Chapter Forty-Two: Doe, A DeerAs much as she hated leaving the issue unsettled with Caius, it was difficult to hold on to acrimony when they crossed into Bael. It was picturesque and reminded her strongly of pictures she had seen of Scotland in her books. When she mentioned that to Eamon, he said, “Ireland would be more apt, since our people settled that region when some emigrated from Bael, but the geography is similar. Those Baelic folk used their magic to shape their new realm to resemble Bael.”“Amazing.” As much as she had learned about magic, and how to use it, hearing what it could do still surprised her sometimes. “Where are we heading?” As she asked, the portal closed behind them. For a moment, she feared Caius would leave them there and not reopen it. Realizing that wouldn’t be such a bad thing, she stepped away from it—also knowing he wouldn’t give up the Trueblood he wanted to control.“Ascaya, which is the capitol.” Eamon made a sharp whistling sound with his mouth, but

Chapter Forty-Four: Friend or Foe?Bael felt like home perhaps more than any realm had yet, though she’d felt similarly about Tiranog, and North was reluctant to leave it when their stay ended five days later. She’d learned what she could and had tapped fully into her Baelic magic, so there was no reason to linger, other than she wanted to. Part of that might be because she so dreaded her trip to Eli’s realm. Ascensia scared her beyond reason, because it was the place she was most likely to be able to shift. That terrified her, and she tried to pretend she would give it her all, but she was secretly thinking to herself that she didn’t plan to try too hard.After sad partings with Eamon’s father and stepmother, and slightly more offensive partings with his brothers, they stepped through the portal with a wave. As she emerged into the Earth side, North realized she had to face the Council before they would go to Ascensia. All seven of them formed a ring around the portal, and they all l

Chapter Forty-Six: ImpossibleThe next night was a full moon, which meant a gathering for the wolf-shifters. She had the fae fabric become a comfortable outfit, in case they ran. She had no idea what to expect as they all followed Eli to the square of the village. Someone had started a huge bonfire, and there were several naked shifters cavorting around it. Others had already shifted.“Try this.” Eli handed her a glass of something pale purple.She sniffed it. “What is it?”“Pink yarrow wine. It’s good for you.”She took a cautious sip and gasped. “I didn’t expect it to be so strong.”Eli laughed as he handed glasses of the wine to the other men. “It has a kick, but it tastes great.”North wasn’t entirely sure she’d use the word great, but it wasn’t bad. She ended up finishing the glass over the next twenty minutes as they all mingled. She interacted more with Eli’s family and saw her other husbands were getting along with the wolves too. It was important to her that they all get alon

Chapter Forty-Eight: BetrayedKriss was the one to knock on the Allises’ door, since there was a chance they didn’t know him. He was taking no chances of them recognizing Eli and trying to keep them out. They wouldn’t be denied entry, but he’d like to make things as quick and neat as possible.Carol was the one to open the door, and she left the chain on. “What is it? Do you have any idea what time it is?”“It’s time for you to tell us what you know.” Eli burst past Kriss, ripping the chain from its plate as he collided for the door.So much for subtlety. With a shrug, Kriss entered behind him and closed the door as the sound of bare feet running down the hall reached them. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest as he waited for Jim to join them.Eli held Carol by the back of her shirt, ignoring her ineffectual struggles. When Jim burst into the kitchen, he nodded at Kriss.Kriss moved quickly, intercepting Jim and twisting his arm behind his back before forcing him to stand wi

Chapter Fifty: FrenemyTwo weeks. Two miserable weeks had passed, and North was no closer to recovering her memory. Each time she had a flash of something important, Pytor seemed to realize it and ordered Kira to adjust her dose of the “solution.” She still had no idea what that was, but each dose made it harder to think and harder to resist his horrible orders.“Do it.” He raged at her, waving at the body crumpled on the floor. “Kill the yaogui.”She closed her eyes, her body trembling from the torture he’d already forced her to inflict on the small creature huddling on the floor before her. “Why?”“Don’t question. Never question me. You do as I say. Now kill it. Show me the range of your power.” His temples throbbed with the force of his anger.North looked down at the pitiful creature, which had been broken for at least an hour. She wished she could say it was the first time he’d made her use her magic to hurt others, but it wasn’t. This was the first time he’d told her to kill for