She dismounted from Valorre’s back and fully took in their surroundings. The meadow was surrounded by towering willows, their waterfall leaves swaying in the warm breeze. Yet she saw no tent, not even in the distance. Found no sign that the Forest People were nearby.
Something pulsed inside her. A warning that this was very, very wrong.
Only now did the sudden daylight concern her. No matter where in Khero the Forest People had gone, there should have been no change in time. No hour difference. No way to account for having stepped from night to day. Unless…
Mother Goddess…did she move through time as well as space?
No, that wasn’t part of astral travel. Not even astral projection could bypass the present.
I’m sorry.
She frowned, turning back toward Valorre. His muscles quivered, ears twitching in agitation. “What are you sorry for? I…I’m the one who messed this up?—”
No. This was my fault. My fault.
Her blood chilled. “What do you mean?”
You thought of home, but I remembered. Remembered my first home.
She swallowed hard. “Are you saying we traveled toyourhome? The place you came from?”
Yes. This…this isn’t good for you. I remember now.
Panic laced up Cora’s throat. Wherever they were, it was far enough from Khero that it was daytime instead of night. Still, if she brought them here, she could bring them back.
She grabbed hold of his mane in preparation to mount again. “What kingdom are we in? What continent?”
A rush of sound erupted behind her. Cora startled and turned toward it in time to see an enormous sphere of swirling color perched at the edge of the meadow. Three figures strolled out of it as if it were a doorway. As soon as the three were fully outside the strange vortex, it disappeared, leaving Cora to stare at the strangers.
They appeared to be male, and beautiful at that. The one at the center had golden-blond hair the color of honey, fair skin, and piercing blue eyes. The second was shorter than the first, of wide build, and had curly hair in a fiery copper hue. The third was the tallest of the three with umber skin and long black hair laced with gold and silver thread that sparkled in the sunlight. All wore silk britches and an elegant knee-length robe belted with a wide sash. The style was unlike anything she’d seen of current fashions inanyregion. But that wasn’t nearly as surprising as the angled tips of their ears. It wasn’t a subtle angle either. Not an almost-imperceptible hint like some of the Forest People had. These ears came to a distinct and obvious point.
She couldn’t pull her eyes from the three men. Their towering height, their unearthly beauty, their regal style…it was straight from a faerytale. And there was only one word she could think of to suit them.
Elvyn.
An ancient race of High Fae known to be extinct, even more so than the Faeryn.
Cora’s heart slammed against her ribs as an impossible truth began to dawn.
We’re not in your world at all anymore, Valorre said, finally answering the question he’d left hanging between them.We’re in my world. The fae realm. El’Ara.
Cora sensed he was keeping himself from saying more. His silence didn’t matter; the anger in the three Elvyn figures’ eyes was universal enough for her to understand what he’d left unsaid.
She was not supposed to be here.
41
Teryn did not wake gently. There was no floating in nothingness, no subtle lack of consciousness. There was only an abrupt intake of breath, a startling sense of being alive.
Or…sort of alive.
As he took in his surroundings, he found himself reclined on the floor in the illusion that was Emylia’s temple bedroom. She sat beside him on a stack of bright cushions, her expression heavy with concern. Before she could say what he knew she was about to, he tuned in to his vitale and connected with his breaths. They were short and shallow and came with a mild ache in his lungs. His heartbeat and pulse felt more distant than usual.
But that wasn’t his primary concern. He settled his attention on Emylia. “What happened to Cora? Did she take the crystal like I told her to?”
The answer was already on her face. “She tried, but…Teryn, there was a reason our plan involved you removing the crystal from your chest and destroying it. I never told you to pass it off to someone else. You were never supposed to remove it in the first place until we were ready to execute our plan.”
He pinned her with a hard look. “Our planis nonexistent. I wasn’t willing to wait for some hazy future hope.”
