It was only when the island trembled that I knew I’d succeeded.
We were free.
57
Damon
My magic burned with each jump. Each time I shifted between the realms, I felt it wane.
But the final group of soldiers, mates of the late Queen, and children were in my grasp, and soon they would be home.
Not even I could have anticipated the half-demon’s choice to steal the magic of the island. His lack of memories made him a curious creature indeed, one I couldn’t help but admire.
At least the vampire had pulled the creatures together. Soon enough, I’d taken our Queen and her ragged group of mates to the edge of Avalon, where storms ravaged the islands and made the terrain unknown. But it was where we sought protection, hidden from the eyes of the false king.
Leaving her again had been one of the hardest things I could have ever done, but I needed to get the others back to the Underworld.
And I needed to retrieve our key to safety.
The throne room greeted us, already a flurry of activity. So many shifters being carried out after being put into sleep stasis. They were to be moved into private rooms where they could be monitored and hopefully coaxed into shifting, much like the bear my wife saved.
Then there were the soldiers. None got the benefit of the doubt. They were immediately taken to the dungeons to await further instruction from me or their Queen. Until they were questioned—and we could ascertain the truth—they would be kept away from the rest of my kingdom.
The mates of the late Queen were amongst those seeking medical attention, and the ones who jumped with me—Lazarus and my nephew, Onyx, as well as the one known as Theon—bid me farewell as they joined their brothers, handing small children off as they did.
To my great relief, the young ones were being treated with care. The demons of House Gluttony and Sloth were careful in how they handled them. Those that were shifted, however, remained as such. But they were being fed, at least.
“Are you alright, my King?” one of the Wrath demons asked. He was covered in blood—which he’d assured me was not his own—and his gear was not in the same state as when we landed in Faery, but he was unharmed.
I nodded. “See to it you are all treated by the healers. Check in with the generals and update them on everything you learned. If you found out where the entrance into the compound was, tell them. Share with them your trackers, build on our map.”
“And where are you going?” a witch asked as she ran a trembling hand through her sooty hair.
“I am returning to my wife.”
The young Windermerewitch barely looked up from the sleeping Luna prince when I cleared my throat. Her eyes swam with a fierce protectiveness as she stepped away from his bed.
“Is it time?” she asked, crossing her arms.
I nodded once, glancing down at his unconscious form. Dark bruises circled his eyes, and his skin was sunken, pale witha tinge of grey. To the naked eye, he appeared dead, as if his soul had left his body. And to all but us, he was. To those outside of the Queen’s direct council—and to her, I supposed—the Heir to the Luna Court had died by the hands of his father. And we had done nothing to change that.
“I dropped the others off on the coast,” I said, meeting her eye. The liner around them was smudged, with dark tracks running down her cheeks. “Now, I need you to unlock the island.”
The witch blew out a shaky breath and stepped away from the bed. “Alright. Will you…can you bring me back after?”
My eyes narrowed as I watched her, but I bowed my head once. “Yes. If that is what you desire, I will jump you back to the Underworld.”
“Thanks.” She cleared her throat before grabbing a duffel bag from beside the bed. “You should know I don’t feel anything inside his mind. No sign of Dante, but no sign of Orion, either.”
“He is there,” I said, motioning for her to join me. “His soul sits in wait, knowing it must be reunited with his body.”
The witch visibly shuddered, though she moved to my side. “What about Dante?”
“Cyrus claimed he was able to completely destroy his connection to Dante by dying,” I replied honestly. “That might have had the same effect on your friend.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” she murmured, eyes on the Fae prince. “I don’t like it, though.”
To that, I didn’t respond. Death could mean rebirth for some. For the prince, I had a feeling his moment in the hands of my old friend gave him exactly what he needed:
