“If the Gods leave us, we're lost, Amara,” Everan's voice dropped into a grave tone.
“I know.” I looked around the forest and tried one last time, “Kolltean! If you're here, we need to talk to you. The fate of Danu depends on it!” Yes, it was a bit cliché and dramatic but also appropriate.
No answer came. Kolltean was either being a jerk or wasn't there. I highly doubted the former.
“Let's go home,” I said to Everan. “We've been at this for hours. It's getting late and I'm too tired to be shouting in the dark at gods who don't answer.”
“Very well.” Everan took my hand and we started walking back the way we'd come.
“I need to return to Earth—the planet Earth,” I added. “Kyrian is supposed to be coming by in the morning and I don't want to worry him.”
Danu, by some chance of fate, was very close to Washington D.C. as far as time of day went—only a few hours ahead. This meant that morning in D.C. wasn't that far off.
“But you'll return here after you inform him of our trouble?”
“Yes, of course.”
Communication was the biggest problem with Danu. Not within the realm butintoandout ofthe realm. Even though it was anchored to Earth, Danu was protected by a magical barrier, and getting any kind of communication through that shield was impossible. Even Danutian comm units couldn't pierce it. So, once I was in Danu, I had no way of speaking with anyone outside of Danu and vice versa. I'd be out of touch with Everan until I returned. Of course, he could sense me through our marriage bond and twist to me in seconds, but still, it was annoying.
We were almost to the road—our knights there already—when a rustling came from our left. Everan turned toward it with curiosity, looking utterly at ease despite the possibility of what was roaming Raeventar at this hour of night. A pair of yellow eyes caught the light of our floating lantern and gleamed in a way that human eyes don't. I stepped back.
“It's just a Bargest,” Everan assured me.
“A dog-shifter?” I whispered.
I knew there were more races than Sidhe in Danu but so far, I'd only met a few Trolls and several Pixies. While the Sidhe chose to divide themselves by their elemental magic and generally lived in their corresponding kingdoms, they didn't have to do so. A Sidhe could live anywhere in Danu without issue. The other races, however, were a bit different. First off, their magic manifested in physical traits with them as opposed to the more mental version of elemental magic possessed by the Sidhe. For example, the Kelpies and Selkies had Water magic that provided them with alternate forms better suited for that element. Because venturing too far from their environments could get uncomfortable, most of the other races rarely visited Sidhe cities—Trolls being one of the exceptions—and I rarely left Sylene for more than a few hours at a time. In short, I had never met a Bargest.
A man with glowing yellow eyes straightened—sort of unfolding himself upward behind the previously rustling bush. “We aren't dogs.”
He was muscular and savagely handsome with rugged features and long, dark hair. He was also naked but the convenient foliage covered his lower half so all I saw was an expanse of chest nearly as beautiful as Everan's.
“No offense was meant,” I said. “The book I read on Danu said that Bargests are shapeshifters who transform into canines.”
“Canines, yes; dogs, no.”
“Right. Bargests are a race of Danutians with no relationship to dogs. Understood.”
“If you are finished chiding my queen like a child, perhaps you'd like to tell us what exactly you want, Bargest?” Everan asked in a calm voice that held an edge of steel.
The Bargest grunted. A howl came from behind him. He looked over his shoulder and barked. When he turned back to us, he was grimacing. “My apologies, Your Majesties. I've just been chided myself. Apparently, my manners are lacking. I am Mahar of the Traccaris Tribe.”
“Your manners are fine, Mahar.” I stepped up beside Everan. “How can we help you?”
“We heard you calling for Kolltean, Queen of the South and I've come to tell you that the God of the Forest is gone.”
“How do you know this?” Everan demanded.
“Kolltean told us he was leaving and that you would come to find him. He instructed us to flee to the planet of Earth should the forest start to die and said we should pass this message on to you as well.”
I exchanged a bleak look with my husband. But then Mahar's words registered.
“You can understand Kolltean?” I asked. This surprised me because as far as I knew, I was the only Danutian who could understand the Gods.
“He speaks to our hearts.” Mahar smacked his hand to his chest. “We don't hear words exactly, but we understand his meaning.”
“Did he tell you why the forest was dying?” I asked urgently.
“No. Only that the magic is dwindling. We didn't understand and he couldn't explain. Can you tell us what's happening?”
