The other kelpies watched us curiously when we walked out of the lake. For the first time since coming to Faerie, I wished I had a camera. No one back home would ever believe me when I told them I’d seen a whole herd of the creatures.
I picked up my coat to tuck the ke’tain away in the pocket, and I was overcome with euphoria. I did it. The ke’tain had been restored, and now Faerie could heal itself.
Throwing up my arms, I let out a whoop and laughed when some of the kelpies snorted and neighed in response. They were probably snickering at the crazy female dancing in her underwear, but I didn’t care.
I waited a few minutes for the sun to dry my skin before I got dressed. My hair was still damp when I braided it again. It would dry by the time I got back to the temple.
The kelpie foal walked up to me when I was fully dressed. I stroked his nose, and he sniffed my face.
“I guess this is goodbye. Thank you for helping me.” I gave him one last pat and turned to walk back to the crevice in the rock. I stopped when I saw the white building, torn between my desire to see inside and my pressing need to return the ke’tain to the temple. Need won, and I entered the crevice, leaving the valley behind.
Ten minutes later, I silently descended the stairs into the main room of the temple. My eyes and ears were alert for any movement from the guards as I crossed the room and passed through the wards around the altar. Standing behind it, I took a few slow breaths to calm my nerves. This didn’t get any less nerve-racking no matter how often I did it. Thank God this was the last time.
Casting another glance at the guards, I pushed out the illusion surrounding me to blanket the altar. This was my least favorite part, and I never forgot how close I’d come to getting caught the first time I’d done it.
I took the ke’tain from my pocket. It shocked me again, but I was ready for it. I reached out and deftly switched it with the fake one on the altar.
Noises came from the antechamber above. I froze as two blond males appeared in the entrance and started down the stairs. One I’d never seen before. The other male I didn’t know by name, but I’d recognize him anywhere. He was one of Queen Anwyn’s personal guards.
My heart began to pound. What was he doing here? He should be with the queen in Unseelie.
I withdrew my shaking hand and pressed it to my chest as the two males approached the altar and stopped outside the wards. My eyes were fixed on the queen’s guard, so I didn’t miss the way his gaze moved over the altar and the space around it. To the guards behind him, his stance was relaxed, but they didn’t see the calculating gleam in his eyes when he studied the ke’tain. He was up to something.
Surely, Queen Anwyn wouldn’t attempt to steal the ke’tain again. If the barrier failed, Seelie would be destroyed along with the rest of Faerie.
I glanced toward the two Seelie guards on duty. One look at their faces told me they were as surprised as I was to see the queen’s guard here.
My gaze slid to the other newcomer, who was looking reverently at the fake ke’tain without a hint of suspicious behavior. Maybe he and the queen’s guard weren’t together, and they had merely arrived at the same time.
Maybe I was so on edge I was making something out of nothing. Tennin had told me once that it would take four or five strong court faeries to get past the ward that protected the ke’tain. And that was before more powerful wards had been added after the ke’tain was returned. I was able to pass through them only because of my goddess stone.
The queen’s guard lifted his eyes from the altar and looked straight at the spot where I stood. His mouth barely moved when he said, “Well?”
I tensed. Was he talking to me?
“It will work,” the other male murmured quietly. “It has to be an older one and the hide must be fresh. The scales will fall off after a day, and it will lose its magic.”
Hide? Scales? Bile rose in my throat. Drakkans were impervious to wards. Gus was able to come and go through the powerful ward Lukas had put on my apartment, and he’d only been a young drakkan.
What if someone managed to kill an older drakkan, wrapped themselves in the hide, and were able to walk right past the wards? They’d have to knock out the guards first, but then the ke’tain would be theirs for the taking.
One of the Unseelie guards on duty shifted restlessly, his watchful eyes trained on the two visitors, who had been standing in front of the altar a little too long. The queen’s guard smiled, and the sight made my stomach lurch. He turned away from the altar and ascended the stairs as if he hadn’t a care. Ten seconds later, his co-conspirator followed him.
I looked down at the ke’tain and pressed my lips together. I was not going to give Queen Anwyn another chance to destroy everything I loved.
I needed to warn the king about what she was up to, and I had to do it without revealing how I’d come by this information. I’d worry about that part later. First, I had to take the ke’tain and hide it somewhere safe – like that hidden cave in the mountains. It was a long trip, but no one would ever find it there.
I extended the hand that held the replica, and I had to pull it back because it was shaking. I took a few deep, calming breaths. Get it together, Jesse.
My hand was steady when I tried again, but I was distracted by what had happened, and I forgot to brace myself for the jolt when I touched the ke’tain. Hot needles of pain shot from my fingertips to my shoulder, and I barely managed to bite back a cry.
For a second, I lost all feeling in my hand, long enough for the ke’tain to slip from my grip. It landed in its spot on the altar with a soft thump that might as well have been a gunshot in the tomblike room.
The four guards came to life and rushed toward the altar. I barely breathed as the Unseelie guards scanned one side of the altar, and the Seelie guards checked the other side.
“Do you see anything?” one of the Unseelie guards asked.
“No,” replied a Seelie guard. “You all heard the noise?”
The second Unseelie guard craned his neck, trying to peer around the altar. “Yes, but I can see nothing out of place.”
“I do not like this.” The first Unseelie guard looked at the two from Seelie. He was the same guard I’d seen watching the visitors like a hawk, and he did not try to hide his suspicion. “I am going to send for Korrigan.”
My body went cold, and sweat broke out on my upper lip. If Korrigan came, so would Bauchan, the queen’s head of security. More guards would accompany them, and I’d be trapped here. The glamour made me invisible, but they could still touch me. If they took down the wards to investigate, I was done for.
“Then I will send for Bauchan,” said one of the Seelie guards, who looked anything but happy about it. He followed the Unseelie guard who had already started up the stairs.
I looked at the ke’tain as indecision flooded me. If I left it here, I risked Queen Anwyn getting her hands on it. If I tried to take it, I risked getting caught.
I bit the inside of my cheek. The chances of the queen’s men managing to hunt and kill an adult drakkan by tomorrow were slim. But the odds of me being imprisoned if I was caught were much higher. If that happened, I wouldn’t be able to protect the ke’tain from the queen.
Resigned, I quietly returned the fake ke’tain to my pocket. I kept a close eye on the two remaining guards, who stood facing the altar, as I crept around it. I had to hug the wall to sneak past the Unseelie guard, and I was afraid to breathe until I was halfway up the stairs. In the antechamber, I paused to listen for the presence of others. I released a shaky breath. That had been too close.