“Thank goodness one of you has come to his senses and isn’t running off after his mate without a freaking thought in the world,” Peri grumbled as she handed out the fae stones; one to Cyn, one to Alston, one to Adam, one for herself and the fifth she gave to Thalion. She would have preferred to have a healer to give it to, but Vasile hadn’t wanted Rachel to come, and well, the other healer wasn’t available either, but she didn’t want to think about that.

“Okay, so here’s the plan. We’re going to cast a protection spell with the stones, one that causes us to be invisible. Even Elle and Lilly won’t be able to see us. So once we see them, well, we’ll figure that part out once we get there. Everyone with a stone get in a circle and everyone else get inside of the circle. We have to move as one.” Peri looked at Sorin and then at Cypher. “You two Neanderthals do not go charging in after you women. I swear I will zap your asses if you do.”

Once everyone was in position, Peri looked at Alston and gave a slight nod. They both began chanting softly until the stones began glowing.  Eventually, they shimmered and their outlines grew fuzzy, though they could still see each other.

“Okay, we’re good. No one else should be able to see us. Sorin, point the way,” Peri told him.

They moved quickly and silently through the heavily wooded area. Soon they saw the two women when they were half a mile away. They also saw the cliff that they precariously stood on.

“What the hell?” Cypher said with wide eyes. “How is there a cliff in the middle of a forest that has been well-nigh without a hill?”

Peri narrowed her eyes and sought out the truth of the forest, the truth of what she knew. There had never been a cliff in the dark forest. There wasn’t so much as a mole hill. When she believed that with everything inside of her, she saw the truth. Lilly and Elle weren’t on a cliff at all; they were just on the forest ground with trees around them, just as the group was.

“It’s an illusion,” she told them. “You have to believe, really believe that it’s an illusion.”

“We all have to,” Alston said. “It’s not enough for a few of us to realize that it’s fake. In order for them to no longer appear to be on a cliff’s edge then we must all see the truth that they are indeed just standing in the forest.”

They all stared silently at the women and the cliff that wasn’t there, all attempting to get their brains to reject what their eyes saw. It was easier said than done.

As Peri stood staring at the girls, she saw Lorelle appear beside them. Her eyes narrowed as she watched her sister talk to them and then point in their direction. That piece of crap she called a sister was telling Lilly and Elle that they were here, hiding under the protection spell. Both of them looked in the direction Lorelle pointed and she could tell they were trying to see the invisible figures. She didn’t know what Lorelle was up to, but she knewwithout a doubt it wouldn’t end well for them.

“They have a protection spell over them,” Lorelle told Lilly and Elle.

“How do we know you aren’t just screwing with us?” Lilly asked.

“No, she’s right, I can see them,” Elle said. Once Lorelle had pointed them out, Elle was able to see past the fae magic. She saw all of them and it wasn’t a pretty sight. Peri looked like she was going to murder someone. Costin and Vasile both looked utterly defeated. Crina was silently crying and Fane seemed distracted. Sorin has staring at her with narrowed eyes and a look of determination. She knew for certain that he knew of the sacrifice. He knew that Reyaz had planned it so that both she and Lilly could not survive. One of them would have to die.

“You can see them?” Lilly asked Elle anxiously.

Elle nodded and her jaw tightened when she realized that Jacque was not with them, nor was Alina, or Sally.

“Is Jacque there?” Lilly asked, “Or Sally, or Jen?”

Elle didn’t want to answer her, she knew what Lilly would do if she did. When she looked at her, she knew that her face had not hidden the truth. Tears welled up in Lilly’s eyes.

“What about Fane and Costin, or Decebel?”

Elle nodded and Lilly broke. She covered her face as the tears fell. She knew that if Jacque was still alive Fane would either be with her, or Jacque would be there with him. The same was true of Costin and Sally and Decebel and Jen. When Reyaz had told them of the hunt, the rules, and how each of them would have to make the ultimate choice, she had immediately thought of Jacque and the other two girls, and she knew that any of them would give their lives for those they love. Lilly’s shoulders shook with the force of her tears. She took in huge gulps of air as she tried to get herself under control and tried to think clearly, but her mind just kept going back to the thought that her daughter just might be gone.

“Lilly we don’t know anything for sure,” Elle told her gently, then she looked at Lorelle. “Do you know?” she snarled at the fae.

Lorelle shrugged. “Maybe.”

“If you aren’t going to do anything but stand there and taunt us then get out of here before I rip your cold heart from your chest.”

Lorelle clucked her tongue at Elle. “Being the mate of a wolf has made you bloodthirsty, Elle. That’s not like our kind.”

“And being a selfish bitch has made you a moron, Lorelle, and I would say that makes you even less like our kind.” Elle took a menacing step towards her. “Why are you doing this? All because you hate your sister? Can’t you see that you will have nothing. You are nothing whether Peri lives or dies? You have brought that on yourself. You had everything, Lorelle. You had a sister who loved you, a council who respected you, and a species that looked up to you and you threw it all away because of pride.”