Chapter 37: Out of My League

Rory

A female voice drifted into the dark ocean of my sleep, pulling my consciousness to the surface.

“Dove?” I murmured, the memory of her singing me to sleep settling around me like a comforting fog.

But then awareness gripped me, and I froze. That was not Dove’s voice.

The fog burned away.

I peeled an eye open. I was no longer on my parents’ couch. My body lay on the cold, dark surface of the Void.

“It’s nearly time,” the voice said. “Have you heard from the messenger?”

Miravel. I was sure of it. She sounded close enough to touch.

Adrenaline rushed through me but I bridled it, remaining still. I was back in an in-between place, but Miravel seemed to be talking to someone else…Maybe, like the first time, she hadn’t yet realized I was here.

If our demented dark-magic bond went both ways, if I could somehow step into Miravel’s private conversations like she could step into my mind, then maybe I could use this to learn something about the Dark King’s army. I knew Miravel had to be connected to the Dark Fae. Her magic was too—well, dark—to think otherwise. And right now, any new information could be useful, especially since Dove, Madison, and I were still unable to get ahold of the Hub. What if Arcvale had already been attacked? What if our friends needed us?

A male voice responded to Miravel. I couldn’t make out his words, but the voice sounded eerily familiar.

I held my breath, trying to locate the sound in the darkness as my eyes slowly adjusted to the black Void.

There.

The bobbing lantern I’d seen the first time floated in the distance—farther than the voices had sounded. Its glow illuminated a hunched, shadowy form that I knew to be the hag I’d seen before. The light seemed stationary, as though the hag was standing still. On the other side of the glow stood the tall, graceful form of Miravel. She wore a dark cloak with the hood pulled up, concealing most of her face. Across from both of them, just on the edge of the lantern-light, stood a tall man—the source of the other voice.

My lungs burned with held breath. I released the air slowly, praying it didn’t grab their attention as before—but apparently they were far enough away this time. I said a grateful prayer, then drew in another slow, careful breath as I listened.

“The Hub is in chaos.” Miravel’s satisfaction curled around the words like a purring cat.

The hag grunted. “Their system was more complex than anticipated. It won’t take long for them to realize it’s a false alarm.”

Miravel waved a dismissive hand. “Long enough for our purposes.” She turned back to the man. “We are on track. There’s no cause for concern.”

The man reached for her, trailing a finger down her face. “You’ve done well, my pet.”

A chill spread through me. I was sure I’d heard that voice before…

“The prince should be coming into the Veil at any moment,” Miravel said, shivering slightly at his touch—her voice sounded husky with desire, not fear. “The girl won’t be a problem for you much longer.”

“I knew I could rely on you… as always.” The man stepped closer, giving Miravel the kind of smile I’ve seen women melt over as the light from the lantern spilled onto his face.

My chest turned to ice.

It was the man who had dated my sister. The man who, it turned out, was actually a monster—the man who had attacked Madison and killed her guard.

Sevryn. That was his true name, and he was Selkblood, a Dark Fae.

But how was that possible? He was also supposed to be dead.

The man’s gaze flicked in my direction, and I froze, holding my breath.

My mind was in a panic. She’d said the prince—did they mean Kaizyn? Were they planning to ambush him? And the girl—my heart sank as certainty settled in. Ayla.

Where was the escape hatch on this hell-hole? I needed out of this vision. I had to warn Kaizyn and Ayla. And fast.

But I forced myself to breathe slowly, listening for anything further about Sevryn’s plans.

After a second, he turned back to Miravel, still holding his charming smile. His fingers trailed her jaw, then he pulled his hand away and stepped back. “It’s too late to stop it. It’s already in motion.”

He flicked his pale face to me across the distance, and his gaze locked on mine. His eyes glinted ice-blue in the darkness.

Dread settled into my sternum as I realized those last words had been for me.

“I’m coming for you next, Rory Kane,” he said with a chilling smirk.

A force sucked me backward, and the forms of Miravel, the hag, and the man blurred into the distance.

“Rory? Rory!”

I sat bolt upright, and nearly smacked my head into Dove’s panicked face.

She threw her arms around me. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, Rory!”

My body slowly registered my new surroundings. I was back on my parents’ couch, Dove half on a chair beside me and half on my chest from having thrown her arms around me. One of her hands gripped mine, the runed stone clutched between our joined palms, still warm to the touch. Madison and my parents gaped at me from behind her, a mix of relief and fear on their faces.

Dove pulled back, staring at me with wide, panicked eyes, her brow pinched with worry. “I didn’t catch it soon enough! I felt the darkness come for you, but by the time I got the stone out, I—”

I cupped her face with my free hand. “Dove, it’s okay. I’m okay.”

She sank back onto her chair and drew a shuddering breath. Her worried face softened a bit as she studied me. “Are you sure? Your skin was so strange, shifting between hot and cold, and your eyes—” She shuddered, then peered at me more closely. “You still look unwell.”

I swallowed, glancing up at my parents and sister. “Yeah, well—” I huffed an anxious breath. “I think I was actually meant to see this one, but…”

Madison’s eyes locked on mine. “Rory,” she said, her voice tense and wary. “What did you see?”

My stomach swooped to my feet—but this wasn’t something I could keep from her.

“I think—I think Sevryn’s alive.” Madison and my parents all gasped, but I pushed forward. “He’s working with the Dark King and the two women I saw before… And he’s planning to ambush Kaizyn to kill Ayla.”

Madison went bone-white. “What?”

My father’s eyes widened in shock, then hardened with a rage I’d never seen on his face before. “That son-of-a—” Dad cut off, clenching his jaw. He reached for Madison, but I could see the fury still churning in his eyes.

“Could it have been someone who just looked like him?” Madison’s voice quivered as she asked.

I drew a long breath, but in my core I knew the answer, had known it the moment he looked right at me. ”No.” At her desperate expression, I softened the blow by instinct. “I mean—I don’t think so.”

“I will kill him. I will kill him if he touches you again,” Dad muttered, stroking Madison’s hair as my mom moved in to wrap her arms around both of them.

But Madison’s eyes were locked on mine. We both knew Dad didn’t stand a chance in a fight against monsters like these. He would only die trying. There was no way I could let that happen.

But I was only a human, too, no stronger than my dad. If these monsters attacked us, I would just end up bloodied and needing rescue, like before. A sense of failure swept over me again, followed by a pang of self-loathing. I couldn’t protect my family, or Dove, or anyone else from threats like these. I was useless.

Fogarty jumped up on the edge of the couch, meowing and pacing, as Dove grabbed my arm.

I tore myself from my spiral of self-loathing long enough to look at her. She was beautiful—and completely, utterly not in need of me. Why had I ever entertained, even for a second, that this girl could have interest in me?

“Rory, are you sure? Are you absolutely sure it was Sevryn?” she asked, her warm, dark eyes wide with the question.

I wished I could say no to that, but I nodded. “Yes.”

Her whole body tensed. “That is not good news.”

I wanted to pull her to me, to comfort her, but I held back. What possible comfort could I offer her? I was way out of my league—in my ability to fight these creatures, and with her.

Her eyes studied mine, but I tore my gaze away, focusing on a loose thread on the blanket still across my lap.

She drew a shaky breath. “What else did you see?”

I felt utterly defeated and helpless in front of her, but this wasn’t just about me. I looked up at her. “They created some kind of false alarm at the Hub—a distraction, maybe? I didn’t hear enough to know for sure but it sounded like they faked an attack.”

Dove jumped up and raced toward the kitchen.

I threw off the blanket and followed, Madison and my parents trailing behind me.

Dove grabbed the landline phone and dialed—but after several tense moments, she placed the phone back into its cradle and shook her head. “Still no answer.” She stared up at me with wide, scared eyes. Her lip quivered. “Do you think it’s just the false alarm? That they think they’re under attack? And what is it a distraction for? What are the Dark Fae trying to do?”

She looked so worried, it made my heart ache. I shook my head. “I…I don’t know.” Yet another failure—I’d been so paralyzed with fear, I hadn’t even thought to engage and ask questions of Sevryn once I knew he’d seen me. Maybe it would’ve accomplished nothing… or maybe I could’ve goaded him into telling me something more useful. I’d never know, because I had been too panicked to even try.

I was useless and a coward.

But useless or not, I still couldn’t just sit here and do nothing.

I rushed for the couch, grabbing the sneakers I’d taken off before my nap.

Madison hurried toward me. “Where are you going?”

I glanced up at her as I crammed a foot into a sneaker. “The Hub. I don’t care if the portals are all closed or whatever, there has to be some way to get in—and I cannot just sit here and let them ambush Kaizyn or Ayla.”

Dove stepped into the room, watching me calmly. “I will come with you,” she said.

My heart lifted at the thought of having her with me—except for the part where I’d be putting her in danger. Sevryn knew I’d heard him talking to Miravel and the hag. Maybe he’d even meant for me to hear them; I couldn’t be sure. Any actions we took from here could be walking right into his trap.

But I could tell from Dove’s expression there was no use trying to convince her it would be safer for her to stay here. She would probably just throw her bear at me.

I shoved down the confusing whirlwind of pleasure and dread about her joining me, and nodded. “Okay.”

“We can return to the Gate we used to come here,” she continued, “but—”

I looked up at her. “But what?”

“Not all Gates are watched closely, especially when they’re locked down as they are now. Ordinarily, a LeyGuard can trigger a Gate and draw attention to let the Hub know they’re there, even if the Gate is an obscure one. But I am not a LeyGuard. My runestone for Gate travel doesn’t override lockdown, and this isn’t a commonly used Gate. If the Hub truly is under siege—even if it’s a false alarm—they may not have anyone monitoring the lesser-used Gates. They may not even realize we’re there.”

Madison neared us as I tied my laces and shoved on my second shoe. “Is there no other way to get in? A Gate they might be watching more closely? ” she asked Dove.

“There are other Gates,” Dove answered, “but none very close. And if the Hub really is dealing with a perceived attack, they may not be answering any of them.”

“Then we’ll try all of them,” I said, standing. I turned to Mom and Dad, who were watching from the kitchen doorway. “I need to take one of the cars.”

Dad wrapped his arm around Mom’s shoulders and nodded. “Take mine. It’s the fastest.”

I hurried to the hall that led to our garage and grabbed my dad’s keys from the hook on the wall.

Madison, Dove, and Fogarty followed.

I turned back to Madison. “Stay here. Please. I don’t know what might happen, and if Sevryn—”

A flash of fear crossed her eyes at his name, but then she clenched her jaw. “They’re my friends, Rory. I’m coming.”

I studied her for a moment, and my heart softened a bit. “Dad’s right, Mads. You really have become so brave. You’ve changed.”

Tears swelled in her eyes as she smiled at me. “So have you.”

Before I could ask what she meant, she turned to Mom and Dad, who were still standing near the entrance to the kitchen. “Can you two keep calling the Hub while we’re gone? If you get through, you can tell them what Rory saw and that we’re trying to get in.”

I expected my parents to argue about us going without them—though I really hoped they wouldn’t. They knew so little about the Fae they’d be walking in blind if they insisted on joining us, and my dad had already suffered enough at their hands.

Dad looked conflicted, but Mom gripped his arm and nodded. “If that’s the best way for us to help, then that’s what we’ll do. Take your phone. If we get through, we’ll call you—and you call us if anything changes. And please, be careful.”

Madison nodded as she grabbed her backup cell phone from its charger on the kitchen counter and shoved it in her pocket, then hurried back toward me. “We will.”

Dad held my gaze. “I’m proud of you, son.”

I swallowed down the surge of emotion that brought, and nodded. “Thanks, Dad.”

Madison, Dove, Foge, and I hurried into the garage.

Dove grabbed my arm. She stared up at me, seeming a little breathless. “Whatever we do from here, Rory, we do together. Okay?”

I wasn’t sure if her concern was getting left behind, or me racing into danger like an idiot without her protection, but either way, with how her eyes were pleading with me, I wouldn’t have been able to say no. I nodded. “Okay.”

“The same goes for me,” Madison said, giving me a pointed stare. “Don’t you dare leave me behind. We’re in this together.”

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “Of course. That’s why we’re all running into the garage… together. What did you think was happening?”

Madison huffed. “You knew what I meant, dork.”

I smiled tensely at her, then pointed Dove and Foge toward my father’s silver Jaguar. “That’s the one.”

I hit the unlock as we all rushed toward it, but when we reached the car doors, Madison and I both stopped and stared at each other.

“I don’t think Dad has ever even let me touch this car before,” Madison said.

“Me neither,” I breathed.

Madison glanced at Foge with wide eyes. “We’re about to put a bear in it.”

That statement—and her bewildered expression as she said it—cracked right through the tension in my chest. A laugh burst out of me, and I grinned. “Think the insurance covers that?”

“Nope.” Madison grinned back at me as she yanked open the door and slid into the backseat. To my surprise, Foge jumped in after her and settled himself on the other side of the backseat.

I turned to Dove. “You’ve got shotgun, I guess.”

She tilted her head, a wrinkle of confusion between her perfect eyebrows as she stepped close, very close, peering up at me. “Shotgun?”

“Oh—uh—” I stammered, feeling my face heat. “I meant, you can ride up front next to me.”

She stood on tiptoes—then grabbed my face and planted a gentle, lingering kiss on my cheek.

My whole body flamed as she stepped back and looked up at me. “I knew what it meant, Rory Kane.” She grinned at me, and I swore my heart was about to flop right out of my chest. “I just like to tease you.”

I gaped after her as she walked lightly around to her side of the car and got in, as though nothing had even happened.

I swallowed and hurried into the car, avoiding Madison’s pointed and extremely amused stare in the rearview mirror.

I cleared my throat, feeling Dove’s gaze on me. “Which Gate first?” I asked as I started the car.

“The Gate we came through,” Dove said, “and if that one doesn’t work, there’s another a few miles from there.”

I nodded, hit the button on the visor to open the garage, and shifted into reverse. “Everybody buckle up. You know, safety first and all that—”

Dove’s left hand settled on top of my right hand on the gearshift.

I startled and looked at her, but she was just facing forward with a subtle smile on her face.

A little thrill shot through me. This girl would probably be the death of me… but I suspected it would be a pleasant death.

I glanced in the rearview mirror and saw a distinct smirk on Madison’s face—and also Fogarty’s narrowed feline glare, focused intently on me.

If Dove didn’t become the death of me, Fogarty probably would. Leave it to me to fall head over heels for a girl with magical powers and a bear for a sidekick.

But I had fallen head over heels. This girl had the power to crush my heart to powder like one of her magic flower petals. It didn’t matter that it had happened crazy fast, I was a goner.

I just had to pray she’d go easy on me.

Madison leaned toward the back of my seat and whispered, “Save our friends first, then you can make out with her.” I could hear the humor in her voice, but her words slapped me back to reality.

I cleared my throat, desperately hoping Dove hadn’t heard what Madison said, and backed the car out of the garage.

As I turned the car around in the circular drive and sped down our long, private drive toward the outer gate of our property, my chest tightened.

Whatever was happening between Dove and me was distracting in the best of ways, but even though Madison had been teasing, she was right—I couldn’t afford to be distracted.

I pulled onto the road and sped toward the Gate we’d come through. While I drove, my mind spun with every possible contingency. Sevryn had said he was coming for me, next… a small fact I hadn’t shared with the others but which now consumed my thoughts, because there was absolutely no way I was letting Sevryn near Madison again—ever. And though Dove and Foge could defend themselves, I hated the thought of that creep coming near Dove, either.

As useless as I might be compared to the Fae and LeyGuards, I did have one thing to offer: information. Sevryn knew I was having those visions. He knew I was a risk to whatever he had planned. I didn’t have magic to protect my loved ones, and I couldn’t compete with a Fae strength for strength. But I had something the enemy wanted—or wanted to get rid of. Either way, he was coming for me, and if I was smart, I could use that to my advantage. I was determined to get my information to someone who could do something about it, even if I had to die trying—I’d already made that commitment between myself and my Maker. But Dove and Madison weren’t a part of that arrangement, and if Sevryn was coming for me, then I needed to be far away from both of them.

I glanced over at Dove, and she squeezed my hand. I shifted my hand over hers and interlaced our fingers on the gearshift. When she turned toward me with a smile, it stabbed like a stake into my heart—because even as I clutched her hand, I could already feel any possible future with her slipping away.

Certainty was driving itself deeper into my chest like a nail driven by a hammer: Despite my promise for us to stick together, I had to find a way to leave both Dove and Madison behind… even if they ended up hating me for it.