Immortal Promise (15 page)

Stepping through the portal, Evan scanned the forest around him. He hadn’t been back through this portal since the day he brought Holly through it. He could see the path through the overgrown
foliage. Time had boosted life in the forest, and still Evan could see where Holly had stood. Where he’d promised to always take care of her, where he had first known deep down that their relationship would be short lived. There had been too much pain in her eyes when she had looked up to him and said that she had no choice but to leave.

“You’re seeing the past, aren’t you?” Synawen smiled as she squeezed Evan’s hand.

He nodded. “Yes, are you?”

“Wrong side of the Middle World
,” she reminded him.

“Well, what about Katarina? Are you ready to face her?”

“I am,” Syna said confidently. “Everyone else is facing their past, it’s time I do too.”

Evan kissed her cheek. “Shall we get to the palace and see what hell is about to break loose
?”

Syna smiled and stepped into his
arms, pressing a quick peck to his cheek. “Let’s go face the past.”

With a flash and wind swirling around them, Evan brought himself and Syna to the front entrance of the palace. The two guards that protected the front entrance didn’t even flinch as they popped up in front of them.

One of the guards let out a siren call that brought Kale and Katarina to the front to greet them.

Kat’s beautiful
, green eyes welled with tears as she pulled Syna into an embrace. “I am so glad you found someone and some place to be happy.”

Syna smiled as she squeezed Kat a little tighter. “I am so sorry I left without you all. I couldn’t take it anymore.”

Kat shook her head and pulled back, wiping the tears that now ran down Syna’s face. “Don’t you apologize. I remember what it was like for you there, and I am so glad you seized your opportunity to run.”

Syna nodded. “When this is all said and done, will you come with me to see the others?”

Kat smiled. “You bet I will. Now come on, Rowan and the others are sitting down for breakfast now.”

Kat smiled nervously at Kale. “As you can probably guess…
you haven’t moved down on Bain’s list of hatred… but he seemed to get better as the night wore on. I doubt he’ll attack you this time.”

Evan chuckled. “I didn’t imagine that finding Holly to be alive would give me a free pass… I understand why he hates me.”

****

Izzy tilted her head and stared at Bain’s bare backside. “This isn’t going to work
,” she warned.

Smiling over his shoulder, he feigned innocence. “What is that, my sweet Izzy?”

“Evan is here and waiting for us. You are not going to distract me with all your nakedness.”

Bain turned and stalked towards her. Her gaze instantly dropped. “What were you saying, sweetheart? Something about not being distracted?”

Izzy lifted her gaze and stepped closer to him, her hands falling to his chest. “You are a worthwhile distraction. How about I give you something to help you relax before we meet with the others?” She winked as she slid down his body.

Twenty minutes late to the meeting, Izzy and Bain entered the dining hall. All eyes landed on them. Kat smirked
, and Izzy knew she felt the after effect of what had made her and Bain late to this meeting.

“Nice of you two to join us,” Rowan quipped.

Bain pulled a chair out for Izzy as Cree stood. “Actually, I need to borrow her. Izzy, can you come with me please?”

Izzy kissed Bain. “Behave,” she whispered before following Cree to his office.

“Did you dream last night?” he asked as they took seats opposite one another in the sitting area of his large office.

Izzy furrowed her brow. “I did.”

“Mind if I take a stab at what you dreamt about?”

“By all means.”

“You were in a field, with me, the brothers, and Holly. There were people down all around you and flakes of snow began falling upon us. Am I right so far?”

Izzy’s eyes had widened. “Yes, and it was the first dream that I saw something other than just the snow. What does it mean?”

“It’s a warning, Izzy. In your dream did you recognize any of the bodies on the ground?”

She shook her head. “Why?”

Cree smiled, but Izzy could see something was off. “Just wondering.”

“Oh crap, Esperanza
,” she breathed.

“What of her?”

“Oh, Cree, I am so sorry I didn’t know what it meant… She’s with Darion.”

Cree nodded. “Yes, we know that, we received that message. He and Esperanza were very close in their youth; we believe she is safe for now.”

“No.” Izzy shook her head. “No, they’re true mates. I saw their mark. And she will stand at his side when he comes against us.”

Cree studied her closely. “I saw none of this.”

Izzy’s face looked pained as she locked her gaze with his. “Because I touched you.” She spoke softly, regret apparent in her voice. “I stole your visions; we’re just sharing them now as your gift dissipates from my system. After the day I ran into you, I started having vivid dreams, and then they turned to just the snow and the feeling of cold and… despair. I could feel more than see anything, and then, just last night, I saw the dreams clearly again. I don’t know how I missed this.”

“It’s not your power
. You wouldn’t know how to interpret it or that they were anything more than a dream.”

Izzy and Cree rejoined the others a few minutes later. Lothar lifted his gaze to them, instantly feeling Izzy’s distress. “Everything alright?”
he asked, standing as they approached the table.

Izzy forced a smile. “Everything is fine. Just hungry is all.”

Bain stood and pulled her chair out. She sat, and he slid his plate to her. “Eat, sweetheart.”

Izzy thanked him and grabbed her fork, but really, she pushed the food around and made polite conversation with the others. She saw Lothar as he kept eyeing her. She finally mouthed, “
We’ll talk later
.” And he dipped his chin in acceptance.

Later wouldn’t come anytime soon.

Izzy sighed, content to be in Bain’s arms. She sat between his thighs, her back pressed to his chest, and his wings wrapped around her to cut out the cool air. The blanket they sat upon lent a small amount of warmth to their romantic evening. It was a beautiful night; the sun had set just minutes before and now the moon shone off the lake in front of them. The sky was clear and crisp and the blue moon seemed to eclipse the sky. Even the Northern Star or the Immortal Heart seemed engulfed by the massive moon.

“It’s beautiful
,” Izzy said as she rubbed her cheek against his, a small amount of stubble scratching at her face. Lifting her hand, she rubbed along his jaw.

“I know, it’s time to shave.” He chuckled.

“I don’t mind it one bit… It’s been a rough twenty-four hours for you. Are you okay?”

Bain nodded. “I am still trying to wrap my head around all of this. I’ve hated and blamed Evan
for so long that my mind is having trouble reconciling the fact that he is now sleeping in the palace, can walk in the sun because of our blood, and that he never did anything other than what Holly had asked him for.”

Izzy smiled. “He’s not as bad as you thought.”

“I still hate the bastard… but no.”

Izzy looked back to the sky. “So tell me the story of the Blue Moon.”

“It’s our version of the winter solstice.”

“But you don’t have winter.”

“Well, not like the Human World does. But we recognize the seasons as the rebirth of the magic that fuels our world.”

“How long does it last?”

“The moon will be like this for the next twenty-four hours. It will even be visible in the daylight.”

Izzy turned to look at him, her memory niggling at her. “Wait, it will be up with the sun tomorrow?”

Bain nodded, his brows furrowing at the realization that haunted her face. “What is it, sweetheart?”

“I need to speak with Cree
,” she said, pushing up from her warm cocoon in his arms.

“Cree!” Izzy was breathless as she burst into Cree’s office.

He was on his feet and moving towards her before she’d even made it to the center of his office.

“What’s wrong, Isabelle?” He lifted his gaze from her to
Bain, who stood behind his mate. Bain shook his head as he shrugged his shoulders. “She didn’t take the time to explain it to me before she made a beeline for you.”

Izzy took a deep breath. “It’s tomorrow morning,
just as the sun will just be taking over the sky.”

Cree studied her face. “Isabelle, calm down and explain to me what’s happened.”

She gasped again, her eyes wide. “Cree, I know when they will come at us.”

Cree moved her to the sitting area
. Taking a seat opposite her and Bain, he sat forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “When?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“How do you know?” he demanded.

“It’s the Blue Moon.”

She remembered seeing the fading anomaly in the cool morning sky as the Dark marched upon them.

“I remember thinking the sky looked weird in the vision of Esperanza, but I was so focused on her standing at Darion’s side and the mark that I forgot about the moon appearing in the sky with the sun. They’re coming in the morning.”

Cree lifted his gaze to Bain. “Put the guards on alert. Then collect up the others and meet us back here in twenty.”

Bain dipped his chin, kissed the top of Izzy’s head, and disappeared from the room.

“What are we going to do?” Izzy asked.

“We prepare and wait for them to show up on our lands.”

“Why? If we know when they are coming, why don’t we make a preemptive strike?” she asked. Sure, she knew nothing of war plans and strategies, but taking the war to Darion seemed like the logical way to go.

“Because, we have a peace treaty. If it is to be broken, it will happen by the Dark’s hand, not ours.”

Izzy shook her head. She didn’t understand many of the rules the Fae lived by, but she understood what honor was and that’s what Cree was speaking of. As much as she wanted to take the fight to Esperanza and Darion in the hopes of keeping the people she loved alive, a big part of what made the Light Fae, and especially her new family, so remarkable, was their honor. It was truly what separated the Light from the Dark.

“Will we at least be waiting for them?”

Cree grinned. “Of that you can be sure.”

There was a feral glint in his eyes. He was not about to take this lying down. Cree’s gut twisted, but his mind refused to let the fear and knowledge that things could go terribly wrong take over.

Izzy nodded and tried for a smile.

Rowan entered the room then. “Tomorrow we take a stand.” She and Cree then carried on a conversation that Izzy was unable to hear. She waited silently for the others to join them. Bain returned shortly after Rowan with Lothar, Holly, Uriah, Kale, and Kat, then Evan and Synawen. Bain kept his distance from the
vampire, but at least this time he didn’t growl and snarl at the man.

“Now I want to know exactly what you both saw
,” Rowan said as she took a seat in Cree’s chair.

Cree smiled at Izzy encouragingly.

Izzy took a deep breath. “I’ve been having vivid dreams; I just didn’t know what they meant. Not until Cree and I talked a bit about them earlier and then tonight when Bain and I were talking about the Blue Moon, something important clicked.”

Rowan nodded. “Go on.”

“I saw Esperanza and Darion together. She wears a mark like Kat and Kale. Only theirs is an infinity with a black rose. She’s his true mate.” Izzy waved her hands in the air. “Crap, I am getting off topic. Ok, so that’s a big deal, I know, but more importantly, they were moving through a forest. They stopped when they saw us and from around them came a… well, an army.” She looked to Evan. “There were vampires on the front lines. Is that possible? I know
you
can day walk, or whatever you all call it, but what about your coven?”

Evan shook his head. “No, but it has nothing to do with day walking. It’s the moon. It blurs the lines
of day and night. The Blue Moon is the one time of year that vampires can walk in daylight.”

“What else did you see, Isabelle?” Rowan asked, drawing her attention once again.

“Uhh, there were ogres, and a bunch of different magic flying around.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. That's all I can remember.”

“Did you recognize the surroundings?”

Izzy closed her eyes, pulling at the memory. “It’s the north forest where it opens to the meadow near the lake.”

Rowan nodded, and then looked to Evan. “This would be the time I call you and your coven for help.”

“Syna, get Sergio on the phone. Tell him to put a skeleton crew together to stay at the compound and then to get the rest of our enforcers to the forest portal. I will meet him them there in two hours.”

“On it.” Syna walked from the room, pulling her cell out as she went.

“Rowan?”

Rowan looked to Bain, sadness in her eyes as they locked with his. “I have no answer, Bain.”

“I’ve not yet asked the question.”

“You don’t need to. I know what you’re concerned about.”

Kat cleared her throat and all eyes fell to her, where she stood with her fingers laced with Kale’s. “If she really is his true mate, then you must understand that she won’t let harm fall to him and vice-versa.”

“You are saying not to trust her.” Lothar arched a brow as he looked to Kat.

“I am not saying that she will raise a sword to any of you, but she will not allow you to raise a sword to him. She is not your ally, and I would venture a guess that she will be renouncing her allegiance to the Light to be sworn to the Dark.”

Bain looked to Rowan. The only way a Fae
could realign themselves was with a ceremony conducted by their current leader, meaning Rowan would have to agree to let Esperanza go. Rowan shook her head at Bain’s unspoken question. She wasn’t sure what she would do if it came to that. Could she let her mother go? Could her heart survive the added pain and guilt? She already felt responsible for the situation that put Esperanza into Darion’s hands.

“We need to focus,” Rowan said, standing from the chair. “Evan, go get your
vampires and meet us back in Cree’s office as soon as you can. We have battle plans to discuss.”

Evan left the room in search of Syna.

“Kale, I want you, Bain, and Lothar to clear the north villages. Bring the refugees here; we’ll set up housing in the courtyard if we have to.”

“I can help with the housing,” Holly offered.

“Can you conjure housing now?” Rowan asked.

Holly shrugged. “Maybe, I am a pretty good with my conjuring and like Bain
said, Tyr’s magic should strengthen my ability. So yeah, I know I can help.”

Rowan smiled. “That’s what I wanted to hear. Okay Izzy, you and Kat start collecting blankets and provisions. Holly doesn’t need to conjure what we already have. Cree, you get started on strategy. Okay, everyone get to work except you, Uriah
. I’d like a word with you.”

The room
cleared, leaving Uriah and Rowan alone.

“Are you okay? Bain told me you chose to walk instead of fly the other
day, and it got me thinking that I haven’t seen you spread your wings since returning from the club fire.”

Uriah tilted his head, choosing honesty… well, mostly. He assured his queen. “I am still healing, but I am fit to fight and protect our people.”

Rowan studied him momentarily before smiling. “You would tell me if something was not right, wouldn’t you, Uriah?”

Uriah dipped his chin. “I would burden you if necessary.”

“Alright. Many Blessings, Uriah.”

That brought a smile to his face. He bowed to her and repeated the ancient words. “Many Blessings, Rowan.”

“Now, go see what Cree needs of you.”