Prince of Cats - Tasha Black Page 0,6

the veil was thin. Rosethorn Valley, in the kingdom of Pennsylvania, was one of them. But this was not the home’s original location.

This mansion had been moved, stone by stone, from Wales, all to preserve a massive mirror in the ballroom that acted more like a doorway.

Between the magic of the mirror itself, and the thinness of the veil in this little town, it was possible to step through the worlds with no magic of one’s own.

As a matter of fact, during the stroke of midnight it could be done accidentally, even by a mortal. He’d hardly believed the tales the first time he’d heard them.

He stepped into the ballroom and drew a talisman from his pocket.

If Killian merely stepped through the mirror, he would be deposited directly into the ballroom on the other side.

But he did not wish to appear in the crowded ballroom of Midnight with a baby that he had obviously obtained in the human realm. That wouldn’t do at all.

This baby’s origins could not be made so clear.

To that end, Killian had obtained a talisman that would focus the magic of the mirror and allow him to appear on the roadway just outside the Autumn Court instead.

He held out the little wooden carving of the gates to the Autumn castle in one hand, still cradling the sleepy baby in the other.

The clock in the identical mansion on the other side of the veil began to strike midnight. A mist obscured his view in the huge mirror, and then it cleared to reveal a roomful of dancers at a masquerade ball.

He began to step through, knowing he would bypass the revelry and land at the gates of his own castle.

Then he heard the noise of approaching footsteps, and everything seemed to slow down.

He turned to see the mortal woman rushing at him from the shadows. She brandished something over her head, clearly intending to use it as a weapon.

He turned instinctively to protect the baby.

She brought the weapon down hard, glancing off his shoulder and smashing the small wooden gate in his hand.

“Give him back,” she screamed.

But Killian couldn’t reply, because suddenly, all three of them were falling, falling, through the veil and onto the other side.

He could feel it going wrong, there was never confusion like this when stepping across worlds.

But the broken little gate burned in his hand, as if trying to find its equivalent. But the magic was off.

Killian had no idea where they were going.

The mists swirled around them.

After a few more confusing seconds, he landed hard on his ass before a rusted and broken gate that he was certain he’d never seen before.

The baby whimpered on his shoulder, but they were both mercifully unharmed.

And they were home. He had no idea where, but the air was sweet and the sky was clear. Though the state of the human world impacted this one in some ways, he was thankful that the air quality was not one of them.

It worried Killian a little that the sun was up. The misfired magic must have jogged the time as well as the place of his arrival. He hoped he hadn’t lost too many hours.

He glanced at the gate again. If he had to guess, he would say it looked like it belonged at one of the entrances to an old graveyard, which put them near the farthest border of the Autumn Court.

If he was right about that, this was a dangerous place, but at least he was in his own kingdom.

He got slowly to his feet, rocking slightly to encourage the child to go back to sleep.

He turned and found himself looking directly at the woman who had gotten him into this mess in the first place. In the daylight, it was easy to see what she had used to attack him in the ballroom. She was staring at him over a decidedly sharp-looking arrow, nocked in a bow that was much shorter that the ones he’d trained with in his youth.

“Put the baby down very slowly, and walk away,” she growled like she meant business.

It was a false threat, but he had to give her credit for really selling it.

“Sorry,” he said with a smirk. “But we both know you would never shoot me when I’m holding—”

The arrow whistled through the air and hit his thigh with a crisp thwack.

She shot me!

That was impossible. He looked down at the evidence protruding from his left leg that told him clearly otherwise.

Pain exploded in his thigh. He