The huge building dominated much of the sky in the area. I could feel the surge of mecca stronger there than anywhere else.
“Cloaked shifter to our right,” Kade said with urgency. I felt it then: shifter energy. They had to have been cloaked and shielded so no one would notice. The only reason Kade had was because he was powerful and the shifter was basically right on top of us.
Too late to run.
“Don’t move,” a male guard growled.
Raising my hands, I swiveled my head enough to see who it was. A familiar face came into view: long amber hair tied back at the nape of his neck, lean corded muscles, and burning dark eyes. Mason. Now I understood how he had snuck up on us. He was the sneakiest of all border guards. His entire training had been in stealth and subterfuge. On top of that, he’d clearly been spelled to hide his scent and energy.
Kade growled, but I shut him down with a look.
I got this, I said, trying the newly formed bond between us. Kade’s eyes still swirled, but he gave me a nod.
I slowly peeled my jacket hood back and Finn stepped out of the shadows to stand beside me.
Mason’s face fell and he lowered the sword he had raised. Looking back over his shoulder, he called out into the dark alley. “Stand down!”
There must have been more guards, possibly with bow and arrows ready to take us out.
“Your High … Arianna.” He wasn’t sure what to call me and I wasn’t sure either. I was a dethroned queen. There was no title for that.
The two guards hiding in the shadows walked out slowly to join Mason. I looked up and saw Nix circling lower in the sky, ready to dive down here and join if a fight broke out. As the other guards stepped closer, I relaxed a little. I knew them all. Selene had not yet had time to switch out her entire staff.
“Mason, Garret, Gwen, I am not here to cause Selene harm. I know you’re sworn to protect her now, and I give you my word as your former queen that I will not actively harm her today. I’m just here to get Violet back.”
They all shared a look, and then Garret, the senior guard of the group, nodded. “It’s good to see you again, My Queen.”
Then they all turned and walked away down the alley and out of sight.
I exhaled the breath I had been holding.
“Come on.” Kade grabbed my arm and we jogged the rest of the way down the alley to the back terrace entrance.
That meeting had been pure luck, and I knew it wouldn’t happen again. Selene would put the least-trusted guards on the perimeter; her loyal guards would be inside and they wouldn’t hesitate to take my head if they found me on the grounds.
“Plan?” I asked Kade, because we were running out of time to just wing it.
He tilted his head toward me, a glint in his eye and a half-smile turning up his lips. “I have a crazy idea.”
That was usually Violet’s line. “I’m okay with crazy right now.”
Nix dropped from the sky and onto Kade’s shoulder. I had to back up several feet so her wings didn’t hit me in the face.
Kade was staring at his familiar, no doubt having a conversation. I knew now that I could probably link up with Kade’s thoughts and listen in, but I would never do that. If he wanted me to hear he would share it with me, but I did sense some apprehension from him. His feelings were seeping into me and making me nervous.
“What’s the plan, Kade?” If it made him nervous, I wasn’t sure I liked it.
He looked at Nix. “A diversion.”
Right before my eyes, Nix changed her appearance to that of a smaller, less-imposing black crow. Everyone would recognize Kade’s large rare eagle, but a crow might be passed off as just another New York pest. I grinned. It was a good idea, but it did put Nix at risk.
“They’ll never catch her,” Kade said, either reading my thoughts or my expression.
He nodded to his familiar. As she launched off his shoulder, Kade snatched up my hand and we were running. Nix began squawking like a bird in mating season, and we slowed our steps, choosing to take the last few at a silent tiptoe. Finn remained by my side, now looking like his dog persona.
A door opened on the back porch. A guard peeked his head out to hear what the commotion was all about and Nix took the open door as her entrance, flying right into the back patio and entering the castle.
“She’ll use her energy to keep the doors open, and make sure all the guards follow her,” Kade murmured to me.
Sure enough…
“What the—”
Two guards yelled as she dashed past them. They then raced inside after the bird. I saw Nix circle around a few times, before heading upstairs, squawking the entire time. A few guards followed, but there would be more around. We’d have to be cautious.
The door remained open, as Kade said, so it was time to move. We crept across the back patio and slid inside. Nix’s screeching was distant now, but still echoing across the many floors, no doubt waking the entire castle. Which could be an issue for us in the long run, but getting inside had been our first obstacle, and we’d managed it.
Even though my rule had been short, I knew the estate quite well. I led Kade and Finn to the elevator just off to the side of the entrance. This particular elevator was not used a lot. Most shifters preferred the grand stairs, so we slipped inside unseen, hit the button for the floor that the mecca crystal was on, and the doors closed.
“How will she get back to us?” I said, as soon as we were secured inside.
The plan worked to get us inside, but now we needed Nix back before we could enter the fae lands. Kade just grinned. “Don’t worry about Nix, she’s a wily familiar. She’ll find us before we leave.”
Trusting him, I focused on the elevator numbers. We were closing in on the floor, and I pressed myself to the side of the door. Kade did the same on the other side, preparing for the fact that there would probably be guards on this level somewhere. It was the queen’s private floor after all – my private floor. I tried not to let my anger about Selene stealing my throne get to me now. That needed to be dealt with later.
With a barely perceptible ding, the lift doors slid open. Finn went first, scouting out the hall. Somehow we all knew this was the plan, though none of us had discussed it. This mental link thing was getting stronger. And even though I couldn’t hear Nix now, I sensed she was near.
All clear.
Kade and I moved out of the elevator and straight along the corridor. The small library-sitting room that hid the entrance to the mecca stone was at the end of this hall. We passed no one in the first half, and I was giving myself a mental high-five when a door to the right opened and two people stepped out into the hall.
Selene and her lead guard.
Chapter Sixteen
The dance of life, one step forward, ten steps back.