The arrow pointed straight down and flashed just as energy prickled against my spine. I cursed under my breath and dropped to the dirt, my knees hitting the ground harder than expected and making me wince. Swirly black magic slithered across the ground up ahead of me. I gasped and jumped back to my feet. Everest? That black magic looked like my soulmate’s. I glanced from shadow to shadow, to every sliver of darkness where he might be lurking. He loved to hide in the shadows. My pulse quickened. My whole body was instantly alert and anxious. I felt restless and panicked to find him. Desperation had me in a chokehold.

Everest. Everest. Everest. His name was on a repeat in my head. I had to find him. I just needed to see him, if only for a moment. I needed to see he was okay, he was alive. And maybe beg him to join me finally. My bracelet sent sharp little pulses into my skin that I ignored. That glowing pink arrow was flashing like it was trying to scream my name to get my attention—because it was pointing away from me now. I’d hurried forward, moving between the trees to search for Everest.

A lone figure emerged from a shadow about fifty feet ahead of me, stepping from between two trees with low hanging branches. Everest. I smiled and took a step forward just as the Unseelie Prince stepped into a patch of light. I slid to a stop. That is NOT Everest. My stomach turned. The Prince hadn’t seen me yet so I just froze in place, afraid any movement would alert him. He crouched down and scooped dirt into a metal canister that was tied around his waist. His navy-blue hair was shiny and vibrant in the blueish light. Those yellow cat-like eyes scanned the forest, sweeping from his right toward me in slow motion.

Heat wrapped around my elbow and then I was yanked backwards and into a wall of darkness. Fingers dug into my skin as my feet were dragged through the dirt too fast to stop it or see what was happening. The hand dropped my elbow but then my back slammed into the tree trunk. I threw my hands up to fight back only to find Everest standing in front of me, so close I could feel the sharpness of his aura and the heat radiating off his body. My pink guiding arrow was pointing straight ahead. Lead me home, that was what I’d asked the stones, and they’d led me straight to my soulmate. That sent a fresh round of tears burning my eyes and threatening to spill out.

“Ev—”