1
The tipof my nose threatened to fall off and join the snow-blanketed ground. I stood in the middle of nowhere, burrowing deep into my thick coat and wishing I could turn back time. Northern Faerie wascold. Understatement of thecentury.
“Caer isn’t here,” I said to Axel, a grumpy-yet-loyal sorcerer who had been helping me track down the wily druid. We’d followed her through the portal, into the fae realm, across the rolling hills now teeming with life, through the warm summer lands, and up where ice was more common than airitself.
We stood on a frozen field, staring at a stretch of rolling hills that backed up to a tall, looming mountain covered in pure ice and crisp white snow. We’d heard rumours that Caer hid in these hills now, lurking inside a hut with no roof. But there was nothing to see here other than ice. And moreice.
And then a little bit moreice.
“No,” the sorcerer grunted. Axel towered over me, and he was built more like a werewolf than a human. He had long hair and a thick, bushy beard, tattoos spiralling across arms that were now hidden beneath his thickcoat.
At first, I’d been a little hesitant about asking him for help, but he’d saved Lugh’s life once before. If I could trust any sorcerer, it would be him. With the magic of the ley lines running through his veins, he could use the magic in ways that I could not. And he knew how to track anyone down, so long as he had a name in hismind.
Unfortunately, it turned out his magic didn’t work as well in Faerie as it did in the mortal realm. We’d been able to track Caer this far, but Axel couldn’t pinpoint her exact location. She could be anywhere inside the twenty mile radius in which westood.
I blew out a breath that fogged before me. “What are youthinking?”
“I’m thinking it’s colder than a vampire’steat.”
“You’re not wrong there.” I gazed across the frozen tundra. “Think we should search the mountains? It looks like the perfect place for a druid tohide.”
“Thing is, Moira,” the sorcerer began, shoving his hands deep into his coat pockets, “it’s clear this Caer mate of yours is a wee bitshy.”
I snorted. “Caer?Shy?That’s not even close to reality. She loves blasting people withprophecies.”
“Maybe ‘shy’ is the wrong word,” he corrected. “But she sure as hell doesn’t want to be found right now. She could be in those mountains, but she won’t let us find her. She’s been on the move since we arrived inFaerie.”
“You think she knows we’re looking for her?” I turned to gaze up at the towering sorcerer. “But it’s not like her to avoid the chance to give someone a grim, terrifying prophecy that will haunt their every last waking moment. Plus, I brought her agift.”
I held up the box of treats—chocolate covered bugs—and shookit.
Axel shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you. All I know is she’s been evading us all this time, and I’m ready to head backhome.”
A strange chill suddenly swept down my spine. Stiffening, I cocked my head and focused my enhanced fae hearing on the snow-packed ground behind us. Something snapped, but it was impossible to tell what. Was someonehere?
“Caer?” I called out, twisting around to face the empty space behindus.
Axel went rigid, and his hand slipped back into his pockets. I wasn’t entirely sure what he hid in there, but I knew it was a weapon of some sort. Every time even something mildly threatening had happened along our journey together, he’d shoved his hands right back into his pocketsagain.
Another snap. And thenanother.
I narrowed my eyes. “I know someone is there. I can hear you. Showyourself.”
Three imposing fae whispered out of shadows that had not been there a moment before. I blinked and stepped back, more from surprise than anything else. There weren’t any trees to hide behind. There were no rocks. Just miles and miles of snow. The shadows vanished as easily as they’dappeared.
The fae were all dressed in ancient garb. Leather armor with shields and swords, along with helmets that covered their unruly hair. All female warriors, and all looking very ready for afight.
“What are you doing here?” The tallest stepped forward, rolling back her shoulders in a classic move meant to intimidate. Didn’t really work on me. She might have caught me by surprise, but she’d have nothing on my skill with theblade.
“I’m looking for Caer.” I dropped my hand to the hilt of my sword and rubbed my thumb against the soothing gold. “She’s a druid,and—”
“The Goddess of Prophecies and Dreams,” the fae said, cutting me off. She narrowed her eyes. “Do not merely refer to her as a druid. It’sblasphemy.”
Blasphemy?
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “Yeah, alright. Sure. The goddess of prophecies and dreams. Have you seenher?”
“No one may see Caer. She is a Goddess. You may offer her your prayers, and then you must go. We know you have been tracking her, and you must stop. Or you will face the wrath of theblade.”
