There were a few of us who knew exactly who that blue-haired fairy was, and as I looked at their faces I saw the same fury and guilt I felt.
“That was Princess Sage.” Tegan sniffled and spun around. “Of the Seelie Court.”
“So what? Do we go back into those godforsaken tunnels and burn it down?” Emersyn growled and fire burst from her fingertips. “I did it once. I’ll do it again.”
“The tunnels?” Royce shrieked. “Last time we almost died in those.”
“How the hell else do we get them back then?” Cooper snapped.
Deacon cursed. “They’ll want something from us, just like last time.”
“Not the tunnels.”
We all jumped at the sound of Saffie’s voice. She was still curled up in Savannah’s lap with tears pouring from her eyes. She seemed to be staring at nothing at all. I glanced to Tegan and found her glaring at the ground.
“What do you mean not the tunnels?” Cooper asked through clenched teeth.
I held my breath. I knew the answer we were about to get.
Saffie sat up and rage burned in her eyes. “She took them to Seelie.”
Hunter’s face paled. “Do you mean…”
“The Seelie Realm itself,” her voice was a whispered growl. “A place The Coven has never been and should never go.”
Braison looked up with wide, panicked eyes. “But we’re going, right? RIGHT?”
I turned to Tegan. “Whatever we have to do.”
She closed her eyes and squeezed her temples. “I can’t think in here. It’s too quiet and stuffy. I need to go outside—” she vanished into thin air.
Everyone gasped.
But I felt her nearby still. A second later she materialized in the backyard.
Saffie jumped up and flew out the door before I could even point out she was there.
“Come on, let’s go outside.” I started for the door, waving for them to follow.
The backyard was a slap in the face. Everything from the party was still set up and ready to be used. For that short time life had been calm and peaceful. We’d relaxed and let our guards down…and four stupid children ruined it.
Not that I didn’t understand Aspen’s motives, but I wished she’d just come to us.
Paulina would have called on Libby for her.
Saffie would have done it too.
Hell, Tegan would have found a way to try.
We were so caught up in the shadow demon, I couldn’t help but wonder if we’d missed some important sign that this was coming. Stop it. That’s useless now and dangerous territory. We just had to focus on getting them back. All of them. Not just Bentley, Riah, and Paulina, but Amelia and Landy — shit. Landy.
I have to call Koth.
“Haven?”
I jumped at the deep gruff of my uncle’s voice. “Yeah?”
“What are you thinking?” Uncle Tim asked with one arched eyebrow. He pointed my left. “Because you just destroyed the movie screen.”
I frowned and followed his finger…and cursed. The screen we’d set up was in tatters. It hadn’t been a moment ago. “I just remembered I have to call Koth and tell him his little cousin was taken.”
Deacon’s violet eyes widened. “OH, F—”
“Exactly.” I reached up and found the thin piece of leather braided into my hair from that first trip to Issale. I squeezed it and then waited.
My phone rang instantly.
I knew who it was going to be, but when I saw his name my stomach tightened into knots. I answered it. “We need to talk.”
“Landy?” He growled, and I swore I felt fire against my face.
“Yes.”
The line went dead.
Silence.
No one spoke or even breathed.
“Um, is he as mean as Gigi says he is?” Savannah asked in a small voice. “She says he’s scary as hell.”
Tegan scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Well those are two very different things.”
Savannah pursed her lips. “Touché.”
“The answer is no,” Deacon said softly. He moved to stand at my side. “He’s not mean at all. Scary, yes, but no worse than these two here.”
“He’s very protective of Landy.” Emersyn hurried over to us. “And prepare yourself for a furious Maddox to be with him.”
I frowned. “Maddox? That’s Landy’s brother?”
They nodded.
I cursed. I remembered that hot head. Dude had serious protectiveness problems. I got the notion he wanted to lock her in a gilded cage. “Fantastic. Listen, everyone come behind me. I don’t want them feeling surrounded. And let me do all the talking.”
Chutney ran to stand between me and Tegan. When we both looked down, she shrugged. “Whatever. You know you want me here.”
I smiled and started to speak when the air turned hotter than a Florida summer in August. I felt the heat of their energy from a mile away. And I knew he wasn’t alone.
“Koth, Silas, and Maddox are coming,” Chutney said softly. “Maddox is pissed. Koth is so far just worried.”
“And Silas?”
Chutney smirked. “Annoyed, but that’s normal.”
The air pulsed…and then a twenty-two-foot black dragon slammed into the yard in front of us. Koth. The ground rumbled under our feet. A light gray dragon that looked like stone landed beside him, standing only a few inches shorter. Silas. The third dragon was half Koth’s size and a deep navy blue, but he cracked the ground when he landed. Ah, Maddox.
“Get to it. They’re imagining the worst,” Chutney whispered in a rush.
The worst? I knew she meant death, but honestly, this was a close, close second. I took a step forward and massive violet eyes snapped up. I swallowed a rush of nerves. It wasn’t that I was afraid of them, but I knew Landy had been in my care, My protection, and I’d failed her. I failed them. And that was never something a person wanted to say.
I held my hands up. “There’s no danger. She’s alive. But we need to have a conversation.”
Saffie? Tegan whispered in our minds. Landy IS alive still, right?
I glanced back at her and she nodded. I sighed. Probably should have confirmed that before I said it.
Light flashed around him…and then Koth stood before us in his human form. Despite the fact I was now six-foot-five, he still towered over me. His hair was longer than before and windblown. He was shirtless as usual, wearing only dark jeans and dark boots. He walked up and stopped a few feet in front of me, then nodded his head. “Emperor.”
I bowed my head. “King.”
Koth’s violet gaze swept over my crew behind me and a deep growl rumbled in his chest. He glanced over his shoulder to Maddox and snarled, “I said shift.”
The navy-blue dragon huffed but then light flashed and swirled around him. It took a few seconds longer than it did for Koth, but soon a sixteen-year-old boy with fury pouring out of his light blue eyes stood behind his king.
Koth turned back to me. “If it’s all right with you, I’d like Silas to remain in dragon form so we know if we’re needed back home.”
“Of course.”
Koth balled his hands into fists. “Shit, just tell me. What’s going on here, Tennessee?”