“What is it?” Lex whispered.
“Someone is entering my home through a portal. Father!” she yelled. And then Em was running toward the fireplace, where she reached for a sword that crisscrossed another above the massive mantel.
That was when all hell broke loose.
People wearing thick black winter coats and combat boots tumbled through the portal at the same time an older-looking couple ran into the room along with several servants.
The older woman wore a court dress, minus the flimsy material Garrin’s harem sported, and leapt onto the arm of a settee. She bounced off the seat cushion and grabbed the second sword above the mantel in midair. She landed beside Em in a matching sword stance.
The older man who had entered the room casually set a snifter of what looked to be brandy on a tray one of the servants held and pulled out a dagger with a ruby hilt.
Holy hell. Shit was about to go down.
And then Lex got a good look at the soldiers in black who’d tumbled through the portal. “Jas?”
25
Jas scowled at Em and her parents, who looked ready to slice him up. “Get out of the way, Lex!”
“For the love of God, Jasper, my friend Em ishelpingme.” Lex looked past him to the group of men and women he was with. “How in the world did you get here?” And then Lex remembered the shimmer she’d seen before they arrived. “You came through a portal?”
Em’s mother raised her sword. “Anillegalportal. State your business or prepare to die.”
Em relaxed her stance. “Mother, my friend Lex knows these people. Let’s hear them out.”
“Who in the devil is Lex?” Em’s mother asked.
A younger woman with a mass of wavy reddish-brown hair stepped forward. “I’m Elena Rosales, queen of New Kingdom. This is Derek O’Brien and Reese Fisher. The tall soldier over there is Keen, ruler of Old Kingdom.” She gestured to the black-haired woman with bright blue eyes. “Camille is a portal creator. She helped us travel from New Kingdom.”
Em’s mother looked Elena up and down. “Queen? Who is your mother?”
“Theodora Joelle Rainer. You can tack on Rosales to that, since she married my father and took on his name as well.”
Em’s mother made a harsh sound in the back of her throat. “Last I heard, the princess was imprisoned for bearing a half-breed.”
Elena’s shoulders straightened. “This half-breed stopped treasonous Fae from taking over Tirnan. A battle in which my mother lost her life.”
Em’s mother rested the tip of her sword on the tufted rug. “That is news indeed. I am sorry for your loss, but are you saying a Halven now rules New Kingdom? Powerful or not, that is too much to be believed.”
“You don’t need to believe it. We’re not here to start a war. We came to assess the Dark Fae threat to our lands and to rescue Lexandra Meinrad.”
Jasper’s green eyes flashed with anger. “I should have slaughtered that bastard inside the cave when I had the chance.”
Lex rubbed her forehead. How was she going to explain Garrin to Jas? “Garrin took me, but he’s not the enemy.”
“Garrin…theDark Prince?” Jas asked. “We’re getting you out of here, Lex.Now.” Jasper surged toward Lex, but Em and her parents blocked him. They returned to their fighting stances, along with the servants, who’d pulled out their own hidden rapiers and daggers.
Elena held up her hands as though they were armed. Which was scarier than the household’s weapons collection. If Elena had fought a Fae army and taken back a kingdom, Lex didn’t want to know what kind of magic she possessed.
“Whoa,” Lex said. “We’re all friends here.” She smiled shakily.
“Dark Fae are not friends with those from New Kingdom and Old Kingdom.” Em’s father’s tone was ominous for a guy who’d remained silent until now.
Em turned to her father. “Dark Castle guards tracked us before we arrived, and Lex says they took the prince by force. We lost them along the way, but it won’t be long before they find us. We were about to leave when the portal opened.”
Em’s mother pouted. “Without even a hello?”
Her father rubbed his chin. “What does Casone want with the young woman?”
