Chapter 6

Firo stood there, his arms crossed over his chest and looked at the room full of people. He hadn’t slept at all the night before, but coming with his princess to Alterealm hadn’t been optional this morning. The only way they were going to find all those responsible for the plot to take down barriers in the realms was if all the realms worked together. He believed the reason the plan had survived this long was because they hadn’t been communicating for centuries. Of course, as a guard, he was never asked his opinion on such things.

He stood back by the entrance and watched the men talking. The Alterealm royals were waiting on their mates and Prince Bastian from Solrelm. He was surprised the prince was coming today. His princess told him they had announced the lies and deception to their realm, and to Firo, that was a risk and reason to stay close and watch for other traitors. What had been done to their people was very hard to grasp. To have been denied their other half all these centuries was one thing, but to kidnap any man who had found theirs outside the realm and lock their memories away was unbelievable. He knew doing such a thing was both challenging and dangerous from experience. The reason he had done it was nothing like the reason those fathers had their families erased from their minds.

He watched Prince Bastian come in with his woman, Nova. She was also a puzzle he hadn’t quite put together. Her soul was the oldest there had ever been in a human body, according to Aireese, and he couldn’t imagine what that was like. She was also the reason they were searching all of Fa Terra for any fae named Belford, Florin, or Satine.

Nova walked over to the redheaded woman and handed her a box. Mitz was the woman’s name, and as near as he could figure, she was in charge of most of everything in Alterealm. She was always there, and although she brought trays of food, she was listened to and respected. She accepted the box and left the room.

His princess was talking to the woman from Solrelm, Liri. They stood in front of a wall covered in note cards and pages. Curiosity won, and he went over to see what it was about.

“Firo, look at how well Liri has organized this.” Aireese smiled at her.

Firo glanced at the woman and inclined his head before looking at the wall. He was a little confused when he noticed Liri had the Alterealm mates tattoo. Clearly, she had discovered her other half before the rest of her realm was told. He studied the wall and then moved along it. Liri had made a timeline of all of the events from each realm that tied into the master plan of deception. He was impressed. This was no small undertaking.

Moving over to the card that had Nova written on it, he read a few of those under it. It spoke of a fae preparing her for the years to come. He glanced to see Aireese was watching him. Was this some sort of test? To see if he could spot something she didn’t? He could never be sure when something like that was happening. His entire life felt like a test some days. He just hoped in the end, he passed.

Turning back, he kept reading over the notes. There were several names on the wall, some he’d never heard of, but those few that he knew knotted his stomach with tension. This plot went deep into all the realms. He paused when he read the card with Nula flowers and silver rain.

“This is why I wanted you to come with me today.”

He glanced at Aireese as she moved to stand beside him. “So I could see how entwined this whole thing is?”

“That and I’m going to need help when we go to the place of the elders.”

“Nula flowers.”

She nodded. “Mystral will come as well with Aslac, but I fear even with the four of us, it won’t be enough if things go awry.”

He grinned. “Awry?” He chuckled. “There’s a reason we leave them there in peace, Princess.”

“I know.” She looked at the wall. “But we need to know if one of ours was deep in this.”

Firo pointed to the card with Nova’s name on it. “It was one of ours that protected the old soul…”

“Yes, but how did they know it needed to happen?”

He sucked in a breath. “You think they were playing both sides of it.”

“It’s a possibility.”

“If they were and are still around, I hope they see us as friends when we disturb them.”

She smiled. “I will go with the full blessing of my mother and can only pray that those there are still loyal to the queen.”

“And if they’re not?”

She lifted her hands and looked at them and then clasped them together. “Then it will be a sad day for our realm.”

“What? Where?”

Firo turned to see King Troy on the phone. His expression was hard and very much that of a ruler.

“Stay with them. We’ll be right there.” He hung up the phone. “That was Mitz. She’s at the girl’s office and they’re all passed out all over the room.”

“A little early in the day for wine time, isn’t it?” Leone grinned and then sobered.

“I can’t feel Paisley.” Prince Arius stood up.

“Maybe she…” Leone tilted his head and stared at the floor.

“Same with Kara. Something’s wrong.” Prince Rafael vanished.

“Oh dear,” Aireese whispered. She walked quickly toward Prince Michael. “Take us with you. Perhaps I can help.”

Firo closed the distance between them.

Michael nodded; his expression was lethal, and Firo hoped it was unnecessary when they reached the royal women. He placed his hand on the big man’s shoulder and nodded to let him know that he was ready. He had only traveled by their porting method once, and it was strangely more exhilarating than using magic to teleport around.