Page 11 of Fae Farewells

“For me, yes. You’ll have to practice summoning me, but if you’re really freaking out or in danger—”

The angel held his hand out for me to stop. “I get it. Shit happens. The realms are fucked. Levi in danger, Sloane smash.”

I smirked. “Something like that. Just follow when I call.”

Vaughn and Sarge vanished into the Void, blasting me with a dose of the frigid winds. I leaned down, snatching the mice from my pocket and shoving them into my backpack for safer travel. A few seconds passed before I followed my fae’s trail, summoning my guys, Levi, and Zyus as I went.

Port Meadow was indeed an actual place. It was a beautiful park with a sparkling river running through it. And the ground was squishy… because flooding was an issue here.

I closed my eyes, heaving out a deep breath. Then something bumped into me, and the whinny from hell sounded at my back, though it wasn’t Jack. I slowly opened my eyes, my entire body stiff so I wouldn’t run or squeal or punch an animal in the nose.

“Horses?” I whisper-shouted, trying not to spook the herd as I weaved between them. “Really?”

“Ponies,” Palmer corrected.

“Not just any ponies,” Vaughn added. “They’re creatures from the fae realm who enjoy the English weather.”

Palmer snorted, turning his head ‌to hide his laughter.

“And,” Vaughn continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted, “They guard the portal. It tends to move around at will, so the ponies herd it, keep it in the park.”

“Right.” I dragged the word out for four full seconds before I gave my mates an unimpressed look. “And the portal is where?”

“Look closer.”

“I don’t want to look at the ponies,” I confessed quietly.

Vaughn turned, facing the group at large. “Not all of you will be able to use the void in the neutral territory, so we’ll hike the mile to my grandfather’s house. The Winter kingdom is to the east, but we’ll veer west to the center of the realm.”

“Why the center?” York asked.

“That’s where the elders live. When my parents began their rule, the previous Winter king chose to become an elder of the Temple of Lilikia.”

“What is Lilikia?” Briggs mouthed the word over and over, as if tasting the meaning on his tongue.

“We can talk about it when we get there,” my fae answered, motioning toward the shimmering access door.

Sarge stepped into the portal, Levi and Zyus following close behind him. Stone and York went next, but everything stopped there.

Novak cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, “Have you moved? Because I can’t land this thing.”

“They can’t hear you,” I told him. “Just walk through.”

“The last time you said that, we ended up in a heap of limbs on the floor in Dolyn’s basement.”

“You stopped walking.”

Briggs shoved Novak into the portal, but at the last second, Novak grabbed hold of his jacket sleeve, dragging him along for the bumpy ride.

“That’s going to hurt,” Palmer commented just before he vanished from sight.

Vaughn stared at the access door, the iridescent shimmer reflecting in his icy blue eyes. Taking a deep breath, he turned and said, “Are you sure?”

I stood in front of him, putting my back to the portal as I demanded his attention. When he focused on me, I held my hand out, smiling as he took it without hesitation.

“The first step is the hardest.”

“And what is the first step?”