"There may be a way, but he won't like it," Oron hedged.
"I don't give a rat's ass if he likes it. I'll have Aiden and Colton tie his huge ass up if I have to," she fumed.
Oron chuckled. "Mother will like you." He pulled his shirt on before kneeling down to reach into his gym bag. He pulled out a small leather pouch, opened it, and turned it upside down. A large, ornate, silver ring dropped into his hand. "Normally, a fae returns to Éire Danu every thirty or forty years to replenish their light. We absorb the light and magic from the city. It's one of the main reasons the city is closed to outsiders. About six hundred years ago, Darian got into an argument with our mother. He had had a dream where he joined the Alpha Unit and supported the new Unit Commander here in Lycaonia. Our mother was furious, mostly because she was terrified. Darian was always the gentle one, the poet. He was a competent swordsman, but he didn't wasn't a warrior."
"He disobeyed her, and she banished him from Éire Danu. One of the main reasons his light is almost gone is because he hasn't been home in nearly six hundred years."
Amelia felt confused. "Then why doesn't he just go home now? Surely it's okay after all this time."
Oron shook his head. "Discounting the fact that my mother and brother are two of the most stubborn creatures on the face of this green earth, for some reason, Darian's light is dimmer than it should be. No fae has ever been so dark without having committed a great sin. If he tried to go through the portal to Éire Danu as he is, it would reject him. It's a security measure to keep ferals out of the city."
"Then what can we do?" Amelia felt as if there was no hope.
"That was before he found you. We can try something that has never been done before. Like I said, no other fae has ever become so dark without committing a sin, so we've never had this type of scenario before. But because you are his mate, if you were to go through the portal with him, it might recognize your light and see him as a mated fae, and let him through."
"And if it doesn't?" she asked quietly.
"It could kill you both."
"I'm not scared for myself, but he'll never go for it." She rubbed her face with her hands.
Oron cupped her face. "How much time does he have?"
Amelia was about to answer when she heard an inhuman roar to their right. Oron looked up and had just enough time to shove her out of the way before Darian tackled him to the ground.
"She is mine! Mine! Mine!" Darian growled and spat.
"Guess that answers that question," Oron said and grunted as Darian's fist made contact with his stomach.
"Darian, stop!" She didn't move in time and was knocked to the ground by their flailing bodies.
"Quinn! Tangled Web!" Oron yelled wrestling with Darian trying to keep him under control.
Amelia watched as a warrior ran over already reciting a spell. She felt a rush and her magic sung! He was using earth magic.
Trunculi Laqueumin!
Oron jumped out of the way as hundreds of thin tendril roots shot from the ground and wove themselves around Darian. Her mate snarled and hissed, his eyes completely black. She pulled her knees to her chest unable to face the reality that she had lost him.
"Oron!" Aiden yelled running up to them.
"I have to take him home sir. It's his only chance."
Aiden helped her to her feet. "Don't give up yet. I don't make it a habit of losing men, and we're not going to start now." He kissed her forehead.
Oron searched the ground for the silver ring he had pulled out earlier. He picked it up and slid it on his right ring finger. He easily picked up Darian and slung him over one shoulder. He held a hand out. "Amelia, hurry!"
Startled, she took his hand.
He looked down at her. "Think of him, and in your mind, keep him in the light. "
She closed her eyes and remembered how he looked walking with her in the fae gardens. Him trying not to smile at something she said. The look on his face when he finally admitted his feelings and the way he seemed to glow as he stared down at her while they made love.
She felt her body wrench and jerk. Darkness and ice seemed to pierce her body, and just as she was about to give in to the pain, it was gone. She opened her eyes and blinked.
She looked around. They were in a large courtyard. A warm sun was overhead and hundreds of flowers bloomed around them. Sprites of every shape and size flittered around screaming their heads off.
"Halt! Who dares to trespass in Her Majesty's royal garden?"
Her Majesty?
Amelia looked at the group of very large fae warriors dressed in identical uniforms bearing down on them.
"Oron!" she whispered urgently.
Oron set a still hissing and spitting Darian down on the cobblestones and rose to his full height.
"Seize them!" The guards surrounded them. A set of hands grabbed her and pulled her away from Oron. She watched in horror as a guard lifted a radiant, silver sword over Darian's neck.
"Oron!" she screamed.
Oron grabbed the warrior by the throat and lifted him off his feet. "I know you weren't about to hurt my baby brother, were you?" He swung his eyes over to where she was being restrained by a guard. "And get your hands off my sister!" he ordered.
"You have no authority here. How dare you bring this feral filth into the Queen's gardens!" A guard said removing his helmet.
"Malcolm, you're Captain of the Guard? Mother must have been desperate after I left." Oron said, his tone insulting.