When the door shut behind me, I took a deep cleansing breath and walked over to pull the book down. I entered the secret passage, making sure to close the door firmly behind me. Now that the balance had been restored, it was almost easy to walk to the stone. Not to mention I was a hell of a lot stronger than I used to be. The pulse of energy within the stone called to me like anold friend, but I resisted the impulse to touch it. I needed Violet here to make sure nothing went wrong, to help me out with transitioning between this world and the mecca one.
I probably didn’t really need her help now. I was not a regular shifter, but another thing I had decided to change this time around as queen was acting like I was an island, always having to do it alone.
“Ari!” Violet’s voice echoed down the secret tunnel before she emerged in a flurry of orange silk. She must have changed after the lake incident. Her dress was simple but stunning; rows of pearls lined the bodice and extended down through the long lengths. “What are we doing?”
Her eyes were sparkling. Actual real sparkles. It felt like a million years since I had seen true excitement from her. It reminded me I still needed to talk to her about the Otherworld, about everything that had happened, and what she went through. I was determined to make time for it, she was one of my priorities. Maybe after our little journey into the world of mecca.
“I want to contact the Red Queen,” I said to her. “Calista and I are worried about this delay from the fae, and frankly I’m done waiting. I want Winnie back. I want to focus on problems of the bear and wolf variety.”
Violet nodded slowly. “The delay is kind of weird, but I just figured the fae are weird. That’s how I explain everything they do.”
“Do you have any idea what Isalinda is up to? Did she ever mention anything…” I was hesitant to ask, not wanting to remind my friend of her time in the Otherworld. But she had the most experience with the winter psychopath.
Violet rubbed her eyes, looking tired and defeated. The sparkle was most definitely gone now. “Honestly, restraint didn’t seem to be something she possessed a lot of. She’s narcissistic, used to everything being about her. Everything in that court is about her, after all, and she has no concept of others. But … I believe she wants that dark weapon, and she is clearly prepared to work with the crazy horned fae to get it.”
“So she’s going to have to act out of character. Follow some of his leads,” I mused. I then hurried on and explained my theory about the Dark Fae Lord wanting a shifter army to take out the Fall Court.
“He really hates them, Vi. You should have seen the fury in his eyes.”
She sucked in a deep breath, bobbing her head a few times. “Yes, that’s got to be it. They’re planning something big that will take out youand Kade, all the while trapping the shifters in their sticky web.”
Which is why I had to go to them first, take them by surprise. I was just opening my mouth to explain the assassination plan, and why I wanted to try to talk to the Red Queen again, when Violet got distracted by the stone. “Its call is not as strong. It feels … more stable.” She took a step closer, placing her hand right onto the faceted side.
Her eyes fluttered closed. “The power is addictive,” she murmured.
When she opened her eyes again, she blindsided me with a question. “What if this delay is more than just the fae lord finalizing his plan to puppet our shifters to form an army? What if the winter queen is afraid of taking you head on? She knew something about your power, something which made her want it really badly.” Her gaze turned very shrewd. “Did you do something to the darkness inside of Kade?”
I should have known I wouldn’t be able to hide that from Violet. She’d clearly put all the information together, and reached a logical conclusion. Pressing my lips tightly together, I wondered how much I should tell her. Judging by the look on her face, I wasn’t going to get away with a half answer.
“I don’t know what happened, Vi. It kind of seemed like I somehow pulled the dark energy into myself and dissolved it, but … I’m not sure if that’s right or not. Which is why I didn’t mention it. I don’t want everyone to think I can eat dark energy. I want them to all be cautious around the dark fae and his power.”
Her expression didn’t change, but her eyes widened. “I have never heard of someone being able to dissolve energy like that … good or bad. Energy can be shifted, but it never disappears.”
I nodded. “I know, which is why there has to be another explanation.”
She reached out and almost grabbed my hand, stopping at the last second. We were too close to the mecca stone to have our powers bouncing off each other. “We need to explore this further.”
I swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes, I know. But right now I need some advice from the most ruthless leader I have ever known.”
We both turned to the stone, and with a deep breath I reached out and placed my hand on it. A burst of familiar mecca power crashed into my center and I felt it swell up within me. I sent my essence into the stone, and from there I could feel all of the lines that connected the mecca to the other stones across this world and the Otherworld.
They were strong and powerful. No more frail, power-drained connections.
“Ignore those lines,” Violet advised me. “Search for the heart of this mecca stone. This is the one she tied herself to, this is where the Red Queen is.”
The heart?How was I supposed to find that? I brought my focus back to the stone itself, to the point where all lines converged. There was a small shimmery center there, which had caught my eye before. I didn’t hesitate; there wasn’t time for any sort of uncertainty. I reached out and grabbed Violet’s hand, both of us jerking at the shock of power that zipped between us. I was trying to figure out how to plunge myself into that center when something tugged on my energy. It was not a gentle tug either; it whipped me forward, and with a popping sound, a veil of purple washed over my vision. When I opened my eyes again, I was standing on the mecca beach, Violet at my side, our hands still clasped together.
“Holy shifter gods, I’m in a freaking mecca stone.” Violet’s wide eyes were unblinking as she spun to take in the full scale of the purple landscape. Purple clouds of mecca were washing through us. Waves of purple water crashed on the white sandy beach to my left.
Knowing time was of the essence, I called out, “Red Queen!”
“Ari, maybe—” Violet was cut off by a vision of red coming towards us. The queen looked regal in her flowing red silk dress. The train must have been ten feet long, billowing out behind her. It was a different dress than last time; she clearly had some control over her appearance.
As she got closer she smiled. “You came back,” she breathed. I realized then how lonely she must be, stuck here for eternity.
Violet just watched her, mouth agape.
“Yes. I need your advice,” I told her honestly.
