wish, what suits him. For now, he is a princeling to me. And you must be a queen, but first a wife. Remember that you are always given the tools you need to succeed, but sometimes you pay for them in the harshest of ways. Go now and do your good work. The wizard is busy. You’re the one thing he didn’t count on. You and Grayson Sloane. Who could have guessed that by creating a dark prophet, the Hell plane would lose its advantage? Oh. That was me.”
He’d been the one to train Gray, the one to keep him close for months after his turn. He’d been planning for a while, it seemed. “Tell me it’s going to be all right, Jacob.”
He stood and his eyes seemed to find mine. “Eventually. Hold strong, Queen Zoey, and know none of this was your fault. As for you, little prince, forgive her one day. She never meant to leave you. When you see me next, know you are close. Do not leave the path.”
He stepped around us and began to walk away. I turned to try to see him, but he was gone.
“What does he mean, Mom? Some of the things that man said scared me. I’m not a prince,” Lee said. “He told me to forgive her. Who is her?”
I was deeply afraid Jacob had been talking about me. Something was coming for us. “I don’t know. That’s kind of the way prophecy goes, baby. I have to do this and do it now. Why don’t we go back and you can wait with Aunt Sarah and Grandpa.”
“No. He said you would fail without me. We’re going together. I can do this.” Lee started forward and I nearly tripped trying to keep up.
Jacob had said it pretty plainly. Why had he called my son a prince? Why had he looked so amused when Lee had told him he was only human? I had to put it all out of my head for now and concentrate on the task at hand, and that was doing the job and keeping my son alive. We made it to the door and Lee gently pressed the sides of the cloak around the knob and lock, giving me plenty of space to work. Dannan clung to the top of my son’s head, his wings carefully folded together, and I had to wonder at the pixie’s loyalty to Lee. Pixies don’t like enclosed spaces. At all. And yet Dannan was suffering through it for his sake.
Did the pixies know something I didn’t? They were kind to all three of my children, but they seemed to be particularly affectionate to Lee when there was no real biological need to be. Rhys was already powerful. The pixies gained energy from the boy who would one day be their good priest. Evan was already showing she had some skill with Fae magic.
So why did they adore Lee?
I shoved the thought aside and went to work. I still practice. Sometimes I shut myself out or in a place just to prove I can still pick a lock. I was happy I did that because I quickly had us inside Myrddin’s stronghold.
That was when I realized we weren’t alone and Jacob sucked.
A black cat sat in the hallway as though it had known we were there all along. It hissed and I knew our cloak wasn’t going to fool Myrddin’s familiar.
“Shit,” Lee said.
“Yep, pretty much.”
Chapter Twelve
Summer
My chest hurt as I came to and tried to focus on what was going on around me. The world was foggy and everything ached. What had happened? Why were all these people talking around me?
It came back in a flash. I’d been dragged under the water and Marcus had come for me. I’d been sure I would die there, but Marcus had saved me.
And then Kelsey had breathed life back into me.
I blinked at the afternoon sunshine and bit back a groan because it felt like a horse had been sitting on my chest. Marcus was beside me. I glanced up and he loomed over me, though his eyes were focused elsewhere.
“You will back off, vampire. I swear if you make one move to take my friend, I’ll put this arrow through your heart. You have no rights on this plane. She’s a free woman.”
I knew that voice, complete with its youthful, righteous tone. What the hell was Dean doing here? I hadn’t thought I’d hit my head. It was coming back to me and