Great, so that meant we were going to have to trek back the way we’d come, which was a massive waste of time. Then we’d have to figure out how to get back up to the land above.
With no time to waste we started to move toward the gateway of this the land. My dragon knew the way, like she’d spent her entire life here and not just a few precious moments.
A flash of gold caught our attention. We all stopped and stared as a shimmery wall appeared to our left. It was circular, large enough for all of us to step through in one go. In my mind a flash of golden scales brushed against my dragon, and I knew this was a parting gift from the queen. She was giving us a direct step through back home.
“What the hell is that?” Maximus said.
Louis strode right up to it, his hands held out to feel the energy. “Appears to be a step through, on a massive scale, but I can’t know if it will take us anywhere safe. Faerie is unpredictable.
To save time arguing about its safety, I just took off, ducking between them, my size an advantage for once. I was fast, arriving at the shimmer before most of them even took their first steps after me.
“Trust me,” I yelled, “it’s safe!”
The quads curses and shouts were cut off as I stepped into the shine. I never liked the sensations of being in a step through. My body always rebelled at the cloying nature of it, the way it sort of sucked me through to the other side, but I was ready to see my beloved Stratford again; it felt like years since I’d been there. I also had that terrible feeling that while we’d been doing our thing in Faerie, the king had been up to some bad shit, and that we were going to walk back into chaos. Pure chaos.
I stepped out to the other side and found myself in Stratford’s city center, next to the water fountain. The icy wind shocked me at first; it had been so temperate in Faerie, but here we looked to be in the tail end of the cold months, no snow left, just that frigid wind which could cut right through to bone. My shifter metabolism kicked in, sending heat through my veins. Thank you, genetics. Hugging my arms closer, I looked around the square.
The town was eerily quiet. There was no one around, which was odd. With over six thousand inhabitants, there was always someone here. It was a central gathering point, and the town hall was used often for various events.
I kept myself in the vicinity of where the others would soon emerge. I was extra cautious, worried I was about to be ambushed by the freaking king again or something. Not only would the quads be pissed at me, but I’d be pissed at myself if he managed to get the drop on me twice. Thoughts of my “maybe baby” flittered across my mind too, and I knew I had to be careful for more than myself now, had to be smarter than ever. All I had to do was protect everyone, defeat the king, and not hurt my possible offspring in the process. Yeah, no worries.
The silent eeriness remained unbroken around me. What was going on in Stratford?
A whoosh of energy trickled across my back, followed by the deep voice of my mate. “Just because you might be pregnant, Jessa, doesn’t mean I can’t take you over my knee and spank your ass.”
His presence and energy filtered around me, and it finally felt as if there were more here than ghosts. I wasn’t surprised at all that Braxton was the first through the step through. He would have been right on my butt, as usual.
I smirked as I tipped my head back to see him. “A spanking is starting to sound pretty good to me right now. We’re in some serious need of alone time.”
His thumb grazed my lips, slowly tracing across my skin and down to my throat. “We’ll have our time, and it’ll be soon. We just have an asshole to rid ourselves of first.”
Asshole was right, and judging by the empty Stratford streets, and the cramping worry in my gut, I was just hoping we weren’t already too late to save the supernatural world.
Chapter 13
I forced down my fears and focused on the creepy Stratford we’d arrived in. “Can you sense anything about what happened here? Do you think Larky took them all?”
As I had done, he took a few moments to observe the area. His eyes morphed into that striking blue, with the glowing flames in the center, that came out when he used his dragon senses.
Tyson, Jacob and Maximus exited the step through and joined us. Our pack was silent and watchful, each of us trying to figure out what the freak was happening here. Louis was the last to reach our side. Even though the step through was courtesy of the golden dragon queen, he’d probably remained behind out of habit. He generally liked to make sure everyone made it through safely. It was one of those things which showed how truly courteous and kind Louis was. Most people saw his power and nothing else, but while power was something I appreciated, it was the true goodness in his heart I cherished the most. My self-appointed big brother.
“I don’t know what happened here,” Braxton eventually said, his keen gaze still focusing on our surroundings. “There’s no lingering magic. No misfires of spells. There’s no blood residue. No weapons of steel or iron in the vicinity. I sense no disturbance on the security around the borders. The only odd scent is an extra strong burn of diesel in the air.”
Louis held both hands out and started to murmur. There wasn’t as much general magic in the air here compared to Faerie, so when he cast his spell it was strong enough to leave a woodsy taste on my tongue and tingles on my skin.
I knew from school that magic users pulled energy from the gods. Of course I couldn’t remember all the different deities, except for the shining ones. They were the most important, which made perfect sense, as our magic originated from Faerie.