He shook his head and some of my excitement faded away. I prepared myself for the bad news. “This portal is guarded. As soon as we exit the portal, they will alert the winter queen.”
“Winter? You said it was Fall Court?” Kade asked, his keen eyes tracking Dante’s every movement.
Shelley was the one to answer: “The winter queen rules the Fall Court as well. Those fae are actually her guards. I recognize them. But I can confuse them with my magic and make them let us through.”
A flicker of wariness crossed Dante’s golden face. No doubt he wasn’t used to trusting others when he was on a mission. But he simply waved a hand toward the portal.
As Shelley stepped forward, Kian reached out to wrap his hand across her shoulder. “Are you sure it’s safe?”
“I’ll be fine,” she replied.
Kian narrowed his eyes, and I recognized that stubborn look on his face. It was Kade all over. Eventually, Kian released his mate and gave her a nod. Shelley smoothed her coat and unsheathed her sword. “Give me sixty seconds. If I’m not back, come through fighting.”
I pulled out my blade. Kian adjusted the grip on his weapon, and we all moved closer, ready to assist if she needed it.
Shelley’s nerves weren’t obvious as she walked to the archway, but I saw her hand shaking the slightest bit. I kept scanning our surroundings, keeping an eye on the portal. We were in the middle of an Otherworld forest, where anything could attack at any time. Surely these portals had a lot of traffic too. It would not do to be taken from behind.
Shelley was almost there by now, and I blinked a few times as the tree she was approaching started to move, just the slightest tilt toward her. A jolt of an idea slammed into me, and I could feel my pulse pick up as adrenalin surged through my body.
Kade made a noise as I started to follow Shelley’s path. “I’m not going through,” I said to him. “I just need to … check something.”
If Dante had an affinity for communicating with animals, then maybe there was a power associated with the way I could speak to the old fae tree in Kade’s back yard. I inched closer, and when I was standing before the giant brown-barked trunk, I reached out to rest my palm on the tree.
I immediately felt an awareness there, an excitement.
Hello … I’m Queen Arianna, I tried.
An instant reply came back: Hello, Queen Arianna. Winter fae do not usually stop and speak with us. But … I have heard of you from the treeling that is rooted in New York. You are different. It sounded male, with a deep scratchy voice.
I grinned at the knowledge that all of the trees’ consciousnesses must be connected. That was kind of amazing. And hugely useful. Can you do me a favor? My friend has just walked through your arch. Can you tell me if she is okay?
There was nothing for a moment, but then a tingling spread throughout my palm. I can show you.
I closed my eyes and a mini movie screen played in my mind’s eye. There were four guards. Shelley was speaking with them as they surrounded her, weapons drawn.
“My friends and I wish to pass through this arch. You will not harm them. You recognize them as friends of the Winter Court. There is no need for alarm. You will simply let us pass and forget we were ever here.” Shelley’s voice was smooth and deep, with a trancelike quality.
Two of the men nodded, but the other two seemed to be resisting her fae-charms. Shelley stepped closer to the resistors. “You will let us through and tell no one you saw us.” The close proximity must have done the trick. They both nodded, looking slack-jawed.
Shelley bowed deeply and began to back away slowly towards the tree as the projection in my mind faded.
My eyes popped open as Shelley came through the archway and motioned we all follow.
Thank you, kind friend, I said as I straightened.
That warm feeling tickled my palm again. You always have an ally with the treefolk, Queen Arianna.
A burst of warmth followed me as I pulled my hand away. Well … that was interesting. Was there some way for me to use that alliance? To use the wise, ancient strength of these amazing tree-fae hybrids?
“Come, it won’t last long. Two of them were hard to get through to.” Shelley’s voice held a note of impatience.
Dante, a small dagger clutched in his hand, was the first to go into the archway. As I walked through, pressure pushed on my skin, then there was a pop in my ears and I was on the other side. I could see the four guards standing around a fire looking at us. One nodded and another waved. I waved back and walked briskly behind Kade, trying to get away as fast as possible.
We closed ranks around Dante.
“What now?” I asked him. His posture had changed; he was tenser. It was only a subtle change, but I was trained to notice things like that, and it immediately put me more on alert.
“Now we need to be extra vigilant. We’re no longer in friendly territory. Expect conflict at every turn.”
All of us had our weapons out now, except Kade. His staff would not be removed from its case until we were face to face with darkness. We fanned out and walked slowly through the fall woods, which were breathtaking with their yellow and burnt orange trees, frosty snowcapped mountains just visible in the distance, and a brisk chill to the air.
Fall in the city had always been one of my favorite times, especially since I knew winter was just around the corner. Damn genetics. I suppose it wasn’t winter’s fault. Winter had done nothing wrong.
No one spoke a word. After about an hour, Dante paused, crouching. We all followed suit. I sat on my heels, sword held loosely before me. I sensed a disturbance; even the sound of the breeze whistling through the forest had died off.
“Down!” Dante yelled just as a flaming yellow metal disc whizzed between the trees, nearly taking my head off.
I dove to the right and pressed my face into the ground, resting on my cheek in time to see Dante pop up, two sickles in his hands.
My heart was hammering in my chest because I remembered that disc weapon. It was the same weapon the dark fae assassin had used on Staten Island to take Derek’s head off.
Sure enough, as I lifted myself up slightly to see better, a black-clad fae stepped from behind the trees. His face was covered in a mask of some description, but it looked as if his skin was tinged a moss green color. “Well, well, what do we have here?” he said in a gravelly voice.
Giving no response, Dante flung his arm out, releasing a sickle. It soared through the air; the dark fae sidestepped quickly, but it nicked the outside of his arm. Blood spurted out, spraying the trees around him. Looking unperturbed, the evil fae threw another disc, lightning quick. It clipped Kian’s arm, before slicing along Kade’s thigh. Bear roars bellowed from both males, and rage immediately boiled within me.