Page 11

Zoey

I’m sitting in between Sasha and Daniel watching Shy talk to a large rock when I hear Neil growl and then feel the blast of heat that threatens to singe my arm.

Then I’m on the forest floor with a werewolf on top of me.

“Brendan, protect your sister,”

Neil orders. “Z, stay still.”

What the hell is happening? There’s the sound of a sizzle and a crack and Neil pushes me further down.

“Daniel?”

Dev says. “Can you see it?”

“Shy, put your hands at your side,”

Rhys yells and I can see his hands rise, fingers splayed in a gesture I’ve seen his father perform many times.

I hear a squeak and manage to turn my head enough to see Rhys has thrown up a wall of thick vines and roots around Shy.

“It’s coming from the east. Some kind of sorcerer or witch,”

Daniel is saying. “Keep your heads down.”

I hear a roaring in the distance, but Neil hasn’t let up.

“It’s a chimera,”

Shy shouts from her cage of green and brown. “At least that’s what Clem says. Your Highness, it’s trying to kill the priest. But apparently it doesn’t know he’s a priest. He thinks the priest is the king.”

What? I’m very confused. But then another fireball hits and I hear a chuffing sound.

“What the fuck?”

I have never heard Sasha sound so human. This is a man who kept my children alive on a plane where dinosaurs still rule, but he’s disturbed by whatever is coming out of the woods.

“Let me see,”

I hiss at Neil.

He frowns down at me. “I’m not letting you see. You don’t want to see.”

He is so bossy when he’s working.

The hounds are freaking out now. Whatever is coming at us must have been cloaked in some crazy magic to fool their senses, but it’s on their radar now.

“Is that…is its tail a freaking snake?”

Brendan asks. “Sasha, watch out. It’s definitely a snake. Dad, to your left.”

Neil flips me over, rolling us close to Shy. That’s when baby boy takes over and I’m suddenly in a cage with his girlfriend.

I can hear what’s going on, but I can’t see much.

Neil gets to his feet and looks at me through the vines. “Stay there. You are pregnant, and you are not losing another baby to this place. Am I understood?”

Neil was the one who carried my bleeding body to the palace when I lost our first child.

“Fine.”

I nod and then wince because a fireball narrowly misses him.

“Rhys, shield my daughter so my son can try to take this thing’s throat out.”

Then Neil’s favorite jeans are toast, and I foresee some shopping in that wolf’s future. Neil’s wolf is arctic white, his eyes a crystal blue. He barks my way, and I still speak wolf. He’s telling me to stay put.

“Can you see anything?” Shy asks.

I can barely move. I’m going to have such a talk with my eldest child. Cages should have room. I try to move some of the vines, gaining a slit to see out of. “Danny is in the air. Damn. That was close. He dodged a fireball. I’ve never seen a chimera. Have you?”

“No, but Clem has,”

Shy replies. “Cassie’s going to be pissed. I can see her little cage thing and she’s trying to hack her way through it. They never try this shit with Evan. Not after she shot Rhys with an arrow. Your husband is a bad influence on my boyfriend.”

I can’t exactly argue with her. Dev and Danny have been known to be overly protective in the best of times. And now I’m pregnant with my tiny abomination, so they’ll go overboard. And good for Evan. I can say that because my fully Fae son is pretty indestructible.

I feel heat blast in my direction, but the vines don’t catch fire. As long as we’re here I have questions. “Who is Clem and does she know how to take out a chimera?”

A loud roar breaks through the forest and the ground kind of shakes.

“Did you know it could fly?”

I hear Dev yell.

“I was too busy trying to figure out which head to lop off,”

Sasha replies in a low growl. “Do I take the lion or the goat head?”

That’s easy. I would totally pick lion over goat. Goat doesn’t scare me much, though apparently my son did piss off the Icelandic goats. So there’s that.

“I think she’s a sprite.”

Shy manages to push back some of the vines separating us. I can see her face now. She glances downward. “Sorry. I didn’t know. She says she is a woodland Fae and sprites are whores. But she also says some weird stuff, Your Highness.”

She sighs. “I was not referring to her as the Queen of the Fae. She’s the Queen of All Vampire. Yes. I said vampire, though she’s also the high priest’s wife.”

“Zoey, please.”

I’m going to have to remind her because the idea of my son’s goddess calling me by a royal title doesn’t sit well. “And I would think almost every creature in the Seelie sithein would know who I am. We’ve done tours of all the districts over the years. She might not know me by sight, but she should know my name. I’m her high priest’s goddess.”

I can barely make out Shy’s head shaking. Rhys seems to have thrown up another wall, and I can’t see anything at all outside now. I never get to have any fun.

“That’s the thing, Zoey,”

Shy says. “I’m not sure this is the Seelie sithein.”

There’s a loud crash and Daniel yells for Dev to get out of the way. Then Dev yells for Rhys to duck and something else seems to explode. Cassie calls one of the men an asshole, and I hear a whole lot of growling and barking. “I promise you it is. I’ve been here many times. This is the place where Herne the Hunter bound me to a tree that might have exploded because he wanted to use me as bait to kill an ogre, but then he got horny and followed a baobhan sith home for some loving. Now she was a skanky bitch.”

Sasha rushes by our green cell cursing in Russian.

“Clem says there are no baobhan sith in this sithein and haven’t been for centuries. She’s surprised the chimera is here. What?”

Shy’s face disappears for a moment and then she’s back, her hands wrapping around the vines. “She said she thinks the rebels must have brought him over from the Unseelie sithein.”

Rebels? “Someone is rebelling against Miria?”

“Cassie!”

Neil must have taken human form again because he’s screaming his daughter’s name. “Don’t you dare try to ride that… Damn it…”

I turn, trying to get a look at Neil’s fierce daughter. And make the mistake of actually catching a glimpse of that thing. Creature. I try not to be too judgey. There are a lot of creatures who seem really scary who turn out to be super cool. This…I would bet this is not one of them. The massive beast has two heads—a roaring lion with a matted mane and a goat with nasty horns it’s currently using to try to headbutt my vampire husband.

Of course there’s also the tail, which could be considered a third head, maybe, since it’s a big old snake. Cassie has a machete in her hand. I would bet anything that sucker’s made of cold iron. Rhys and Dev seem to have shackled the chimera with various roots, but the lion/goat/snake is giving it a good go.

“Is Cassie okay?” Shy asks.

“Cassie is…oh shit. Cassie lopped off the tail, and the biting snake parts that went with it.”

I’ve got a good view now, and I will faithfully recount everything I see to my future daughter-in-law. “Oh, and now it’s super pissed. It’s strong. Its claws are able to cut through whatever Dev and Rhys are sending his way.”

“How do you know it’s not a her?” Shy asks.

I frown her way.

Her eyes widen. “Oh.”

Yeah, there’s big old dangly bits that tell me this is a masculine chimera, although I personally don’t know how he identifies. Chimeras could be very fluid. Probably are since they have to deal with all those various animal spirits.

I wince as Cassie manages to leap onto the chimera’s back just as he launches himself into the air. A big brown wolf jumps, trying to catch the chimera, but it’s too fast.

And Cassie is reckless as hell. She somehow manages to grab one of the goat horns and wrap her legs around the body before she shoves that machete into the beast’s side.

“Cassie’s going to get in so much trouble,”

I say, admiring my bestie’s daughter. From what Neil has told me, I know she was left behind because she couldn’t change. Or she couldn’t completely change. I note her fingers have claws.

“Daniel!”

Neil yells as the blood starts to flow.

“I’ll get her.”

Daniel takes off, and then they’re out of sight.

“I’m pretty sure Cassie killed the chimera, and Danny’s got to catch her because she did it midair.”

I have faith in my vampire hubby. He’s caught me many times.

The chimera’s body hits the pond and water splashes everywhere.

But no Cassie. She’s in Danny’s arms as he floats down.

Girl didn’t even drop her machete.

“Clem is upset. She hoped the chimera would take out the king.”

“Why would she want Danny dead?”

I ask, and the vines start to recede, and I can see again. I frown at my son. “You could ask, Rhys.”

He rushes over to Shy, not looking my way. “Why would I bother, Mother? I was going to do it one way or another. And don’t assume it was to protect you. It was to keep you from doing what Cassie did. You are extremely chaotic in battle. Shy, are you all right?”

Shy allows him to take her hand but holds her position. “Something is wrong.”

My son pales.

“Cassandra Elaine Thomas,”

Neil begins, and I have to admit he’s developed an excellent dad voice.

“Damn. I wanted to see what it tasted like,”

Brendan says, and then he catches the look in his sister’s eyes and holds his hands up. Naturally both he and Neil are totally without clothes, but hey, that’s the way the supernatural world goes sometimes. We’re not precious about our bodies. “Cassie, you heard what Dad said. He told Rhys to protect you. What was I supposed to do? Tackle him?”

Sasha, Danny, and Dev stand by the pond, looking out over the water.

“Should one of us go in and make sure it’s dead?”

Danny asks.

“It’s dead,”

Cassie assures them. “I killed it, and I would have carved out its heart except everyone freaks out when I do that.”

“I can bring the creature up from the pond if need be,”

Devinshea offers. “Though I’m not sure how it will help.”

“Well, I’d like to know why it attacked,”

Danny replies.

“I assume it was hungry and we look like excellent snacks.”

Sasha’s accent seems deeper when his adrenaline is up. He rubs a hand over his chest like something pains him there. Which it can’t because he’s a vamp.

“We don’t have chimeras in the sitheins.”

Dev glances back my way. “Are you and Shy all right, my goddess?”

I look at Rhys, who seems to be studying Shy to ensure not a hair on her head has been shifted out of place by the fight we’ve just gone through. Well, the men and Cassie did. I make note. I’m going to start carrying a machete. I’m glad Danny and Dev are through their “treat me like I’m made of glass”

phase. “I’m fine, though I didn’t appreciate the unwanted cage. I can take cover on my own.”

“So can I,”

Shy says quietly.

“Rhys, you have to know your mother is very capable,”

Daniel begins.

“Of causing chaos,”

Rhys replies, ignoring what Shy said.

“Hey.”

I should not have to take that from someone I breastfed for a year.

“Mother, the last time we were in a bad situation, you nearly brought a troll down on our heads. And you angered the entire village of Hidden Folk,”

Rhys accuses even as he gets close to Shy.

“And then you ascended and we got them as allies.”

My chaos can be helpful at times. It’s not all bad.

“You could have been killed.”

Neil grabs his backpack and pulls out his emergency sweats.

“But I wasn’t,”

Cassie replies, pointing her machete his way. “Dolores and I took care of it.”

Neil’s head shakes. “I should never have taken you to that musical about Kelsey. It put all kinds of thoughts in your head, and do you know how much it pains me to say anything bad about musical theater?”

“If he wasn’t from here, then where was he from?”

Daniel asks Dev. “Could the Unseelies have sent him? It wouldn’t be the first time.”

Dev’s head shakes. “No. That’s what I’m saying. That wasn’t a Fae creature. That was an old-school Earth plane monster that died out…thousands of years ago. Not to say a few couldn’t have hung around, but how did it find its way here?”

“You’re not even going to admit I did a good job?”

Cassie asks in a bratty teenage tone, but I don’t think she can help that. I’m pretty sure we all sound that way at her age.

“I think you were stellar, babe,”

I shout across the distance and give her a thumbs-up.

Cassie nods and seems to get a bit teary. “Well, thank you, Aunt Z.”

Neil’s got his pants on, pulling a T over his head. “I do not need your parental input. You got to skip the teenage years. You have no idea what it’s like to deal with an overly hormonal werewolf.”

I know he doesn’t mean it that way, but the words make me ache. I didn’t get the chance.

Cassie gasps. “Are you telling everyone I’m on my period?”

She starts arguing with her dad, but I notice the hounds have turned their attention to the south.

“Let’s get you someplace safe where you can rest,”

Rhys is saying to Shy.

“Why would I need to rest?”

Shy asks, some fire in her tone. “It’s not like I did anything but get stuck in an organic prison cell with your mom and a Fae ghost who really hates your dad.”

She looks down, frowning at a rock. “No, he’s not the king’s twin. And his dad is not the king.”

“My father certainly is the king,”

Rhys insists. “Shy, you know we have to hold the line against Myrddin. My father never gave up his crown. Myrddin is the pretender.”

“I think she’s talking to a ghost,”

I point out.

“Of course she is, but we still need to hold the line,”

Rhys insists.

Shy is caught in a deep conversation with the… Well, I want to say rock, but I know there’s some woodland Fae named Clem there. “Declan Quinn is very much alive, and I don’t know why that would matter since Miria is the queen of the…”

She stops and looks to the water and sighs. “Cassie, there’s this dead water nymph and she wants to thank you for murdering the chimera. She says now she has someone to play with.”

Cassie nods. “See. Even the dead water nymphs are on my side, Dad. You are being extremely patriarchal right now.”

I swear Neil’s head is going to explode.

Shy leads an odd existence. She’s back to arguing about Dev’s relatives, and that’s when I notice the hounds have moved. They were sniffing around, likely looking for more threats, but they seem to have found one.

“Hey, guys. Does anyone smell something?”

I point to the hounds who are growling now and have taken up a circular front around our party.

Danny and Sasha move in behind them.

Neil stops arguing with his daughter and moves in beside me. He points to a place beyond the trees. “There’s a party coming. I think all Fae from the smell.”

Brendan and Cassie are beside him, Brendan now in sweats and a Yankees T-shirt. We’re going to have to have a talk about that. We’re obviously a Rangers family.

Damn. They didn’t grow up in Dallas. Of course they aren’t fans.

I shove the grief aside as Dev joins us.

“Can you tell what kind of Fae are coming our way?” Dev asks.

“Oh, I can smell the arrogance from miles away. It’s all sidhe,”

Neil replies.

Daniel releases a long breath. “It’s the queen’s guard. I can see the flag.”

Dev nods and smiles. “Yes, that’s Mother’s standard.”

He frowns. “But the color’s wrong.”

“Zoey, I think something is very, very wrong here.”

Shy puts a hand on my arm, her eyes beseeching me. “I don’t think this is the right Fae world, and if what Clem is telling me is true, we could be in real trouble.”

The party of Fae crests the hill, and I can see them clearly now. Unfortunately for me I’m not six five like my faery prince. There are six guards, but I don’t recognize them. Has Miria turned her guard over or hired a new squad?

“There he is. The king is here,”

the sidhe at the head of the group says. “They were right.”

The horses pick up speed.

“King?”

Dev is wearing his “what the fuck’s going on”

expression. “They’re looking for Daniel? Why would they want Daniel?”

“No,”

Shy says, her tone going breathless. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. I think we took the wrong door. I think we landed in a Faery where you’re…”

Before she can get the last words out, the horses have reached us, though they stay back because the hounds are growling.

Still, they all dismount and fall to one knee.

“Your Majesty,”

the leader says, his head down. “Welcome back to your kingdom, King Devinshea. Long live the king.”