Page 97 of Gilded Curses

“Hi, Toots,” Fred said as he zipped forward to flutter in front of Sahira. A trail of red dust followed the pixie.

“It’s good to see you, Fred,” Sahira said.

“You too.”

Thankfully, the pixie was far more sober than the last time she saw him.

“We were sure you were dead,” Fred said.

Sahira laughed at his blunt honesty. “There were more than a few times when I believed the same.”

Before this night was over, she was sure she’d think it again.

“Now what?” Belda demanded, and Gromuck the orc grunted.

“Now, I’ll open a portal to Orin,” Sahira said. “He needs to know the stones have been destroyed. I’ll go through it alone, in case he’s somewhere we have to be discreet. I’ll do my best to go unnoticed, but that will be impossible if everyone comes with me.”

“How are you going to do that?” a vamp asked.

“I put a tracking spell on him before we came to the Cursed Realm.” It felt like years ago now, but it hadn’t even been a year, or maybe it had; she’d lost all concept of time in this place.

“Can we start killing after that?” a berserker inquired.

Sahira smiled. “We can, but the servants in Epoch are as trapped as we were. I’m not sure they even know how to open a portal. There will be casualties, but we should avoid killing them as much as possible. They’ll probably help us fight. There are plenty of Elites and guards to kill.”

“Good. How will we know the difference?”

Zeth grinned. “That’s easy; the Elite separated their classes by colors. Those who rule here wear all different colors, the guards are all dressed in blue, and the servants wear white. If you see someone in colored clothes with gold-flecked skin, kill them.”

A sea of beaming faces surrounded her.

“Gladly,” a vamp snarled.

“Go find Orin,” Belda told Sahira as the lycan’s second-in-command, Boris, walked over to stand beside her.

“I’ll leave the portal open and return as fast as possible,” Sahira assured them.

They all nodded their agreement and shifted their weapons as they prepared to fight. Taking a deep breath, Sahira gathered what remained of her strength to open another portal.

She’d suspected this might be the last time she could open one for a while, and as it formed before her, she became certain of it. This was her final portal until she could rebuild some of her magical powers.

Without her ability to open one, she was once again trapped here, but she’d survived this long without opening portals and would make it through this too. Eager to see Orin and to let him know about this new development, she had to tell herself not to rush through the portal and into something that could get them killed.

If she could still track him, he was okay, but she needed to see him. Her fingers ached to touch him while a murderous rage built inside her.

After what happened the last time they separated, she’d kill anyone who dared to harm him again… even if he had done it to himself last time. They’d forced him into it and would pay for that.

Gripping the spear Belda had given her, Sahira didn’t run forward as she yearned to do, but she didn’t go slow either. She had to get to him and learn what was happening before anyone noticed her portal and she ruined everything.

Finally, she emerged into a hallway filled with guards. They all had their backs turned to her while the grunts, thuds of flesh, and the clash of metal filled the air.

Rising onto her toes, she searched for Orin but couldn’t see him in the melee. He was somewhere amongst this mess, struggling to break free; she was certain of it.

And then a cry of pain rang out, and she instantly knew it was his.

CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO

Orin dodged the blade arcing toward him and threw himself to the side. He bounced off the wall and almost hit Alda as he slid along the brick surface to avoid the guards.