Twenty feet beyond Adam, Giguhl called. “I vote for C) Stop yapping and get the hell out of Dodge.”
“I concur,” Tanith added.
So much for talking in private.
Nosy demons and vampire leaders aside, I didn’t like this one bit. But I wasn’t any more interested in becoming target practice than he was. “Everyone circle up.”
Tanith’s impatient nod indicated her displeasure over further delays. I nodded to Giguhl. He grabbed the ancient vampire’s arms and led her to the side of the road so Adam could work his magic.
A split second before Adam’s whispered incantations dematerialized our bodies, a gun exploded from the tree line. Giguhl yelped, “Not again!” Then, just as suddenly, darkness and a rush of cold wind swept us away to the Seelie Court.
2
I’d never been to the Seelie Court before, but I knew it was located somewhere in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. So when we materialized in a dank cave instead of on a forested mountainside, I was a tad surprised.
A wet roar echoed off the damp stone walls and low ceiling. Turning, I realized the sound came from the curtain of water covering the cave’s entrance. “Where are we exactly?” I shouted to Adam over the waterfall’s racket.
“The middle of nowhere.” He shot a meaningful look toward Tanith.
The Domina stood nearby, suffering Giguhl’s restraining claw with dignity. At Adam’s comment, a small smile quirked her lips.
I nodded, understanding he didn’t want the Domina to be able to find this place on her own later. “So where’s the court?”
He smiled and pointed to the wet, craggy wall on the far end of the cave. “Through there.”
I blinked at the solid stone. “Why not just flash us in there directly?”
“The walls are warded to prevent unexpected guests. Which means we have to wait for someone inside to open the portal.”
I relaxed a fraction. When we called Orpheus with the plan of kidnapping a Domina, he’d been pretty resistant at first. Said he didn’t want to risk losing us and Maisie. But in the end, Adam and I convinced him that bold action was our only hope. It didn’t hurt that he liked the idea of one-upping Lavinia, too. Once he’d given us a green light, we’d coordinated watches and plans so that once we arrived with our quarry, things would go smoothly.
“Is this gonna take long?” Giguhl said.
I frowned at the demon. “Why— you got somewhere else to be?”
He shot me a bitch-please look. “No but I’d like the record to state that getting shot in the ass still isn’t fun.” He shifted around to show me his left ass cheek where his black sweatpants now featured a perfectly round bullet hole. I couldn’t see any blood in the dim light, but I could smell it.
“Sheesh, G, again?” Adam said.
“Yes, Mr. Perfect, again. Lucky for you bitches I’m a fast healer.”
I was saved from having to respond to that when a tingle of magic rippled through the cave. The wall Adam pointed to earlier began to pulse and shimmer with flecks of light. The hair on my neck prickled, and the low thrum of magic made my stomach contract. One second the rock sparkled like fool’s gold, and the next it disappeared altogether. On the other side of the portal, the silhouette of a female appeared.
“Who seeks entrance to the realm of Queen Maeve, leader of the Truatha de Danan?”
Adam stepped forward. His relaxed posture hinted at familiarity with this ritual. Not a surprise, since he’d spent time there a few weeks ago to broker an alliance with the Queen on behalf of the Hekate Council. “Adam Lazarus, Pythian Guard for the ancient and venerable Hekate Council, and my companions Sabina Kane, High Priestess of the Blood Moon and granddaughter of the Hekatian oracle Ameritat Graecus— goddess protect her soul— and Alpha Domina Lavinia Kane; Tanith Severinus, Beta Domina and prisoner of the Hekate Council, and Giguhl, fifth-level Mischief demon from the Gizal region of Irkalla.”
I looked over my shoulder at Giguhl and rolled my eyes. But the faery on the other side of the portal followed the tongue-twisting protocol just fine.
“Knight Lazarus, you and your companions are expected. I, Calyx, keeper of the portal, on behalf of Queen Maeve, grant you entrance to the faery realm.”
The sheet of magic wavered and disappeared with a pop. All formalities gone, Calyx waved us through with frantic movements. “Quickly.”
Adam and I fell back so Giguhl and Tanith could go through first. By silent agreement, we both felt it important to get the Domina safely inside. Neither of us put it past the vamp to spring a last-minute trick on us.
Just beyond the opening, all I could see was darkness. Not a surprise, given it was nighttime, but I didn’t like the idea of just strolling through a magical portal without knowing what waited on the other side. But Adam’s firm hand on my back urged me through.
The second we’d cleared the plane separating the two worlds, the gateway snapped shut. I took a moment to survey my surroundings. On this side, the entrance was hidden in a sheer rock wall climbing hundreds of feet in the air. I was looking up the rock face when Giguhl nudged me on the back. “Red, check it out.”
I turned and stilled with my mouth hanging open. Looming ahead of us was a building that could only be described as the largest, most elaborate tree house in the history of ever. An engineering marvel made of glass and wood, the structure rose high above the forest floor.
Given its overwhelming size, I could only register flashes of details. Like how the moonlight glinted off hundreds of round windows. How the wooden bridges spanned between towers like spider silk. And how the carved balconies seemed to float on air.
As my eyes lowered, I finally noticed the line of fae guards forming a crescent behind Calyx. Two came forward immediately to take custody of Tanith. The ancient vampiress endured the exchange before saying, “I demand to see Queen Maeve this instant.”
While her imperious tone was not a surprise, her impatience was ironic, given the complexity and length of most vampire protocol. Vampire Sabbath alone took four hours. And don’t get me started on the red tape and time wasting at the Dominae’s Under Council meetings. They made the IRS look efficient.
Anyway, half the guards turned and ushered Tanith away before I had a chance to argue. Although I wasn’t really in a position to do so anyway. Our job had been to get the kidnapped Domina there. I didn’t have much say in what the Hekate Council and the Queen did with her. Unfortunately.