Two beings that were the key to my existence.
With rage driving me faster, we reached the edge of the Silver Lands in a heartbeat, and I called on the stones embedded in the sky. I had enough of my own energy to power our journey to the Capital myself, but it was best to save it, in case it was needed to destroy whoever did this.
When the power of the reven stones wrapped around us, I felt Tyrin join me in my rage. He didn’t ask what happened—he didn’t have to. After a thousand years of friendship, he knew exactly what I battled, and like a true brother stood silently at my back.
We’d been through so much, and no matter what happened, he would fight by my side. Tyrin would have fit in well with my other brothers in the library, but he was tied to this world and had no plans to leave.
A concept I understood, even if I didn’t feel the same way.
As the Capital came into sight, I slammed onto the main platform with a crash. So much energy rode along with me that I made more of an entrance than usual with Samantha and Tabitha floating in on either side.
Tyrin landed a second later, and behind him the rest of the Silver Land’s warriors. General Terese moved to my side, none of her usual humor visible. She wore the face of a warrior. The others fanned out around us in a show of strength and support. Most of them probably had no idea what had happened, but they were loyal to a fault, and if needed would be there to fight and protect.
When we reached the door to Parliament House, the stones reacted to Samantha and Tabitha, blocking them from entrance, which I overruled with a flick of my hand.
There were gasps from some of the other royal houses who’d witnessed my act, but I didn’t turn to acknowledge them. It wasn’t general knowledge that I had power beyond most fae, thanks in part to strong Faerie genetics, but also my association with Shadow.
They’d lose their minds if they knew I was held to almost none of the normal rules that governed Faerie—not that I’d ever taken advantage of it. In my old age, it wasn’t power I craved, so I kept the peace for the greater good.
But now that cloak of civility was gone.
For all intents and purposes, I was a final and true death, tracking down whoever hurt my family.
I’d be the last being they ever saw.
31
SAMANTHA
Darkness took me deep.
So deep that for a fraction of time I believed this was my true end.
Len’s rage surrounded me as I slipped through the cracks of this reality. My last thoughts were of Tabitha and the enigmatic fae prince, the two beings who’d captured and held my heart.
That fatal strike to my chest was nothing compared to the pain of losing them. Nothing.
Just as my final lucidity faded, there was another sharp tug at my center, but this time it wasn’t a blow. It was a halting, as an energy dragged me back and then wrapped around me, as if suspending my body in time. With this power cocoon, some clarity returned, and I grew aware of what was happening outside myself.
Len stopped me from dying.
He’d called his mother.
Tabitha…
No! My Tabitha!
She’d been affected by whatever had happened to me, but at least it appeared they’d halted her from death too. We were not completely out of danger—whatever tried to kill us was still actively tugging away at our life force—but there was a chance to save us.
While there’s life, there’s hope.
My body jolted a moment later when we left the Silver Lands, until we landed in a new place filled with a lot of fae energy. Len raged ahead, keeping us with him, and I could feel Tyrin at his back, rage infusing his energy too.
In my state of stasis, not dead but also not quite alive, I was able to examine the extensive bonds that existed between Len and Tyrin. Not just between them, but also the rest of the silver army. I was filled with a sense of family.
They were fighting for us. For Tabitha and me.
When we tried to enter a huge building, my cage halted briefly, until Len disabled the security. The inside felt open, buzzing with energy, and as a half-dead shifter I wondered how I was feeling so much of Faerie. Some of my memories of Len might have returned, but there was still nothing to indicate I had any fae in my heritage.
