“We need her and she understands. And we’re taking Tanne. Delilah said something about texting him to come with.” I zipped up my pants and tucked my shirt in again. “Nerissa, if something happens to me . . .”
“Nothing will. Don’t you dare say another word.” She rearranged her skirt and stared at the ripped shirt. “I think this one is for the rag barrel.”
“But if something does happen—” I wanted to tell her to go to her Were friend, to let him make her happy, but she pressed her lips together firmly and shook her head.
“I don’t want to hear it. I’ll tell Roman you had to go. Now get moving before I have another meltdown.” And with that, she kissed me one last time and pushed me out the door, staying in the parlor. I realized she needed to stay there, to not watch me walk out the door.
The others were waiting. If they knew what had gone on behind the closed door, nobody said anything.
Delilah cleared her throat. “I texted Tanne. He’ll meet us at the edge of Grandmother Coyote’s woods. We’ll run there—it won’t take us long and it will save leaving a car out for somebody to come along and strip.” She tossed me a bag. “Hanna packed for you.”
“Then I guess we’re ready.” I turned to the door. “Let’s go meet the dragons . . . and go to war.”
Chapter 5
The portal to Otherworld from Grandmother Coyote’s lair led to a cave near the great Barrow Mounds outside Elqaneve. The cave, at least, looked like it had taken no damage, and there were seven portals in the giant cavern, all heavily guarded. In fact, I had never seen such a great military force in this area before. Elfin guards, Fae, even a few Goldunsan—the desert Fae—watched over the interdimensional vortexes. They were heavily armed and I had the feeling that some of their weapons weren’t visible—like magic.
As we stepped away from the portal with Delilah and me leading the way, I saw someone who looked suspiciously familiar. Turned out, I was right. He was one of the guards we often saw in the background when we were talking to Trenyth through the mirror.
“I’ve come to escort you into headquarters.” He motioned to the entrance of the cave. “We have carriages waiting, and an escort.”
As we emerged from the cave, I glanced up at the sky. We were near midnight. There were three carriages waiting by the Barrow Mounds. Instead of the noblas stedas of Otherworld—a gorgeous, six-legged horse—they were being pulled by gorts. Gorts were usually found in barren wastelands and were like giant lizards, though a great deal larger, much like a squat Komodo dragon in looks. They were reptilian in nature, like lizards, and they were fast and vicious.
“That’s new.” I nodded to the creatures.
“We don’t like to chance the steeds we have left to raiding parties. The gorts are fast and mean. And they’re a lot quicker to breed.” The guard motioned for us to proceed.
The Barrow Mounds were remnants of days long past. A thousand years before, they had once sheltered the heart and soul of the Elfin nation. An oracle, she had been half Svartan and half elf. Worshiped almost as a goddess, she had read the future for all who passed by. But bandits had overwhelmed the Mounds and killed her. Since that day, the area had been haunted and barren, a stark contrast to the lushness that was Kelvashan.
I glanced over at Delilah, who was staring at the mounds. “What do you see?”
“Women and warriors . . . wounded men. Ghosts of the past, all whispering by me. They know I see them—I’m letting them know. There are so many elves here who died during the storm, too. I see them everywhere I turn. The rites of the dead haven’t been performed for most. At some point, Sharah needs to preside over one mass ritual for all who were taken by Telazhar’s fury.” She turned back to me, her face drawn. “So many died. The entire world—both here and over Earthside—will be a walking graveyard if we don’t come through this.”
Her voice broke, catching on the words, and she hung her head. Beside her, Shade wrapped his arm around her waist and she rested her head on his shoulder for a moment.
I reached out to take her hand, holding tight. She was right. If we could take down Telazhar, then we would make a wonderful, blessed impact on Shadow Wing’s efforts. “Then we win. Regardless of what it takes or the price we pay, we win. We won’t let that happen.”
Delilah squeezed my hand. “Oh, this is too funny.”
“What is?”
“You, cheering me up. Usually I’m the eternal optimist and you’re the realist. Though I can’t say that I’ve felt much like an optimist lately. The bright-eyed young woman that I was when we first set eyes on the portals and went Earthside . . . she’s long gone.” She said it almost wistfully, but when I started to ask if she missed that side of herself, she held up her hand. “What’s gone is gone. As Camille would say, It is what it is. And that’s okay. Say, do you think she’ll come in riding on Smoky’s back?”