“It’s not the first time the draheim realm has been used for a fugitive to hide,” Disir pointed out. “Not only that, but at least two of the draheim worked with Volcan.”
Lucian thought back to Volcan, the high fae turned traitor, and how he had hidden in this very realm to keep from being found by the Romanian pack and its allies. Peri wasn’t a traitor. Why would she hide?
Lucian lifted his hand and pressed against the invisible veil. He snarled and jumped back when his hand was stung with unfamiliar power. He glared at Disir. “Why didn’t it zapyou?”
The high fae appeared as baffled as Lucian felt. “It always surprises me when other supernaturals think that we high fae know the answer to every question.”
“Gee, I wonder if that's because the high fae always act like the biggest know-it-alls on the planet. Hiding yourselves away in your realm as if you’re too good to join the rest of us trying to deal with the evil of the world?” Lucian clenched his smarting hand and glanced down when he opened it. There was a dark, charred spot in the middle of his palm.
“We should have gotten involved sooner,” Disir replied, surprising Lucian. “I can admit that it was wrong to expect the other supernaturals of the world to have to fight against enemies that, had they won, would have affected all of us.”
Lucian supposed he should have said thank you for the man’s admission, but his hand was burning, his mate was just out of his reach, and graciousness was not an emotion he was able to muster at the moment. “Can you get through?” He motioned to the veil.
Disir didn’t answer. Instead, he pushed his hand against the space between the trees, but his hand didn’t disappear through the veil. “Doesn’t appear so.”
Lucian cursed under his breath. He walked over to a tree and pressed his back against it, then slid down until he sat on the warm ground. The smell of the air filled his lungs, and Lucian was reminded again just how different this place was from the Dark Forest. The air in his former prison was not refreshing or cleansing. It seemed to fuel the darkness inside of him. Only hours ago, he had wanted to stay in that darkness forever. A split second could change everything. Instead of sitting in the Dark Forest hoping for his mate to return to him, he sat by the draheim veil and hoped for the same thing.
“You’re just going to sit there?” Disir asked.
Lucian’s wolf growled in his mind. “You got a better idea?”
Disir took a seat across from him, sighing and resting his head against the trunk of his own tree. “I feel like my answer should be yes, but honestly, the magic of the draheim is a mystery that few know the secret to. Getting into their realm is one of those mysteries.”
Lucian ran through ideas in his mind, dismissing each one until something finally piqued his wolf’s interest. “What about the djinn?” The race was even more elusive than the fae, though as of late they’d stepped out of their own realm and began to involve themselves in what was happening in the human world. And they were powerful.
Disir pulled his legs up until his feet rested on the ground and then draped his arms across them. His head tilted to the side as his eyes roamed around the forest. He seemed to be considering Lucian’s suggestion. After several minutes, the fae shrugged. “No harm in asking I guess. If anyone could help, it would more than likely be them.”
“You go,” Lucian said. “I’m staying here. My wolf isn’t going to let me leave this spot even if I wanted to. We’re too close to her. Closer than we’ve been in a long time.”
Disir nodded. Without a word, he flashed from the forest.
Lucian’s eyes moved from where the high fae had just been and then stopped on the spot between the trees. To a human, the trees would simply appear as if the foliage of the forest had grown into a unique bow of trees and vines. They’d probably stand beneath it and take their picture—a selfie, Lucian had learned it was called—and be completely oblivious to the fact that the spot was a gateway to a world filled with dragons.
His gaze bore into the space as if he would be able to see into the other side if he stared hard enough. Of course, he wasn’t able to. His jaw clenched, and Lucian tried to keep the tiny flame of hope burning inside of him. He thought it had been extinguished, but all it took was a second of feeling his mate’s power, and the spark reignited.
“Why?” he asked through clenched teeth. He could feel emotion closing his throat and his eyes glazing over with moisture. “Why won’t you come back to me? Why won’t you choose me?”
* * *
“He looks really sad,”Torion said.
Peri glanced down at the fae child and then back at Lucian who sat just on the other side of the veil to the draheim realm. She’d felt her mate the instant he’d arrived. It had been instinctual to go to him, but she’d stopped herself just in front of the veil, not crossing over into the human realm. The fae boy had been pulling on her robe at the same time she’d flashed, and so he’d traveled with her.
“Do you know him?”
Peri sighed. “Why do you ask so many questions, child?”
“Why do you refuse to call me by my name? I’ve told it to you like—"
“A hundred times.” Peri wasn’t exaggerating.
Torion huffed and stepped closer to the veil. “Do you knowhisname? And why can we see him but not hear him? Who was the other man? I mean, he’s obviously a fae, but I don’t know who he is. Do they work for the Order? Are they—”
“Do you want me to answer any of your questions, or do you plan to just keep going until I get so annoyed with you that I freeze your vocal cords?” Peri was only half-joking. Okay, so she wasn’t joking at all. She would totally freeze the runt's vocal cords.
“You haven't answered any of my questions yet. So, I figured it’s pointless to wait to see if you answer. Plus, if I keep going, you might get annoyed enough that you will finally answer one just to get me to shut up.” He turned to look up at her, a mischievous grin on his small face.
“You remind me of another annoying boy I know,” Peri told him and then looked back at Lucian. He sat motionless; his eyes locked onto the veil. She knew he couldn’t see her, but it still felt as if he was looking straight at her, peering into her soul.
