“Just before he was captured he sent out his energy to touch one shifter. To be his mate. Your blood was the key to him rising.” She dropped her head back with a clunk. “We fulfilled our calling. Larkspur will rule again.”

Larkspur? Why had no one ever told me that was the king’s name? I thought for sure his first name was “dragon” and his last “king,” since that was the only way he was ever referred to. And seriously, was I really supposed to believe that the thousand year thing was about me?

I coughed as the burning on my stomach continued to thrum. It was painful, but I also knew it meant my family was on their way. I just had to hold out long enough until help arrived.

The grinding rumble grew louder, and my odds of holding out had just dropped dramatically. The compass emblem was spinning, in a blur of speed too fast for me to track. Within seconds the mark was unrecognizable. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that this compass was a doorway to somewhere else. I was just praying the damn king didn’t step through. I’d hold on to the faint hope the bitch twins had made a mistake.

The portal opened and natural light flooded over the dirty stone floors. I was transfixed, staring into the land which lay on the other side. It reminded me of the otherness of Faerie, but not the Faerie land I had been to. This one was desolate, barren, dead. The heat which had been alternating with the cold winds was now more pronounced than ever. The small section I could see … flashes of black glinted off the red planes, and then … roars exploded across the hall. Oh God, it was so loud, my eardrums felt as if they were about to explode.

The hole in the wall was widening, the landscape beyond becoming clear. I could see out into the fiery world of red rock and lava falls.

“Where the hell is that?” I bit out, not really asking anyone in particular.

Lemon answered. “That’s the land between, the dead zone. It is the place of banishment for those too evil for the prisons.”

What the actual freak? I swallowed loudly. “You’d better shift your ugly old ass up and get that shit closed. What sort of creatures will you be letting in?”

“We only allow the king. He was called.”

Our conversation was cut off when Orange dragged herself across the floor, halting beside Mischa. She reached out a hand and touched my sister’s ribs. In a rapid movement I shot out my free hand and gripped her around the throat.

“What, the eff, are you doing?” My voice was low, soft. I was already planning her murder in my head.

“Sealing the wound,” she choked out around my hold. ”I’m tired of slipping in her blood.”