Page 6 of The Warlock's Trial
We turned to see two figures climbing the hill. They wore large backpacks and were covered in mud from head to toe.
“Talia! Grant!” Nadine cried. She rushed over to them and threw her arms around them, not caring about the mud. “Thank the Goddess you’re okay.”
Grant blew a breath. “No kidding. We were nearly ambushed, but we managed to slip into the trees until the battle was over. The fae king attempted to take the city of Pruska, which you can see over there, because the rival queen captured it for herself. He ended up losing, though, and it’s pretty clear his forces were demolished.”
He sounded really winded, and Talia hadn’t said a thing. They were both in pretty rough shape. They must’ve been on their feet for days.
“Are you alone?” I asked. “Where’s your contact? Don’t tell me he led you into this battle on purpose!”
“No,” Talia promised. “Oakley never showed up. He was a member of the king’s army, and…”
Grant dropped his gaze. “He fought in the battle. He didn’t make it.”
My stomach clenched. “He was supposed to show us the way into the Abyss! We don’t have time to scour Malovia for entrances. We’ll never find an opening on our own.”
Grant scowled. “I’m sorry our friend was too preoccupied with dying to show us the way to hell!”
My shoulders fell. “I’m sorry, Grant. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“We’ve been gone for three months,” Grant reminded me. “Forgive us for making friends while we were away. You might not trust the fae, but Oakley was one of the good ones. He was fighting with the king’s army to end persecution of dark magic wielders in Malovia. He sympathized with us and really wanted to help. I just… can’t believe he’s gone.”
The hill went quiet for a few beats, before Nadine broke the silence. “If the king’s army is sympathetic to dark magic users, then maybe we can go straight to the king himself.”
Talia scoffed. “There’s the kicker. You’ll never believe who’s on the throne. Remember those fae you helped last year, the one who needed Hattie to help them out with a demon problem? You said their names were Ethan and Emma.”
I nodded. “Yeah, that’s them.”
“Ethan’s the king now,” Talia said. “Emma’s his queen.”
Excitement rushed through me. “This is great!” I cried. “They owe us a debt for helping them. We can go to them and?—”
Grant held up a hand. “Not so fast. We’ve tried to get in contact with the king and queen, but we can’t touch them. Even Oakley couldn’t get a message. They’re guarded more than ever, with the state of the Malovian Revolution. And I don’t blame them.”
Grant gestured out over the remnants of the battlefield.
Movement caught my eye in the camp below. A man and a woman stepped out of a tent, surrounded by uniformed men. Whoever they were, they looked important. The woman turned, and her red hair flowed around her. It hit me then that I recognized her.
“That’s Ethan and Emma!” I realized. “We can talk to them!”
I was already on the move, but Grant grabbed my arm. “Lucas, we can’t. Look at their security detail.”
“Emma will recognize us,” I insisted. “We helped save her mate.”
“Emma and Ethan will want to help us, but the rest of those soldiers will kill us on sight for being witches,” Grant pointed out. “You can’t just waltz up to royalty and expect a meeting. We’ll never get close enough before their guards kill us first. They just lost a battle. They’re not going to ask questions.”
Fuck, he was right. We were so close, but they were untouchable.
“All right,” I said reluctantly. “Let’s get moving.”
My friends and I hurried into the trees, where we couldn’t be seen, and Nadine helped me form a portal strong enough to hold against Malovia’s wards. Shouts came through the portal, and we hurried through as quickly as we could.
The shouting stopped abruptly as the portal slammed shut behind us. “Thank the goddess!” Helena cried.
“We’re fine,” Nadine assured her. “Grant and Talia… are alive.”
Talia shivered a little. “We’re just glad to be back.”
“What happened to you?” Verla demanded, eyeing their dirty clothes.