It seemed logical that the two could be very detrimental to each other’s setups. I bet I could crack this place like an egg. Dang it, I really wanted to try.
“Come forward. You, there.”
The elf’s musical voice wasn’t nearly as pleasing as Vlad’s. It was like he was trying too hard. Or not made for seduction.
Halvor pushed in a little closer to me. “You do not have to go forward unless the Second wishes it.”
“And not even then, since he’s not my Second.” I peered through the spaces between the various heads and necks and caught both elves looking my way. Shifters stepped through the gate, Andy and Sour Face, my buddy the yeti, and Yasmine, who was a serious looker. Charity already stood up front with Romulus, and they had not turned. Apparently he didn’t wish it.
Let this escalate, Darius thought. Let them see how the elves handle not getting what they want. It is a lesson the Second must learn.
I felt Penny tight to my back. Emery was right there too, content to hide with us.
I hated hiding.
“Nope,” Penny said, and grabbed the back of my tank top. She’d probably felt me tense. “We don’t need this to kick off, Reagan. Just stand back.”
“They think they own the world, do they?” Callie asked with a huff. “Since when do people need a pass to enter the magical world?”
“That’s part of the problem,” Darius murmured.
“Step aside.” The elf put out his hand, ready to move Romulus away.
“There is a vampire,” the other elf said.
Magic condensed around the area. It grew heady and heavy, pushing down on us. Squeezing us.
“Weird magic,” I murmured, splaying out a tiny bit of fire to eat through it. Like oil on water, it flicked over it. “Hmm.”
“Vampires are permitted in this part of the Realm, are they not?” Romulus said, raising his voice.
Roger finally stepped through the gate, brawny and ready for action. He evaluated the situation and immediately strutted to Romulus’s side.
“Bring them forth,” commanded the elf clad in red.
“Good luck, dipshit,” I murmured.
The one in orange took in the largish cluster of powerful magical people. The fae surrounding us. The shifters filing in. Roger staring them down. Romulus losing his patience. He looked back at his buddy.
“Leave them,” the one in red said a moment later. “For now.”
“Yes, good choice.” Romulus bowed. “We will present to the castle as soon as we are able. I know that you are eager to officially meet the Third.”
The elves didn’t stay to chat. They started jogging out of the area, and any idiot could tell they were going to get backup.
“Time to go,” I called out, and did a circle with my finger. “I don’t think we want to be here when they get back.”
“I agree,” Romulus said softly, and turned toward the path.
I could feel Darius’s approval, and suddenly the Seers’ insistence that he come with us made all kinds of sense. He was needed to steer the fae. They had to know the real state of affairs, and through subtlety and suggestion, he would help show them just that. He would do what Vlad had been trying to do for months.
It wouldn’t be Vlad who ultimately gained their favor, though.
“Those sneaky littles witches,” I said with a grin, pushing Halvor further away.
“Who?” Penny asked, still pushed against me.
“No offense, bub,” I told Halvor, whose expression darkened as soon as I addressed him. “But I don’t know you well enough to wear you as a skin suit.”
“Ew,” Penny mumbled.
Working just a little bit of magic to pick at the setup around me, I answered Penny, “The Seers. They got it right. Never trust a vampire.”
Eleven
“Incoming.”
Charity looked to the left as Devon hung back a little, none of the shifters having shifted yet. Based on what she saw coming toward them, that might change in the next few minutes.
A group of five elves in various shades of bright sauntered along the path, almost like they were skipping. Behind them trudged what could only be described as a magical horde, made up of various thick-bodied and heavily armed magical creatures. One had a bludgeon, another a cudgel, some were equipped with daggers, and one with a boomerang, of all things, laden with spikes.
Romulus slowed as they reached an intersection with the fast track, a path that magically sped up travel time. They’d only been traveling for half a day—the journey would take at least another two—and already the elves were coming in numbers. Darius had assured them that this would happen. Emery had agreed with the vampire and told Romulus to be ready. But even though Romulus had gotten a taste for how the elves handled things on his way out of the Realm, he hadn’t thought the situation would escalate. He’d hoped his rebuff, plus his intention to reinstate the warrior fae’s traditional duty in the Realm, would grant him a pass. And it probably would’ve. But it did not grant his party a pass, that was clear.