Guess which way my husbands were going.
“Is it Myrddin? Can he get in?” It did not escape my notice that our only way out had recently teleported to Atlanta.
“We’re heavily fortified, but I don’t know what Myrddin could do if he’s at the gates.” Lee didn’t let up and frowned my way. “We have protocols in place, Mom. Don’t make me carry you to the safe house. There’s a house deep in the mountain that has extra protections on it. Myrddin shouldn’t be able to find it, and if he gets close, you’ll be able to sneak away via a set of magical portals. There’s one that only opens from this side and leads to a cave where we keep a ship that will take you out to sea.”
It was good to know they had a plan in place, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about hiding when my husbands and sons were going to battle.
“I don’t need to go to the safe house, Rhys,” Shy insisted.
It looked like Shy was having the same problem I was. Rhys had picked her up and was striding resolutely our way.
“You do if we have an army at our gates,” Rhys replied flatly. “Until the dead you can talk to can also hold a sword or wield some battle magic, you go to the safe house.”
Shy stared up at him. “It’s not a damn army. It’s the wolves, and they’re the ones who lost pack members. My dead might not be able to physically fight, but they can give me information so you don’t hurt our allies.”
I dug my heels in. “The wolves? Neil’s pack? They’re the ones on the outside?”
Rhys stopped, too, and suddenly Shy was on her feet. “You’re sure?”
Shy nodded and pointed to her left at something…someone we couldn’t see. “Unless this wolf is lying to me, which he assures me he is not. They were attacked this morning. They need help. Every second you leave them outside the mountain is another chance for them to be found. They have a witch with them who is giving them cover, but she’s dying. She won’t be able to hold out for long.”
Lee’s hand came off my elbow and I took the opportunity to turn and run for the main gates.
“It’s Neil! Let him in,” I yelled.
Shy was running next to me, Rhys at her side.
He held a hand up, waving it. “Turn off the alarms. Let them in quickly. They’re safe.”
It was good to know Rhys trusted Shy. He’d taken her word without question, and that made me trust her as well. Daniel nodded to the women standing near the doorway we’d come through. They were Fae and seemed to use their magic in a collective way since they held hands and formed a circle before the doorway shimmered and the tunnel appeared.
And so did my closest friend. Neil stood at the front of the group of wolves. A ragtag band, because they looked rough. Some of them were so young, barely teenagers. Some old and likely thrown out of a cruel pack. Neil had brought them together. A brown wolf bounded forward, rushing through the tunnel ahead of the others as the rest of the group struggled to help the wounded make it inside.
It was hard to see once they’d moved into the tunnel because it was dark in there. Now I realized how much Dean had lit our way the day before. Dean was standing with the women whose magic guarded our mountain base. His eyes were closed as though he was lending them his strength or perhaps studying the magic they made.
“That’s our Circle,” Lee whispered my way. “They’re our witches, the ones who managed to get out and find their way here. Or they were already in Europe. There weren’t many witches who didn’t heed Myrddin’s call, but there are a few who work with us, and the ones who live in Frelsi are beyond reproach.”
One of those witches looked awfully familiar. “Is that Sarah’s sister?”
“Yes,” Lee acknowledged. “Lily showed up here long before we came. When Myrddin rose, she led a small band of witches here to take shelter. They’ve guarded the Huldrefólk ever since.”
I saw the moment the witches went stiff. Lily Tucker opened her eyes.
“Your Highness, I feel something coming. It’s not corporeal, but it’s looking. Something is out there probing the mountainside. Myrddin’s eye,” she said, her voice tremulous. She was a few years older than Sarah and unlike her sister, she preferred her hair in its original color which was now a pretty brown with streaks of steel.
“Get those wards up,” Rhys ordered. He’d taken the leadership role, Lee standing beside him, a sword in his hand.
“It’s looking for wards, Prince Rhys,” Lily insisted. “It’s followed the pack. It’s behind them but getting closer.”