“If it is as he’s described it, there should be no need for violence.”
“And if it is not?”
“Annwyn does not have time for disloyalty. I do not have time to play political games. The succubus is coming—may already be here.”
If we’d been seated at the Round Table, they surely would have kept arguing. But without the table to anchor us, without Arran at my side to negate or bolster my authority, the fact remained. I was either the High Queen of Annwyn, or I was not.
My Knights chose to obey me.
That was the first hurdle conquered.
I pushed myself up the hill, the final barrier between us and Eilean Gayl. Cyara had scouted ahead, her white wings blending into the overcast sky.
Overhead, a hawk screeched, swooping above us in a graceful curve.
“What are the odds that is not a fauna-gifted terrestrial?” Lyrena said, her usually melodious voice grim.
Cyara’s eyes followed the hawk as it dipped down, disappearing over the top of the hill. “They will know we’re coming. They will be ready.”
“Good. So will we,” I said over my shoulder. One more step, and I pulled myself up, cresting the hill.
The sight stole the breath from my body.
A familiar castle floated in the middle of a lake. Except this time, I could see that it was not floating. It occupied the entirety of a small island, the outer battlements reaching right out to thewater’s edge. The only approach was a narrow bridge, stretching from the base of the hill where I stood to the gates of the keep. Gates that were opening in welcome.
The memories flashed through my mind—the still, unbroken surface of the Split Sea, the misty shores of Avalon, and the castle. This castle.
And just as I had when I landed on the lakeside more than two months ago, in those intense moments of falling through the void after Arran and I’s joining… one word rose in my senses, my chest, until it fell from my lips.
“Home.”
22
VEYKA
We all watched in awe as the hawk soared down, circled the castle once, and landed with a graceful shift just as the iron doors of the keep swung open.
As we picked our way down the steep hill, the delegation filled out behind her. I counted as I walked, half an eye on my companions as they fell into place behind me. Lyrena at my left, Percival at hers. Cyara at my right, one hand guiding Diana forward. Both Diana and Percival were still bound.
Ten, fifteen, eighteen… the party that started across the bridge was nineteen terrestrials strong. I had two fire-wielders and two human prisoners. If this turned into a fight, my bravado would not be enough to save us.
I am the High Queen of Annwyn.
I am powerful.
More convincing than either of those statements was the feeling of rightness as I stepped onto the stone bridge.Come, the bricks seemed to say.Relax, the moss whispered.Home.
Arran loved this place. I loved him more than life itself. Did that somehow account for the force pulling me forward, causing me to throw caution to the wind?
I checked the amorite studs in my ears, questioning whether this was the same disorienting magic we’d experienced in the cursed clearing on the edge of Avalon. But everything was in place. Cyara walked at my side rather than raging as a harpy overhead. Lyrena’s hand was oh-so-casually on her sword while idle flames danced at her fingertips. Totally in control.
I swallowed hard and led them to face the female leading the group. The fauna-gifted terrestrial could be none other than the mistress of Eilean Gayl—Arran’s mother.
She was the most beautiful female I had ever seen. Given that my mate was the most brutally beautiful male in Annwyn, it should not have surprised me. Yet nothing about her fit with the image I’d constructed in my mind.
Even with the diffused light of overcast skies, the world seemed to brighten around her. The gold headband that stretched across her forehead contrasted sharply with her dark hair, braided back and coiled up at the back of her head so that not a single strand swayed as she approached.
Her gown was just as perfect, the heavy burgundy falling in flawless, unwrinkled panels despite the fact that she’d been in her hawk form minutes before. Every step was assured, and she lifted her dark eyes to meet mine long before she reached me.
