But now, I wished to go back to that. At least she had beenhere, with us. Even if the situation hadn’t been ideal, at least we’d been together.
Blowing out a breath, I descended into the entryway and started for the corridor that led into the throne room. I had no desire to enter the great hall, just the open hallway that connected the two areas.
I stared out over the city, taking in fire pits dotting the tall buildings and the camps set up beyond the city to house the incoming army. Anyone fleeing Avalon or Faery were being moved into the city, but those who wanted to fight were at the tents. Every day, more creatures came to the Underworld for their Queen and to escape Dante. His soldiers, armed with weapons and feral shifters, were taking over the island. There were still safe havens, like the academy and islands off the coast, but those who refused to bow to him were hunted.
It was worse, apparently, in Faery.
I’d thought most Fae carried the same ideologies as their rulers. And there were certainly many who wanted to see their world once again separate from Nyx.
But there were more who feared war. Many who would rather see Dante dead than allow his influence over Faery. Plenty who escaped to the Underworld understood that if he became King, then there would be no separation of Faery and Avalon. They knew he would be the only king of all the realms.
From the stairs, I heard approaching footsteps. I moved away from the railing, letting my hands fall to my sides, and turned to find Vanya approaching. Her pink hair was pulled back away from her face, a flush darkening her cheeks as she quickened her steps.
“Maeve,” she said, eyes widening a fraction. “Okay. Thank the Goddess, I found you.”
I frowned, heart pounding. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
The witch stopped feet away from me and wrapped her arms around herself. “Remember the agents who found us on the Queen’s Road? And how they were sick with something?” she asked, shifting on her feet.
I nodded once. “Of course.” Ivy healed them of thesickness, her magic pulling the darkness from them and curing them of the damage it had done to their own magic. “What is it?”
“Well, my mother and I were down at one of the refuge buildings helping the charm witches, when a couple of agents walked in. They were looking for a healer. Said one of their guys wasn’t well. I recognised the signs immediately.”
My stomach dropped. Releasing a breath, I stepped back from her, eyes darting to the city. “What did your mother do?”
“She has them contained in a building and sent word to any agents to meet there. She thinks Dante contaminated agents specifically.”
“Because he knows they would be our first line of defence.” Avalon didn’t have an army, at least, not officially. The agents of the Phoenix Compound were the closest thing tosoldiersAvalon had.
I ran a hand through my hair and tried to ignore the thundering beat of my heart. It seemed like more of an effort to keep the panic down now that I had something else to worry about.
“Does she think it’s possible that whatever illness they have is going to spread?” I asked finally, turning back to Vanya.
She shook her head, though her eyes flickered with uncertainty. “So far, no one else has come in stating they feel…weird, but my mother wants to get ahead of it if that does happen.”
“Okay.” I strode towards the doors leading out of the palace, the witch following close behind. “Take me to the containment area.”
The streetsof Elysian were loud, bustling. Markets were open to the refugees, businesses alive and thriving with so many new people. It didn’t feel like we were weeks away from war. Here, it felt like the coming together of people who otherwise might not have ever crossed paths.
It was a strange feeling. Dread but hope coiled within me,two snakes wrapping around one another until they were strangling themselves into something much worse.
“We need to double the Wrath Demon Guard presence,” I murmured, catching Vanya’s stare from the corner of my eye. “The agents were here to ensure none of Dante’s people made it in, but if all our agents are in containment…”
“Then he could stage an attack,” she whispered, tearing her eyes from mine to stare at a large family. There were three females and a male, as well as ten children of varying ages. The children appeared unaware of what was going on around them, excited to be somewhere new. But the parents…I could clearly see the stress lining their features.
It was stress I was starting to understand now that there were children I also had to consider.Ours were far enough from the battle that I should have breathed easy, but I couldn’t. Not when we knew the real potential of Dante’s plans.
I tore my gaze from the family, quickening my pace. I kept it even enough so the witch could keep up, but my mind was elsewhere as we continued to the containment building.
“We’re close,” Vanya said, moving ahead of me. I matched her stride immediately, breathing in deeply.
On the air, I caught scents marked by something dark. I hadn’t noticed it the night of the ball, and that had been my mistake. A failure born of my need to get Ivy away from the palace and Dante entirely.
But I sought it out now. Tinging each scent coming from the building ahead was somethingwrong. It was the same wrongness that followed Dante and his army. It marked their magic, marring it as somethingdifferent. Ivy said Nyx called it abastardisation, and the longer I allowed the scents to fill my lungs, the more I had to agree.
Thankfully, there were Wrath demons standing guard outside, and waiting for us was Elara Blackwood. She had her arms folded over her chest, eyeing the crowds of people passing the building. When she spotted us approaching, she sighed.
“Thank the Goddess, she found you,” Elara said, leaving the wrath guards to join us on the street. There were thankfullyfewer people here, most congregating around the markets. “I wasn’t entirely sure of the best course of action.”
