intentions, I had never belonged here. That was why I left.
We approached the main building, which looked like a tall castle in the middle of town, and my steps faltered. Luana and Keeran stood atop the stairs at the front door, waiting for us.
For me.
When Luana saw me, she pressed a hand to her mouth.
I stopped a few feet from them. “Hey,” I said, suddenly feeling very lame. I had been a teenager when I had last seen them, and for many years, Luana had been my idol. In a way, I knew she had always considered me a kid, maybe even her kid, her responsibility. But in these three years, I had grown. I had matured. The demons still lived inside my head, sure, but I had a better handle on them now.
Suddenly serious, Luana growled and lunged at me. She punched my shoulder hard. “You pest!” She fixed her hazel eyes in mine. “You left without saying goodbye. I was so damn worried.” Then she flung her arms around my neck. “It’s so good to see you,” she whispered.
Stunned, it took me a second to act. But then I hugged her too. It felt different now. I was taller, wider, and she was smaller in my arms. “I missed you too.”
Luana pulled back and patted my cheek. “Pull another prank like that and I’ll skin you alive.”
I chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Keeran walked up to us, a small smile on his lips. “Welcome back, Wyatt.” He clasped my hand firmly. “Come inside. Let’s get comfortable so we can talk.”
Luana and Keeran guided us to a large seating room. Aspen and Boise, Keeran’s warlocks, had set up the room with drinks and lots of food. Since I was in much need of a break, I grabbed a bottle of beer and tipped it over, chugging it fast.
Luana raised an eyebrow at me. “Are you okay?”
I let out a heavy sigh. “I will be when all of this is over.”
Her hazel eyes narrowed. “Tell me what’s going on.”
So I did. I reminded them about Farrah’s deal with the evil shadow fae prince, and then I told them the rest: finding Farrah again, running from the prince, the prince’s promise to let her people go back to the fae realm, imprisoning Farrah with that fucking bracelet, his lies and locking her people in a prison camp, and us breaking them out.
Though, I didn’t tell them about my deal with Drollmor, or that the Bonecrown witches were around, looking for Farrah.
I stared at Luana, hoping she still had some kind of affection for me. “We were able to rally six other frost fae who aren’t too weak or hurt to help us, but that’s not enough.”
“You want our help,” Keeran said, his tone flat.
I swallowed, suddenly nervous. “Yes.”
Like true mates, Luana and Keeran exchanged a look. An entire conversation passed through their eyes in matters of seconds.
Finally, Luana glanced at me again. A slow smile crept up her lips. “Of course we’ll help you.”
It took over a day to organize everything, get werewolves and warlocks together, and move out to the Shade Fortress. An entire fucking day Farrah remained in that place, suffering at the hands of that crazy prince.
But once we arrived, it didn’t take long to put our plan in action.
As soon as the sun went down behind the mountain, Luana and Keeran led an army of a hundred wolves and warlocks, marching directly to the fortress front doors. They launched an assault the moment they were in close range, sending bolts of magic and ripping the throat of the fae who dared try to defend the fortress.
While they kept the soldiers busy and snatched the attention of the shadow prison, Ariella, Kayden, Daleigh, and I sneaked through the back. This time, we didn’t bother putting on glamours. We attacked the soldiers guarding the back gates full on.
With the surprise, they went down easily.
And then we entered the fortress.
23
Farrah
I wasn’t taken directly to Prince Lark’s chambers, as I thought. First, I was taken to my own bedroom, where I was ordered to bathe, then change into my most beautiful gown. A young female fae came in when I was getting dressed, to help me with my makeup and my hair. The poor thing didn’t look up once, and her hands shook so hard …
I couldn’t blame her. By now the entire fortress must have heard I tried escaping and that Jennie died in the process.
My stomach contracted. The other