I want to stop them. Ask questions. But that would only waste time. I need to get to Arianna.
Dean tries to follow the pair, but the door shuts behind them on its own. Doesn't pry open.
"What do you think that was about?" asks my brother.
"I don't care. Marasphyr is… old."
"Doesn't look it."
"You know what I mean. She is ancient. The Fae is too. They had more centuries than us to cross paths. And if we were to try to understand every detail of their past, it would take centuries more of conversation."
Dean nods, rubbing his chin. "Hmm. Never thought about it that way. Every immortal I've cared for I've grown up with. Shared in most parts of their life. Having a relationship with a mermaid would be complicated. There would always be secrets. Even if not intentionally, there would always be information omitted, simply because there was too much information. Is that why it didn't work between the two of you?"
"One of the reasons," I say, not wishing to discuss things further.
Dean begins pacing. "But, I'm a forgiving man. A man who likes to live in the present rather than dwell in the past. Do you think Marasphyr and I could—"
"Maybe."
He stops walking. "I could live with maybe."
I chuckle at my brother's antics. I suppose this is his way of moving on from Arianna. His way of trying.
Marasphyr and Tavian emerge from the cottage, him looking tired and beaten, her more chipper than ever. "Matters have been settled," she says. "For now, anyway. Come. We must make haste."
She snaps her fingers and a gust of wind hits me in the chest, almost knocking me over. The air turns cold and still. The grass begins to die. The pool freezes over. At its center, a shadow gathers. It pulses, like a black heart, humming, then explodes out, turning into a whirlpool of darkness.
Dean points at the thing. "Is that a portal?"
I nod. "How else were we getting past the blockade?"
The four of us walk forward. Into the portal.
And onto Grey Mountain.
Chapter 9
A HOWL ON THE WIND
"It is loud, all consuming, layered like a chorus. It is soft and hard at the same time. It is gentle and furious. Not female or male. Something else. It surrounds me. It embraces and engulfs me."
—Arianna Spero
I do not know how long I stood at the door, feeling the Darkness pulse on the other side. It could have been minutes. Hours. Days. To me it felt an eternity. To me, it felt like being in a dream. A perfect dream from which none wish to wake. Where Fen and I and our baby lived happily in Stonehill. Where my mother ate with us and held her grandchild on her lap. Where we were safe. Peaceful.
And then Lucian pulled me away.
"It's almost time now," he says.
I blink, trying to focus on the present. The dream calls so strongly. "Time… time for what?"
He winks. "For everything to change."
I try to ask for more, but then she arrives.
Her long blue dress flowing behind her. Her silver jewelry swaying from her neck. Her pale serpent coiled around her arm. Metsi.
A wave of water moves in her wake, controlled by her powers. She's drawing from the snow, I realize. Creating water from the ice. Something glides inside the waves. A cage.
Yami!
Metsi stops before us, and with a flick of her hand, the water releases the cage, lowering it to the ground before us. Inside, a small Yami curls up into a ball, wet and trembling. But when he sees me, his eyes light up, and he jumps up and down, screeching, his tongue wagging.
I fall to my knees, beaming, reaching for him. My hands touch the cage, and a shock hits me, pushing me back. The wards. The wards that keep Yami trapped keep me from freeing him as well.
"Let him go!" I growl.
Metsi and Lucian ignore me, facing each other. "I brought the others as well," says the Water Druid. "As you requested." She snaps her fingers, and the wave of water dissipates. In its stead, a woman falls to the ground. Her hands bound behind her back. Her hair blue.
"Kayla!" I rush to her, untying her hands, and checking her for wounds. She seems fine. Better than last I saw her. But she is stunned, voiceless, not entirely conscious.
Lucian and Metsi don't stop me. They don't seem to care.
More of the water dissipates, and two more bodies fall to the ground. Asher and Varis. They don't move, and for a second I think they're dead, but then I notice a subtle rising of their chests. Okay. They're only unconscious.
But how is this possible? Did Lucian capture Stonehill?
"Ari…" Kayla looks up, her voice weak and thin. "Ari," she says again, this time stronger, hugging me tightly. "I'm sorry," she says. "I couldn't stop him. I couldn't stop…" And then she notices him over my shoulder. "I couldn't stop Lucian," she says, rage filling her voice. She dashes forward, hands out like claws. Out for blood.
But then water shoots up around her, curls around her arms like shackles, and pulls her back down to the ground.
"Where is he?" Kayla hisses. "Where is Riku?"
Riku? The Spirit?
"Do not worry, girl," says Lucian, pulling a silver stone from his pocket. "Riku is right here. Safe. So is Zyra." He pulls out another stone. A white one.
Tears well in Kayla's eyes. "What have you done to them?"
"Spirits can take on many forms. They often turn into physical objects when they lack power," says Lucian.