Chapter Fourteen

Queen of the mecca.

After Zandu left, we all stood there silently. I took a moment to let the reality of what had transpired here seep into me. The reality and horror. Especially for the elves.

The Dark Fae Lord had almost annihilated an entire race, driven them from their lands, and together with Kade and our allies we had helped reverse some of that damage. Healing would take a long time, but the Otherworld had a chance now.

A chance is all any of us needed.

Despite my bone-deep tiredness, I straightened my shoulders, searching deep for some resolve. “Okay, I have no plan. I’m tired. I’m hungry, and we might die. But I’m going to try to open a portal into the mecca crystal room of the castle.” I turned to Dante. “Are you okay to get back to the Summer Court and bring our friends and whatever army the king wants to send across?”

He nodded, gripping his sword tight. “I will move as swiftly as the summer winds. I will not let you down.”

This time I was the one who lowered my head to him. “You have never let me down. I am very grateful to have met you in the prison.”

A million emotions shimmered in his eyes. He opened and closed his mouth multiple times, and it was very odd to see the composed fae looking so flabbergasted. Finally he said, “We are well met. I will see you soon.” He took off then, truly running as swiftly as the winds he’d mentioned before.

I turned to find Kian looking wrecked, Shelley at his side, her face wrinkled with anxiety. Kade was also eyeing his brother with a look of great concern, and I could feel his worry beating through our bond.

I sighed. “Kian, you cannot go to the castle. Shelley either. You’ve been through enough today already.” This could turn into a war, and neither of them were up to fighting. I would not leave their son an orphan.

Relief poured through Shelley, and she finally met my eyes. “My gift could help you…” she said softly, clearly struggling with what to do.

I waved my hand. “I forbid it. That’s an order.”

She nodded. “I was thinking that … maybe Kian and I could head to the Winter Court? We can help keep order there until you come back? As long as you promise to keep our son safe, and send him across whenever you can.”

I didn’t even hesitate. “We will do our best to protect him, don’t you worry. It will be a huge relief to me to know that someone — my family — is keeping an eye on the Winter Court while it’s without a leader.”

The leaders were the lifeblood of the people here too, and the Winter Court would slowly die without someone funneling mecca to them. But we had a little time. So, as Kade said, I would worry about that after defeating Luca.

Kade drew me strongly into his body; a breath of air released from him as we pressed together. I wished we could stay like this forever, but we were not quite done yet. We pulled away, but kept our hands linked together.

“Let’s do it.” Kade took one last look at the lake. His face held a haunted expression, but he shook it off quickly enough.

Giving his hand one last squeeze, I released it, taking a deep, cleansing breath. Closing my eyes, my energy sprang forth the second I called it. It was strong and controlled. I felt no fear despite the fact I could feel the vast crisscrossing lines of mecca over this world and Earth. I no longer needed to touch a mecca stone. Now I could draw on this power at will.

I focused on the stone in the mecca room back at the castle, a power that was most familiar to me. I pulled its mecca energy forward, breathing it into me.

When Zandu told me I was a mecca stone, my brain couldn’t quite comprehend what that meant. But right now, in this moment, I understood completely. Because I was born of two royal lines, from two sides of the mecca—from a union that would not normally produce a child—I was unique, able to control mecca in a way that no other had before. I was literally able to do things that would usually require the touch of a mecca stone.

I was the queen of the mecca.

I need a portal. I spoke directly to the stone in the Manhattan royal estate. Power flowed into me, swift and fast, and I buckled for a beat but recovered just as quickly. My capability to contain and direct the power was growing.

I opened my eyes to see a four-inch, square portal appear between my fingers, the mecca room visible within it. I pulled my hands open wider, pushing more mecca through, until the portal widened. It was hard to hold. If my thoughts strayed at all, it shimmered and wavered. All of Calista’s hours of forced meditation and mantras were paying off right now. Once I’d finally gotten it big enough to let a grown man through, I kept my voice calm and low.

“Go through,” I stated, unsure how much longer I could hold it.

Kade turned to Kian and they embraced quickly. “Thank you, brother,” Kian said. His voice was hoarse, but he was already looking stronger.

“Stay safe,” Kade said, before he turned and walked into my portal.

You better be right behind me.

His voice in my head made me smile. Once Kade was inside, I lifted the portal above my head, bringing it down over my body. There was a feeling of constriction and pressure, then a rush of warm winds, and I was inside the room. Spinning around, I lifted my arms back above my head, still holding the whirling square. Shelley and Kian were waving, smiles on their faces. With a weak smile, I nodded to them, then there was a crashing noise behind me and the portal blinked out.

The fight had already begun.