“It’s time,” he says to this strange Other version of Aefre. They look exactly the same, but her eyes are colder, and her attitude is different. Everyone here seems to dislike her intensely. He has no opinion of her, personally. All he asks is that she gets him to the Fae Kingdoms and back out with Aefre in his arms. Nothing else factors into his mission.
“I don’t know if I can,” she says with a worried frown.
“You have been preparing for long enough. We go now,” he says firmly. He is done waiting around. Aefre needs him.
She bites her lip in a gesture that looks just like Aefre when she gets nervous and he softens slightly. “Just try,” he says.
She nods her head. “Okay,” she says and takes his hands.
They are out of the sight of everyone else, in a bedroom. She has enough pressure on her without them glaring at her. Liv takes a deep breath and closes her eyes.
“Hold on,” she says with a small grimace and then he feels the wash of Realm jumping go over him.
“You did it,” Vito says, squeezing her hands.
Liv opens her eyes and takes in her surroundings. “Where are we?”
“Exactly where I wanted you to bring us,” he replies. “We are in the forest that separates the two Kingdoms.
“Okay, so which way do we go?” she asks.
“No, you stay here. You don’t know this place, or where to go and how to act and you look just like Aefre. It will cause an alarm before we can even get to her,” he says.
“So what? I’m just supposed to hang around here until when?” she asks, annoyed.
“Until I can get back with Aefre,” Vito says firmly. “Stay out of sight and if anyone comes close, leave.”
“Leave?” she asks, surprised.
“Yes, leave. Come back, of course,” he says with a small smile that lights up her face.
He frowns at her. Why is she looking at him like that?
“Okay,” she says with a slight nod.
Vito returns it and then he ducks through the trees and back to the Dark Fae Palace. Everyone told him not to trust this woman, but he feels that he can, so he is happy to leave her here to wait.
As he makes his way through the Palace gates and sees the looming structure against the dark sky, he suddenly gets a pang of nerves. If they get caught trying to smuggle Aefre out of here, it will be the end of them.
“Have you seen Drake?” he asks the first Faerie he comes across once inside the Palace. The place is still buzzing with the feast, no one any the wiser about what has happened to their Princess.
“Word from upstairs is the Queen has just given him a daughter!” the somewhat drunk Faerie says with a big smile and disappears off to, no doubt, get more mead. Vito crumples up his nose at the waft that follows him.
A daughter? This is unprecedented news. He wonders briefly how Aefre will take it but then dismisses it. He has bigger issues to deal with now than the uproar that his new niece will cause in Aefre’s life. Fortunately, though, Drake will be occupied with Maurelle, so they only have Sebastian to get rid of. That might not be so easy.
Vito makes his way up to Aefre’s bedroom and knocks gently before he pushes the door open. He is greeted with Sebastian, Lincoln, and a worried-looking Delinda, who is clutching at her mother’s hand as if her life depends on it.
“What do you want?” Sebastian asks him nastily.
Vito takes a deep breath. “Drake wants to see you. Immediately,” he lies and hopes that this doesn’t backfire.
Sebastian looks back at Aefre. “Tell him it will have to wait,” he says.
“No can do,” Vito says. “Maurelle has gone into labor, he needs to see you now, it’s important.”
“Whatever for?” Sebastian asks, perplexed.
“How the fuck should I know?” Vito snaps, losing his patience with all the nervous feelings. “All I know is what I was ordered.”