Page 49 of His Darkest Desire
His woods were quiet. Unnaturally so.
And Kinsley was back at the cottage. Shade could watch over her but couldn’t protect her. If she were harmed, if she were killed, Vex would…
He clenched his jaw. For untold years, he’d carried only anger and grief. These new emotions Kinsley was awakening in him—
Distractions. At that moment, they were naught but distractions from the task at hand. The cottage was warded. So long as Kinsley obeyed him and remained inside, she would be safe.
“Here, magus,” said Echo as the wisps arrived at the wreckage of Kinsley’s car, which was already covered in fresh moss and vines.
“You spied the beast here?” Vex moved into the shade of the tree the car had stricken. There was a faint scent on the air—an earthy musk, a lightning-like tang of magic, and a hint of sickly-sweet decay.
“Signs only,” replied Flare, floating to the rear of the vehicle. Their glow fell upon a portion of the silver metal that had been crumpled and gouged as if by claws.
Echo sank toward a small depression on the ground, gesturing down.
With a wave of his hand, Vex cleared away the detritus beneath the wisp, revealing a print in the soft dirt. He crouched to study it. Larger than his hand, it possessed a too-familiar form. Three thick, taloned digits to one side and two more, like a pair of thumbs, to the other.
It was confirmation of what the wisps had suspected.
“Barghest,” Vex growled. “A large one at that. Likely female.”
“Two breaches in a matter of days,” whispered Echo. “It is unprecedented.”
Frowning, Vex glanced at the damage on the rear of the car. “The first was…”
Fate.
“It was happenstance,” Vex continued, and the lie was like ash upon his tongue. “A fae-touched mortal finding herself on the precipice of death at the border of my realm…a once in an eternity occurrence that shredded the veil between worlds.”
Flare flew closer, joining Echo. “And the barghest?”
“The beasts are drawn to magic and death. Both were present here that night.”
“Her blood must be potent to have lured such a creature,” said Flare.
“It is,” Vex said. “She is the descendant of a seelie realmswalker. With the veil weakened by her crossing, it is no surprise a barghest would be lured by her power.”
After bringing her belongings to the bedroom last night, he’d gone directly to his laboratory. He’d needed to know. Had needed to unravel the mysteries of her power.
He’d needed to know if her blood would enable him to cross the veil.
His questions had been answered. And those answers had come with despair, with dashed hopes, and with newfound resolve. There truly was but one way to escape the curse.
Vex rose, looking in the direction the barghest had traveled. The trail was apparent now—broken branches, disturbed undergrowth, patches of moss scraped off bark and stone, and scattered tracks in what scant bare dirt was visible.
“None of these signs were evident last night,” he said.
Flare’s ghostfire brightened. “They lead toward the nearest ley line, magus.”
Vex clenched his fists, barely feeling the sting of his claws against his palms. “I’ll not suffer an infestation.”
The wisps hurried to follow as Vex stalked along the barghest’s trail. A molten mass roiled within his chest, radiating heat and tension.
His realm would survive an invasion by barghests. His home would survive. But his Kinsley…
For all their ethereal beauty, most seelie fae were hardy beings. Few things could cause them illness. Barghests were amongst those things—their venom was severe enough that it had been known to kill lesser fae, and their claws carried similar poison, oft inflicting foul, festering wounds that healed with torturous slowness.
Even many unseelie were laid low by such injuries, though they were far less likely to perish due to the venom.