I was thankful that the valley I’d chosen to take through this mountain seemed to run the entire range. The path was worn, with strange colorful plants dotting the edges, very similar to the ones I’d seen in our jungle adventure here, just less overgrown. Shadows flashed across my head; I glimpsed Larky’s brilliantly-colored sunset dragon through small gaps from above. He knew I was here but was too large to make it close enough to grab me. I really wanted to find a place to lay low until I figured out a way to contact Louis, but I could hear someone on the ground following as well. I was being pursued from all angles.
I needed another plan. They were tracking me too easily like this; I would eventually falter and be caught. Especially since I was not running at full capacity, and I’d already learned multiple times today that there was no real way to fight the king. I had to escape him and find my people again. We needed a plan to sever the ties between the king and marked. Like yesterday.
A shimmery visage caught my attention then, and it was odd enough that I faltered slightly in my full on sprint. What was that? I knew it wasn’t safe to investigate strange things in Faerie. This was a land of weird and dangerous shit, but the shimmer had caught my wolf’s attention. She wanted to move closer. So we did. My wolf and I were the same but there were also times where her curiosities had more control than my caution.
The ground pursuers were still some distance away, so I had enough time to change directions and dart between two thorny bushes which led toward the strange vision. I halted, my head tilting to the side as we tried to determine what this was. Some sort of portal is what I would guess. The sparkling depths could lead to anywhere, and for a second I wondered if there was anywhere worse I could end up than back in the clutches of the dragon king.
Behind me, rocks were shifting, feet pounding toward me, and I knew my time had run out. I could no longer hear the roar of the dragon from above, so Larky was probably also on the ground now.
Shit. I made the split second decision and dived into the shimmer. Wherever it led, I’d deal with it when I got there. My snout was first to enter, but by the time the rest of me followed, my feet were already off the ground and I was spinning in arcs and swirls across what felt like time and space. The inside of my head was spinning too, and even as a wolf I had to close my eyes against this nausea-inducing travel.
It wasn’t hot or cold. No breeze. No scents. I had thought for sure that this was just a portal or step through, so what was with all the swirling? Someone was totally messing with me and I was going to rip their freaking heads off when I finally got off this ride.
The tendrils of air around me started to ease, the pressure which encased the wolf dying away, and I hoped that meant we were almost done in here. In a blink I was back on my feet and the world was again the right way around. And in that split second my nostrils registered the familiar scents around me.
No! No! No! For the love of my freaking sanity! No!
I was back in the castle. Back in that first goddamned room I’d destroyed. The swirling portal was gone now and there was no visible means of escape. How the hell had he set that up? How had he known my wolf would be enticed by that sparkling portal?
Looked like I was the winner of dumbass-of-the-day award. Angry with myself, I gathered energy and in a rush of red-hot rage shifted back to human. I picked up the bag which had fallen from my wolf’s snout and yanked the strings open to look inside. Pushing past the purple dress, I was relieved to see jeans and a tank, not to mention new underwear. Rose was a regular genie of the castle. Too bad our plan hadn’t worked.
Once I was dressed, I wasted no time hoovering down every morsel of food which had also been tucked into the satchel. Just a sub roll and a bottle of water, all of which tasted like double-dipped chocolate cake to my empty stomach. I needed the energy. Larky was going to be so far up my ass now, there’d be no easy escape again.
Muffled noises could be heard outside of my room, and before the magic door was even open, I managed to yank up a sharp stick, broken off from the bed. The door slid across; tingles of magic coated my tongue. I was one of those shifters very attuned to magic. I could always sense it being used. I leaned into my fight pose, letting my energy seep through me as I rose to the balls of my feet. I was prepared to leap, to fight. But it wasn’t the expected blond dickwad who entered.
It was Rose.
I relaxed slightly, before dropping my stick and launching myself across the room to the fey-human. “What are you doing here?” I said, grabbing her arm and pretty much lifting her slight form up and back out the door. “Larky’s going to kill your ass if he finds you helping me again.”
A smile bled across her elfin features. “I love that you call him Larky … he would hate that nickname.” Yes! I knew it. “And he hasn’t returned to the castle yet. There was a disturbance within the walls and he’s very occupied.”
I focused closely on her, eyes narrowing into slits. “How did you know I was back here?”
Things weren’t adding up with Rose. She was human and yet not at the same time. She was a maid but could still sense when I returned to the castle. I mean, how strong was the shining ones’ blood in her?
She didn’t answer immediately, choosing instead to start ushering me forward. We were out in the hall, our steps picking up to a sprint before she answered me.
“I have lived within the walls of this enchanted castle for a thousand years. The king did not quite realize how much of the control and power would bleed into me. He tied himself to me, and therefore I became the mistress of the castle. I don’t have complete control or anything, but nothing goes on in here that I don’t know about.”