Phantom Fae by Terry Spear Page A

human turned fae saved your life. I will help return the favor. Do we have a deal? You fly ahead and I'll help Alton carry him?"
    "Yes." She stood and gave her brother a heartfelt hug. They hadn't been this close to each other in years.
    He glanced at Alton, and she was afraid he was drawing some conclusion about her relief that he would help, more so than that she didn't want to see Brett die.
    "Are you ready?"
    "When you are."
    "Let's go." In the beginning, Ena flew with them, only this time they were traveling away from the roads and the supply trains. By the time they reached the phantom fae lands, she flew in the lead, watching for signs of archers anywhere in the woods.
    She wasn't certain what shape her castle would be in, whether or not Prince Grotto's men would have destroyed her things, or if he might have taken it over and given it to someone loyal to him. Which she suspected was probably the case. At least if she had been in his shoes, that's what she would have done. No sense in ruining a perfectly good castle and fortifications.
    Soaring overhead, she cast worried glances back at her brother, Alton, and Brett. She was glad her brother had offered to help. She would never have managed to carry Brett all that much further.
    The worst part was they had to stop and rest. They couldn't fae transport such a long distance without having to stop for some hours to recuperate. The only good thing was that Brett was still breathing, his heart still beating, and the wounds seemed to have stopped bleeding. Maybe his fae healing ability was starting to help heal him, yet it couldn't finish the job with the two bolts in his side. Then again, the bolts would help to keep the blood from pouring out even faster.
    She felt sick with the notion he could still very well die.
    She and her brother and Alton landed in the forest, still in the phantom fae territory and couldn't even light a fire for warmth for fear they'd alert the phantom fae of their whereabouts. Not that they particularly needed warmth when their scaly hides protected them from heat and cold. But she thought it would give her solace, and maybe Brett, if he stirred from the sleep of the dead. She suspected he was unconscious so his body could attempt to heal. When she was injured, though never as badly as this, she needed the sleep.
    She hadn't seen Freya in forever, just a glimpse of a raven nearby once or twice, and Ena assumed it had to be her because most birds thought of dragons as big birds of prey. Though normally, neither she nor her brethren hunted birds when they were dragons.
    Her brother shifted and reassured her, "He is still alive."
    But for how long? Ena wanted to do something, anything to get help for him now, not later. Not when it might not make any difference. She looked about for Freya, but still didn't see any sign of her.
    Alton had stayed in his dragon form and was curled up between pine trees to sleep, his wings wrapped around himself like a cocoon.
    "Thank you for helping us." Ena wanted to tell Halloran to sleep while she stood guard because he and Alton had to carry Brett so far. And they had a long day ahead of them tomorrow, too.
    "I'm not sure why Alton is helping you to save this—"
    "Brett," she said. She didn't mean to sound so irritated, but her brother rarely, if ever, called Brett by his name.
    Her brother smiled a little, then he grew serious. "I want to know how he changed into a dragon."
    "I don't know. Neither of us do. We didn't even know that's who he was when he rescued me—twice." She wasn't certain her brother knew that Brett had saved her from an archer earlier, and hadn't managed to get himself shot that time. But she wanted her brother to know how much he had risked his life both times.
    "Okay, but I still want to know how he managed to shift. By magic?"
    "What other way would there be?" she asked, annoyed. "He's a phantom fae!"
    "He's an enigma."
    Brett was that. Ever since she had found him holding Princess Alicia