Page 57 of A Fate of Wings
A vision. Did I dare trust her visions? What if she had seen me destroy the sirens? What if my being in the cell was the best thing?
“Do you realize how many places I’ll have to look that have a seaside village? Earth has more sea than land.”
“You’ll find her.” Shadows from the torches danced over her face and body, seeming to pull her into them.
I took a step closer. “You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
I didn’t trust her. She’d knocked me out. Helped put me in a cell. If she experienced a vision of Thea’s location, without doubt, she saw more. She could give me more to find my mate.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
She lifted her hands from under her robe. An inky mix of black and gray swirled around her form, making shadows where there were none moments before. Her body wavered in the darkening light as though the shadows consumed her and became one with the witch.
“Saltine,” I hissed.
Her body disappeared from my sight, but the faint scent of sage hung in the damp air, and then her voice whispered from the darkness, “One word will set her free.”
“Free from what?” I roared.
But Saltine vanished. I tore through the hallways of the dungeon up the stairs and halted in the center of the colosseum. The golden sun of the Autumn Court blinded my eyes, but I’d already created a portal. Earth was my destination. My mate’s life depended on me finding her. Her freedom, too, by the sounds of Saltine’s words. Thea would have it all back once I found her. I’d give it back to her even if I needed to kill her sister and whoever else had taken Thea’s life away from her. Thea’s queendom, her crown, her title, and her revenge against her sister would be ours.
The Winter Court
Days had turned into months of searching. I grew desperate. Despondent. How hard was it to find one person on Earth? Rumors abounded through the humans, the fae, and other creatures that the siren queen was on Earth, causing an uproar. She was attempting to take over Earth from the fae guardians. Humans loved the fae with their powers over nature. They helped them produce a sustainable living from the land. What could the false siren queen want with Earth? To enslave all menwith siren voices. Then what? It made little sense. I suspected her presence on Earth was more about the imposter searching for Thea now I’d escaped. She’d have to realize if I found Thea, then her reign would be over. There was no way Melanie would give up the crown now she’d had a taste of controlling power. Which meant Thea’s life was in jeopardy every moment I spent searching for her and not finding her.
In every village I scoured, fear emanated from the humans. Sirens were ruthless when they wanted to be, and Melanie was a heartless sister. Those traits added up to a dreadful leader. If, no,when, I returned Thea to her kingdom and crown, what would Melanie have left her to rule?
Flaring my large, leathery wings wide, I created a portal and flew into the Winter Court. Guards yelled as I swooped through the icy air, snow falling onto my exposed limbs making me miss the coolness of home. I landed on the castle balcony, snapping my wings back into my torso, and readied myself for the guards with their swords drawn to defend against the threat. Me. Was I absent from the Winter Court so long that they failed to recognize who I was? My brother rushed from his room clad in only a silk black robe, throwing open the doors and stepping onto the ice-covered balcony where I’d landed. I suppose it was understandable the guards would be more on edge with me landing this close to the king, but damn it, I was the demon prince. His brother.
“Hold,” my brother bellowed so loud the ice on the balcony and sides of the castle cracked as though a massive earthquake had ruptured the foundations of our lands.
The guards at once lowered their lethal swords, but they stood at attention, leather combat outfits creaking with the motions as they remained ready to defend their king at a moment’s notice.
“Where the hell have you been?” my brother groused, tugging his robe around his waist and cinching the belt.
I didn’t miss the fact he was naked underneath. Sorry to see. Obviously, I’d interrupted his man whoring. Glad one of us was enjoying ourselves.
“One.” I held up a finger. “In a cell.”
“Are you kidding?” His obsidian eyes sparked with red gold flecks.
“Two.” I held up another finger. “On Earth seeking to find my mate.”
“Brother. Start from the beginning,” he ground out while tapping his fingers to his thumbs in a rhythmic cadence that told me his rage was building and he was stopping it from blowing up in both our faces.
I sighed. He was the one who’d helped me get my rage under control. If he lost himself because of me, then I was the worst brother ever. I told him all that had happened, and by the end, he looked ready to murder the entire siren population. His fingers tapped faster than I’d ever seen. I couldn’t have him murder my mates’ people, even if it would satisfy both our rages. Thea would have my balls if I let anything happen to the sirens.
“I need a locator spell,” I finished. Even though I was loath to pay a witch for help after Saltine’s hand in all that had happened to Thea.
“I’m uncertain one would work,” he said in his big brother-knows-the-best voice. “We have nothing of hers to make a spell with and I will not risk you returning to the Autumn Court.”
I cursed the logic he possessed. His small smile of supremacy made me want to grab him in a headlock and hug him at the same time.
“Come inside.” He nodded at the door, and the heavy, gray curtains billowing in the icy breeze.
We moved inside to his bedroom. Whoever he’d invited to his bed had disappeared, but the rumpled burgundy silk sheets showed my assumption was right.