Page 18

Chapter eighteen

Roisin

“ B randon was with me,” I said.

“And now?” Alister asked.

I pointed at the bookshelf. Everyone turned and squinted at the magical shelf as though Brandon would magically appear the way I had.

“The shelf is or was a magical portal.” I studied the books on the shelf. Each title differed from the ones on the shelf when we’d left, but that was what the Fellowship said would happen when they removed a book from the shelves. “I took a book from the shelf.”

Lorcan and Aislinn frowned at me.

Alister frowned even harder.

“There was a word hidden in the title and it seemed like a clue, but I didn’t expect to be pulled into the Winter Court. Brandon tried saving me, but the magic pulled him through with me.” I grabbed the old man’s hand. “He protected me. Brandon said to say how much he loves you and his mother. ”

“He’s dead?”

“No.” I shook my head wildly, sending my long hair flying around my face. “He was very much alive when I left.”

“But he doesn’t believe he will be for long?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to leave him, but he told me to go, and then return for him. I intend to do that, but first, I need to speak with the Fae King and Queen.”

All my family. I needed to talk to all of them. This affected them all if what the demon said was true. Did I believe the Demon King and his sister?

“Lorcan,” I said, dropping Alister’s hand and focusing on him. “Can you get all the family to the Summer Court?”

“What’s going on?”

“I’ll tell you at home. How long was I absent for?”

“Not long. Ciara and Sir Axis fixed the Spring of Life, and then I brought him back here. Aislinn noticed you weren’t outside, so we came in here looking for you.”

I rubbed a finger between my brows. “We were in the Winter Court a lot longer.”

“Time would move differently there, as it does in the Summer Court,” Lorcan said.

“I suspected as much.”

That would mean the time would move a lot faster for Brandon in the Winter Court. He might be there for days while here, it was only minutes. I needed to hurry because what would the demons do to him in my absence? Surely, they wouldn’t harm him when they wanted me to return to their realm .

“Is the Veil passable?” I asked.

“It is still locked, but the magic is no longer volatile. Sir Axis said it would become unstable again and so would the spring if we don’t convince Father to unlock the Veil,” Lorcan said.

“Aislinn, can you and Fallon come with me to the Summer Court while Lorcan and Pepper contact the rest of the family?”

Aislinn slid a dagger from the holster at her hip and twirled it around her fingers.

“Aye, are the demons a threat?”

“No.” I turned and hurried toward the stairs. Every second away from Brandon felt like it mattered.

“Then what’s the hurry?” she asked, catching up to me.

“I left Brandon there,” I lowered my voice.

“Brandon? Oh, you mean the Fellowship member. I’m sure he’s trained.”

“Aye, but he almost froze to death in the Winter Court,” I whispered.

“Ah, humans and their frailty.”

We reached the top of the stairs from the underground library and burst into the open expanse of the secluded garden.

“Hurry,” I said.

Aislinn called on the magic of the Veil. It snapped into place with ease in a swirling, magical, purple mist. My sibling’s powers astounded me, but the same elemental magic steeped in my powers, only blinding white, like ice. I stepped into the Veil, not waiting a moment longer. Aislinn and Fallon joined me then I waved a hand to Lorcan, knowing he’d bring the others home. There they would all learn what I had and together as a family we’d decide if it was true.

The Veil snapped shut, closing off the view of Earth and a sense of calm descended upon me. My first trip through the Veil hadn’t felt this way. The magic had pulsed against me and made my powers erratic, now though everything vibrated right while shifting through the Veil as though the magic welcomed us.

“Ciara fixed it,” Aislinn said.

“I realized she would.”

Aislinn slid her dagger back into the holster and I hadn’t even noticed she was still holding it, but then again, she was always holding her daggers. They seemed to comfort her when none of us had over the years. At least until Fallon. He slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side. She snuggled close to him as though a magnetic force pulled them together. Fated mates were such a beautiful sight to see. It was no wonder we all hungered for our own. No wonder I wanted to wait for mine, except now there was Brandon and the feelings I’d developed for him. The feelings he’d developed for me. Perhaps I should talk to Briana as she’d chosen a mate. She’d fallen in love knowing he wasn’t the man destined for her. They’d been happy too until he’d died, but she was happier still now she was with her fated mate.

It was all so confusing, and I needed to keep my mind straight for the family’s sake and not worry about myself .

The Veil parted near the tower Father had built away from everyone, hoping to keep track of all the Fae who left. He wanted to protect everyone since his father had failed to protect them against the Trappers.

Guards and a scribe surrounded the tower and jolted in surprise when they saw us open the Veil outside the tower.

“Princess Aislinn, Fallon. Princess Roisin?” the scribe said, glancing down at his parchment. “I don’t have you on the list of travelers out of the kingdom.” He looked back up. “We didn’t realize you weren’t safe.”

“I was safe,” I assured him.

“But you didn’t take guards with you.” He tapped his finger on the parchment. “The King put these things in place for a reason.”

“Enough,” I snapped. “I don’t have time for this.”

I strode off before he uttered another word. Aislinn and Fallon followed me, and soon their strides matched mine.

“He’s right,” Aislinn said. “Father will be upset to learn you were on Earth without guards. Let alone on Earth at all.”

“The Fellowship are our guards. I was safe on Earth and in the Winter Court because I had Brandon with me.”

Aislinn’s gaze narrowed. “You keep mentioning the human’s name.”

“So?”

“Do you like him? ”

“I…” I closed my mouth. What did I feel for him? Desire certainly. Like? It was more than like, but I said, “Aye.”

“A human?” Aislinn nudged me in the ribs with her elbow. “What will Mother and Father say?”

“They can say what they like. I comprehend I can’t… like him… he’s not my fated mate.”

Aislinn laughed. “Like? Oh, little Roisin.”

“Stop it.”

“Stop what?”

“Calling me young, or little. I’m tired of everyone treating me like a child. I’m a grown woman.”

Aislinn placed a hand on my elbow and stopped walking, urging me to stop with her. I turned and faced her. She placed both hands on my shoulders and stared me in the eyes.

“You are, aren’t you?”

She drew me into a hug and whispered, “I’m sorry I didn’t notice sooner.”

I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her back.

Aislinn sniffed. “I’m also sorry I was in such a bad mood all your life. From now on, I promise to be a better big sister.”

My arms squeezed her harder. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

We hugged for a long time, both of us soaking up the moment of a new future where our relationship had changed for the better.

In the distance, the sound of galloping hooves echoed across the fields.

“Are they unicorns?” Fallon asked, awe-tinging his voice.

“Aye,” Aislinn and I said in unison.

We both pulled apart and dabbed the tears in our eyes.

“If you like, I might coax one into coming closer.”

Fallon’s eyes bulged. “Ah, no thanks, they look dangerous.”

I giggled. Fallon was a huge, muscular man who had fought in underground fights and won all of them. The idea of him being wary of unicorns was ridiculous.

“Are you scared of unicorns?” I teased.

“No, I just wanted to make you laugh.” He flung an arm around both of our shoulders. “I grew up with horses and was around them all my life. One day, I’ll take you up on the offer to get closer to the unicorns.”

I was thankful my sister had found her fated mate, and he was a good match for her, would do anything for her, even make her sister laugh when the moment was emotional and needed lightning.

“See,” I said. “Fated mates are worth waiting for.”

“They are,” Fallon agreed and kissed the top of Aislinn’s head.

Up ahead, the palace appeared. The magical structure glistened under the Summer Court sun. It had always been spectacular to look at, but now it was as though extra magic was pulsing from the structure and the spring inside.

“I never noticed,” Aislinn mumbled. “Not until now.”

“What?” I asked.

“How depleted our powers were becoming.”

“It was the same on Earth,” Fallon said. “There was a sense something was wrong, but it’s not until now that we healed the spring that I noticed the difference.”

“Imagine what it’ll be like when we heal Earth, too,” I said.

Aislinn and Fallon stared at me for a second in agreement that the time had come for us to fix everything wrong between the two realms. Then we hurried toward the palace doors, to the home we’d always known, the one place where our powers made us immortal, and now we’d forever be immortal once we convinced Father to unlock the Veil.

Then I’d ask him and Mother about the truth of the demon’s claim we were related to them.