“What’s GASP saying?” I asked Amelia.
“They’re gathering a team as we speak. They’re sending high-level officers to Akvo, and Sherus and Nuriya have called a council of all four fae leaderships for tomorrow,” she replied.
“How are you messaging Serena from that thing?” Eva asked, eternally fascinated by Amelia, from what I could tell. “We have the earpieces. Why don’t you just talk to them?”
Amelia gave her a weak smile. “Well, I like to leave a written trail in everything I do, just to make sure I can go back to it for reference later. Also, I’m better at writing than I am at talking. My thoughts flow differently—”
“And your fingers sure can keep up,” Herakles replied, nodding at the flashing speed with which Amelia blindly typed a reply to Serena on the on-screen keyboard.
“Yeah. I modified my earpiece so my tablet can connect to and send data through it,” Amelia added. “I got the idea from Dmitri the other day.”
We had quite the industrious vampire on our side for this mission, and I couldn’t be happier. Amelia’s little technological artifices made her work easier and, as a result, ours too. The faster we could send information to GASP, the quicker we could get a response and, if needed, backup, too.
Eva looked at me for a second—enough to cut my breath off. Those yellow eyes glistened like precious crystals in the darkness of these woods.
“What now?” I asked, staring at her. I’d meant to direct the question at Taeral, but I couldn’t peel my eyes away from Eva.
Fortunately, Taeral knew I’d asked him, without even looking at me. “I’m trying to remember which way Amador is.”
“What’s that?” Raphael replied.
“It’s a small town, not far from this portal. Some local GASP members live there. They’d be able to point us in the right direction for the Druids’ museum pieces,” Taeral explained, then pointed north. “It’s through there. About a mile on foot.”
Raphael smirked. “I take it you remembered.”
“I’ve been here before. I did a week-long training in the GASP base just north of Elminor, the regal city of the earth fae. I’ve trekked these woods before.”
Behind us, the portal’s mist had turned gray again. No one else was coming through, and the thought gave me a sliver of relief. I knew the cultist water fae wouldn’t dare to follow us here, but, still, I’d been unable to shake the worry that they might, after all, be foolish enough to try. Clearly, they weren’t, and that meant I’d spend less time looking over my shoulder and more time focused on what lay ahead.
“There were no incident reports coming from the Emerald, either, just so you all know,” Amelia reminded us. “That being said, we should still be on our toes. Akvo was supposed to be peaceful and chill, too.”
As much as I hated it, she did have a point, and none of us challenged it.
Amador was a small town, most of its homes carved into a sloping hillside. The mound rose in the middle of the woods, and the earth fae had made sure to settle without disturbing the trees. Instead, they incorporated them into their residences. Some built their homes up high on the thickest branches. There were about a hundred earth fae living here, most of them civilians. The town leaders were also GASP officers, and they were the first to come out and greet us upon our arrival.
“Taeral!” one of the three officers exclaimed, wearing a broad smile. “No one told us you were coming! We would’ve prepared a feast!”
“Olf, it’s good to see you again,” Taeral replied, then shook the uniformed fae’s hand. He nodded at the other two. “Bells, Nicklyn. Long time.”
The three GASP officers were triplets. The fact hit me after a half-minute’s worth of wondering why they looked so similar. They were tall and handsome, slender, and had a pale, pearlescent skin tone. Their uniforms were identical—dark green velvet with golden buttons and tall, embroidered collars. Their eyes reflected the forest’s wilderness, like emeralds with flakes of oakwood sprinkled around the irises. Their hair was cut short, buzzed on the sides, and bright ginger. Freckles streaked across their noses and cheeks. I was willing to bet that, if I spent enough time checking and counting, even those would match between them. Olf, Bells, and Nicklyn weren’t just triplets, I realized. They were identical, faithful copies of one another.
After Taeral introduced us all, and once the brothers were done measuring each of us from head to toe, much like Starlin had done before them, Nicklyn spoke first. “What brings you here?”
“We need help,” Taeral replied.
Amelia put her tablet away, quietly standing next to me. To her left, Eva monitored the conversation, her forked tongue occasionally slipping out to catch foreign scents. I used my True Sight to scan the area, but I came up empty—thankfully. Most of Amador’s residents were fast asleep in their beds already. The few still up were cleaning the dinner dishes and tucking their children into bed. Only a couple were out, filling their woven baskets with a nocturnal harvest of purple fruits. I figured nighttime was good for picking, maybe.
“Is this about the fire fae incidents?” Olf asked Taeral.
The triplets’ auras flared with concern and a streak of fear. I imagined they were as worried as the rest of us. After all, if it could happen to a few fire fae, what stopped it from affecting others, too? And to think they’d yet to learn about our Akvo incident. It was bound to freak them out.
Taeral nodded. Raphael stepped forward and handed his salvaged parchment to Olf, who unraveled it and gave it a quick read.
“This is old stuff, my friend,” the earth fae replied. “Ancient log book, by the looks of it. Where’d you get it from?”
“Akvo,” Taeral said. “We’re looking for the Druid artifacts. They kept a museum of various samples and objects collected from their travels, long ago. They had them shipped to the Emerald via interplanetary spell, shortly before Azazel took over and wreaked havoc. The parchment confirms that the items were sent here. Do you know anything about it?”
The triplets looked at one another. For a moment, they said nothing.
Then, Nicklyn sighed. “You shouldn’t have that kind of information. The scroll is from the military archives of Akvo. Why would any discerning officer just hand it over to you? It’s an official record.”
“Starling gave it to us,” Taeral replied. “Well, technically, Starlin died, but we managed to take it before the entire unit was swallowed by ocean water, thanks to an unknown cult of water fae who tried to kill us, too.”
“Way to summarize the whole thing,” Raphael muttered.
“It’s the truth, and I don’t have time to explain to Nicklyn here why we’re in possession of official Akvo records. I could’ve just said that I’m the friggin’ crown prince of the Fire Star and thus, I have access to whatever records I wish, in case he forgot… But I figured the truth would help him and his brothers understand how serious the situation really is,” Taeral said, in one insanely long breath.
As expected, the triplets were stunned, their eyes bulging and their auras glowing yellow. They were genuinely terrified, the poor souls.
“What… What are you talking about?” Olf managed, his voice trembling.
“I thought I was pretty clear. There is something going on here, and the only way for us to get the answers we need is to find something stored inside the Druids’ museum stuff,” Taeral shot back, not a single ounce of patience left.
The brothers exchanged glances once more. A few minutes passed in awkward silence, then Nicklyn pointed east.
“It’s fifty miles that way. Straight line. You don’t need roads or anything. Just keep going, until you reach Perillyn,” he said. “I haven’t been there in a long time, but I know that’s where the Druid stuff is said to be.”
“Said to be?” Taeral asked.
