There was little we could do against them, not until we heard from the mortal kingdoms. And they knew it. So why were they holding back?
There was no time to ponder those questions. Because when we finally made it through the gates, we found a world drowned in mist. Screams of panic filled the humid, night-drenched air. Heart pounding, I gazed up at the sky. Gone was the sun, there only a moment before. Now a pale moon pressed a vague light onto the lands, highlighting a vast expanse of nothingness. A familiar panic curled in my gut. Even after all my time spent in the mists, even after everything I’d survived—or maybe because of it—my blood went cold.
Some of the storm fae started to run. Toryn barked at the guards to stop them, frantically trying to maintain order. But there were thousands here, a swarming mass of panic. They had no idea what was happening or why. All they knew was that their city was crumbling and the mists had finally come for them.
Kalen strode toward his friend and clapped his hand onto his shoulder. “There’s too much panic. You’ll never get to them to the coast like this. Bring them to Dubnos. We’ll find beds for them all.”
Toryn shook his head, but then he swore as another cluster of storm fae broke past the guards and fled into the night. “If you can help me calm them the fuck down, I will. Otherwise, none of them will make it away from this city.”
Kalen nodded before glancing at me. “Brace yourself.”
I only had a brief moment to slide my arm around Nellie’s furry shoulder.
And then he roared. The sound was as loud as thunder, booming over the screams, the crumbling castle inside the gates, and the pounding of so many frantic footsteps. The gods may have muted his telekinetic strength, but they had not dampened the power of his voice. It shook through me, right to my bones. Even my teeth seemed to rattle.
All around us, the fae stilled, stunned.
Terror and awe crept across their faces as they turned our way. They stared at the Mist King, their long-feared enemy from beyond the shadowy border. A few of them fell to their knees, splaying their hands against the ground as if in prayer. I knew at any moment they’d start running again, but for now, he held their rapt attention.
“Your king will lead you to safety,” he called out, and then he nodded to Toryn.
With a grateful smile, Toryn nodded to his old friend and then strode to his people. And despite their white knuckles and their pinched mouths and their widened eyes, they listened to him.
“I’m leading you to Dubnos,” he told them. “It’s the nearest city. You will find refuge there. I know you are afraid, but the Mist King is here, and he is helping you.”
No one argued. Not even a single one. Because the booming sound of the crumbling castle grew ever louder, and there was no more time for talking. And so the storm fae fell behind Toryn as he led them away from their dying city.
* * *
Hours later, we arrived at Dubnos, exhausted. The gods had done nothing to stop us from fleeing the Kingdom of Storms, a fact that did not sit well in my gut. Most of the Gailfean fae had followed Toryn as he led them across the mist-drenched lands, too scared to do anything else. We hadn’t stopped to rest, not once, but not a single soul had complained. The terror of the gods nipping at our heels was enough to keep everyone moving.
And so we descended upon Dubnos with thousands of hungry, tired, and wide-eyed fae who had nowhere else to go. Many shadow fae ventured outside to see the procession through their streets, and then they welcomed whom they could into their homes, even if it was just for a pallet on their living room floor. Even with the threat of Sirius and the others looming over us like a storm cloud, my heart filled with hope. The people of Dubnos were stepping up to do what they could.
Still, there weren’t enough homes to go around, so a couple hundred fae followed us into the castle. Kalen had the maidservants transform the Great Hall into one big shelter, using blankets and bedrolls that had once belonged to his mother’s army, back before the war and all the losses it had brought to the shadow fae numbers.
I stood with Toryn in the doorway, watching the fae settle into the Great Hall. An eerie hush had fallen over the room. Shock, I supposed. My heart ached for them.
He heaved out a sigh and leaned against the doorway. His face still wore that mask of calm, but I could see the exhaustion in his emerald eyes. “It is done.”
“You did well, Toryn,” I felt compelled to say.
His face tightened. “Some of them ran. I sent warriors to find them, but they’re gone. They’ll struggle to survive out there in the mist.”
“You did what you could.”
“It wasn’t enough.” Clenching his hands, he gazed at the storm fae gathered in the Great Hall. “I just…I don’t understand how all this happened. How are wehere? What can we even do now?” And then he turned to me, his mask finally slipping. Terror roared across his expression. “And what I can’t stop asking myself is this: why didn’t the gods stop us from leaving the city? They could have. I know they could have. Did you see what Kalen’s sword did to Sirius?Nothing.”
“I’ve been wondering the same damn thing.”
Footsteps sounded behind us, and Fenella joined us in the doorway. “Nellie’s fast asleep by the hearth.”
Kalen had offered Nellie the room just beside his. I’d spent a good, long while trying to talk her into shifting back into herself as she prowled around the space like a cat, her claws ticking against the stone floor. When I realized she wouldn’t—or couldn’t—I left Fenella to sit with her while I helped set up the Great Hall for the storm fae.
“Finally,” I said. “She hasn’t shifted back yet, I’m guessing?”
“That would be a no.”
“What in the name of light happened? You were with her when it happened, right?”
