the skin around her kiss turn green as the toxic poison spread through him.
“He doesn’t have long little Princess, I suggest you go to Auberon as soon as you wake.” As soon as she’d finished the vision disappeared and I’d woken in my room, screaming.
I explained what I saw to Auberon as calmly and rationally as I could. “It was a trap. The Queen was there, and Póg Tocsaineach. She kissed him…”
Auberon’s face paled. “She kissed him?”
“Oh his cheek, he’s been poisoned…the Queen said he didn’t have long to live. What is it she wants?”
Auberon sighed. “She wants an object we found in Central Park a few years ago. Max took it off of one of her Dark creatures. The Dark Stone, it allows them to enter the mortal realm wherever they please. When we took the stone from her creature, we closed off a great deal of the mortal world to them. They can still go about Central Park, and various other places around the world, but only where they have an entrance. It is why you don’t see more of those creatures here, they have to travel, find shelter during daylight. With the stone they have a connection to the Queen and are able to travel quickly, even during daylight.”
“Where is the stone now?” I asked
“We don’t know,” Max said in frustration. “It was brought here, to Faerie and it has disappeared. We believe Gaia has taken it back.”
“So it’s not available?”
Max looked at me, his eyes sad.
“No. I refuse to just let Daire suffer with that evil hag! I will get him back!” I said with resolve. “I swore to him I would get him back.”
“You don’t even know where they have taken him.”
Another memory flooded my mind. That of a dark castle like structure in the middle of Never Never. It was dangerous terrain to get there, for you had to pass through the Goblin King’s territory to get to it. “I do. And I will get him back.”
“I’m going with you,” Cole said leaving no room for argument.
“I shall go as well,” Thane agreed.
“I’ll go Abbey, you don’t have to do this,” Max said, taking my hands in his.
“No Max. Daire is mine. I’m doing this,” I begged him to understand.
“Very well. But you will take more than just Thane and Cole with you. I will see who else I can round up to go into Never Never with you.”
“Thank you , Max.”
Auberon and my father had been fairly quiet throughout this exchange. “Abbey it is indeed a great loss to lose Daire in such a way, but to risk your life, your safety, I cannot allow it.”
I left Max’s side and moved in front of Auberon, I removed my ring, tossing it to the floor. I was in a temper and I wanted Auberon to be very clear that I was one hundred percent Fae, that I was not being driven by human feelings. “I will return with Daire, Great Grandfather. Or I shall not return at all. I am your heir, but I have also been trained to fight the Darkness and I will not allow the man I love to be tortured to death by those creatures. I will go to him and you will not stop me.” I could feel the rage that I had kept in check beginning to break free. I was so close to being out of control, I just needed a direction to unleash my fury.
Auberon took one look in my eyes and changed his mind. “Go. Go get him and bring him back.”
I followed Cole and Thane to the door of Never Never. I wasn’t nervous, but I was anxious. Cole flung open the door and we stepped through to another dimension, Never Never was like no other world you can even imagine. It is vast and ever changing. The landscape can be very wild and it will swallow you if you aren’t careful. I checked behind me to see Cale, James and Thomas coming along for the journey.
“Princess, I know the path well and the Goblin King and I are on friendly terms. We should be able to pass with little trouble, however you must grant him a boon for allowing you safe passage,” Thomas commented.
“And I’ll follow your spoiled self anywhere any time,
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