Nothing here was right. At a surface-level glance, it was no different than any other normal forest and that was what made it so terrifying. At least in the Land of the Lore, I knew that place was wrong going in. I knew that place was made from evil and darkness, of magic so wicked and cruel that it warped your subconscious mind. Before we entered the Old Lands, I would’ve scoffed at the notion this place was more unsettling. But it was. Without a doubt. Because it looked almost normal. Because the purple sky was pretty. Because the neon colors of the plants, flowers, and even the dirt reminded me of the Lisa Frank stickers of my childhood.

Everyone expected fear in the shadows . . . but not in a sunny field of wildflowers.

And in all fairness, nothing had happened to warrant the growing panic inside of me. Yet that didn’t mean I didn’t have cause. A few hours ago, right after the sun had set and Sweyn went off with the Unseelies to attack innocent humans, the Unseelie Prince had grabbed Sam and me. He hadn’t said where we were going or why, though he wasn’t the most transparent guy around. Unless of course it came to Sam. I’d never seen emotion on his face until Sweyn threw Sam out into the sun. While I’d tended to Sam’s burns and got her blood, the Prince had ripped Sweyn a new asshole—-or at least it sounded that way. They hadn’t been speaking English. As we walked through this neon forest fit for a Barbie Doll, the Prince kept a close eye on her, watching her every breath.

He either liked her or was worried she would betray Lilith like Everest had.

If it was the latter, well, he wasn’t wrong.

Finally, the Prince stopped walking. My vampire reflexes prevented me from embarrassing myself by crashing into him. Barely. Sam yanked me back a foot. The Prince narrowed those new creepy yellow cat eyes and spun in a slow circle. In here, his black hair was a vibrant navy-blue. I had no idea what that meant but I hated it.

“Leave,” he snarled, his gaze locked on the turquoise bushes to our right. He let out a vicious growl that sent a chill down my spine.

The bushes rustled. I caught a glimpse of a striped tail with a cluster of spikes at the tip, then it was gone. My eyes widened. “What was that?”

“Chimera,” the Prince said with a snarl. He gestured for us to follow to the left. “This way.”

“Chimera . . . those aren’t . . . real . . .?”

The Prince glanced over his shoulder at me. The smirk sent my pulse flying. “Everything is real In the Old Lands, Pierce. Do not let the colors fool you or you may find yourself as prey.”