The one before me had brown and green skin, the two colors almost splattered together to form a perfect jungle vibe. It allowed them to blend near seamlessly into the environment around them.

“Hello,” I said, the translation spell helping me to communicate with them. “We mean you no harm.”

They stepped closer, and I had no idea of their gender, of course, but the bare chest was male-like. For what that was worth.

“Why are you here?” Rumbly words holding more hostility. “With the Supreme Being?”

Before I could answer, there was a rustling near the local’s feet. I could see nothing there, not until the creature unfurled itself and rose to stand a few feet above me.

I blinked, confused. I was fairly sure it was a sprecker, only heavier-set and… scarier than any of the ones I’d seen before.

“I thought you didn’t keep creatures,” I asked, turning to the locals, feeling stupidly betrayed by them. “I thought you rejected the way of the royals.”

The local being and the creature looked at Shadow, and I could see them judging my judgement of them, since I was mated to the head royal. But we weren’t like the others in the Concordes.

Both Shadow and I agreed that the creatures were not vessels to be used for our gain.

“The shadow creatures are our friends, not our possessions.”

The local’s words rumbled in the winds, strong and sure. With it came a true burst of joy; I hadn’t misjudged them.

“I’m born of the Nexus,” I said, taking a chance that this was the way to get through to them. “The mother of shadow creatures, and I want to free them from the life they’ve led on the mainland. Shadow agrees with me, and since he’s the Supreme Being, there’s hope that we can change the course of the realm’s future.”

The being and his sprecker friend examined me closely, as the other locals crept forward. “How will you defeat the original mother?” the first one asked me, head tilted as if examining me for lies.

I waved to my pack and their half-done fortress. “That’s what we’re working on now. Sorry to bring it to your lands, but we needed to hide from the phoenix, and your energy is so strong here that it’ll hopefully be enough to confuse her pursuit of us.”

There was a beat of silence, and then they all sprang into action, ducking and diving back into the foliage. I blinked in shock, wondering what had spooked them.

“She approaches,” one hissed from nearby. “We must protect the barrier.”

I felt her then, a moment after they had. Dannie, moving on swift winds, was tracking us the old-fashioned way. By literally following the magic trail of Shadow’s jumps.

Spinning, I hurried to Shadow and the others, prepared to fight her if it gave them the time they needed to finish. I wasn’t on my own, though, Inky lowering to be at my side, puffing out as sparks flashed through its center. The locals hadn’t abandoned us, either, reappearing with silver stones in their hands, which they held above their heads and started to chant. Their words were loud and fast, and I felt the power they were calling.

A cloak of energy drifted down over all of us. I shot a quick glance at my pack and the fortress, and I blinked at what the locals had done. My friends were camouflaged, taking on the form and appearance of the foliage around us. A quick glance at my arm told me I was rocking the same forest-color palette.

Holy shit. They had hidden us using the magic that protected their island.

The locals were helping us stand against Dannie, and I sent out a quick prayer that we’d have enough time for the final strands of the fortress to be complete.

It was our only chance; Dannie wouldn’t allow us to escape again.

46

The circle of camouflage pushed us closer together until I was basically standing at Shadow’s back. Inky drifted up above us one more time, adding its own protections, layering what the locals had started.

I wanted to shout my thanks to them, not to mention hug them all, but with Dannie closing in, my sole focus was on not drawing any attention our way. Tamping down my energy was number one, followed by shutting the hell up.

Dannie would find Shadow and me easier than any others, and while Shadow couldn’t do much to hide himself, still painstakingly threading energy through the fortress of binding power, I could make myself as close to human as possible.

As if to prove me wrong, I heard, “You can’t hide from me,” as Dannie flew into sight, the shining light of her phoenix form washing over us. “I know you’re here, and I promise that if you come out, I’ll make your deaths fast. I’ll also ensure your energy is distributed to the right worlds. You’ll rest peacefully within your ancestral magic.”

Got to love the reasoning of a morally corrupted being. I’m going to kill you no matter what, but if you don’t resist, I’ll ensure that it’s fast and your energy returns to its rightful place. It’s the least I can do.

Really fucking big of you, Dannie.

She glided closer, the flame-covered wings flapping slowly, holding her aloft. “There’s really no need to fight me. You can’t win, and I think you all know that. You should have just stayed away and enjoyed the lives I so graciously granted you. But you didn’t. And I cannot manipulate your minds again, as you’ve protected yourself enough that I don’t care to try to get around it.”

Fuck yes. Threats aside, it was beyond exciting that Len’s stones were working. Faerie stones for the win, finally, since it was kind of what had gotten us into this mess. But I would not blame the victim here—this was all on Ixana and Dannie.

Dannie, who’d apparently had enough at this point, sent out a strong burst of magic, decimating the camouflage shield like it was nothing. The locals went flying, which had my temper exploding, my vision turning red.

Flames sprung up around me as my fury grew over Dannie tossing innocent beings around like they were pieces of trash.

I lashed out, and a strand of my power hit the phoenix, sending her back a few paces. She recovered in an instant, rising up again, her flames larger than ever. My power, still thrumming strongly through my veins, allowed me to rise up as well, flames coating my skin in the familiar dance of magic.

Dannie and I faced off against each other, and I was certain that the others were screaming at me from the ground, but there was no time to worry about that. My head was in the game, all other distractions blocked from my mind as I dragged from the depths of my being as much power as I could.