“NOPE.” Sally cut him off quickly and turned to her mom. “So, Mom, how’s this show going to go down?”
They were entering the large door when her mom started to answer but was stopped by the sound of several gasps. Sally looked up as they walked into the castle and couldn’t stop the eye roll. There were a handful of women, no doubt sprites, milling about the large foyer all staring … at Costin.
“Did they seriously just gasp?” her dad asked.
Sally shrugged. “At least they aren’t asking for his autograph, pictures, or to have his babies.”
“Does that really happen?”
Costin winked at her dad. “Every. Single. Day.” Then he pointed to Sally. “She begs me for them.”
Sally started to respond but froze when a beautiful woman dressed in a shimmering dark gown walked down the middle of the corridor. The women parted for her but continued to stare at the guests.
Cindy bowed her head. “My queen.” Her father did the same.
“Welcome back, Cindy.” The queen’s voice was soft but confident. “Introduce me, please.”
“This is my mate, Chris Morgan.”
“Your majesty,” her dad said with a slight bow.
“I am Queen Andora, Chris Morgan, of the humans. You have cared for Cindira well. I thank you.”
“It has been an honor,” he said. “And an honor to meet you as well.”
“This is my daughter, Sally, and her mate, Costin, of the Serbia wolf pack,” Cindy continued.
Andora walked over to them and eyed them critically.
“It is an honor to meet you, your highness,” Costin said and took her hand, pressing a kiss to the top of it. He let it go and then pressed the palm of his hand to Sally’s back. “I’m most thankful that you’ve allowed my mate, and myself, entrance into your realm.”
“We are honored to have you,” she said to him and then looked at Sally again. “You have had a rough time recently. Tell me, how are you feeling?”
“I am alright, your highness,” Sally said. “Tired, but alright.”
“May I?” Queen Andora lifted her hand to press it to her forehead.
Sally nodded. What was she going to do, tell the queen no?
Andora placed her hand on Sally’s forehead and closed her eyes. Sally felt Costin’s fingers close around her shirt as he took a step closer to her. She reached down her hand and took his other.
“I’m fine.”
“I know you are, Sally mine. It’s still hard for me to share the mental bond. I didn’t know your mom was taking a look inside your head the other day. But knowing someone is digging around in here makes my wolf edgy.”
“I love you,” she said soothingly.
“It’s a good thing. Someone has to.”
She smiled and let out the breath she’d been holding when Queen Andora stepped back. Her face was grim, and her eyes held a sharp intelligence that Sally hadn’t seen before.
“Take her to the healers’ chambers. The luminous are waiting for you there.” The Queen turned without another word and marched back down the corridor.
A small woman stepped forward and bowed slightly. “My ladies and sirs, if you will follow me.”
They made their way down the corridor to a set of stairs which took them up to the second floor. When they stepped off the staircase, Sally was struck by how much un-castle-like the structure appeared once you got deeper inside the palace. Now, it simply looked like a home with a really nice banister and fancy carpet.
They turned right, following the small woman with the quick feet. After mentally singing down to eighty bottles of sprite on the wall, they finally stopped at a large, arched door. Okay, so this looks a bit more castle-like.
The woman knocked three times, and the door opened. When they entered, Sally felt warmth flow through her, but it didn’t stay. It moved from her front and out her back, as if she’d passed through warm water and arrived cold on the other side. She shivered.
“You okay?” Costin whispered against her ear.
She nodded but rubbed her arms, attempting to get rid of the chill.
“Hello, Sally.” A woman with brown hair flowing down her back and over her shoulders stepped forward. She had keen eyes and a pleasant smile. She wore a dress with a scoop neck, long flowing sleeves, and a thin silver corded belt around her small waist. “My name is Diedre. I am the head of my clan, the luminous sprites.”
“It’s very nice to meet you. And thank you, for being willing to do…” She paused. “Um, whatever it is you’re going to do.”
Diedre gave a slight bow. “We are happy to help.” She motioned to a small bed. “If you would please lie down here so we can begin. The moon will be rising in less than a quarter of an hour, and we want to be well into the process before it’s reached its zenith.”
Costin took her face in his hands and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “I’ll be right beside you.”
She nodded. “Please keep your beast in check.”
He winked at her. “No promises, beautiful.”
Sally shook her head at him as she gave her mom and dad both a quick hug and then climbed up onto the bed. She laid down on her back and set her arms down beside her. She felt like at any moment someone was going to jump out and yell “GOTCHA!” and that everything that had happened for the past two years was going to have been some weird dream.
“I know I’m too good to be true, Sally mine, but I’m real, not just a dream.” Costin teased through their bond.
Sally rolled her eyes. “You would be the nightmare portion of the dream.”
He pressed a hand to his chest as though she’d truly wounded him. “Words cut deep, Sally. Truly.”
“Your mate is funny,” Diedre said as she walked over to the opposite side of the bed. “I bet you’re happy he isn’t just a pretty face.”
Sally covered her nose to keep from snorting out the laugh. Okay, she liked Diedre. “It is nice that he did happen to come with a brain.”
“You weren’t real concerned about my brain last night,” Costin muttered under his breath, which made Sally cough.
Diedre made a motion with her hands, and suddenly there were women surrounding the bed. It wasn’t a wide bed, so Sally was close to the edge on all sides, which meant all of the women had no trouble reaching her to lay a hand on her skin. Sally counted twelve sets of hands on her before she closed her eyes and tried to relax. She tried to push away any fear and to take deep breaths as she waited.
The room seemed to fade away, and she was standing in a dark room. She could feel the floor beneath her feet and just barely make out the walls and a small window where a very scant beam of moonlight attempted to make its way in.
“Sally?” She heard the sprite’s voice.
“Diedre?” she asked.
“Yes, I am here.”
“Where is here?”
“We are in your mind.”
Sally frowned. “It’s just a black empty room and”—she shivered—“cold.”
“I want you to focus on the darkness and the cold.”
Diedre’s voice sounded close, but Sally couldn’t see the woman. She couldn’t see anything.
“I want you to zero in all of your attention on that darkness. Feel it. Is it a part of you, or is it foreign?”