Kalen tightens his grip on her and transports himself back to her father’s palace. He knows she has never felt truly comfortable in his Kingdom. She is Dark Fae; she doesn’t really belong in the Light lands. If he has any hope of getting her back, she needs to be where she is most comfortable.
“You found her,” Lincoln shouts at him, running towards him with Vito hot on his heels. “Where was she?”
“Ponte,” Kalen says with a scowl.
“Jesus,” Lincoln mutters. “She isn’t safe on Earth; anything could have happened to her.”
“I found her, and I’ve brought her home,” he says, “to our daughter and me.”
“No!” Lincoln shouts at him and Aeval winces, trying to curl herself up against him. “No,” he says more softly. “You have done enough. She needs to go home.”
“She is home,” Kalen says and without another word he turns and heads towards the stairs, carrying her to her bedroom and laying her down gently on the bed. She stares up at the ceiling and he sits with her, lightly holding her hand.
She doesn’t say a word so neither does he. He will give her some time to process what he has already told her and hope that she comes to her senses on her own without further coaxing from him.
The Dark Fae Kingdom, October 2014 - Lincoln
“We need to get her away from him, now,” Vito hisses at him.
“I know, but how?” Lincoln asks, looking at where they disappeared up the stairs.
“We need to figure that out and soon. If he starts spelling her again, I fear for her sanity,” Vito says glumly.
“Can you puffport?” Lincoln asks him with a frown.
Vito gives him one back. “Puffport? Do you mean transport myself out of here? No, I do not possess that power as I am not royalty,” he says stiffly.
“How did you get here then?” Lincoln asks.
“A new Ring was created when you were sent back that leads from here to the Underworld,” he says. “But even if we got Aefre away from Kalen long enough to escape, we cannot go back there.”
“Why not?” Lincoln asks.
“The Dragons have taken up camp on the lawns. Remiel has had to ward the house so that they can’t burn it down with everyone inside,” Vito explains.
“Shit,” Lincoln breathes out. “What the fuck are we supposed to do?”
“You need to go home and tell the others to stop trying to contact her,” an unfamiliar voice says, and Lincoln turns to look at a shorter, younger version of Sebastian. “I am Anders, Light Fae Prince and next in line to the throne,” he adds at Lincoln and Vito’s questioning looks.
Lincoln growls at him, not trusting him one bit.
“You can trust me,” Anders says, holding his hands up. “I am nothing like them.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before,” Lincoln says wryly.
“Really,” Anders insists. “I don’t know Aeval all that well, but I care about her well-being. What my brother has done to her is despicable.”
Lincoln pauses in his assessment of Prince Anders and the vehemence in his tone.
“How can you help?” Vito asks, also sizing up the newcomer with trepidation mixed in with hope that all is not lost.
“While what Kalen has done to Aeval is a vile act, he is not completely to blame for her breakdown,” Anders says. “She is confused because someone is messing with the spell, trying to connect to her. It has caused too much friction for her to handle so she has switched off to protect herself. You need to go home and tell them to stop.”
“We can’t,” Vito says. “There are obstacles.”
“I can get you into the house,” Anders says and they both perk up at that news.
“If you can transport us there, then we can take Aefre with us,” Lincoln says.