He grabbed her hand. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes.” But she didn’t trust his father. How could Garrin trust the king after what he’d done? And she couldn’t even voice her concerns because the king was listening to everything.
Garrin nodded, but this time, he looked over Lex’s shoulder as he did.
“The others will remain here, portal creator,” the king said as he approached. “Only Garrin, his bride, and I will return.”
Four of the king’s soldiers moved in to surround Garrin and Lex, but Amund was quicker.
One moment Lex and Garrin were standing side by side, and the next, they were tumbling through a portal Lex hadn’t seen coming. Because it had been formed beneath her feet.
* * *
Amund created a portal,just as the king ordered. Only the king wasn’t in it.
Lex screamed as she tumbled ass over teakettle. She wouldn’t have expected a smooth landing after such a rough start, but she sure hadn’t expected their mode of transportation to disappear entirely.
One minute she was careening through colorful lights, and the next, the lights were gone, and land came crashing toward her.
Lex huddled, enacting the tuck-and-roll maneuver Em had taught her during battle practice. It might have worked under normal conditions, but not from twenty feet above ground.
Lex landed hard, rolling through powder and ice until she came to an abrupt stop.
She coughed, the wind knocked out of her, and lifted her head. “Garrin?” All she could see were white mountains, no castle or village.
It was probably too much to ask to be back in the village. She was lucky to not be under the king’s control.
Lex eased onto her knees and stood shakily, hopping on one leg and gripping her wrist and the coat she’s somehow managed to hold on to. She’d sprained her left ankle and possibly broken her arm. As a human, that would have been crippling. But in Tirnan, healing came as quickly as the pain.
She looked behind her and caught sight of Garrin several feet away with blood on his face.
She jerked on the coat and hobbled over, falling to her knees beside Garrin and desperately touching his face. “Are you okay?”
He blinked and grabbed her hand, then he sat up. “Fine.”
“You’re bleeding.”
He lifted his fingers to his temple, the tips coming away red. “Landed wrong. Where’s Amund?”
“Over here,” came a voice. Only it wasn’t masculine.
They looked up to find the queen dressed in a green velvet gown trimmed in gold embroidery, her long, wavy, light brown hair swept over one shoulder.
“Mother?” The alchemists who’d taken Garrin at the castle stood beside her. “What have you done?” Garrin asked, and climbed to his feet.
The alchemists weren’t the only ones protecting the queen. Large four-legged animals flanked her and the alchemists, their downy white fur blending eerily with the land.
Lex didn’t have memories of these animals. Their snouts were bearlike, their bodies like a large wolf’s. And their eyes were a bright gold. They were terrifying, with fangs and low, menacing growls.
“Djune,” Garrin said quietly. “They aren’t good for meat or work, but they are strong. And vicious. They must be enthralled by my mother, or she would be in pieces right now.”
“You are correct,” the queen said. “Though if we are being specific, these djune are in thrall to my friends here. Under my command, of course.” The queen tilted her head. “You didn’t think it was your father who’d had you questioned?” She laughed. “I had to know what my child was up to. And what my husband wanted with the female.” She looked Lex over and turned her nose down.
“Why?” Garrin asked.
The queen’s eyes widened. “Don’t look so surprised. You and your father aren’t the only Fae who desire power. Your father has held on to it for longer than most. He’s rather old, you know.”
The queen moved closer, and both alchemists and djune kept pace. “It was a great bother trying to find you and your little woman.” She glanced in the not-too-far distance, and her nose scrunched. “Why in the world would you go to the graves?”
