Through the Ether (Force of Nature Book 5) - Amber Lynn Natusch Page 0,62

swirling vortex of fey army and wolves only yards away. The screams from inside barely broke through the haze of heat and pain racking my body, but as I pushed through both, I felt the spark of elation start to override them.

Then a tsunami of water crashed down upon the funnel cloud, extinguishing it. I tumbled back a step from the sheer force of the magic used against me, and only Knox’s grip kept me on my feet.

The speed of the tornado began to slow. Kingston and Bea fell to their knees. And I felt that spark sputter as my mother’s voice echoed through my mind.

They’re all going to die…because of you…

“Knox!”

“I see it,” he growled in return. “Merc…we need a plan B. Fast.”

“Here!” Liam shouted as he ran towards us. Beside him was a portal that shimmered in the light of the moon. Without hesitation, Merc began shuttling everyone into it while I held the tornado as long as I could to let the others escape.

“I can’t hold them much longer,” I ground out as I strained against the royals’ response to my attack. The queen’s wall of fire crashed into my wind like an explosion, and my feet skidded across the ground as I fought to keep it from incinerating us all. Knox dug in hard and held me up.

“Almost done!” Kat shouted over the roar of magic. “Just a few more.”

“Go!” I yelled at her. “Get out of here—all of you!”

A growl eclipsed her argument, then both went silent. Merc called for his brothers, and the support at my back lessened.

“On three,” Knox whispered in my ear. “One, two…three!”

He snatched me around the waist and dove through the portal. I looked back at the queen’s murderous glare until Liam blocked it and sealed her out. Panic surged through me as I considered that wherever we were might not be an improvement—or a place the royals couldn’t find us, since Faerie was their realm.

“But Faerie isn’t really Faerie anymore, is it?” Liam asked. I stared, wondering if he’d read my mind, and he laughed. “You were muttering under your breath.”

“Yeah…it’s a bad habit. Wait! Is that why you can portal—because Faerie is melded with our world now?”

“Maybe,” he said with a shrug. “I tried and it let me. I did my best not to overthink it.”

“So, where exactly did the portal bring us?” Knox asked, looking at a dark, metal building.

It took only a moment to recognize it. Reinhardt’s laughter only confirmed what I knew.

“Clever bastard,” he said, hastening toward the entrance. “He’s brought us to the warlock stronghold—where the golems lured Piper away and the enforcer brothers nearly started a war with my kind. Now, hurry inside. We are not safe until we’re inside.”

Not needing to be told twice, the entire army filed through the garage-door-style entrance, cramming through the open maw like we were boarding a sci-fi movie spacecraft of some sort. But not the cool, shiny kind—more the end of the world, post-apocalyptic kind.

That analogy didn’t bode as well as I’d have liked.

“I could feel the iron in the building when I was here last,” Liam explained. “I knew that if we could get in, the royals would not be able to sense us or track us here. Iron messes with their magic. Had I not been here before, I do not believe it would have worked.”

As he finished, the warlocks sealed the entrance, leaving us in total darkness. There were no windows, no decorations, no furniture. It was stone and metal and ominous, and anxiety surged through me.

“Should we clean the trail of your portal?” the coven queen asked.

“I do not believe it will work, but you can try,” Liam said.

Her witches immediately formed a circle near the entrance, hands clasped, and began chanting. The strong stench of sulfur filled the space, and a yellow light flared, then died just as they finished.

“Can we get some light up in here while you’re at it?” Kat asked. “I’d like to do a headcount—or see the enemy if they do happen to find a way in—”

“Can’t you see in the dark, little doggy?” Kingston’s amusement was plain in his tone, and as soon as one of the warlocks cast a light spell, in his dry expression as well.

“I can,” she said as she sashayed up to him. Not a good sign. Not good at all. “Want to kill the lights and play chase?” She gazed up at him with a half-smile that said she still wanted