Everyone turned to Ember for guidance. I looked at Jo and knew she was ready to go straight to this assembly. Waiting here pushed us both to the end of our patience, and she didn't have long before she snapped.

"If River can't look, someone will need to go in person," Citrine watched Ember for a reaction to her words.

Ember nodded, and Hedera was the first to volunteer, "I'll go."

I nudged Tate with my elbow and saw his jaw clench. "We'll go with her."

Jolie nodded, and Ash looked resigned as Citrine said, "Me too. Six of us should be safe enough. We won't get too close. We'll just listen."

"Please, stay hidden," Ember sighed. "Chances are it's another hunt for those who oppose her. They cannot see you there."

"We'll be careful." Citrine led the way to the exit.

Outside, Tate told Citrine, "Not too fast," as he tilted his head, signaling for me to climb on his back.

Jolie was already settled between Ash's wings, and I tried not to cringe at the thought of running. Ash and Citrine were deciding which way to go. They discussed the best places to stay hidden and still be close enough to hear what Crystal was doing.

Tate wasn't helping them plan, which was unusual. Then, he scooped my legs up and helped me settle on his back without even making a joke about me climbing on. Something was definitely wrong.

With my hand on his cheek, I turned his face so I could see his profile. "What's bothering you?"

"I don't want you here," he whispered, and my stomach sank.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm tired of feeling like I'm walking into a trap and taking you with me. I want you somewhere safe."

"Oh," I chuckled, and relief filled me. Pressing my lips to his neck, I hugged his shoulders, "I want you someplace safe too."

"What did you think I meant?" He looked at me out of the corner of his eye.

I shrugged and didn't answer. Looking away, I hoped he couldn't tell what I'd been thinking.

Tate shook his head. "My favorite, when will you learn? All I ever want is you with me, safe and happy. Alone would be nice." He reached back, raking his fingers through my hair, and brushed his cheek against mine. "How can you doubt this? You don't think I let just anyone ride me, do you?"

I snickered, and he grinned, "That's better. We'll be fine. This will be easy."

I nodded, but his words felt like a jinx.

As we neared the gathering area, we slowed and finally stopped. Tate held my forearms as I dropped my legs from his waist and tried to stay on my feet. When he released my arms and turned to face me, he saw how unbalanced I was and helped me lean back against a tree.

He was the one doing all the work, but I was the one that needed to catch my breath. In my head, I chanted, slow breath in, slow breath out. Don't puke, don't puke.

As everyone else got low to the ground and moved closer to the edge of the ridge we stood on, Tate stayed with me. They were going to look down at the crowd and see what was happening, and he was going to babysit. I hated holding him back, feeling weak.

As my breathing returned to normal and my stomach settled, Tate pushed my hair back and lifted my face to his. The concern I saw took some guilt away and replaced it with a tingling in my chest.

We were too close to speak freely; I could hear the hum of voices below us. I wanted to tell him I was fine. Instead, I kissed his cheek and took his hand as we moved to join the others.

I got down on my stomach on the ground beside Jolie, and she gave me a tight smile. We were looking down on the same field where we'd once been caged.

The colorful crowd below us looked like some kind of fantasy painting. The bright hues, fluffy wings, and beautiful faces were too striking to be real.

Until you noticed Crystal standing on a small hill in front of them. Even from this distance, her elegant beauty was tainted by the hateful sneer on her face.

From the little I could hear, she was giving another speech about loyalty. Dahlia stood next to her, helping to rile the crowd and peppering in anti-human sentiment wherever she could.

I looked for Lochlan but couldn't find him anywhere. I bumped Jo with my shoulder to get her attention and mouthed, "Where's Lochlan?"

She shrugged and shook her head, looking frustrated. If he wasn't here, then he might have gone home. That meant we'd lost our chance to get Clara while he was away.

Tate's lips brushed my ear as he murmured, "We'll get her back."

After ten more minutes of their rabble-rousing, I was ready to go. There didn't seem to be a point to this meeting, but no one else was moving. I started to wonder how long we'd have to listen to this bull shit when movement in the trees behind Crystal caught my eye.

I felt Jolie stiffen against my side and knew she saw it too. Whatever it was, it was too far back in the shadows to make out.

Tate's grip on my hand tightened, and I glanced at him to see his eyes were wide with surprise. Ash flinched, and the next thing I knew, we were all on our feet. With their better vision, they apparently saw something important.

"She'll need help," Citrine looked at Tate and he nodded.

Jolie asked, "Who?"

"Hurry." Hedera jumped from the ridge with Citrine right behind her.

Tate spun and pulled me up onto his back, "Hold tight."

I had a second to think, oh shit! Before we followed them and my stomach rose to my throat. It felt like the first steep hill on a roller coaster, but then his wings spread wide and we were soaring.

Jolie was beside me with Ash, and we were headed straight toward Crystal. Coming in from behind the crowd, no one noticed us. They didn't even bother to look up when our shadows passed over them.

Their attention was on the trees behind their Queen. Shock hit me like a physical blow when Clara burst into view wielding a large knife.

Two guards moved to stop her. She ducked the first while spinning to stab the second in the chest. Before the first could turn, her weapon slid into his back.

What the hell? Did Clara have some ninja training we didn't know about?

Crystal's hands shot out toward her, but nothing happened. Her gift didn't work on Clara. The Queen's fierce expression shifted to one of pure fear.

Without dropping her knife, Clara kicked Dahlia backward into the crowd of frozen onlookers. Crystal backed up a step as a third guard showed up to protect her. Clara didn't slow. She kicked the guard's knee sideways, breaking his leg, and shoved him back as he screamed in pain.

Crystal's wings fluttered, and her feet left the ground, but it was too late. Clara ran the last few steps that separated them and leaped into the air. Her arm swung wide, and her blade slashed deeply across Crystal's throat. Blood sprayed from the gash as her wings stilled and she fell to the ground.

In less than fifteen seconds, the whole thing was over. The knife fell from Clara's hand, and she collapsed next to the body of the former Queen.

Dahlia screamed, "Seize her!"

More guards broke from the crowd and moved toward Clara. We got there first, landing between them. I dropped from Tate's back and rushed to Clara's side. Jo and I tried to wake her. She didn't move, but she was breathing.

Tate, Ash, and Citrine fought the crowd back as they converged on us. Hedera was saying something to them as she dug through her pouches of vines.

Dahlia led the pack, screeching, "Kill the traitors!"

Twisting around, Citrine's foot connected with Dahlia's face. Her head jerked back, and Citrine grinned as Dahlia crumpled to the dirt.

"Pick her up!" Jolie smacked my arm frantically and pointed at Clara.

I lifted her in front of me as Jolie moved next to Ash to fight. For a second, I was distracted by her speed. She was just as fast as the fae.

Shaking my head, I looked around. There was nowhere to go. We were surrounded.

Hedera stepped closer to me, "Be ready to pass her to Citrine."

I was confused. Citrine was pretty busy; I didn't think she could fight and carry someone. But then Hedera yelled, "Now!" and everything changed.

In unison, they stepped back from fighting. Citrine turned, grabbed Clara from my arms, and took off into the air. Ash had Jolie, Tate grabbed me and we left the ground. Hedera's arms spread in front of her as soon as we weren't blocking her path.

Vines shot from her belt, covering those closest to her. Screams could be heard, and the fae farther back looked up. Without Crystal or Dahlia there to command them, they didn't seem sure of what to do. Before they could decide if they wanted to follow us, the ground began to shake.

Hedera lifted into the air as the bush she'd once used to cage us burst to life. Vines shot into the sky, spinning and turning, weaving, creating a web that separated us from the fae on the ground. No one would be following anytime soon.

Hedera caught up to us, and Tate smirked, "Good thing you were here."

Pride lit up Hedera's eyes as she smiled, "I'm glad I could help."

Thank you for reading!! I appreciate all of your votes and comments! 💜

This chapter is dedicated to _iheartcoffee_ who helped me get my computer working this morning so I could write. She's an awesome friend and a fantastic writer! If you haven't read her short stories yet, you should! Go check out her page!! 😁💜