Page 69 of Night Fae

"Lyrian," Knox breathed, relief evident in his voice.

Caelen nodded to the guard. "Bring him here."

The guard bowed and left.

"That's one more of our missing friends accounted for," Adrian said.

"Yes." Daniel didn't look as relieved as Adrian. Malik could guess why; his brother had still not been found.

Caelen seemed aware of his mate's troubles too. He moved next to Daniel, rested a hand on his shoulder, and whispered something into his ear that seemed to relax him slightly.

They had to wait a good little while before the doors opened again.

Two guards entered, supporting a figure between them whose aquamarine hair was unmistakable despite being matted with what looked like dried blood. Lyrian's clothes were torn, his face bruised, but his eyes were alert as they scanned the room.

"Never thought I'd say this—" his voice was raspy but unmistakably his, "—but I'm so glad to have made it to the Shadow Kingdom."

Knox moved first, crossing the room in swift strides to clasp Lyrian's shoulder. "What happened to you?"

The guards helped Lyrian to a chair. He collapsed into it gratefully, wincing as he shifted to find a comfortable position.

"I ended up near my grandmother's territory, thank the gods. Her prophetic powers told her I needed to go to the Shadow Kingdom…" He hesitated. Malik understood why.

From the web novel, he knew that Lyrian's grandmother commanded great power—every once in a while, when she wasn't high on moon berries, which she was most of the time.

It could be difficult to tell if she was speaking prophecy or if she was just having a really good trip.

Lyrian gathered himself. "I was right to trust her words this time, it seems, but on my way here, I ran into a bit of trouble with the Night Court."

Zev cut in. "What did they want with you?"

Lyrian shook his head. "They weren't looking for me specifically, but I saw them hunting humans and had to intervene."

"Hunting humans?" Daniel shot up from his seat.

Lyrian nodded grimly. "Not just any humans. Specifically, those who've crossed over from Earth recently."

Zev's hand came to rest on the back of Malik's chair, fingers just brushing his shoulder. The touch seemed unconscious, a protective gesture that sent warmth through Malik despite the chilling news.

"They mentioned you by name," Lyrian said, looking directly at Malik. "They want you and humans like you."

Malik felt the blood drain from his face. "Why?"

"I don't know," Lyrian admitted.

"Why target humans from Earth?" Adrian wondered aloud.

They all speculated while dark thoughts formed in Malik's mind. He flashed back to the moment his hand had been forced to touch the shadow path.

The Night Court had used him to experiment.

What had they found?

Malik looked at the pattern on the map again. "Maybe they need us," he said. "For some kind of ritual. Maybe it's exactlybecausewe crossed over from the other side."

Silence fell as the implications sank in.

"We need to find Jamie and Leon," Daniel said finally. "If the Night Court is hunting humans from Earth..."