brilliant splash of colors rushed to my face, and ancient magic like finest, aged wine whiffed out of the opening, rolling off my skin like silky, cool liquid.
It felt good. It felt right.
“The sealed section of Elfame,” Roman murmured beside me.
So this was the fairyland, home of the Fae and the courts of the three kings with me.
Shafts of sunlight, more vibrant and nourishing than sunbeams in the mortal realm, streamed across the evergreen grassland. Flowers bloomed and shivered, and colorful vines extended to the opening in the Veil, enticing me in. Under the shining, blue sky, tiny winged pixies chased golden fairy dust. A distant flute melody vibrated in the clear, clean air.
That world was real, and it was the most lovely, enchanting realm I’d seen.
“Don’t go in yet, Evelina.” Rydstrom darted between me and the Veil. “It’s not what it appears to you. In Elfame, you’ll need my guidance to wade through the perilous landscape and avoid all monstrous things and traps.”
Baron snorted. “Speaking of which, your court is filled with those.”
“How did you know where the Veil is, Evie?” Rowan asked, sounding amazed and worried at the same time. “How could you get it to open like that? No one can manipulate the portal unless—” He swallowed hard and didn’t spell out the rest of the words.
Three pairs of bedroom eyes stared at me intently.
“It was by accident,” I said a bit sheepishly, now that I calmed down enough to realize that this power play was way over my head. “Accidents always happen around me, ever since I was a toddler. I didn’t want the three of you to fight, and I didn’t want anyone getting hurt in the Claws. I have a friend there now. Then I remembered that Rowan mentioned my parents might be on the other side of the Veil. I wanted to find them more than anything. Also, I figured your crazy cyclone would cause great damage in any human city, so the best way to avoid a disaster was to bring it and all of you to the Veil. If your vortex blew it away, all the better, since there’d be no barrier stopping me from reaching my parents.”
The Fae kings were silent for a second, their faces grim, as if I’d done the formidable.
“You wouldn’t want the Veil to be torn down and open, Evie, if you know the consequences,” Rowan said. “The Veil has been up and unbreakable for eons for a reason, and because all the courts are making sure of it, even the Unseelie court. Only one species would benefit from the tearing of the Veil—the demons. If the Veil was gone, Fae would war with humans. It would be a bloodbath. Lucifer and his Hell force would cross over and take over Earth.”
I put a hand on his arm to stop the doom and groom speech. “Slow down, dude,” I said. “Let’s not get carried away with this immortal invasion and Hell on Earth conspiracy—”
The stench of sulfur, rotten corpses, and foul magic hit my nose before I could finish. Then inky darkness loomed cross the fairyland on the other side of the Veil. The pixies had disappeared, and the landscape of blossoms had shifted to ragged black mountains that spewed dark red lavas and noxious smoke.
My eyes widened, and cold fear squeezed my heart.
“Close the Veil, Evie!” Rydstrom roared.
“I don’t know how!” I yelled pathetically, but I threw up my hand toward the Veil and barked. “Close. Close now. Just fucking close!”
The space between the two columns of flame only expanded, as if the Veil needed me to go in, and only then would it close.
But I wasn’t that dumb. If I stepped in, I might not find a way back. And then who was going to take care of my siblings?
“Close!” I shouted again, slamming my palms together to show the Veil how to close.
It wouldn’t budge. Instead, a small army of monsters, all eight feet tall with fangs and claws and glowing red eyes, poured out from the other side of the Veil. Freakishly, the nightmare creature that had attacked me in my dining room was in their rank.
The demonca locked its eerie, hateful gaze on me and flashed a lewd grin. “Princess. Meat.”
“Filthy demons,” Rydstrom hissed, drawing his sword.
“Protect Evie!” Rowan shouted, ice magic twirling around him and dropping the temperature around us.
“Get behind us, Evie!” Baron shouted.
“Run!” I cried out and bolted across the meadow.
I’d never been so afraid and I didn’t