by Linsey Hall
Soon, they’d be able to see us.
My heartbeat thundered, fear icing my skin. I flew as fast as I could, pushing myself to the limit. Sweat broke out, and my muscles ached.
We were right overhead when I heard one of the guards speak, confusion in his voice. “Intruders.”
“I feel them but don’t see them,” said another.
I drew my shield from the ether, and Tarron followed suit.
We’d just flown over the wall when a guard pointed at us. “There!”
Oh, crap.
We’d been spotted.
13
I flew as fast as I could, desperate to get away from the city and the guards. We had to deliver the location of the well, or all was lost.
I looked behind me, spotting one of the guards as he threw a blast of green light at us. It hurtled toward me, and I dodged, barely avoiding a blow to the legs. A second threw a fireball that moved so fast I barely had time to get my shield up in front of me.
The flame plowed into the metal, and I tumbled backward in the air, losing control of my wings.
Tarron flew in front of me, his shield raised.
Protecting me.
The same guard hurled an even bigger fireball, and Tarron flew right toward it, taking the hit to his shield and grunting.
I righted myself in the air. “Come on!”
Tarron turned and followed me. I flew as fast as I could, glancing behind me to see that three of the guards had launched themselves into the air and were following.
Shit. We couldn’t lead them back to the Resistance camp. My heart thundered as I drew my potion bag from the ether. I dug my hand in, searching for a stunning bomb.
Tarron didn’t waste time. His magic flared, and he shot a blast of air at one of the guards. It slammed into the Fae, and the man tumbled back, plowing into the ground with such force that he lay still, unconscious.
A second Unseelie threw a blast of fire at me. I chucked my potion bomb at him, then dived left, taking a hit from the fire. It grazed my thigh, making pain flare.
Frustration welled, and I screamed, “We’re just trying to help you!”
A crazy queen did no one any good. Not that these guys cared.
The last Unseelie was fast, dodging Tarron’s blasts of wind. When one hit him, he didn’t go down.
The guy was freaking strong.
I could try to reflect his magic back on him, but it might kill him. Since we didn’t know if he was truly on my mother’s side or just being brainwashed, I didn’t want to do it.
Unfortunately, we were already halfway toward the forest and couldn’t go any farther until we lost him.
I caught Tarron’s eye and mouthed, “Let’s surround him.”
Tarron nodded, then flew backward, getting between the Unseelie and the city. I flew in front of him, and we cornered him, closing in from either side. He threw an icicle at me, and I darted right, barely avoiding the projectile. Icy air whistled past my face as it flew by.
I threw a stunning bomb at the same time Tarron threw a blast of air. Both slammed into the Unseelie at the same time, and he plunged to the ground. He hit hard, but not on his head, at least.
I looked back toward the castle. There were no other Fae following us, thank fates.
“Let’s get the hell out of here.” I turned and flew toward the forest.
Tarron joined me, and we disappeared into the safety of the trees. It was quiet and dark, the ground shaded by the canopy above. Faerie lights illuminated the way as we flew back to the camp.
When we reached the camp a few minutes later, the number of people seemed to have grown, and most were polishing weapons or mending armor.
This is it.
The realization chilled me.
The final battle was coming, and these Fae were about to risk their lives for it.
I shoved away the worry. We needed their help if we were going to win. And we were fighting for them, after all. Of course they’d want to be in the fight. As much as I hated the idea of thrusting innocent lives in the false queen’s direction, they had the right to choose that. And truth be told, we were probably going to need their help.
I spotted Brielle near the fire. She turned to face us, watching us with a serious expression on her face.
She strode toward us. “Well?”
“We found it.” I landed a few feet from her, closing my wings against my back. It was finally starting to feel truly natural to fly. “I tried to destroy it, but it’s protected from aerial attack.”
Tarron joined me, sticking close to my side.
She nodded. “Makes sense. Where is it?”
“In the middle of a hedge maze, past the dark forest that is on the other side of the castle.”
Her lips thinned. “That will be dangerous to get to.”
“I can take it.”
“Good.” She gestured for me to follow. “Let’s eat and plan for tomorrow. Then we’ll sleep.”
At the mention of food, my stomach grumbled. Sleep sounded good, too.
Tarron touched my shoulder. “Go with her. I’m going to gather the rest of my troops from the Seelie Court. Four dozen. It is nearly sunset, so they could arrive tonight.”
Brielle nodded. “Thank you, King Tarron.”
“This is my fight as much as it is yours.”
“Evil is everyone’s fight.” She turned and strode toward the table.
Several Fae spotted her going and hurried to join her.
I reached for Tarron and gave him a quick, hard kiss. “When this is over, I want that date.”
“Which one?”
“The one we talked about in the museum.”
He grinned. “It’s yours.”
“Good.” I followed Brielle to the table.
Aeri and Declan joined us, along with the FireSouls. A Fae I didn’t recognize brought over tea, and Brielle poured the cups.
I leaned forward. “I tried to deploy the Aranthian Crystal, but I couldn’t get close enough to the well of power. It’s blocked from the air.”
Brielle cursed. “We’ll need to approach from the ground, then.”
“My men can act as backup,” Tarron said.
“Thank you.” Brielle nodded to him. “The false queen can’t realize you’re going for it, or she’ll try to stop you.”
“And she’s strong enough right now that she’ll manage,” I said. We needed to buy enough time to destroy the well of power so she’d be weak enough to defeat.
“What we need is a distraction,” Del said.
“A battle will do that,” Brielle said.
“We shouldn’t risk more lives than necessary. I hoped we could plan something that involves me sneaking in.”
“The Hag has no more potion for you to slip into the city undetected,” Brielle said. “And it wouldn’t have worked from the ground anyway. You’d be too close to the people.”
“We snuck in last time I was here,” I said.
Brielle shook her head. “But the queen’s power has grown so much that it won’t work again.”
“You’re saying we have to fight,” Aeri said.
“We have to fight to get you as far as we can into the city,” Brielle said. “All the way to the forest and the maze if we can manage it.”
“That’s so far. We’ll lose so many lives.” My heart hurt at the thought.
“Maybe not,” Brielle said. “We have greater numbers. Greater power. If we’re smart and plan well, I think we’ll do all right.”
“The queen can’t know you’re going toward the maze, though,” Cass said. “Which means she needs to think you’re a part of the battle.”
“So I need to be two places at once.”
She grinned. “Exactly. And I can help with that. Pick a team of three to approach the well of power. I can use my power of illusion to make me, Del, and Nix appear to be you three. We’ll continue to fight with the rest in the city. The queen will believe it’s you.”
“I wouldn’t put you at risk like that
.”
She smiled. “You think we can’t handle it?”
Well… She had a point. Cass, Nix, and Del were insanely powerful. They could handle anything. “Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.” She leaned forward. “Who are you taking?”
I was strongest with Aeri and Tarron at my side.
“Me, obviously,” Aeri said. “No arguments.”
I looked at her. “Thank you.”
Brielle leaned forward. “Now let’s work out the details of our approach.”
The sun set as we talked, planning the intricacies of the attack. By the time we were done, I was starving and full dark had fallen. Faerie lights twinkled from the trees, illuminating the forest.
Somewhere, a small band of Fae had started playing music. It streamed merrily through the trees, at contrast with the somber feeling of battle on the horizon.
Brielle caught me listening and shrugged. “Some of us won’t survive tomorrow. Might as well enjoy tonight.”
I nodded, though the thought made my heart heavy.
Brielle stood. “Come on, the food is ready. Let’s get some.”
Aeri and I followed her toward the fire, collecting a bowl of hearty soup from the old Fae who manned the enormous pot. Connor helped him, moving quickly around the pot.
“Enjoy, Your Highness.” Connor winked.
Yeah, that was weird. “Thank you.”
He grinned.
I shared a look with Aeri as we walked away. “I’m glad I don’t have to be the real queen, that’s for sure.”
“Best of both worlds, for you.” Aeri found a seat on a log, and I joined her, pressing my shoulder against hers as we ate.
At one point, Burn appeared, taking a seat at my side. Almost immediately, one of the Fae brought the Thorn Wolf a bowl, and he gobbled it up excitedly.
Declan, who’d disappeared at some point, appeared through the crowd.
I looked at Aeri. “Love you, sis.”
She raised a brow as I stood.
I nodded toward Declan, who was nearly to us. “That’s my cue.”
“You don’t have to go.”
“I want to go find my man, too.”
She smiled. “I like him.”
“Good, because I do, too.”
Declan joined us, and I waved. “See you later.”
I found Tarron at the edge of the clearing, standing with his men. There were dozens of them, all staring at him with rapt expressions. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but clearly they were impressed.
Quietly, I crept closer, wanting to hear whatever it was. I’d just gotten close enough when they began to applaud.
Dang. Missed it.
The men dispersed, and Tarron turned to face me.
I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. “It seems your troops were impressed with you.”
“They’re an easy crowd.” He pulled me to him.
“Somehow, I doubt that.” I raised a brow. “I recall the circumstances of your ascension to the throne. You had to win them over.” Shadows entered his eyes, and suddenly I felt like a jerk. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up sad things.”
He shook his head. “It’s fine. I’ll always miss my brother and regret the end of his life. That I didn’t realize sooner what was happening to him.” His gaze moved off to the trees and his jaw tightened. “But we’re here, and I’ll have vengeance for him. We’ll protect anyone else from suffering his fate.”
It tore me apart that my mother had been the one to pollute his brother’s mind with dark magic. She’d been responsible for his death. For so many deaths.
As much as it tore me up to know that she was the cause of these things, there was still some tiny little part of me that railed against it. That didn’t want to believe it.
She was my mother.
But Tarron—and his status as a somewhat unwilling king—were a constant reminder of what she had done.
“Have you ever considered transitioning your people over to a democracy?” I asked. “Take some of the burden off you? Let them rule themselves?”
He smiled. “I like that idea.”
“I’m clever.”
“When this is over, that can be our next goal.”
I pressed a kiss to his lips. “I like having goals with you. Especially ones that don’t involve fighting to stay alive.”
“One might say that’s the biggest goal of all.”
“Sure, and I’d agree. But I’m looking forward to a life that I can enjoy rather than just survive.”
“Can’t blame you.” He squeezed me to him. “We’ll try to convert the Seelie Court to a democracy.”
“Really?”
“Really. Besides being the right thing to do, it will give us more time for each other.”
He had a point. Between me being a demon slayer, Blood Sorceress, and partial queen, I was going to be busy. As full-time king, he wouldn’t be able to leave his kingdom much. Especially since he’d been gone so much while we hunted the false queen.
“First, we need to defeat the false queen,” I said. “Then we’ll deal with that.”
If we could defeat the false queen. And that was a big if.
After our talk, Tarron and I found Brielle, who led us to an empty bird’s nest house. It sat about fifty feet up, nestled in the branches of a huge tree.
She pointed to it. “You can have that one.”
“Thank you.” I smiled at her. “We’ll see you at dawn.”
She nodded, her gaze serious. Brielle hadn’t cracked a smile yet, and I couldn’t blame her. Not with what waited on the horizon for us. Silently, she disappeared back into the forest.
“Let’s go.” I called upon my wings and flew up to the strange little house made of thin reeds that had been woven together. The door swung open easily, revealing a beautiful room that looked nothing like the outside.
It was built entirely of pale wood decorated with intricate carvings, and the enormous bed was covered in blue silk.
Tarron joined me, his gaze going straight to the bed. “Fit for a queen.”
“Oh?” I smiled and turned to him.
Before I could say anything, his strong hands closed around my waist, and he pulled me to him. I gasped, reaching up to grab his shoulders. His mouth crashed down on mine, and I moaned, pressing myself closer to him.
The world disappeared as he kissed me, all of my fears disappearing as the only thing I could focus on became him. He pulled me to him so I could feel every inch of his hard body against mine.
It could be our last night together. The thought tore at my heart, but I forced it away. Gasping, I grappled with his shirt, tearing it off. My shirt got the same treatment, buttons popping as he dragged it from me.
Frantic, I ran my hands over his chest, reveling in the strength of his muscles.
“You’re so beautiful.” Heat burned in his eyes as his gaze swept over me.
I kissed his neck, determined to taste every inch of him.
He groaned and dropped his head back, clutching me to him. His scent filled me, making my mind grow cloudy with lust.
“I’ll never want anything more than I want you,” he rasped.
The truth was, I couldn’t agree more.
The dream hit me, hard and fast.
I stood in the middle of an empty, dark space.
All alone.
Just me, in my human form.
No Fae wings, no nothing.
The false queen surged toward me, her black wings carrying her gracefully on the air. Her voice was cold as she hissed, “You are mine now, daughter.”
I cried out and stumbled backward, clumsily trying to go for my weapons. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t access the ether to get them.
She reached me, going for my throat. Her hands closed around my neck, cutting off the air. I struggled, trying to break her grip, but I was too weak.
“You’re nothing,” she hissed.
I’m not!
I couldn’t even say the words. My dream self didn’t even try. I attempted to call on my wings, but it was no good. I couldn’t even cut my wrist with my nails to try to make new magic.
One last try.
And I couldn’t manage it.
I was helpless.
Every weapon I’d ever had abandoned me.
And now she was here.
And I was dying.
14
I woke on a scream, the dark light of morning a cocoon around me.
“Mari!” Tarron lunged for me and wrapped me in his arms.
Gasping, I tried to get ahold of myself. Tears streaked down my cheeks, and I gripped him close.
“What was it?” he asked. “A dream?”
The last thing I remembered was dying, but I didn’t tell him that. I sucked in a ragged breath and pulled away. “I don’t want to think about it.”
He drew back, his gaze concerned. “You can tell me.”
“I don’t even want to tell myself.” I couldn’t bear to think of it. A therapist would probably tell me I needed to explore it for hidden messages—only a dummy would think that dream hadn’t been loaded with my worst fears—but I just couldn’t face it.
I climbed out of the bed, trying to still my shaking. “Let’s go.”
“You’re afraid.” Tarron frowned. “You’re never afraid.”
I gave a slightly bitter laugh. “Of course I’m afraid. Who wouldn’t be?”
“Only an idiot, I suppose. But this is different.”
I frowned at him, hating that he was right. I’d been afraid many times in my life—I wasn’t a moron. I’d faced down some truly deadly shit, so of course I’d faced fear.
But this…
This was awful.
Because I was afraid of myself. Afraid of my ability—or lack of ability—to get the job done when everything was on the line.
I sucked in a deep breath and shoved the thought away. I just had to do it. There was no other choice. Dwelling on it wouldn’t help.
I reached for Tarron and grabbed his hand, pulling him up from the bed. “Come on. Let’s go.”
He stood, his concerned gaze heavy on my face. I couldn’t bear it. That kind of concern burned like acid. I wanted to be the confident Mordaca I’d once been, and when he looked at me like that, it was all too clear that I wasn’t.