Warrior Fae Princess (Warrior Fae 2)

“Can I see that vial?” Charity held out her hand.

Emery must’ve been curious, and possession was nine-tenths of the law, but he handed it to her at once. Whatever else he was, he was honest and trustworthy.

She wound up and threw the vial down the small incline off the path. “Whatever it is, we don’t want it,” she yelled out, knowing that vampires would be able to hear. “I guess we’ll never know if the rumors are true, or if it was a trap.”

A rustle sounded not far off. Someone had just given their presence away. Not that it mattered. Emery didn’t slow or alter course.

Devon stared at her silently, his face blank. It wasn’t hard to guess what he was thinking.

Charity looked straight ahead, ignoring her aching body. And she’d keep on ignoring it until she trudged her way to the Flush and got a real cure. “I will not save myself at your pack’s expense, Devon. You must know that by now.”

“Sometimes I hope you’ll learn some sense,” he replied.

Emery huffed out a laugh. “That woman right there has rock-solid sense, are you kidding?” He glanced back at Devon. “You oughta try dealing with Reagan and her older dual-mage sidekicks for a week. Talk about no sense. Then mix in Penny’s mother—trust me, brother, you’ve got it good. Hold on for dear life and hope she doesn’t leave you.”

“See?” Charity said, raising her chin.

“The problem is, we have a trek ahead of us, and we don’t have the gas for it,” Devon said.

“We’re switching routes,” Emery said. “It’ll take us away from the cover of the wilds, but it’s easier to travel. We can move faster while still staying to the sidelines. Mostly. Hopefully the elves only have minions patrolling, and those have been cleared.”

“We’re trusting that Vlad has taken care of the danger?” Penny asked, aghast.

“We don’t have much choice,” Emery murmured.Chapter Twenty-OneThe rest of the day and into the night passed in a blur of fatigue for Devon. His limbs felt like they had weights tied to them, and his wolf kept struggling to break free. Charity’s magic was buffeting them both in faster and stronger waves, building up even though she had absolutely no energy to help it flower. Even so, Devon suspected the energy link between them wasn’t as open as they’d originally thought. That, or Charity had figured out (possibly unconsciously) how to keep more of the pain for herself and spare Devon, because they’d had to stop repeatedly for her to clamp down on a power surge that he didn’t feel as much as he should’ve.

“We should be able to get some rest up here a ways,” Emery said, leading them along a narrow path between bent and twisted trees and straggly, reaching bushes. The area was a no man’s land. Nothing seemed to be stirring on the periphery. No winged creatures flew overhead.

Devon counted his blessings. A few times on the trek, they’d seen creatures staring out of the trees at them, silent and watchful, keeping at bay when normally they would attack, or so Emery had murmured as they passed.

They still didn’t know why Vlad had cleared their path—was he being true to his word, or was he leading them into an elaborate trap? Only time would tell.

The soft pounding of danger thrummed in Devon’s middle. He had no way of knowing if he was right, but it felt like the elf or elves were catching up. He nearly said as much, but what choice did they have but to rest? Charity was staggering like a drunk with a pale, sweaty face and weak, useless limbs. She was in a bad way. Any farther, and they’d have to carry her.

Any farther, and they might have to carry Devon.

“We can drape an invisibility spell over the cave,” Emery murmured to Penny. “Any higher-powered elves would be able to sense the magic, so we’ll…have to get creative.”

“How much farther until the Flush?” Penny asked.

“At this pace and after a rest?” He paused for a moment. “A day, probably.”

A surge of Charity’s magic rushed into Devon, making his eyes water. She bumped into him before putting her hand to her sternum, slowing. A moment later, she bent at the waist and squeezed her arms around her middle.

“You okay?” Penny asked, turning to Charity with a concerned expression.

“The Realm…” Charity struggled for breath, coughing into her fist. “It’s boosting my magic.”

“This surge is more powerful,” Emery said, concern screwing up his features. “It feels like lava needles.”

“It feels like she is getting ready to blast us with something nasty,” Penny murmured, her hand on Emery’s arm.

“I’m good,” Charity said through clenched teeth. “It’s good.”

Devon could barely stand upright. He pumped out his shifter magic, the effort nearly taking him to his knees, counteracting the stinging pain of her magic. His pack backed off, probably a survival mechanism, except for Steve in his lion form.