I felt his presence at my back. My awareness of Kade had not gone anywhere. “What’s your plan?” His gruff voice washed over me, and I hated that he was close enough for me to smell his outdoorsy scent. He smelled like the first fresh pine needles at Christmas, or fresh cut grass in summer. Damn bear.
The wall opened and I had to take a few deep breaths to calm myself as the mecca energy slammed into me. “I don’t have one. We’re going to wing it,” I said.
He exhaled lightly. “Great plan, Your Majesty.”
I had to grit my teeth. Kade was in a nasty mood, and I could already tell he was going to have me ready to kill him more than once today. He was testing my trigger temper. I wasn’t sure where my temper came from. My mother had been gentle and reserved, but I often lost control of my cool. The Red Queen had been like that though, so I just figured it was my royal right to be a bitch when I felt like it.
Picking up the pace, I stepped rapidly through the short hall and into the secret mecca stone room. Trudging through the heavy magic was the same as always, although there might have been even more resistance than last time. I stopped when I was close enough to touch the stone.
Kade stood beside me, arms crossed, staring at the crystal. I stared as well. Not speaking. The air around us was heavy with energy, and many other unspoken things. I couldn’t remember our relationship ever being uncomfortable like this. There had been an ease between us even at fifteen.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly.
I shook my head. “Uh … what?”
He dropped his arms, a low groan rumbling his chest. “We shouldn’t be experimenting with the mecca while there’s anger and distrust between us. It might get us killed. So, I’m sorry, I’ve been stressed lately, and yesterday … it was just a bad day. Let’s forget about it, okay?”
If only it were that easy. I talked the talk … said I was taking a mate. Acted like I was fine with it all. But no matter what I did, I couldn’t forget Kade. The fifteen-year-old scrawny boy I had kissed on the Island was now a king and he was even more amazing than I remembered.
But he was right about messing with the mecca while angry. “You’re right. I’m sorry too for being so blunt yesterday. And personal. It’s all forgotten now.”
He nodded and focused back on the crystal. “It’s even more powerful than last time.”
We both took a few extra minutes to let the strong energies settle into us, to allow the royal power we already owned mingle with the stone’s power.
“So we just touch it and see what happens?” It was more a statement, but came out like a question.
Kade grinned. “Let’s do it.” He grabbed my right hand, placing his other hand on the crystal.
Energy sizzled up my spine as the mecca power rolled into me. Kade swiveled his head to see me better. “Now you touch it. Don’t let go of my hand. I’ll filter it if it starts to overpower you.”
I nodded, trying to even my breathing before placing my left hand on the crystal and keeping my right firmly in Kade’s strong grasp.
I sucked in as the crystal pulsed, nearly throwing us both back. I was so focused on the purple hue of my arms and the power coming through the crystal I didn’t notice anything else. This was at least twice as strong as it had been during the Summit. The energy was everywhere, smashing against my wolf, against my alpha blood.
“What. The. Hell. Is that?” Kade’s confusion broke me out of my spell and I looked up, following his gaze. Before me, on the far wall a … mirage had appeared. The wall was gone and a field of green grass now stood a mere six feet from us. The edges of the mirage were fuzzy but the picture inside so clear, so real. In the distance seemed to be huge mountains, lots of vast wilderness, and colors beyond anything I’d seen before. Everything looked like I could reach through and touch it. I had seen images during my Summit task, but nothing like this. This was almost … real.
“Beware!” That familiar mecca voice echoed within the room and I froze, chills running up my arms. It sounded like my mother – I would swear it was her – but my instincts were telling me it wasn’t. Kade looked at me with one eyebrow raised.
“Did you hear that?” I asked him, unsure of what to do now. No one else had heard the voice before so I was astonished when he nodded.
“Yes,” he said. “And I’m not liking this.”
The image shifted slightly then, and a figure ran into view. My eyes were locked on, drinking in all the details. He was tall, wearing tan, fitted leather pants, a vest made of something similar, and tall soft looking boots. He held an intricate bow in his hands, ivory colored, looking like it was carved from bone. There was an arrow nocked in it. The male was looking away from us, his head turned to the side, which gave me a perfect view of his slightly pointy ears.
“Is this a memory, or something more?” Kade said, his voice low. He was doing that thing again where he tried to step in front of me.
At Kade’s whisper, the hunter went still. His body going rigid, he whipped his head around and looked right at us.
“Not a memory,” I said in a rush. Holy heck! This was an actual portal into the Otherworld.
The fae’s brow furrowed, and before I could even think, he released the arrow.
“No!” Kade ripped his hand off the mecca crystal, and in a move almost too fast for me to track, thrust his arm out to intercept the projectile. It shredded through his hand, coming out the other end to rest against my chest. That bastard fae had been aiming straight for me, without thought or remorse. He had wanted to kill.