Lilly shook her head at the warlock King. She knew that nothing she could say would help it make sense to him. There were no words to tell him that she wanted to know these things so that she could help him endure these burdens. In the brief time she had known him, she’d seen how the responsibility of his race was wearing on him. It was a lot, even for one with shoulders as broad as his, to bear for so long. Wasn’t that what a mate was for? Okay yes, she was still on the fence about the mate thing, but she knew that she cared about him and she didn’t want to see him come to any harm. She would figure out the whole mate thing when the time came to make a decision.

“Fine, I won’t worry about it.” She finally told him.

Cypher raised a single brow at her, “That’s it? You aren’t going to growl and snarl at me?”

“I’m not a wolf you know,” she purposely added a slight growl to her voice in hopes that it would bring about that devastating smile he had, that she loved so much. She wasn’t disappointed.

Cyn made an impatient shuffle with her feet, reminding them of her presence.

Cypher looked back at the Fae. “I have no intention of helping the witch, but I may not have a choice. If it comes to opening the Veil or Lilly’s life then I will have to open the Veil and hopefully get it closed before too many demons escape.”

“Nope, not gonna happen.” Lilly said, shaking her head, “you aren’t going to sacrifice the safety of the world, or my daughter, for my life. My daughter is grown and married and I know she will be taken care of. I’ve had a great life, though not a very long one, but that’s okay. I won’t let you choose me over several other races.”

Cypher barely acknowledged her when he responded. “Well, it’s a good thing it isn’t up to you then.”

Cyn spoke before Lilly could respond. “Peri wants you to open the Veil.”

Cypher pushed off from the tree and suddenly standing before them was the warlock King, in all his Kingly glory. He towered over the Fae guard, who looked rather small when compared to Cypher.

“What did you say?” Cypher’s voice was low and threatening.

Cyn didn’t blink, didn’t step back, or cringe the way most smart people, who valued their lives, would have. She simply answered his question.

“She wants you to open the Veil.”

Chapter 2

“I think of you. When darkness swirls around me like a turbulent storm, when the very breath I take seems to tax my soul, when despair is my constant shadow; I think of you. I hear your voice, I smell your scent, and I feel your skin upon my own. Your pain is my own, your fear my best friend, and even though all hope seems to have seeped from the world leaving only despair, still, I think of you.” ~ Sally

Darkness enveloped her. She couldn’t move her limbs even though she was telling herself to. What she could feel was pain, panic, fear, anger, hate, rage, and many more emotions that she knew did not belong to her. Jacque tried to think back to what her last memory had been. She had been walking through the forest and then she had walked into a pond. Bloody hell she thought, I walked into a freaking pond? She remembered thinking it was the best idea she had ever had and just knew that if she went into the water she would find peace. Well that plan was shot to hell. Fane was gone, he was hurting, and she couldn’t reach him. Jacque could feel him, sense him through their bond, but she couldn’t talk to him.

She couldn’t open her eyes, couldn’t talk, but she could breathe. That was a good thing right? She was trying to think about the positive, but the more she felt Fane’s despair, the further away the positive slipped from her grasp.

Jacque could even hear her friends’ voices. She had heard Jen’s declaration to kick Mona’s ass and had wanted to join in the howl, had felt her wolf perk up, but she was just as paralyzed as Jacque. She remembered Mona causing her body to betray her by using her voice to speak and that had flat out pissed her off and she had pushed with everything left inside her to get the witch out of her mind. It had used up all of her energy and for a while, she felt like she was drifting further from the living into the shadow world. But, she refused to drift off into the emptiness without a fight. Jacque would not go quietly, not as long as drew breath, not as long as her heart pumped blood through her frozen body.

She knew Mona had done something to her and she just kept hoping that Rachel, Peri, and Sally could figure out a way to fix it. Jacque needed to be able to help them, because she didn’t know how much longer their mates could last in the hell Mona had sent them to endure. She didn’t know how long before the state of their mates began to affect them, and if their mates died, then they were all dead.

Q

Sally sat staring off into the dark forest. They had been walking for what seemed like weeks, though it had merely been days. It was dark even though night had not yet fallen. Clouds continually blocked the sun and winter seemed to be clinging to the land as the evil that Mona was weaving continued to take over more and more of their world. Sally wondered if others noticed if the humans, who knew nothing of the supernatural world, picked up on the evil that was bleeding into the world. Evil beyond what they had could have ever imagined.

Sally knew that Alina had explained to them that the bonds with their mates wouldn't work in the In-Between, but she felt Costin. She couldn’t communicate with him, but she felt his emotions. It was exhausting and terrifying, but she wouldn’t wish it away. Sally would rather feel something, anything, than nothing at all. She wondered if he could feel her, if he knew that she was seeking a way to get him back. Did he truly know what he meant to her, had she told him? Sally began to doubt herself, doubt the bond between them. She felt so inadequate to be his mate. Costin was so confident, so funny, full of life, and she felt so bland next to him. He so openly expressed his feelings for her, continually telling her how much he loved her, and she would shy away, like a child. Her head fell forward into her hands as she felt the weight of reality fall onto her like a cloak. It covered her in doubt, fear, and she felt despair like she had never known.

“Sally,” she heard the gentle voice behind her and turned to see Alina standing there. Strong, secure, sure Alina. How could Sally even dream that she could be that kind of mate to Costin.

“Sally, stop this,” Alina told her firmly.

“I can feel him Alina,” Sally told her, her voice tight. “How can I feel him?”