The Rebel Queen (Outlaw #1) - Lexi Blake Page 0,49
main gates.
“It’s Neil! Let him in,” I yelled.
Shy was running next to me, Rhys at her side.
He held a hand up, waving it. “Turn off the alarms. Let them in quickly. They’re safe.”
It was good to know Rhys trusted Shy. He’d taken her word without question, and that made me trust her as well. Daniel nodded to the women standing near the doorway we’d come through. They were Fae and seemed to use their magic in a collective way since they held hands and formed a circle before the doorway shimmered and the tunnel appeared.
And so did my closest friend. Neil stood at the front of the group of wolves. A ragtag band, because they looked rough. Some of them were so young, barely teenagers. Some old and likely thrown out of a cruel pack. Neil had brought them together. A brown wolf bounded forward, rushing through the tunnel ahead of the others as the rest of the group struggled to help the wounded make it inside.
It was hard to see once they’d moved into the tunnel because it was dark in there. Now I realized how much Dean had lit our way the day before. Dean was standing with the women whose magic guarded our mountain base. His eyes were closed as though he was lending them his strength or perhaps studying the magic they made.
“That’s our Circle,” Lee whispered my way. “They’re our witches, the ones who managed to get out and find their way here. Or they were already in Europe. There weren’t many witches who didn’t heed Myrddin’s call, but there are a few who work with us, and the ones who live in Frelsi are beyond reproach.”
One of those witches looked awfully familiar. “Is that Sarah’s sister?”
“Yes,” Lee acknowledged. “Lily showed up here long before we came. When Myrddin rose, she led a small band of witches here to take shelter. They’ve guarded the Huldrefólk ever since.”
I saw the moment the witches went stiff. Lily Tucker opened her eyes.
“Your Highness, I feel something coming. It’s not corporeal, but it’s looking. Something is out there probing the mountainside. Myrddin’s eye,” she said, her voice tremulous. She was a few years older than Sarah and unlike her sister, she preferred her hair in its original color which was now a pretty brown with streaks of steel.
“Get those wards up,” Rhys ordered. He’d taken the leadership role, Lee standing beside him, a sword in his hand.
“It’s looking for wards, Prince Rhys,” Lily insisted. “It’s followed the pack. It’s behind them but getting closer.”
Myrddin had sent out an eye to search for us. If he found us, we could expect a battle long before we were ready.
“Close the wall,” a deep voice said. “Close it now. I’ll handle the eye.”
Dean had said the words. He moved to the beginning of the tunnel, standing in the center, holding his palms open at his sides. The witches looked to Rhys for confirmation.
“Do it,” Lee ordered.
“We trust him?” Rhys asked his twin.
“Yes,” I said. “He’s trustworthy, and he understands magic this plane has no knowledge of. Let him try. Kelsey trusts him with her life.”
Rhys nodded. “Close the outer wall.”
I felt a shimmer go through the air around me and knew we were closed off from the outer world again.
Then there was a shift in the air, power flowing from a new source. Dean. His hands glowed slightly and the whole base seemed to go silent as we waited, the very air around us stilling except for the buzz of power that seemed to come from Dean. Even the wolves in the tunnel went silent, covering their wounded with their bodies as they waited to see if we would be invaded.
It wouldn’t come in that moment. Myrddin would need time to gather his forces.
Unless he simply planned to bombard us from afar. Were we about to be hit with a fireball? Or a magic bomb that would blow us all away?
Dev’s hand found mine, squeezing as though he knew my thoughts. They were probably the same as his, but his face never changed from its stoic expression. We waited, Daniel standing at the front of the group, and I could see his claws out. He would throw himself into whatever fight came our way.
The witches relaxed, Lily looking to Rhys. “The threat has passed. I don’t know how or why, but I can sense it moving on. I do not believe it found us.”