I push my hands through my hair. “Someone had better stop him soon before he ruins both worlds.”
“Do you think they’ll kill him?” Aurora asks in a small voice. “The Guild or the Seelie soldiers or whoever catches up to him first?”
Calla is quiet before answering, long enough for me to remember what she said as we watched human soldiers marching into the fae ream with guns and explosives: I’ve never wanted to kill … But right now? Right now I could kill Roarke if no one was there to stop me. “I don’t know,” she says eventually. “I hope not. I hope he’ll be justly punished instead. But it will be up to the Unseelies to determine his punishment.”
Aurora looks down at her hands. “Oh,” she says, picking up the dinner pop between her thumb and forefinger. “I forgot about this.” She places it carefully in her mouth and starts chewing, an unimpressed expression on her face.
I look away from her with a small smile on my lips. I’m glad she got away from the Unseelie Palace and managed to find me. Who knows what will happen at the end of all this, but hopefully, when the Seelies and Unseelies go back to hating each other and Calla and I finally get back to our home, Aurora and I will still be friends.
As the bright moon continues to rise above us, illuminating our enchanted blue surroundings, I say, “Sitting here, it all seems so far away. The Haverton Tower Hotel, and those human soldiers crashing through our world. Almost as if it could never touch us.”
“I know,” Calla answers. “But it will. Those humans might not possess magic, but their weapons are powerful. Their bombs will rip through immense parts of our world if someone doesn’t send them back to where they belong.”
“I’m sure it will all be okay in the end,” Aurora says, though she sounds far from certain. “We stop Roarke, we push the humans out of our world, and everything goes back to normal.”
“Well, that isn’t all of it,” I tell her. “We have other things to worry about. The Guild has Dash, and they’ve imprisoned my parents somewhere as well. Until we find them and rescue them, nothing will be normal for us.”
“Wait, did you say parents? Plural?” Aurora sits forward. “Did you find out who your father is?”
I sigh. “Roarke seriously didn’t tell you anything, did he.”
“Yeah, I think we’ve already established that. What’s this about your parents?”
I look at Calla. “I’m starting to think I should have recorded this whole story about Ada and Zed and changeling magic and Violet and Ryn being my parents. How many times have I told it now?”
“Hey.” Aurora pokes my leg with her foot. “Just tell me the story.”
I sigh and launch into my explanation once again. By the time I reach the end, Aurora’s listening raptly with wide eyes. “You’re a changeling. And you found your family. That’s amazing! And Dash …” Her face falls. “Darn, Roarke must have sent that letter he kept threatening to send to the Guild. The one tipping them off about Dash working with Griffin rebels. Why else would they suddenly have become suspicious of him?”
“Well, he did disappear to the Unseelie Palace for several days without permission and with very little explanation,” Calla says.
“Hmm, I suppose that would invite some suspicion,” Aurora admits.
“So that’s the whole story,” I say, leaning back, moving Bandit aside, and uncrossing my legs so I can stretch them out. “I finally find my family, and then they end up in a torture prison—or wherever it is the Guild is hiding them now. I mean, they could still be in the same prison, for all we know. Just hidden in a different part of it.”
“That’s a possibility,” Calla says. She sighs and looks around at the floating timer. “We should get some rest. Who knows what magical mess we may have to deal with tomorrow.”
“Or if we’ll suddenly find out where the rest of our family is being held captive and have to launch another rescue mission,” I say.
She smiles. “We can always hope.” As we spread the sleeping bags out, she adds, “I’ll take the first watch. You can do the second half of the night, and we can give Aurora her first night off.”
“Keep watch?” Aurora asks. “Are you serious?”
“Hey, you wanted to stick with us,” I remind her.
“Yes, but—”
“We can argue about this tomorrow night,” Calla says. “For tonight, enjoy your sleep.”
After some grumbling from Aurora, I hand her a set of clean clothes, and she walks to the other side of Imperia to make use of a shower spell. Bandit climbs into my sleeping bag and shuffles all the way to the bottom, and Imperia, already asleep, sends puffs of steam into the air as she snores.
My eyes slide shut as my head reaches my pillow, but as always, thoughts of Vi, Ryn and Dash begin to wander through my mind. Eventually, at some point after my Griffin Ability has replenished and after my imagination plays through a multitude of things that might possibly go wrong in both worlds tomorrow, I slip into dreamland.
When Calla shakes my shoulder some time later, I feel as though I haven’t been asleep for nearly long enough. At first I assume it’s my turn to keep watch, but she doesn’t normally wake me so vigorously. “Whaswrong?” I mumble, blinking several times and trying to focus on her.
She crouches beside me. “I’m leaving for a little while, Em. I need to go to Central Park. Roarke’s magic is spreading quickly, taking over the whole area. I think we were right about him. I think he wants the human world.”
Sixteen
I push myself to my feet as quickly as my sleepy body will allow. “What? The Central Park?” I realize as I’m speaking that of course she’s talking about the Central Park. It’s right next to the huge hotel Roarke attacked a few days ago.
“Yes.” She attaches a weapons belt around her hips and secures it. “Chase was just here, updating me on everything he knows. The entire area has been consumed by an enchanted forest. Humans are trapped inside and can’t find their way out. He’s gone straight there, and I’m going to join him.”
I blink a few more times and rub my eyes, wishing I could have had a bit more sleep before confronting a new problem. “Has the Guild not sent any guardians to rescue those people?”
“That’s the thing,” she says, turning and heading to the amber tablets. I follow behind her. “I can see all these vision reports popping up—way too late, I might add—but hardly any of them are being assigned. So many guardians have been dispatched to deal with the advancing human soldiers, and others are attending the summit with the Seelies and Unseelies, which doesn’t leave many to deal with all the incidents taking place across the human realm.”
“So that summit thing is definitely happening?” Aurora asks. I look back and see her climbing out of her sleeping bag.
“Yes,” Calla answers. “Later today. In a location that obviously hasn’t been made public, but Perry and Flint have done well with their eavesdropping and information gathering. Chase and Elizabeth are going along to listen in so we know what’s discussed and what decisions they come to, because I can guarantee they won’t make everything public afterwards. And I need to go with to make sure they’re properly concealed.”
As Aurora reaches my side, rubbing her eyes and yawning, I say, “Wait, so … did you say you’re going to Central Park without us?”
“Yes.” Calla opens one side of her jacket—revealing an array of small, gleaming weapons—and removes her stylus.
“But if it’s just you and a few other Griffin rebels—and maybe a handful of guardians—then won’t you need more help? I can—”
“Em, that whole area—the Haverton Tower Hotel and the park and some of the smaller surrounding buildings—are under Roarke’s control now. I don’t want you anywhere near there. He could easily get his hands on you.”
“How could he easily get his hands on me?” I argue. “He won’t know I’m there, especially if you’re imagining us as invisible.”
“True, but I don’t want to risk your safety. Not when I kn
ow he’s nearby.”
I throw my hands up. “You can travel anywhere in the world within seconds. Everywhere is nearby.”
She steps closer to me. “You know how important you are to me, to our family. I’m only trying to keep you—”
“Keep me safe. I know.”
“Then why are you arguing with me?”
I press my lips together, holding back my frustration. Blurting out ‘I don’t like being told what to do’ would sound incredibly childish, but that’s essentially what this is about. Though I wouldn’t give up the family I’ve just discovered for anything, part of me misses being in control of my own life. Chelsea didn’t particularly care what I did with my time. I had the freedom to go anywhere I could afford to go—which, sadly, didn’t include much beyond Stanmeade. But it was still freedom. Now … well, now I have to do whatever Calla tells me to do.
I take a deep breath and try to sound reasonable. “I’m not saying I want to run into the midst of danger and be reckless. I don’t want Roarke to find me. All I want is to help you save everyone who’s stuck inside Roarke’s enchanted forest.”
She shakes her head, turns away, and raises her stylus. She writes on the air itself, and a moment later, a doorway appears. She’s about to step through it, but she stops. She sighs, looks back at me, and asks, “Why? Why do you want to save them?”
“Because … I don’t know. Because I can. And it’s the right thing to do.”
It’s hard to tell through the semi-darkness, but I think she might almost be smiling. “Fine,” she says. “But you have to do whatever I tell you.”
A thrill rushes through me. I reach down beside my sleeping bag and grab my jacket. “Of course. I wouldn’t think of doing anything else.”
“Are you happy to stay here on your own?” Calla asks Aurora. “Not that you have a choice. I’m not taking both you and Em.”
Aurora points her thumb over her shoulder. “Have you seen my dragon? I’m not exactly alone.”
“Good point,” Calla says.
“And take care of Bandit please,” I add.
“You are coming back, aren’t you?” Aurora asks. “This isn’t a ruse of some sort to get rid of me?”
“We’re definitely coming back,” Calla assures her. “I only have an hour, and then I need to leave for the summit. And you’re definitely not coming along for that,” she adds, looking at me. “The only thing we’ll be doing is listening.”
I finish pulling my jacket on. “Okay.”
“Right, let’s stop wasting time.” She loops her arm through mine and steps into the faerie paths.
“Bye,” Aurora says. I look back and see her giving us a small wave. “Imperia and I will guard all your stuff. Please don’t die.”
Calla hesitates, which I’m sure has far more to do with leaving all our belongings behind than the possibility that we might die. “It’s fine,” I murmur as the edges of the doorway begin to move toward each other. “We can trust her. And it’s just stuff, anyway.”
We step into a street near Central Park where it’s eerily quiet and a lot darker than I expected. A single light flickers, a siren wails in the distance, and the dark night presses around me. My heart beats a little too quickly as we walk toward the end of the block—then begins racing properly at the sight of the scene awaiting us from the next street onward.
It’s the stuff of post-apocalyptic nightmares. Crumbling buildings, bent and twisted lamp posts, the occasional spark from exposed wiring, and trees, vines and enchanted oversized flowers strangling everything. “Ho-lee crap,” I whisper. “I know you made it sound bad, but this is bad.”
“It’s like … like our world has erupted into this one and is trying to consume it,” Calla says. “And with those human soldiers advancing further and further into the fae realm, everything’s just becoming so mixed up. It was never supposed to be this way. This is all so …”
“Wrong?” a voice says behind us. We turn and see Chase walking out of the faerie paths toward us. “Thanks for coming,” he says to Calla. “I didn’t realize you were bringing Em with.”
“Neither did I,” Calla answers. “But she was quite insistent.”
Chase laughs quietly and says, “Just as stubborn as your parents, I see.”
“So I’ve heard,” I tell him.
Calla’s expression turns serious again. “How did this forest—this jungle—happen so quickly? Surely Roarke doesn’t have the kind of magic to create something so large in so short a time?”
“Apparently he has half the Unseelie army on his side,” I remind her. “They must have helped.”
“Yes, I suppose so.” She looks at Chase. “Have you been able to save anyone from this tangled mess?”
“Five so far; two couples and a guy on his own. And I’m not bothering with a glamour. I find people, free them from whatever plant they’re twisted up in, lead them out as quickly as possible, then search for more. I have no idea how many are in there, though, and we have limited time if we’re hoping to get to the summit.”
“Well, we can only do as much as we can,” Calla says, already moving toward the ruins. “Whichever guardians are around—plus Carter, Krystal and Kobe—will have to do the rest.”
“Wait,” I say. “We may as well use my ability since I’m here. Maybe I can tell the whole forest it doesn’t exist anymore. Then everyone can get away from the park.”
Chase hesitates, then says, “I suppose you may as well try. Your ability seems to obey almost everything else you say.”
I move a few steps closer to the overgrown wreckage, stopping when I reach a fallen lamp post. I exhale deeply, thinking of the size of Central Park—and then mentally adding on more area for the surrounding streets and buildings that have been consumed. Basically, this forest is freaking enormous.
As if she can hear my thoughts, Calla asks, “Are you sure you’ll be okay if you try this? It seems so … big.”
I look over my shoulder at her. “My power is pretty big too, isn’t it? That’s why everyone else wants it.”
She nods slowly. “True. I guess you did close the veil. That was big.”
I turn back and focus my attention on the forest spreading out before me. If I imagine the entire thing—if that’s where my intention is directed—then this should work, right?
“Hey!”
My gaze snaps up in the direction of the shout. Through the darkness, I see a group of people—ten, perhaps, though I don’t have time to count them—leaping over the ruins with magical ease. “Get out of here!” one of them shouts. Sparks of magic fly our way, morphing into flapping, screeching crows. Chase is suddenly beside me, sweeping one hand through the air and tossing the crows aside with a powerful gust of wind.
With barely a thought for what I’m doing, I clench my fists and yell, “Don’t attack! Don’t come a step closer!”
And every one of the advancing faeries slams up against an invisible wall. An unexpected thrill races through me as I realize I could tell these people absolutely anything and they’d have no choice but to obey me. But I barely have time to enjoy the feeling before Calla tugs me sideways into the faerie paths. Chase dives in after me, catching hold of my arm.
We stumble out of the faerie paths into an almost identical scene of overgrown destruction, near some other part of the park. The road beneath our feet has buckled from the pressure of giant roots spreading beneath it, and water gushes up from beneath the cracks in the tar. Calla whips around, no doubt searching for any sign of a new threat. “Maybe conceal us?” Chase suggests. “Roarke’s guys are probably everywhere.”
“I am,” she answers. “Invisibility.”
“That was quick thinking, Em,” Chase says to me. “Well done. Now try commanding the forest.” He looks back over his shoulder. “Quickly, if you can. I think people are approaching from back there.”
I nod, pushing aside the disturbing exhilaration of having so easily commanded a group of people. I shut my eyes and picture the entiret
y of Central Park covered in a magical forest that shouldn’t be there. Then I release the control I’m holding over my Griffin Ability’s power and speak. “This enchanted forest—the forest created by Prince Roarke and his followers—no longer exists. Every plant of magical origin is gone, and every human trapped among the plants is now free to move about. Return the park … the park and …” I want to add more. I want to tell the park and surrounding roads and buildings to return to their former state. I want to tell the damage and destruction to vanish along with the forest. But all my power is already flooding from my body. My head is spinning. Spots of light fill my vision as my body becomes weightless.
“Em? Em!”
I blink a few times and lift my head. As my surroundings come back into focus, I realize I’m sitting on a sidewalk propped up between Calla and Chase. “Are you okay?” Calla asks. Her hand is against my cheek, turning my face toward hers.
“Yes, just …” I blink again. “I didn’t … have enough.”
“It’s working,” Chase says.
Calla turns her head, and I struggle to look past her. It happens quickly. I barely have time to see the vines, trees and other plants being sucked into the ground like a time-lapse movie clip in reverse before they’re all completely gone. The damage, of course, is still there. Cracked roads, broken pipes, half-destroyed buildings. It looks like a war zone.
“Incredible,” Calla murmurs. “I wonder if your command reached the entire forest.”
Chase stands. “It’s impossible to tell from here.”
“I don’t … think so,” I tell them. “I wouldn’t have passed out if I had enough power for the whole forest.”
“I can see a whole bunch of Roarke’s followers now,” Chase adds. “Those are definitely Unseelie uniforms. Doesn’t look like they’re too happy about suddenly being exposed.” He turns at the sound of hurried footsteps coming from the other direction down the street. “Now what? More Unseelies?”
Calla takes my arm and pulls me behind a taxi. “Aren’t we concealed?” I ask.