I nodded. “I heard everything. We need to go into the Deep to save the worlds and restore the line.”
“We do,” he confirmed. “It’s going to be dangerous, but you are from the Great Queen’s line, and should be able to handle whatever comes your way.”
I waved a hand over my chest. “I’ve always had this light near my shifter side,” I said quickly. “Now I finally understand why. It was my connection to the Great Line and Faerie.” My voice broke before I cleared my throat. “Now, though, it’s all darkness. The only reason I can be out of the stasis is due to my shifter side forming a barrier. But it’s weak, so we have to hurry.”
“I’ll share my energy with you,” Len promised. “And when the line’s repaired, your light will return.”
His confidence fueled my own, and I was sure that we’d succeed. Not just for our daughter, but for all the worlds.
“I’ll keep Tabitha safe,” Glendriel promised, moving closer from where she’d been in the middle of the platform. A small bundle of light followed her. “The Silver Lands, along with our greatest allies, will protect her with the full force of our royal houses.”
My heart swelled with warmth, and more of the darkness receded—it didn’t like the power of love and happiness. Walking on unsteady legs, I reached Tabitha’s cocoon. Running my hands a few inches above the surface—the closest I could get—I sent all my love into my daughter.
“Mommy loves you, little one,” I whispered. “We’re going to repair what was broken. Stay safe and keep fighting until we return.”
Len joined me a beat later. “Daddy is here too,” he said, which sent an additional surge of warmth into my chest. “We will not fail, sweet one. You keep holding on.”
His hand landed over mine on the crystal case, and we just breathed for a moment, hearts aching. But there was no more time to spend here. We had to move on to the task of saving the worlds.
“How do we get to the Deep?” Shadow asked, his form growing larger as he readied himself for this battle. Flames filled his eyes, and he looked very beast god. Mera, at his side, had flames dancing in her long red hair. The ombre colors shifted faster, and I loved how strong and powerful she looked. All our pack was rocking their badass power, filling the room with energy that actually made the fae appear quite weak. Even the ancient royal ones.
“Thank you,” I said to them all. “I know you risk a lot… everything… by being here, and I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”
We don’t work like that.
Galleli’s voice had me jumping. I was the only one.We save the worlds together and no one ever owes anyone. This is family. Pack. Our treasora.
They were destroying me but there was no time to cry. We had worlds to save.
“To answer Shadow’s question,” Len said, “we can reach the Deep from this land. It’s what exists below the Capital. We will just need to follow the beams of light that connect below, and after that I have no idea. Since the Great Queen vanished, there’s been no one that entered and returned alive.”
Ominous, but it wasn’t as if we were unaware of this fact.
“Sounds like we’re about to be the first,” Lucien called with a whoop. “Let’s fucking do it.”
We pushed closer, and I was grateful that with Len’s power adding to mine, the pain was minimal, and I could move more freely. As we headed toward the exit, the fae shifted in unison, forming lines on either side of us, and then one by one they bowed their heads.
My breath caught in my chest, the air rattling around for a beat before I managed to exhale deeply. “What are they doing?” I whispered to Len, who was on my left.
“Honoring us,” he murmured back. “We’re risking a lot to try and save their world. A world that’s in danger thanks to Fredrick’s general love of power and disregard for rules.”
“Fredrick,” I said, my voice hardening. His actions almost cost me everything, including my daughter. Bastard would get what was coming to him.
“He will face the royal trial when we return,” Len assured me. “For now, they’re keeping him contained while they search out who else was involved.”
There was no time today to punish him, and the council had better make the right decision when it came to the trial. Darkness swirled as my anger took over, and I forced myself to take a couple of deep breaths. As if he’d felt that shift inside me, Len reached out and captured my hand, lacing his fingers through mine to infuse more of his power into my being.
The darkness calmed almost instantly. “Thank you,” I said, feeling more grateful than ever to not be alone.
Len didn’t release me then as expected. Instead his grip remained firm as we exited the building. Shadow continued at the front of his pack, leading us toward the edge of this land. Like with the garden, there was a sharp drop-off, with the sky spanning out beyond us, and I almost stopped moving as awe took me aback.
It felt as if we were standing on the edge of a solar system, endless sky spread around us. It wasn’t dark, but it also wasn’t bright like morning. I’d call it twilight with a touch of early dawn as visible lights twinkled in various colors above us.
“The crystals and gems from the royal houses are particularly dense here,” Len said, noticing as I tilted my head back to take it all in. “They help to power our lands and the world.”
“It’s incredible,” Simone said with a shake of her head, which was craned back like mine. Mera was in a similar position. The only ones not wearing looks of shock and awe were Angel and the guys. They’d all clearly been here before.
“I saw this world from Shadow’s house,” Mera said softly, “but there’s something about standing out in the open like this, with what feels like a damn universe whizzing around you… I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to it.”
