Page 52 of Wings of Snow
His affinity stroked me more, andBlessed Mother, I was growing aroused again. “Because if you hadn’t gone to Drachu, there is not only a chance that my father’s hunting fae would have found you, but you also could still be dealing with your affinities being suppressed. And you’re forgetting that your encounter with God Zorifel revealed a clue that could possibly be the most important piece of information we’ve found. God Zorifel revealed that the veil suppressing theoremisn’t of our universe.” My mate placed his hands on my hips, and it took visible effort not to become breathless. “As much as I hate that Drachu’s tethered you to him, a few good things did come from you fleeing to the Glassen Barrier Islands.”
“Like learning that we now have to deal with theotherrealm.” Nish sneered, getting a sigh from the prince.
“As much as I don’t want to interact with them either,” the crown prince said, “we have no choice, especially if my father has hired someone or manufactured something from thatotherrealm to kill theorem.”
Norivun’s aura clouded around me, and I nodded and licked my lips.
“Does this mean we’re going to theotherrealm?” Ryder’s expression turned shrewd.
The prince shrugged. “Unless we can find a way to avoid it while also getting answers.”
I shuddered at just the thought of leaving the fae lands. I could only ever remember encountering one portal that led to theotherrealm. A green shimmery outline of a billowy door was in the forest outside of Coolisbar. I’d seen it once on a trip my family and I had made to that village. It was a popular attraction in a way, but it had been otherworldly enough to make me not want to go anywhere near it.
A wall had been built around it, and the barrier was warded with magic. A fairy could still see the door through the ward, but nobody ever went inside the wall, and if anyone from thatotherrealm ever happened to stumble into our realm, they quickly found the wall and ward to be a tough barrier to cross. My guess was that normally if anyone had tried to venture to the Solis continent, they’d quickly reversed course and returned to wherever they’d come from.
Another shudder ran through me. To think that whoever Lord Crimsonale had overheard speaking with the king had perhaps gotten through one of the portal doors and crossed the warded barrier to work with the king with the intention to mess with ourorem...
That didn’t bode well for who we were up against. I thought again of the rotting smell I’d detected the night I’d nearly been attacked. I had no idea what kind of supernatural creature created that kind of stench, because if they came from theotherrealm, it was unlikely they were fae.
“How many natural portal doors are there on our continent that lead to theotherrealm?” I asked my mate.
Norivun placed his hands on his hips. “Six total. Two in Mervalee, one in Harrivee, two in Prinavee, and one in Osaravee. But the court has built walls around all of them with domed wards. Even though those portal doors were created by nature, we’ve never wantedothervisitors stumbling onto our land. We have an entire staff of fae with constructo affinities dedicated to ensuring those walls and wards never fail. Nobody has ever entered the Solis continent from one of those naturally occurring portal doors. I’m sure of it.”
“Could another one have formed?” I asked. “Perhaps one we don’t know about?”
“Doubtful.” Norivun tapped his chin. “The last time that happened was nearly eighty winters ago, and the rip in the realm it created produced enough energy for it to be felt hundreds of millees away.”
“Then how did whatever’s suppressing theoremget here?” Sandus asked as he stroked his beard. “If something is in our land that originates from thatotherrealm, then the king’s accomplice must have traveled from theotherrealm to deliver it. How else would their magic, or whatever it is that caused that veil, have arrived here otherwise?”
“Perhaps my father helped his accomplice enter,” Norivun replied.
I cocked my head. “Could your father have disassembled the wall and wards temporarily to allow someone entry?”
Norivun frowned. “Unlikely. It would have had to be a different way. Too many fae would have been aware of that to keep it quiet.”
My lips parted as I remembered something else from my near attack in the castle. “I think I know how someone could have come to our continent undetected. Remember how it seemed as though he disappeared from the realm, right before he was going to attack me following that date with Lord Waterline? Well, what if he used a portal key, like the one Drachu used? What if those portal keys allow one to transfer between realms? Drachu did say they were created in theotherrealm, so it seems possible creatures from theotherrealm use them regularly.”
“You’re probably right, and that would explain how he got away from me,” Norivun said. “It also explains why he disappeared without a trace since those keys work like mistphasing.” A vibration of his anger strummed to me on the mate bond. I looked up at my mate, expecting to see a scowl, but his face was blank.
I smiled smugly.
“What?” he said.
“I’m afraid your blank expressions are no longer indecipherable to me.”
A sly smile tugged at his lips. “Are you saying you can tell what I’m thinking now?”
“Not quite, but I can certainlyfeelit, and the fury you feel over someone entering our continent to cause us harm is quite potent.”
Nish threw back his head and laughed. “Oh, how I wish Prince Nuwin was here right now. He would get the biggest kick out of knowing that you’ve finally met your match.”
Norivun arched an eyebrow. “I suppose it’s a good thing I no longer feel the need to hide how I feel from her then.”
A huge rush of lust shot through the bond, hitting me so suddenly that my entire body heated, and my core throbbed.Mother Below!
I gasped. “Is that how much you—” But then I realized we had an audience. All four of the prince’s guards were watching us raptly.
An answering stroke of air slid from the prince to me. “Yes, Princess,” he said on a low growl. “That’s how much I want you.”