Chapter 561: Unexpected Ally
I stumbled a few times, trying my best to stay focused while my body fought to understand what had changed. No more the casual grace of Shaylee's form, or the speed, either. I struggled to keep up, forcing the others to slow. Only Quaid seemed to have the same issues.
"The armor must have added something extra," he said as he walked beside me. "I feel like the whole world is sitting on me."
Not to mention the fact I'd shrunk. Okay, not really. But everyone else seemed so tall, their Sidhe forms towering over me. Charlotte's wolf head was at level with mine and Galleytrot looked like an elephant. Amazing what an extra six inches could do, once they were taken away.
Gram paced along beside me on my left, Venner just ahead with Fergus. I kept an eye on Venner as best I could, but between the ache in my soul and the adaptation to this new reality, I could barely keep from collapsing in a sobbing heap for a few minutes.
Which would turn into a few hours, I had no doubt.
No crying. That was for later.
My alter egos were quiet, their sadness not really helping much, but I could hardly blame them. At least the family magic was content to wrap around and hold me tight, as though welcoming me back though I hadn't gone anywhere. And the earth magic I had access to kept me anchored. Unlike a normal human, I wouldn't be trapped here if I tried to leave. Without earth magic to help me find my way, even if the queen did fulfill her side of the bargain, I would end up wandering here forever looking for a way out.
That didn't mean I could waste time, though. "Thalion." He turned to look back at me. "We still need to find Ameline." No way she'd left yet. Or had she? I had no idea, really. Maybe she'd found what she searched for and was long gone.
That would be just my luck. Go through all of this for nothing. I was starting to wish I'd just set up camp outside the Gate and waited for her to come back through. And the Sidhe realm be damned if she did any damage.
One look to my left showed the advancing cloudbank had grown in size, a black line of churning storm fury. Galleytrot raised some weather, but this resembled the full brunt of the Wild Hunt. Which made me gasp and clutch at my chest.
She wouldn't. "Galleytrot." I breathed his name.
He towered over me as he turned his great head and met my eyes. "What's wrong?"
I pointed at the approaching storm. "Could Ameline have raised the Wild while we were fighting the Queen?"
He stopped, spinning to watch the rippling mass of clouds. "No," he said. "This isn't my lord's work. It's something else, something older, Syd. Tied to the Creators."
The maji. "So she's figuring it out," I said, heavy and dull.
"Perhaps," he said. "Though I doubt it. The maji would not destroy. Whatever she's stirring, it goes against the power of the Creators."
"Which means, she still hasn't found what she needs." Gram's hand took mine, squeezing gently, her flawless face frowning. How had I thought we looked alike? Her Sidhe form was so stunningly gorgeous, my normal body a bit of a wreck. "So stop being an idiot, girl, and focus."
"We must speak to my king." Venner stopped too, turning to Galleytrot, ignoring the flash of worry on Thalion's face.
"You just want to go home." I aimed a bitter mental curse his way. "You're welcome, jerktard."
After all this, he was the only one getting what he wanted, wasn't he?
I was actually surprised to see the concern on his face. "You may think little of me, Sydlynn," he said. "But I am aware of how dangerous Ameline is." He shook his head, silver hair rippling in its silver cuffs. "When I think how she manipulated me, I'm still amazed." Arrogant ass. Still. "And if she is loose in our realm," his eyes drifted to the storm gathering, closer now than when we'd first arrived, "my King must be warned. Especially if the Seelie Queen won't listen to reason."
That was a clear shot at Thalion, though the prince didn't argue or defend his ruler.
"I have been a fool," Venner said, holding out his hands toward me. "My only wish has been to return home. And I have done things I'm not proud of to make that heart's longing come to pass." He bowed his head to Fergus. "But believe me, now that I'm home again, making sure this place is safe has to be my priority."
Part of me softened. Understood. When I'd been trapped on Demonicon, thanks to my demon grandmother's need to manipulate Dad, I vowed to do anything and everything I could to get home. And while I'd chosen not to betray or manipulate people to get the job done, I'd only had a few day's worth of trying.
What would I have finally sunk to, what depths, to go home?
And was I really any different than Venner?
Sigh. I hated it when the bad guys crossed the line. It made my job all that much harder.
"Okay," I said, while Gram nodded. "We'll go talk to the King."
Thalion swayed before speaking. "Her Majesty ordered me to escort you to the Gate."
I was on him in a flash, in his beautiful face towering over me. Thalion didn't move or flinch as I jabbed him in the chest with one index finger.
"If you really love Shaylee," I snarled, "you'll make sure her crazy ass mother doesn't end up killing everyone from pure selfishness."
Thalion's hands settled on my shoulders, gently, as he bowed his head. "The Shaylee I love doesn't exist anymore," he whispered. "You've changed her. Though I don't mind the changes." His lips lifted to a little smile. "But her heart was never mine, I know that now. And my queen's duplicity puts us all at risk." Thalion released me, squaring his shoulders. "I will lead you to the Unseelie border."
Talk about shock me down to the ground. "Thank you." Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all. And worthy of Shaylee, in the end.
I turned to Venner, eyes narrowed, still not trusting him. Not completely. "You betray me, tall and shiny, and I'll kick your Unseelie ass. Hear me?"
He reached out, shared a scrap of his power, the Sidhe magic taking some of the weight from my body. "I do," he said, eyes twinkling, but not with humor. "Have no fear. For as long as Ameline is our common enemy, I am your ally." Venner's jaw clenched. "No one betrays me."
That was honest for someone like him. Truce, until we found and defeated Ameline.
And then all bets were off.
***
