"We need to get back," I said. "This has to be about the president, and while I have no idea how he’s brought this instability between the worlds, it needs to be fixed right now. Neither land can survive without the other."
Everyone was watching me closely. "What do you mean?" Tyson bit out. "Is this one of those fey things you learned and kept secret from us?"
I nodded. "Yep. It's exactly one of those things, and I'm still bound by my magical promise not to tell you, but surely there's someone else here that knows."
The fey who taught me my heritage had bound the information, magically forcing us to keep it a secret. I'd been fighting to get around it ever since. Sometimes I found a loophole, but the information about how Earth, Faerie, the demon realm, and a few other parallel lands were joined, had been a highly regarded secret.
Spell upon spell was placed on me, and we didn’t have time right now for me to figure out how to break through. The fey born in this world wouldn't have the same secrecy though. Earthside supes were the ones trying to keep everyone out of Faerie.
"Mom!" Justice shouted, waving at Deloria, who was a few yards away. "We need your help."
The queen hurried over, her face heavy with concern. "We have to return to Earth," Justice said as soon as her parents were near. "But before we go, can you tell us about the connection between Earth and Faerie. We know that energy filters between the two worlds, but we need to know more."
Deloria glanced at me. “Your fey mate doesn't have that information?"
"Mom!" Justice said, a real snap in her tone. "I don't have time for your bullshit. Jacob can't tell us because he was magically forced to keep all information about Faerie secret, and since we haven't formed the true mate bond—"
"If it even exists…" her mother cut in.
"Enough, Del," Jepati said, tiredly, having crossed over to join us. "Just help them out before they have to go."
The queen crossed her arms. "I won't assist them in taking Justice away again. I refuse. If she doesn't know, maybe she’ll stay here where it's safe. Earth is the one in turmoil now. Not us."
Her logic was flawed, but I admired her love for her daughter. "You know that if Earth falls, Faerie will as well. The balance…" I choked out the last word, before the magic took hold of me and shut my mouth.
Jepati sighed. "Jacob is right. Faerie, Earth, the demon realm, Qata, Florin, and Respa are the six bound worlds. We don't explore any but Earth, but that doesn't mean the six don't exist, all bound to each other."
Tyson coughed, shaking his head. "I have literally never heard of these other worlds."
Jepati forced a smile. "You wouldn't have. They're dead planets, at least as far as we are aware. They were banished long ago from history and memory, and the demon realm is set to go the same way with how they've all but destroyed it."
"Shithole," I heard Justice mutter, and I was reminded of that gauntlet she'd run in the supernatural auctions.
"So Earth and Faerie are the last two with strong energy," Jepati continued. "Faerie flourishes with magic, and Earth is a younger world filled with power that’s harder for their average inhabitant to access. If they continue the way of Faerie, though, humans will one day have some level of magic as well. It's inevitable."
Fey scholars on Earth predicted it would be thousands of years before humans evolved enough to use magic. They weren’t supernaturals, but one day they may utilize energy in a similar way to us.
"So, what's happening now?” Justice pushed. “Why is Louis screaming that the pathways between the worlds are about to be closed?"
"The worlds are joined by a universal ley line," Jepati said quickly. "It's a sheen of rainbow colors, many that don't exist in either world, but they do exist in that line."
"Like the portal that the jeweled princesses open between the lands," Grace said softly.
"Yes,” Deloria agreed reluctantly.
"You four are closer to that great ley line than any other," Jepati said. "You’re literally tapping into it when you travel across, but it seems that if the portals are closing, that line must be in jeopardy. I don't know how that would be possible, but whatever is happening, it's happening on the Earth side of the connection."