Read Online Shadowlander by Theresa Meyers - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Theresa Meyers
Ads: Link
operation, leaving them accessible to mortals, the portals operate with a key, an object with the proper resonance to unlock them.” Rook pulled from his pocket a golden key coin with a mermaid on it and showed her. “We often use key coins that, once used, return to their owner. Each is unique.”
Cate plucked the coin from his fingers and cupped it in her hands. “It vibrates just slightly.”
A smile spread across his face. He couldn’t help it. Each experience, each memory he created with her, bound her more tightly to him. While besting his father’s favorite, Kallus, in court would be a sweet victory for Rook, there was more than just pride at stake. Cate held the outcome of their fate, the destiny of his people—indeed their world—in her dainty hands. For their good, if she was properly guided. She could just as easily destroy them—and him in particular. She had no idea of the power she could wield.
It was up to him to get her to see the worth of their plans, to understand how Uplanders were disrupting the balance between their worlds, threatening to destroy them both, and convince her to stay. But he’d have to give her good reasons. “You feel the energy in it,” he said, keeping his voice as even and smooth as he could, given the cascading jumble of emotions she stirred in him.
“Okay, so you have this key coin. But then what?” she asked as she flipped it over and over in her fingers, the gold flashing in the sunlight.
A light breeze caught her hair, toying with the curls at the base of her neck, making him jealously wish to do the same.
“You have to find a portal first. Most are marked by a rune.” He picked up a stick and drew the rune in the soft sandy soil of the riverbank. “This is the mark.”
“Can you make the mark yourself and have it open a portal?”
Rook chuckled. “You are far cleverer than regular Uplanders, aren’t you?” And far more dangerous , he thought to himself.
Cate shrugged. “Just makes sense to me.”
“We can form the rune in the Upland realm and open a portal, but from the Shadowland side you must find one that already exists.”
“Then what?”
“You throw the coin at the portal.”
“You mean like bus fare?”
Her enthusiasm was endearing. Yes, once she became familiar with their world, with him, she’d never want to leave. None of the Seers ever had once they’d been introduced to the court. Soon enough, she’d forget her old world and adjust to the realm of the fae.
Rook smiled. “Yes. Whatever that is.”
§
Cate gazed at the coin a moment longer, rubbing the still-humming piece between her fingers, then handed it back to Rook. As he took it, his fingers brushed against hers, sending a tingling sensation shooting up her arm. Her body was more than physically aware of Rook, it was tuned to him—to his touch, to his look, to his very presence—in a way that both unsettled and thrilled her.
For a moment she wondered if she should have kept the coin as a reminder of her time with him—and possibly a way to get back home if it took longer than the end of Midsummer’s Eve to find Maya.
No. She couldn’t keep it. Now that she knew the rune marking a portal looked like an Egyptian ankh, she’d be able to spot the way home anywhere. As long as she got Maya out before the solstice, she wouldn’t need the key coin; the veil would still be thin enough for her to walk through on her own. And it was far safer if Rook didn’t suspect her plans to return to her own world. She needed his full trust before she could ask him about the invasion.
A nagging sensation prickled in her chest. As certain as she was that she had to find Maya and return home, something in her gut made her just as certain that she’d never meet someone like Rook ever again—mortal or fae. The nagging turned into an uncomfortable pang just over her heart.
“Are you still hungry?”
Cate’s throat was too thick to speak, so she nodded instead. Rook sliced her a
Cate plucked the coin from his fingers and cupped it in her hands. “It vibrates just slightly.”
A smile spread across his face. He couldn’t help it. Each experience, each memory he created with her, bound her more tightly to him. While besting his father’s favorite, Kallus, in court would be a sweet victory for Rook, there was more than just pride at stake. Cate held the outcome of their fate, the destiny of his people—indeed their world—in her dainty hands. For their good, if she was properly guided. She could just as easily destroy them—and him in particular. She had no idea of the power she could wield.
It was up to him to get her to see the worth of their plans, to understand how Uplanders were disrupting the balance between their worlds, threatening to destroy them both, and convince her to stay. But he’d have to give her good reasons. “You feel the energy in it,” he said, keeping his voice as even and smooth as he could, given the cascading jumble of emotions she stirred in him.
“Okay, so you have this key coin. But then what?” she asked as she flipped it over and over in her fingers, the gold flashing in the sunlight.
A light breeze caught her hair, toying with the curls at the base of her neck, making him jealously wish to do the same.
“You have to find a portal first. Most are marked by a rune.” He picked up a stick and drew the rune in the soft sandy soil of the riverbank. “This is the mark.”
“Can you make the mark yourself and have it open a portal?”
Rook chuckled. “You are far cleverer than regular Uplanders, aren’t you?” And far more dangerous , he thought to himself.
Cate shrugged. “Just makes sense to me.”
“We can form the rune in the Upland realm and open a portal, but from the Shadowland side you must find one that already exists.”
“Then what?”
“You throw the coin at the portal.”
“You mean like bus fare?”
Her enthusiasm was endearing. Yes, once she became familiar with their world, with him, she’d never want to leave. None of the Seers ever had once they’d been introduced to the court. Soon enough, she’d forget her old world and adjust to the realm of the fae.
Rook smiled. “Yes. Whatever that is.”
§
Cate gazed at the coin a moment longer, rubbing the still-humming piece between her fingers, then handed it back to Rook. As he took it, his fingers brushed against hers, sending a tingling sensation shooting up her arm. Her body was more than physically aware of Rook, it was tuned to him—to his touch, to his look, to his very presence—in a way that both unsettled and thrilled her.
For a moment she wondered if she should have kept the coin as a reminder of her time with him—and possibly a way to get back home if it took longer than the end of Midsummer’s Eve to find Maya.
No. She couldn’t keep it. Now that she knew the rune marking a portal looked like an Egyptian ankh, she’d be able to spot the way home anywhere. As long as she got Maya out before the solstice, she wouldn’t need the key coin; the veil would still be thin enough for her to walk through on her own. And it was far safer if Rook didn’t suspect her plans to return to her own world. She needed his full trust before she could ask him about the invasion.
A nagging sensation prickled in her chest. As certain as she was that she had to find Maya and return home, something in her gut made her just as certain that she’d never meet someone like Rook ever again—mortal or fae. The nagging turned into an uncomfortable pang just over her heart.
“Are you still hungry?”
Cate’s throat was too thick to speak, so she nodded instead. Rook sliced her a
Similar Books
