Peri saw the fire beginning to emerge in Jacque’s eyes and knew what was coming. She held up her hand to stop the inevitable. “Let’s give it a little while, let you get used to moving and being conscious again. You won’t be any good to us if you just fall over while we’re in that hell hole.”

  Jen stepped forward and held up her hand. “I’d like to point out that if she just fell over like a fainting goat, for one second I’d laugh. That's all.”

  “Thanks for the positive thoughts, Jen,” Jacque said, dryly.

  “I’m always there for you babe.” Jen grinned.

  Jacque’s eyes met Peri’s and there was a fire that lit them burning with unwavering determination. “We aren’t going to wait any longer, Peri. They have been in that place for long enough. My mate is not going to rot in that terrible place, because I’m some pansy that can’t pull it together after being asleep for a few days.”

  “When you put it like that you sound pretty awesome,” Sally pointed out.

  “Well, I am awesome, dammit,” Jacque stomped her foot.

  Jen threw her arms up in the air. “That’s it, people, decision made. Jacque has stomped her foot. If she can cuss and stomp her foot at the same time, I say she’s ready to barge through the gates of hell.”

  Peri looked over to Alina. “You okay with this?”

  Alina looked her daughter-in-law over. She saw nothing by a will of steel. “She’s going with or without us.”

  Peri nodded. “That’s what I was afraid of.” With a huff, she waved for them to follow. “Well, hold on to your butts, it’s about to get messy.”

  “Jurassic Park,” Sally, Jen, and Jacque all yelled out at once at Peri’s movie quote.

  Peri looked back at them and shook her head. “I think your parents must have dropped you guys on your heads five times too many.”

  “My mom claims it was only three,” Jen walked alongside her two best friends, finally feeling a little bit more like herself. “But, I swear it was four because I remember this one time…”

  Jacque slapped her hand over Jen’s mouth, and the others let out a collective sigh.

  Crina smiled at Jacque. “It’s good to have you back.”

  “You’re telling me that no one has been censoring this beast?” She motioned towards Jen.

  “She’s quite dangerous these days. We all wanted to keep our clothes dry and our hair on our heads.” Sally said in defense.

  Jen growled low, her wolf getting agitated along with her. “I’m standing right here you know.”

  “Actually you’re walking,” Jacque dodged the hand that reached out to smack the back of her head and laughed along with the others.

  They walked, nearly two miles before Peri finally stopped. She turned around and held a finger to her lips. Motioning for them to come closer, she quickly glanced back over her shoulder before beginning to speak. Her voice was so low that they had to lean forward to hear.

  “The bridge is just beyond those bushes. The troll is there and has very good hearing and a very good sense of smell. We are downwind at the moment so we should be safe. I’m going to approach him first. You all just sit tight and try not to screw this up.”

  Elle raised a single brow at Peri and narrowed her eyes. “How about you, try not to screw this up.” Peri quietly clucked her tongue as her fellow Fae. “Come now Elle, you mustn’t hold a grudge about the past.”

  Elle’s face relaxed as she shook her head. She had learned long ago that arguing with Perizada was a futile endeavor.

  With a final warning finger like a mother to a child, Peri turned and disappeared from view to face the troll.

  “How long do we give her before we make our move?” Crina asked.

  “There’s no need to worry,” Elle said, dryly.

  “Why not?” Sally asked.

  “That troll has nothing on Peri. The only reason she’s going about it this way is to keep the balance of magic right. Going around blasting everyone into oblivion just because you can does not mean that you should.”

  A thoughtful look came over Jen as she listened to the Fae. “When did you get so Yoda-ish on us?”

  “I have no idea what that means, but if it means I freaking rock, then I’d say always.”

  Their attention went back to the bushes where Peri had gone through and they waited. The opening to where their mates were suffering was most likely less than fifty feet away. Sally looked around at the girls and could tell it was taking everything in them not to just take off at a run. She too felt the urgency, but she steeled herself to wait. Wait for the exact moment when Peri gave them the go-ahead, wait for the moment when she would enter the In-Between and possibly lose herself to its evil influence, wait for the moment when she would see Costin for the first time in what felt like months, even though it had only been a couple of weeks. Waiting seemed to be the theme of her life at the moment and if she were honest, she would say that it was a theme that sucked eggs. She smiled to herself at her thoughts because for a moment she felt the inner-Jen and realized she hadn’t had many of those moments lately. Sally liked to think that it was because she no longer needed inner-Jen, she was becoming exactly who she needed to be, exactly who they all needed her to be. It was time to let go of inner-Jen and embrace Sally, the gypsy healer, and mate to Costin. As she stood there, enduring the waiting, she absolutely loathed, and at that moment, she found the strength in herself that she had always turned to her inner-Jen for. It had been there all along. It had just taken trials, experiences, loss, anger, love, joy, and life to uncover it. And now, Sally, with her new found strength, was going to storm the gates of hell. Okay, not all by myself, she thought, but it’s a start.

  Chapter 7

  “There is often a moment in life where you feel like you have run out of options. You think and think, trying to pull something from nowhere, but still, no possibilities jump out and smack you in the face. It is in those moments that I would like to think that the best in me comes out. I shine in all my calm glory and levelheadedness and others bask in my controlled state. If that ever happens, I’ll let you know… don’t hold your breath.” ~Lilly

  Cypher, Lilly, and Cyn had been on the run from the draheim for nearly two days. They had taken cover in a cave after running through the freezing cold river to cover their scent. It had been nearly six hours since they had heard the beast fly over again, undoubtedly searching for its prey.

  “You think we lost it,” Lilly asked, Cypher?

  His jaw was tense and the crinkles around his eyes deepened as worry, anger, and resolve all fought for a spot on his face. He had finally built them a fire and they were beginning to get dry and warm. As the cold dissipated from Lilly and her teeth no longer chattered, her mind began to work again.

  Cypher looked over at her and his face relaxed a tiny bit. She smiled at him. He opened his arms to her and she went without thought. They were alive, uneaten, and that warranted a moment to process what had happened and what better way to do that than in the arms of a big, handsome, warlock? He pulled her close against his chest and she felt his warmth seeping into her. She relaxed and found relief in the knowledge that he would protect her. She could let herself just be for a few moments, completely trusting that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

  Finally, after several quiet moments spent rubbing her back and kissing her hair, he spoke.

  “I have a responsibility to take care of the draheim. It can’t be allowed to stay in this realm. It’s too dangerous.”

  Lilly nodded. “I kind of figured that much. What do we do next?”

  Cypher smiled. “I like it when you say we.”

  Lilly blushed and he ran a finger along her warm cheek. “I like it when I make you blush as well.” Lilly didn’t stop him when he leaned forward and kissed her. She didn’t think about how awkward Cyn must feel having her and Cypher make out like two teenagers. All she could think about was how good the kiss was, how soft his lips were, and when they parted, how incredible he tasted. Her arms wrapped around his neck and he pulled her closer. The kiss lasted longer than Cypher had intended, but then he could never get enough of Lilly. He could kiss her every day, all day, and it still, wouldn’t be enough. He would still crave her as he did now.

  Lilly was breathless when they pulled apart and she knew that she was blushing furiously as the heat danced on her face. “You aren’t supposed to be wooing me Casanova; you’re supposed to be telling me the kick-ass plan to take out the big, bad dragon.”

  “Sometimes a man just needs to kiss his woman, little one. And, right then there was nothing more that I needed than to feel your lips on mine.”

  His words made her heart beat faster and she felt the truth behind them clear to her toes. Good grief Lilly, you’re a grown woman, not some lovesick teenager, she told herself, but then added, that means I get to do grown woman things right? She smiled at the pun that she totally intended. Then she wanted to mentally slap herself for letting her mind even step a toe in that direction of thinking. Cypher must have noticed.

  “What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?” He asked, with a wicked grin.

  Lilly frowned. “Nothing you need to worry about. Now, what’s the plan?”

  Cypher’s face changed in the blink of an eye from playful to utterly serious as if a light switched had been flicked inside his head. He knew the only way to kill the beast was with the arrow or sword forged by an elf. The problem? It had been a very, very, long time since he had seen an elf in the human realm.

  “Before we were attacked, a second time I might add, you mentioned elves,” Lilly prompted, then looked over at Cyn for confirmation. Cyn nodded.

  Cypher let out a resigned sigh, stood up, and set Lilly back down in his spot. He thought better if he was standing and able to move. His brain just seemed to clear when he could move about freely.

  “The elves are a very secretive race. They hold all of their knowledge close to their hearts, and for good reason. They may not be as powerful as the Fae, but they come close. They are also able to produce many things with their magic that no other race can. One such thing is the magical properties in the metal of their weapons. An elf blade, or arrow, or weapon of any metal for that matter, can kill anything.”

  Lilly’s eyes widened. “Anything?”

  Cypher nodded. “And some of us are very hard to kill.”

  “Which is why they hold their secrets close,” Lilly’s voice softened as she spoke her thoughts aloud. “If the wrong person, or supernatural, got their hands on the knowledge to make a weapon that could kill any and all of you, it could be disastrous.”

  Cyn finally spoke for the first time since they had stopped running. “It is imperative that Mona never gains this knowledge.”

  Lilly nodded and said in a wry tone. “That’s sort of a given.” She looked up at Cypher with raised eyebrows.

  “So how do we find the elves?”

  “We don’t,” Cypher answered, ominously. “They find us.”

  “Well, that may not be entirely true,” said Cyn. “I can find a veil to their land,” she offered.

  Cypher turned to look at the Fae. “How?”

  Cyn shrugged nonchalantly. “I have a friend that is an elf.”

  “Can you contact this friend somehow?” Lilly asked.

  Cyn shook her head. “Once we enter their realm we still could only find them if they wanted to be found.”

  Lilly stood and brushed the dirt off the rear of her pants, straightened her shirt and tightened her ponytail. “Alright then, we don’t have time to sit around and watch the leaves blow.”

  Cypher looked over at his mate and his lips tilted up slightly. “Does anybody just sit and watch leaves blow?”

  Lilly snorted. “People in little bitty towns in Texas will sit and watch paint dry as long as there is food to eat and company to eat it with, which really if you have company there is always food involved, oh and sweet tea. Never forget the sweet tea, that’s like forgetting to put your pants on in the south.”

  Cyn frowned. “And you think we are strange?”

  “No, I think you are strange—er, I never said, humans didn’t have our fair share of strangeness.”

  Cypher took Lilly’s hand in his and nodded for Cyn to lead the way. “I like your weirdness,” Cypher whispered.

  Lilly grinned up at him. “Are you trying to get brownie points?”

  Cypher chuckled. “Little one, I don’t need brownie points to get what I want from you.”

  Lilly’s heart stopped in her chest at the insinuation in his voice. She didn’t dare look up at him because then he would see the desire in her eyes, and know that he was indeed correct. The man was too yummy for his own good and the only thing he would need with brownies would be to, STOP that thought right there Lilly Pierce she admonished herself, then grinned because in spite of her age, and no matter what she said, she was completely smitten…and with a warlock King no less.

  Cyn walked at a brisk pace through the Balkan Mountains. The closest veil into Othea, the realm of the elves, was deep in the Carpathian Mountains along the Frumoasa river.

  She didn’t have a clue as to how Thalion would react to them entering his realm, but at this point, there was too much going on to really worry about offending him. Although, she supposed you should always worry about offending people who made weapons that could kill anything. They were going to have to get some modern transportation if they wanted to get there quickly.

  “We’re going to have to go into Ruse to get something to drive,” Cyn called over her shoulder.

  “Wait,” Lilly said, holding her hand up as she stopped. “You know how to drive?” She looked up at Cypher.

  He rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Why, do you think we’ve been living in caves, grunting, and using animal bladders for water containers? We change with the times Lilly, we adapt. If we did not we would never make it in this world.”

  Lilly realized that she was making them feel like they weren’t smart enough to learn new things and she felt like an ass. She looked at Cyn and then Cypher. “I’m sorry. I guess I thought that since you live in the mountains away from civilization that you couldn’t possibly know about technology.”

  “We stay hidden because it would become very suspicious to humans when they began to notice that we do not age.”

  “Good point,” Lilly agreed. “Okay Cyn, lead on. Let’s go get some wheels.”

  Cyn continued on at a more brisk pace.

  Cypher didn’t have any trouble keeping up, whereas Lilly was pumping her legs as quickly as she could without actually running.

  “Why do you talk like that?” Cypher asked.

  “Like what?” Lilly asked, her words sounding airy from her heavy breathing.

  “Wheels?” Cypher’s brow rose.

  Lilly laughed and it too sounded winded. “I have a teenage daughter,” she frowned, “well had a teenage daughter. It’s hard, not to pick up on her lingo.”

  Cypher thought about that for a moment. “So she talks very differently from you then?”

  “It’s like a whole other language,” Lilly told him, shaking her head. After that Lilly fell silent, not because she didn’t have anything to say, but because she barely had enough air in her lungs to keep her feet moving, much less joke around with Cypher.

  After what seemed like days of walking at a brutal pace, the trio walked out of the forest and onto a street in a place Lilly assumed must be Ruse. They jogged across an empty street, unnecessarily, as appeared that the road was used very seldom, and then passed behind a cluster of buildings. Cyn led them through an alley in between the buildings and when they stepped out of the alley Lilly’s breath caught at the dichotomy spread before her. Directly in front of her lay, the quaintest village Lilly had ever seen. But, instead of horse-drawn carriages, which would have appeared much more natural, there were a smattering of late model vehicles parked here and there along the sides of the street. The earth tone colored buildings were constructed very close together and sported high pointed roofs. Most were adorned with inviting front porches containing flickering lanterns, which hung on the walls next to the doors. It appeared to be a very old town, and Lilly felt as if she had been thrown back in time. People meandered along the street, stopping to talk to one another or frequent one of the many adorable shops lining the street. Lilly soon realized that each of the shops served an important function; a butcher, a seamstress, a general store. No Old Navy’s here, she thought.

  Cypher took her hand and they turned left on the street and began walking. Lilly noticed Cyn peering into each vehicle they passed. They stopped in front of a brown sedan that was pulling up to the curb. Lilly watched as Cyn approached the car as the driver stepped out. Cyn began speaking animatedly to the man and though Lilly could not hear the words, she guessed that Cyn was attempting to talk the man into allowing them to borrow his car.

  Lilly looked up at Cypher and saw that he wasn’t watching Cyn, but the street around them. He scanned the area disguising his actions as if he was just admiring the buildings. He managed to keep from looking like he was searching for a crazy witch so evil that curling up next to a starved lion sounded more appealing than being in the same room with her.

  She squeezed his hand to get his attention and he paused his pursuit. “What’s Cyn telling that man?” Lilly nodded in the direction of the Fae in question.

  Cypher’s lips quirked. “She’s just convincing the man of why it is such a good idea to let us borrow his car.”

  “Convincing?” Lilly’s eyes narrowed.

  “Cyn’s just using a little Fae magic to influence the man. We will get his car back to him Lilly. We aren’t thieves.”

  Lilly’s brow rose. “So says the warlock king who made a deal with the devil.”

  Cypher glowered at her. “You know, I’m not going to help her?”

  “Yes, I know,” Lilly, told him as she squeezed his hand in reassurance.