Through the Ether (Force of Nature Book 5) - Amber Lynn Natusch Page 0,26

Kat, held back by a gust of my magical wind. “I can do this…trust me.”

“Piper—”

“I’ll keep the portal open from the other side,” I said, cutting off the vampire king. “I promise.”

The pain in the stares of those around me was evident, as was their desire to argue. But they also knew that, one way or another, a showdown with the fey royals was going to happen soon, either in our world or theirs. And with their combined power, we didn’t know how well we’d fare on our side of the veil. But with the element of surprise in their world…

Maybe, just maybe, we’d be okay.

“I love you,” I said, my gaze drifting from Knox to Merc and his brothers to Kat and Grizz and everyone else standing on the rickety bridge that I feared would collapse. “Wait for my call.”

“Piper—”

Before they could say anything to change my mind, I jumped off the railing and dove head first into the cyclone of river water. The silver flashed so bright that I had to close my eyes, diving blindly into the unknown. The air grew thicker as I plummeted toward the voices that were growing in volume, making it hard to breathe. I took one final gulp of air and held it tight in my lungs for fear that I might not get another anytime soon—possibly ever.

The world suddenly grew dark, and my eyes flew open to see the mouth in the river where the spout had originated swallow me whole. I let out a scream, my precious last breath rushing out with it. I braced myself for impact, but felt none as I slipped through the portal, the familiar disorienting feeling washing over me as I did. Instead of crashing to the ground with a thud on the other side of the veil, I landed gently on my feet, placed there by the multiple sets of hands that caught me.

I gasped for breath, the air raking down my throat like sand as I stabilized myself with my hands on my knees.

“You came,” that familiar voice said. I looked up to find Bea smiling at me. And she wasn’t alone. Witches surrounded her, crowding around us as I tried to take them all in, but their numbers were too many—far greater than the coven queen had ever let on.

“Bea—”

“Did you come alone?” she asked quickly.

“Sort of. The others are waiting on the bridge—”

“Call them down now,” she said. “You will need them to face the king and queen.”

“How do you know about—”

“I know what happened with them. I know that they plan to kill you. We can’t let that happen, which is why you need to bring the others here.”

“But the wolves—the king can control them.”

A smile as wicked as her brother’s spread wide across her face. “Not here, he can’t.”

“What do you mean, Bea?” I asked, an icy finger running down my spine. “Where’s ‘here’?”

She opened her arms wide. “Welcome to the Ether, Piper—the forgotten land of Faerie.”

I let out a frustrated breath. Of course the realm had forgotten part of itself.

Because motherfucking Faerie.

Chapter Ten

“Guys!” I screamed up at the filmy barrier above my head. The one I hoped was still open to the gorge. “Get down here fast!” I whispered to the portal to help me bring them safely—to stay open until they all arrived. When nothing responded, I began to seriously doubt my decision to jump headfirst into the portal.

“They’re coming,” Bea said, placing a comforting hand on my back.

Then sure enough, one by one, Merc, Knox, and everyone else from the bridge fell through the portal far more gracefully than I had, though it was still a bit dodgy in parts. When Foust, Jagger, Kat, and Brunton landed in a heap with Grizz not far behind, a pretty epic pile-up resulted.

Merc took in the massive stone cave-like space and the missing witches, then rushed over and scooped me up in his arms, squeezing me as though he’d never let me go—at least until Knox came up beside him and cleared his throat. I soon found myself in the embrace of the alpha of NYC, whose crushing grip was no gentler than the vampire king’s. But it was the man-bear (after he crawled off his werewolf landing pad) who took the cake. He snatched me away from Knox to engulf me in his massive arms. I could feel him assessing our surroundings as he held me, making sure no danger was looming. Twice, he growled at someone who