldn’t go after them alone. Not up against those two. They were too powerful. Best to cut off their entrance into Faerie while we still had one crystal to hopefully save the place. I’d deal with everything else later.
There was no time to waste. I dove into the murky water and kicked wildly, swimming under the cave opening and surfacing back outside. When I popped up for air, I took in a huge lungful of black smoke and was thrown into a coughing fit. It burned the back of my throat.
The river water shook as another earthquake rocked the land, and I burst from the water, flying right for the Tree of Life.
I passed fae openly weeping, clutching their chests and coughing. Movement pulled my gaze to the other side of the river. Harpies, demon stags, and various other creatures stood there, eyeing Faerie greedily. I had to stop this before our entire race fell into darkness and was wiped out. With no more protection dome, we would be screwed.
People shouted my name, but I didn’t stop. I didn’t even look their way. I just flew, the fastest I’d ever flown in my
