Page 83 of Fae Farewells

“You think,” Franklin muttered.

“It’s a risk,” Valano commented. “We could try it, leave it in place for a couple hours and see how she does.”

“I only need the lock in place long enough to fight Alania,” I told the old king. “And I won’t be alone.”

Novak sat beside me. “How will you fight her with no magic?”

“I won’t have zero abilities. I’ll simply be limited in what I can do.”

“Maybe,” Franklin added skeptically. “You lean on powers that aren’t natural to you, Lo. Do you even know what’s yours and what isn’t?”

“It’s all mine, Franklin. I’ve had mimicry since I was an infant. It’s ingrained in my DNA now. Lucy made it clear that I can’t live without it. I know this could be risky, but the worst case will be—”

“Demon Sloane kills the entire realm,” Novak guessed. “And we have to piece together the hookers to revamp the population?”

I gave him an unimpressed glare. “No. Worst case would be the locks don’t work. Best case? I get clarity for a few hours so we can make new plans that no one knows about, and then bust ass to execute them.”

Franklin sighed in defeat. “Either way, the locks won’t hold for long. You’ve trained against this, so subconsciously you’ll be fighting to remove them.”

“I know,” I confessed. “If I’m too busy fighting myself, then Vaughn will have to kill Alania.”

“Will he do it?” Franklin asked.

Valano scoffed. “Of course.”

“Oh, yeah.” Novak nodded. “In a heartbeat.”

“Godsdammit,” Franklin muttered. “Change Pete before we fuck your magic up. Call Vaughn back.”

“They’re on their way,” my vampire informed him.

Valano stared at Novak curiously. “You can feel them?”

“No,” he said with a chuckle. “I can hear them.”

“Open the window,” I quietly commanded, hoping my headache would disappear soon.

“For the pedmar?” the old king inquired. “How will you change him?”

Pete’s black butterfly fluttered into view, perching on my shoulder. Wings tangled in my hair before I held my finger out to move him to Novak’s shoulder.

“My magic works with intent, not so much spells and runes,” I replied to Valano, then turned to Franklin. “How did you get Pete here, anyway?”

“I brought him through the void to the portal.”

“That simple?” Novak teased.

“No.” Franklin glared at the butterfly. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Pete gave me an image of him chirping angrily at the ponies while Franklin tried to push him through the portal. I started to laugh, but it turned into a groan as pain lanced through my temples once more.

“How far away is Vaughn?” I murmured.

“We’re here.” My fae only needed to see my expression to know what I was about to ask. “You’re going to do it?”

“I’d like to try,” I confirmed.

He nodded. “It’s a decent option. Should I get Freya and Tilly?”