held out a hand and started moving toward me. Somehow in all the chaos, this woman could move with purpose.
And her purpose appeared to be me.
Was that who I thought it was? It was odd, but she appeared to not be at all affected by the phenomena. I held on to my husbands as it felt like we were in a hurricane. I noticed vines had wound themselves around us, creeping up our legs to hold us all as we swayed in the winds.
Just as suddenly as the winds and world collision started, it stopped and I could breathe again.
“Wait for it,” Kelsey yelled, though there was no need for it now. “Don’t let those plants go back into the earth yet. Not until we’re sure. I don’t want to face that thing again.”
But I did because I couldn’t be completely certain about what I’d seen. Who I’d seen.
“Daniel, I think I saw Haweigh.” I was almost certain I’d seen the same faery who’d spared my life and taken my daughter with her when she left the plane.
“Dan?” Dev had a startled look on his face that rapidly turned to panic.
I twisted my head and realized Daniel wasn’t conscious.
The plants that held us together retreated back into the ground and Daniel fell. Dev was on his knees before I could manage to move.
“Daniel?” I dropped down beside him.
“I think he got hit by something when the winds started up,” Dev said, touching Danny’s forehead. There was a cut and swelling there that should never have happened.
“Why isn’t he healing?” I asked, my heart starting to pound. I wasn’t used to ever seeing Daniel vulnerable. Daniel was Superman.
Dev touched Daniel’s chest and his eyes were grave as he looked at me. “Zoey, Daniel’s human.”
Chapter Nineteen
Kelsey
Hours later, long after the sun had set, I looked at the ruins around us and wondered if we wouldn’t have been better off staying in the field where the undead apparently partied. “What the hell happened here? Tell me this isn’t the place we’re looking for.”
If it was then I was probably way off the path and we were all screwed.
But then if Daniel was suddenly human, we were screwed anyway.
“Years and years ago this place was raided by goblins,” Dean explained as we approached what appeared to be a bombed-out house. “It was being used as a sanctuary for a bunch of refugees, or so I’ve been told.”
I wasn’t sure how we were going to be safe here. “Most of these places don’t even have roofs.”
I glanced back and Donovan was on his feet, though that knot on his head seemed to get bigger.
Daniel Donovan was kind of the be-all, end-all authority figure in my world. Sure, at first I’d thought he was a major asshole, but the king and I had settled into a nice relationship. I had his back and knew when things all went to hell he would come riding in and save the day.
I was used to the king. Now I saw a man and he looked lost.
“I can build a shelter,” Quinn said. “Don’t worry. Some of these structures look basically sound. Bris and I can grow a roof that will function to keep us safe. It’ll be all right.”
Since the moment that we’d realized something was wrong with the king, Quinn had been a rock. He had to be because I was afraid the queen was out of it. Zoey had gone quiet, helping Daniel to his feet and shuffling along beside him as the sun had started to go down. We’d barely made it out of the woods as the moon had risen.
I couldn’t imagine how the queen was feeling.
I was wondering if I was going to have to stick a sword through the king so that he could be a king again.
“Just wait for it.” Dean walked ahead of me and then disappeared entirely.
I held up because I didn’t think I should do two disappearing acts in one day.
“Where did he go?” Zoey asked.
“It appears there’s some sort of magical barricade over the place,” Quinn said, moving forward. He put a hand out and seemed to be searching. “Yes, I can feel it. It’s likely how Summer managed to stay hidden from the mercenaries for so long.”
Dean’s head popped back out. “Are you guys coming? Erna says she can likely heal the human.”
I watched Daniel’s jaw tighten, but he moved forward. “Yes, let’s see if she can figure out what the hell’s going on.”