Hekla glanced nervously at the immortals, but she followed me to the pond.
The water chilled my toes through my boots as I trailed Lucus. Hekla had a vicious grip on my arm, her fingers trembling. I hated that she was involved in this, but I'd had to bring her through the portal. I couldn't have left her there when I hadn't known if Aurelio’s hold on her would do something weird like murder her when I took him with the spell or if the curse would’ve kept Hekla trapped in the castle like it had Lucus and the others.
Silver water lapped against my knees, and I plunged forward, wanting to get this show on the road. My face submerged, and I held my breath, but the blonde's voice echoed through the water that wasn't really water.
“Take it in. You will certainly die if you don't accept it.”
I tried to see Hekla beside me in the pond, but my vision was too blurred. Everything had a hazy, greenish cast, and only indiscriminate shadows crowded the space around me. I opened my mouth, and the magical liquid rushed over my tongue tasting like mulled wine. I coughed, but of course, that didn't clear my mouth. The water coursed down my throat and into my lungs, and I jerked hard, pulling away from Hekla as I stumbled, then floated. The pain was a brand on both sides of my chest, and I longed to scream, to beg for help.
The blonde's voice reverberated through the water. “Accept it. Take it in. If you don't listen, you will die in a moment, mage. Even with the power you possess, this spell will swallow your aura whole, and you will be a husk. You will be done.”
Easier said than done! I shouted silently, my body fighting the pain and my spine feeling like it was about to crack in two. I couldn't control this. I couldn't take it in and accept it. What the hell? How was I supposed to relax when I was dying?
Then a hand covered mine, strong fingers warming my tender skin.
Lucus.
He brushed my knuckles, then drew me close. I couldn't open my eyes to see him, but the heat of him there and the touch of his lips against my forehead eased my struggle. The fight went out of me, and I relaxed into his arms. The burning pain in my lungs faded, and suddenly he was carrying me out of the pond and into a world of sparkling golden light.
I breathed in, heart still pounding and my body warming against Lucus’s powerful arms, hard stomach, and chest. His scent wafted over me, pines and spice, as he whispered something in fae, the drumming of his voice echoing the beat of my heart. I wanted to stay here forever, in his arms, protected and—
My eyes flew open. The blonde glared at us, but I ignored her, searching instead for any sign of Hekla. Had she gone through? Where was she?
Lucus set me down, and I belatedly noticed our clothes weren't wet.
“What was that?” I straightened my shirt. “What happened?”
“She is there.” Lucus pointed toward a shape in a blanket, tucked between the knobby roots of an oak.
Hekla's face appeared out of the striped folds. “Coren?”
I ran to her and hugged her hard. “You okay?”
“You were in there for an hour.” She looked seriously pissed off.
“Really?”
“Yup. Listen. You’re not allowed to perish. Don’t bail on me, woman. This is beyond what I can deal with.”
I hugged her again. “My bad, pal. I’ll try my best not to die in a magical pool of water. Pinkie swear.”
She chortled and wiped her nose. Her eyes were red like she'd been crying. “No, no. You swear on chocolate croissants. I'm not settling for a mere decorative digit on this one.”
I put a hand over my heart. “I swear it.”
The blonde strode off toward a cluster of thick and woody vines. “My mother awaits. You will need to bow to her and give up your alpha role.”
Lucus traded a look with me that said Yeah no. I walked closer to him. “Thanks for the save.”
He touched my arm briefly, his gaze on the back of the blonde. “Do you have any idea why your portal spell brought us here? Did you somehow know there were other fae?”
“The portal was supposed to bring me to where mages were safe. At least, that’s what I was going for.”
“Perhaps this is the only place where mages still live,” Lucus said. “I am thoroughly surprised there are more of my kind.”
I touched his chest, the bond between us pulled taut and humming. “I know. I’m glad for you.”
I hoped it would end up being a good thing. So far, the blonde wasn’t getting me too pumped for the existence of more fae. I wrapped an arm around Hekla as we passed under a rocky overhang jutting from the side of the path. “Are you glad or worried they might not be as excited to see you as you are to see them?” I asked Lucus.
“She is certainly not warm.” Lucus raised an eyebrow at the female fae. “But hopefully the rest of her kingdom isn’t so…”
“Prickly? She really hates that you’re another alpha.”
“I don’t know why. Every fae kingdom once had an alpha. I have no say here in this realm, nor would I attempt to take control.”
“But your information is a touch dated, isn’t it?”
He frowned. “I haven’t spoken to another fae since the night of the curse.”
“Things might have changed in the last few centuries.”
“I suppose we shall see.” Lucus looked as worried as I was.
Chapter 3
Under the wind-shuffled oaks, a woman with haunting eyes watched us approach. Her pale red hair nested in loose braids around her black antlers, and her presence rushed over me, pressing and alluring,
