Reece craned his head, looking left and then right. “What if we use these cords of power?” he said finally, returning his gaze to us. “To swing across as much of this red land as we can. That would be the lowest use of energy, from what I can tell.”
There were a ton of lines around us, spanning off to the left and right.
Len nodded. “That’s my thoughts as well. I think there’s a call of stronger power to the right.”
No one argued, trusting that the fae prince knew what he was talking about. I should be able to feel the same energy, but I was more focused internally. Keeping that barrier in place for as long as needed was my highest priority.
“We should move now,” Angel said quickly. “It’s draining us just existing here.”
Great. This fucking land was already living up to its reputation.
“Reach for the next strand,” Len said to me, nodding toward the closest red one. “I’ll keep you from falling.”
I didn’t hesitate, thankful that my arms were no longer as pained as they had been. Len had given me a small reprieve when he’d held my weight against him. Wrapping my hand around the cord, I swung across. “If I had access to my power, would I have been able to walk over this red land without issue?” I asked as I swung.
Len was right behind me, pointing out the next cord—a blue one—to grab onto. “I have no idea. My understanding of it was that the Great Queen just bypassed all the securities, heading straight for the center of power.”
“Considering how old she was, and how long she’s been missing from Faerie,” I huffed out, swinging to the next cord, “it stands to reason that I might only have a small slice of her power.”
I could be a fiftieth descendent or something.
“No way to know until the glamour is fully released,” Len added from behind me, not sounding at all out of breath. “I lifted parts of it, but not all. Not for you anyway.”
He made that sound like he remembered everything. “You remember us?” I confirmed.
“I do,” he replied. “I remember our time together, and I know we’re true mates.”
He dropped that statement so casually, and I was fucking thrilled that he felt the same connection. I’d already figured we could be, but having it confirmed was a new kind of wonderful.
“Why don’t I remember?” I asked. “It doesn’t make sense that all your memories are back and mine aren’t.”
We managed to cross five more cords before he answered. “I believe that whatever the Great Queen did to disappear spelled her entire line to keep them from their heritage. She no doubt believed she was protecting you all, but this glamour is interfering with the true mate call. It sparked across me too, but now that it’s broken, I won’t be glamoured again. You, on the other hand, have probably been spelled since before birth.”
He left the rest unsaid, but it was clear that sort of glamour was going to be much harder to break.
“It’s why you never felt your fae side,” Angel added, from where she was a few strands in front of us. There was no hiding a conversation with beings of exceptional hearing. “That’s the part of you locked down with fae energy.”
Breathing deeply, the ache back in my arms, I thought it all through. “So, the glamour I’ve been under since birth collided with the true mate energy of Len’s walk, and the result was the sort of memory loss that cost us years of time with our daughter?”
“Yes.”
This came from more than one of my friends.
“You’re both lucky you didn’t explode,” Shadow added helpfully. “The collision of two ancient and powerful energies is a recipe for disaster.”
I might never find out why the Great Queen did what she did, or understand the life she lived, but I really hoped we could figure out how to repair the damage she’d caused. Otherwise, there was no future for my family. Or the worlds.
Conversation died off as we continued to swing through the air, the red floor remaining below, while darkness surrounded us. When we reached the last row of cords, which had to indicate the end of the land above, the nine of us hung there, staring out into what appeared to be endless darkness.
“Fuck,” Angel said, the curse odd in her regal tone. “We now must make the decision we were avoiding. Drop to the ground, which will drain all of us, or rely on one of us to use our powers to ferry the others to safety. And by one of us, I’m referring to me and my wings.”
I have wings as well,Galleli said, and again, I was the only one to flinch, but thankfully not drop from the cord.
“I also have wings,” Mera piped up.
Shadow beasted out briefly. “Not a fucking chance,” he growled.
Reece added his own growl. “I’m not comfortable with Angel ferrying us all,” he said.
