Eliza is sitting in the conference room with Nokken and Drakkin. There are about thirty other men in the room as well, but she doesn't know who they are. They are hovered over a piece of cloth, or maybe it's paper; she doesn't really know. Nokken is pointing to something while he shouts at Drakkin. She knows Nokken is hurting; she can see the pain and fear in his eyes when he looks up at them. It's been three long and stressful days. She sits there feeling completely useless as the guys continue to argue about where the vampire king is hiding Trinity. Eliza stands up and walks over to the box that is holding Mercy's head. She feels this pull towards it; she lifts the lid and sets it aside. Once the lid is on the shelf, she pulls the head out of the box. Everything around her disappears.

*****

Everything around Eliza is cold and dark. She turns her head when she hears a voice. "Aunt Mercy, you need to do this spell. You need to go into hiding; if not, he will kill you along with Trinity." Zane says in desperation as he holds his mother's head in his hands. "Zane I can't just abandon you and leave you to fend for yourself." Mercy shouts at her nephew. "You won't be leaving me alone. I need you safe. Aunt Mercy, please do this. You will know when it's time to join us in the battle, I promise." Zane says to her. Mercy shakes her head and places her hand on Amberose's decapitated head, and Mercy's face appears on it instead of the original owner's.

The next vision is of Trinity being beaten and burned. Zane just stood in the corner watching Orion and his men torture her. Once the men are done and leave the room, Zane walks up to Trinity and whispers, "The Mountain," and walks away.

******

Everything comes back into focus, and she starts gasping and crying. "Eliza! Baby, what's wrong? Hey, look at me," she hears Drakkin say. She moves her eyes to his sleeve, and she jumps back, recoiling from his touch. "Don't fucking touch me." She seethes at him. She still refuses to allow him into her life. Yes, she is pregnant with his child, but that doesn't mean they need to be together.

Eliza jumps up and runs to Nokken. "Mercy is not dead. Zane didn't betray us on purpose; he did it to save his aunt." Eliza says in a rush. "Eliza, slow down. What do you mean Mercy isn't dead?" Nokken, he says, placing his hand on her shoulders. "She is hiding. She did a spell that transforms her face into someone else's face. This is Amberose Zane's mother; it's not Mercy." Eliza says, holding the head up. "I think I know where they are hiding her. Zane whispered something to Trinity. He said The Mountain. I don't know what that means, but that's what he said." Eliza says. "Did you say the mountain?" King Alaric says, standing up. "Yes, the mountain Does that mean something?" She asks with wonder.

"I know where they are," Alester says as he jumps up and motions for them to follow. Nokken jumps up and follows them out the door, and he sees Alester and Alaric standing in the back part of the courtyard. Nokken looks up and sees a mountain in the distance. "She's been this close the whole time," Nokken says, pulling his hair. "Why did he pick the mountain? What is so important about that place?" Eliza asks as she looks at Alaric. Alaric takes a deep breath and then exhales as he turns and looks at Nokken with a sad look in his eyes. "It's where my parents killed his first wife," Alaric says. "So is this really about Trinity being his mate, or is it about revenge?" Eliza asks, confused. "It's both," Nokken says. "We leave at first light. Get some rest," Alaric states as they walk back into the palace.

The following morning, Nokken jerks awake and rushes out of bed. He rushes to the compound, waking everyone as he goes. They don't have much time. Trinity is fading fast; he can feel it in his bond, but somehow she dreamwalked into his mind when he was asleep. "We need to move now. Trinity does not have much time." Nokken shouts as he storms into the conference room with everyone following behind him. "What do you mean?" Drakkin asks. "He means that she is fading; they are torturing her. I saw it yesterday." Eliza says, covering her mouth as she starts to cry. "She came to me in her sleep. "She is in rough shape; they won't make it another day there." Nokken chokes back, trying not to cry. His heart is falling apart piece by piece. He needs his wife back home in his arms where she belongs. He wants to watch his child be born and grow. He will do anything in his power to make sure that his wife comes home.

"Let's go then." Drakkin says Nokken agrees, and they walk out of the compound, not waiting for anyone else.

*****

Nokken Drakkin and Eliza arrive at the base of the mountain. Drakkin turns to Eliza and stops her from following. "We need you to stay here. Alaric and Alester will arrive soon once they notice we left them behind. Direct them to us, and please stay out of sight." Drakkin says, holding Eliza's wrist. "No, Trinity is my best friend; I'm not staying behind." Eliza says, shaking her head. "If you're not going to stay behind for your safety, do it for the baby. I know you won't believe me, Eliza, but I care about you, and I care about our child." Drakkin speaks softly as he takes her face in between his hands and leaves a soft, feathery kiss on her forehead. Before Eliza can respond, Drakkin follows Nokken up the mountain.

Nokken reaches the top of the mountain, and he bends over, hands resting on his knees, trying to catch his breath. He can hear Drakkin pulling himself onto the ledge with a groan. Nokken turns and holds his hand out to help pull Drakkin up. Once Drakkin is over the ledge, Nokken allows him to catch his breath before trekking through the forest.

They walk in the forest for an hour before coming up to a small cabin. The windows are boarded up, and the front door is nothing but a piece of wood hanging by a thin piece of rope. Nokken and Drakkin duck down behind an oversized bush. They count at least twenty men walking the perimeter and two men standing guard at the door. "Do you think those pesky fucking faes will ever come for the girl?" One of the men asks. "Yeah, they won't let the king kill her. Rumor has it she married the king's best warrior. I'd be more worried about what that guy does than worried about anyone else. I've seen him, and he scares me. You know me; nothing and no one scares me, but that fae does." The other speaks. Nokken stands up and motions for Drakkin to follow him. They walk back down to the ledge, and as they make it, they see Alaric and Alester pulling themselves over. "What the fuck, Nokken? You two know not to take off alone." Alester seethes as he grabs Nokken by his collar.

"We found where they are keeping her. There are about twenty men guarding the place." Nokken, he says, shoving the king off him. "I couldn't just wait around for you guys; I need to get her." Nokkenn shouts. " I know you do, but we need to be smart about this. We are outnumbered; there are eight of us and twenty-plus of them." Alester says he understands the desperation his best friend is feeling. He feels the same way because it's his daughter and unborn grandchild in the bastard's hands. "Well, let's go make some leeches heads roll." Drakkin says with a smile.

"Wait, we have no weapons," one of the warriors that followed says. "Yes, we do." They hear a small voice say. They turn their heads and see Mercy walking up with a group of witches following behind carrying weapons. "The arrows are laced with dreamshade, so don't touch the tips." Mercy says, smiling at them. Nokken shakes his head as he grabs the bow and pack of arrows. He throws them over his shoulder.

"Let's go," Nokken says as he walks back into the woods.

As Eliza stands at the bottom of the mountain, she leans up against the rocks and thinks about what Drakkin's last words were to her. Can she really trust him? Is she ready to raise a baby with a playboy, let alone a fae? She can't think about this right now; she needs to focus on the safe return of her best friend. Eliza stands there looking around the forest when something catches her eye. It's a purple flower with dark green leaves. She walks closer and sees it on a vine. She goes to touch it when she hears a voice from behind her. "Don't touch that." The voice speaks, and she turns to see who it was and sees a small child. "That plant will kill you, miss." He says in a small voice. "What do you mean? What is it?" Eliza asks with curiosity. "It's called dreamshade. Follow me; my mom has been waiting for you. Her friend Queen Mercy is already up the mountain with your friends." The boy says as he grabs her hand and pulls her with him.

They arrive at a small camp; she can see children running around barefoot, playing with worn-out balls. The children are covered with dirt, and the women are cooking over a fire as the men train with swords and bows. "What is this place?" She asks the lookout boy as she looks around. "It's the camp for seers and witches." The little boy says as they walk to a large tent and walk inside.

Inside the tent, Eliza sees a woman with snowy blond hair and icy blue eyes. The woman stands up and walks to her. "Eliza, my child, welcome home." The woman says Eliza steps back and looks at the woman with caution. "W-who are you?" She asks. The woman smiles softly at her. "I'm your mother. My name is Crystal. You, Eliza, were named after your grandmother." She says. Hearing those words coming out of the stranger's mouth causes Elzia's head to spin, and she passes out.