Page 32 of King

Less than a season lost. That’s not so bad. We can make up for it. Vaegon won’t remember the separation. Once he’s back with his true mother, that pretending bitch will disappear from his memory.

And I’ll make sure she never goes anywhere near him again.

I don’t want to think about her right now. I’ve eaten and washed up. I’m ready to see my son.

As soon as I step outside the hut, the seer mutters some elvish words. A moment later, we’re in an unfamiliar part of the forest. I spin around, expecting to see Vaegon and Allina, but there’s no one else here. Just the seer and me in a long, narrow clearing surrounded by thick trees. The sky is clear above us, and the grass is lush beneath our feet.

“There,” the seer tells me, pointing to a small tree at the edge of the clearing. I notice a faint distortion in the air, an almost invisible shimmer.

“Go through there, and you’ll find your son. But return quickly, no more than a day. That is crucial.”

I’d like to know what happens if I’m not back in time and how it could possibly take more than a day. But the seer vanishes before I get a chance to ask. I look around, feeling uneasy in this open space alone. Why wouldn’t she come with me? Why doeseverything have to be so damn mysterious with the elves?

It doesn’t matter. Vaegon is waiting for me.

I hurry over to the shimmer. I pause before stepping in, imagining the moment I take Vaegon in my arms. My stomach drops at the thought of him crying for that vile elf because he doesn’t remember me. I wonder if he cried for me like that when he first left.

My heart aches from missing him and from wondering what he’s been through all this time. But I have to swallow my fear if I want to find him. What matters is bringing him back where he belongs and showing him how loved and safe he is with me. I hold onto that thought as I take a deep breath and step into the shimmer.

I feel a bit dizzy as I stumble out into whatever’s waiting on the other side. I close my eyes until it settles, then brave a look around. I’m not sure what I expected from another realm, but I thought it’d be a lot different than this. It’s a forest, just like Faerie, only the colors are all wrong. The trees have green leaves and muddy-brown trunks instead of the vibrant purples and blues I’m used to. And I feel no essence of the dryads within them. The only other plants I recognize are the calantars. They’re not right either, growing haphazardly around the base of the giant tree before me, not in neat lines along the paths like they should be.

It’s warm here despite being the coldest season. Just like in the elven territory. How sheltered I’ve been, never straying from my pack’s camp. I feel like I’ve gotten a glimpse of how exciting Faerie will be after the queen has been removed from it.

But Vaegon isn’t here. No one’s around except whatever creatures are buzzing past my ears and squawking in the trees. I look around, trying to decide which way to go. Before I can choose, I scent them–shifters.

I’ve been hiding from my pack for so long that my firstinstinct is to flee. To jump back through the shimmer to safety. But my son is here, and my longing for him outweighs my fear. I close my eyes and take a few shaky steps forward. If these shifters are anything like the ones in my realm, they’ve already noticed me and will soon show themselves.

They do. Almost immediately, two large Alphas emerge from the trees, fangs bared, and bodies tensed. I sense an Alpha wolf creeping up behind me, too. They’ll relax when they see that I’m a harmless Omega and learn why I’m here. I’d imagine they know about my son if the seer sent me.

“Who are you?” the smaller Alpha demands, keeping his distance as he sniffs the air. Instead of answering, I admire the black drawings on his arms as I wait for him to place my designation.

“An Omega?” he asks as my scent finally reaches him. He approaches confidently now, dropping his eyes to my neck.

“I’m mated,” I say quickly, cutting off any thought of claiming me.

Why the fuck didn’t the seer send an escort with me?

A larger, calmer Alpha with dark brown skin and a thick, black beard steps closer to have a look for himself. “I see no mark. Is it hidden?”

“My mate is a fae,” I explain. “We cannot mate-mark each other.”

Maybe Durin isn’t technically my mate, but the heart makes the bond, not the mark. Hopefully, my claim will be enough to deter these Alphas and move this along.

They exchange a glance before the first one turns and walks away. “Come on,” he says.

I follow him through the forest until it abruptly ends, spitting us out into a vast open space stretching as far as I can see. Fruits and vegetables grow in neat rows on either side of a large hut with a sharply angled roof. At the front of the hut, a wide path ofsmall rocks leads out to a hard, stone-like path that disappears into the distance.

When we step out of the cover of the trees, a strong heat blazes across my skin. I glance down at my arms, but they don’t seem to be injured. I look at the Alphas, but they seem unaffected. When I turn my eyes up to the sky, a hot, blinding light pierces right through my skull.

“What the fuck?” I shout, covering my eyes with my hands. I blink a few times and look at the ground to make sure I still have my sight, then squint back up to get a better look.

The pain is just as bad. And now, my head is throbbing.

“Just like Paren,” the bearded Alpha chuckles.

“Who’s Paren?” I ask, unamused. “And what’s wrong with your sun?”

“Nothing is wrong with it,” the other Alpha replies. “It’s just more badass than the one you have in Faerie. I assume that’s where you’re from.”

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