Zev simply … let go.
The Other’s memories surfaced as if they were his own.
He had fought the Bloodhounds. Many had fallen to his claws and fangs, but Red Highland soldiers came and took him down. Zev had shifted back, left bleeding on the ground with his back full of arrows. His vision darkened as he waited for the end.
The last thing he remembered was a yellow butterfly in the rain.
“You’re awake,” a voice like tinkling bells said.
Zev smirked faintly to himself and rubbed his face. Dyna had been right. “You decided to join us, after all.”
“It was a good thing I did.” A faint tap landed by his head, and he peeked at the tiny fairy with golden wings who beamed at him. “Does this make it twice now that I have come to your aid?” Princess Keena asked, crossing her arms.
He sat up on a plush mound of soft pale moss and looked around at the strange forest of white trees. “What happened? Where are we?”
“Well, I stopped them in time before you were struck down dead,” Keena said proudly. She held up her hand when he opened his mouth to respond. “And there is no need to offer me a life-debt. I have repaid the one I owed Dyna. Besides, I am sure you would do the same for me.”
Zev smiled wryly. “I was going to ask how you defeated a group of Elven soldiers?”
“I am stronger than I look, remember?” Keena winked. “And I was also accompanied by my guards. They have returned to Morphos.”
He spotted a cluster of fairies flying away within the trees. “Where are we?”
“The White Woods. You must not remember. You were bleeding out and delirious, but you asked to be brought here before you succumbed to your wounds. I found Onyx wandering the streets and used him to bring you here.” Keena sat on a log beside him, her tiny legs swinging. “You’ve been unconscious for a day.”
Wincing, Zev rose and staggered to a small pool of water. He had new scars marking his chest now. His Lycan blood had worked to heal him. He looked out at the weeping cherry trees with white bark and white blossoms.
“Rawn said this place is a haven of sorts.” Zev stilled, suddenly realizing he was alone. “Where is he? The others?”
“Come with me.” Golden dust spiraled around Keena, and she rose to life size height, reaching barely his elbows. The fairy princess strolled through the forest and brought him to a circular stone platform built into the ground. A podium rested in the center.
There, Lucenna and Klyde waited, sitting on mounds of moss as his horse grazed.
Leaping to her feet, Lucenna ran over and hugged him. “Thank the Gods.”
“Glad to see you alive, mate,” Klyde said.
He nodded back and looked down at Lucenna. “Are you all right? When did you arrive? Is Dyna here?”
She shook her head, her eyes welling up. “We arrived today. The mages came after me when we tried to take the train. Sowe decided to risk joining you in Argent instead … but when we got to the pier…” Zev waited for her to continue, but she couldn’t.
Klyde sighed heavily and said, “Tarn’s ship blew.”
An ice-cold feeling sank through his body. “Don’t tell me she…”
“I don’t know.” Lucenna said faintly.
“What do you mean?” Zev demanded, gripping her shoulders. “You can’t sense her?”
“I think it’s Cassiel’s damn barrier. Something has changed. It’s grown stronger somehow, and it has completely hidden all traces of Dyna’s Essence now. Not even I can track her.”
That must mean she was alive. But why was the barrier stronger? Zev glanced up at the sky. Was Cassiel nearby?
“That’s not all…” Klyde said, and the despondency in his expression made him stiffen.
Someone has died…
Zev’s stomach sank. “Who?”
