I raise a hand to open a portal that will get us the hell out of here.
Just before I can, my eyes catch on something at the edge of the clearing.
The arched wooden curve of a bow.
The glint of a metal arrow.
The terrible, twisted fae who nocks that arrow, points it directly at Seren, and lets it fly.
23
Seren
Callum yanks me out of the arrow’s path about three milliseconds before it hits me.
A second later, he’s got a portal open, and just as we’re about to step through, he lets out a harsh grunt.
My heart drops.
“Armor,” he says as he tugs me into the swirling ether. “It hit my armor.”
Even through the armor, it must have hurt like hell. But there’s no time to check for damage or even breathe before we’re stepping through.
We’re spat out back at the Veil, but we’re not alone.
More fae rush out at us from the woods.
More awful, grotesque constructions of wood and leaves and vines and rot. Nightmares directly from the fae queen’s twisted court.
Callum slaps his hand on the stone arch, and the ether melts to deep crimson.
“Go!” he shouts, using his body as a shield even now, keeping me behind him while he puts himself at the mercy of the advancing fae.
I don’t listen to him.
I shove forward, hand on one of the biggest weapons I’ve got in my arsenal.
“Head down!” I shout back, and gratifyingly, he ducks.
The explosion clears every fae within a twenty-five yard radius.
They’re not dead. Well, at least I hope they’re not dead. But piles of groaning, injured fae litter the ground, momentarily stunned out of their advance and unable to do a damn thing as I grab Callum’s hand and pull him after me into the Veil.
I really, really hope none of those monsters can get up quickly enough to follow.
In the ether, the world dissolves into nothing. There’s just panic and chaos and magick and Callum. He pulls me closer, wraps an arm around me, and I’m engulfed by the scent of evergreen and woodsmoke and the leather of his armor.
I close my eyes.
Heart thundering in my ears, entire body thrumming with magick, I lean into him as we travel through the Goddess’ realm.
We stumble out the other side.
It’s nighttime here in the demon realm, and other than the pulsing of the Veil behind us and the faint light of the stars above, we’re cloaked in darkness.
There isn’t a single breath of wind, no one else around, and the silence of the woods is absolute.
After the chaos, the utter quiet rings in my ears. Louder, almost, than the pissed-off screeching of all those fae.
