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Was I really going to trade a Fae diamond for the god damned woman?

My shoulders relaxed and I held my hand out. It took nearly all my strength to bend my fingers back, exposing the small pouch. “Take the stone out,” Adrian ordered me.

He backed up slightly, giving me space to see what I was doing but remaining close enough to keep me under his control. My sword dropped to the floor, skittering a few inches away on the smooth, marble floor. I tugged the drawstrings open and gently shook the gemstone onto my palm.

“Pick it up and give it to me,” Adrian said.

With my arms outstretched and my pulse thundering through my veins, I moved to lift the stone. My thumb and index finger clasped the diamond and Adrian reached to grab it. His fingers brushed mine when he took it and everything around me collapsed.

It was as if the nightclub imploded, the force ripping me downward and sucking me into a vortex. The rush of wind tore my hair and my skin, and I closed my eyes, stiffening against the brutal violence.

Something hard hit my back, and I felt a scrape against my head. When I opened my eyes, a red sky was above me, dotted with a couple thin, white clouds.

I was back in the First Realm.

Quickly, I picked myself up off the ground and patted my sides before I reached around to my back. My daggers remained, as well as one sword.

The diamond and its pouch were gone. Adrian had gotten what he wanted, but now I was here in the First with no way to get myself home. The friends I’d once had here in this Realm were gone, having moved on to other things. As far as I knew, I was trapped.

The biggest question I had was how I’d ended up here. The only thing I could think of was that the Fae had somehow controlled my destination. They wanted to keep me out of the way now that they had their gemstone back.

With my sword in hand, I turned in a circle, examining my surroundings. Everything was as I remembered. The towering mountains, the oversized black butterflies and white flowers sprouting from red bushes. The castle was still there, perched on the side of a rocky cliff. The building wasn’t as well-kept in appearance as the last time I had seen it, and I had to wonder what had happened.

Venturing that far was risky. Human-born vampires were not welcome among the pure bloods, and I had no advocates anywhere near me. Out of options, I headed in that direction even though I was likely signing my own death sentence. I would name-drop, if necessary.

Unfortunately, due to my interaction with Adrian, my energy was not where it should have been. I needed blood, and I needed it badly.

The trek up the mountainside took longer than I would have liked but eventually, I made it to the entrance. The guards that once stood sentry were absent, and I let myself inside without incident.

Dust had gathered in the corners of the hall, and thick, trailing vines had begun to take over the throne room. At one time, a very beautiful and powerful queen had presided over her subjects in this space. I’d been sorely tempted by her beauty, but I’d never indulged. Perhaps if I had, I wouldn’t have been so depleted right now.

Pushing the nostalgia away, I exited the space and investigated other areas of the palace, trekking up and down several hallways. I caught a few servants peeking around corners, and one locked herself inside a room when she saw me approaching. It would have been easy enough to grab one of the human women, but I would only drink their blood if it was my last option.

The only woman I wanted to drink from these days was Brittney, so I went in search of the castle’s kitchens for bagged blood. That was my priority, returning myself to full capacity so I could figure out how I would get out of here and find her. There was no telling what Leander could have done to her, and I needed to be ready to face him.

A staircase at the end of one hallway brought me to the kitchens, vast space full of tables and cabinets, multiple sinks and stoves, and a massive fireplace. I tore through the space, opening doors, and drawers before I moved to a large refrigerator.

There was nothing worse than cold blood, but I was out of options. Extending my fingernails, I ripped open the pouches I found and began drinking. A wayward servant girl entered the room, took one look at me, screeched and ran away the way she had come. Just how long had it been since any vampires were in the building?

Time worked differently between all the Realms, and I could only guess how long it had been since I was separated from Brittney.

I tossed the empty bags down on the counter one by one as I finished them off and then I headed to the castle’s ritual room.

The space was much as I remembered, with stone seating, thrones on one end, and a large, open area in the middle where an altar was raised if a mechanism was activated. I didn’t bother searching for a way to make the altar appear, knowing all I had to do was picture it in my mind for it to have the same effect.

What did matter was the ambient magic in the room. The contained power hadn’t completely disintegrated over time. A web of sticky, neglected sorcery remained in the atmosphere, tingling along my skin and making my hair feel as if it stood on end. I could work with this.

Lowering myself to my knees, I focused my energy on absorbing as much of the power as I could, feeling it in my cells and bloodstream. I did my best to soak it all in while picturing the nightclub and setting my attention to return to it.

I could feel my form wavering, but every attempt to relocate myself was blocked. Being trapped in this Realm was unacceptable, so I persisted, trying again and again. Exhausted, I leaned my forehead against the floor, my breathing heavy, while I tried to shove the worry away.

The Fae had defeated me, and I would never forget it. But forgiving myself was out of the question if I was cut off from Brittney forever.

Reluctantly, I pulled my head up from the floor and glanced around the room. No one had entered; there was no one witnessing my second defeat. Had there been, I would have eliminated them. My pride warred with my desperate hope a familiar face would arrive.

Sliding my hand in my pocket, I removed the two glassine vials. One containing the dried Fae blood, and the second containing the diamond dust. This was the material that had caused all of my recent turmoil. The particles that had enhanced my standing and abilities, even if that standing was only in my head.

If I used the small bit of dust, all I would have left was the minute amount scattered around my Connecticut home. That likely wasn’t enough to do much of anything with. If I did find more uses for it beyond what I already discovered, I wouldn’t have enough left to replicate my results. I had no desire to return here to the First Realm, and I was smart enough to never visit the Fae. The Fae were a force I never wanted to encounter ever again. The risk was greater than the reward, as I had learned.