His voice cut through the remains of Tenebrys's rage. "Ten! Snap out of it!"
"Fucking fae," he snarled. "How can this be happening again? It's been decades, and they have never been so bold."
"It's the girl. It's the only 'She' it could be referring to," Syn said, and Tenebrys whirled on him. "Stop and think for five seconds, my king. She is the only thing that has changed in the Mistwood in the last few days."
"She's just a female! Other humans have wandered in before."
"But not her specifically, Ten. The Mistwood is still connected to Faerie, and when she crossed the borders, they could have felt it. Her power is strong enough that even the château is responding to her presence," Felix added softly.
"She doesn't know how to use it, and it could just be a trickle of magic for all we know," Tenebrys argued, prowling back and forth, his tail swishing. The wounds on his arms and shoulders from the knife stung him like wasps.
"It's not a trickle. She has enough to be a target for the fae, whether you want to believe it or not," Syn said. He was smart enough to keep his eyes averted, so Tenebrys's lion side wouldn't see him as a challenge. He was pissed off enough that he would attack his own friend if pushed.
"A fae lord could do a lot with an untrained witch like Delphi," Syn continued, his voice level. "They made the witches to ensure that they were capable of bearing their hybrid children. The High Lord could want to use her as a brood mare before he sucks that magic clean out of her and tosses the remains of her to their hounds."
Tenebrys knew it was the ugly truth. They had seen the fae do worse things than that to the human women they got in their grasp. It was one of the reasons they had fought so hard to drive them out of their world in the first place.
"I'll spread the word to the others that we are going to have more activity than usual," Syn said and melted into the trees before Tenebrys could argue.
"Go back to the château and see to your wounds. If the fae are after your female, she shouldn't be left alone for long," Felix added once they were alone.
"She's notmyfemale," Tenebrys muttered.
"No? You just went on a blackout rage spiral because a fae had mentioned someoneelse'sfemale? My mistake," Felix replied and was smart enough to leap into the woods before Tenebrys could smack him one.
Tenebrys looked at the dead fae, dread creeping over him. If there were a high lord who wanted something badly enough, he would sacrifice as many of his underlings as it took to retrieve it.Had Syn gotten to the portal in time that night to ensure these were the only ones that came through?
Tenebrys ignored the throbbing in his wounds and started to run. If they had missed even one, it would find Delphi alone and undefended.
Tenebrys ran faster, his muscles screaming. He couldn't smell fae past the glade, but that meant nothing. They could have brought through some kind of flying mount.
Tenebrys couldn't think straight until he reached the stone path leading into the château. There were no mounts in the courtyard. No smell of strange magic in the air.
He crashed through the main hallways and didn't slow until he slid on the dusty stone tiles in front of Delphi's door.
He banged on it. "Delphi! Open up! It's Tenebrys!"
There was a scuffling sound on the other side of it.
"How do I know it's you?" Delphi asked through the thick wood.
"Who else would it be, female?" he demanded.
"I don't know. Maybe you're some fae that can mimic voices," she replied, and Tenebrys's fury vanished. She was right. His lips twitched into a grin. She was a clever little thing, that was for sure.
"Ask me something that only I would know?" he replied patiently. His wounds were throbbing, blood soaking his fur. It didn't matter. He needed to see that she was all right with his own eyes.
"What did you always use to call me when I dreamed of you?" she asked through the wood.
"Little flower," Tenebrys replied gruffly.
The bolt slid back, and Delphi's beautiful face appeared. Unharmed, but her eyes were big with concern and fear. She was holding an iron poker.
Tenebrys looked at it. "You're not planning to hit me with that, are you?"
"Not unless you give me reason to," she said and looked at the floor. "Oh, gods, is that blood? What happened?"
"I might have been stabbed a bit. It's nothing," he replied, breathing in her scent of warm woman and dark flowers. Exhaustion and blood loss hit him hard, making him sway. Delphi grabbed hold of his arm.
