I licked my lips, and he tracked the movement. “Please.”
His jaw ticked, but he inclined his head. “Very well, as you asked so nicely.”
He strode off toward the rock and took a seat, then offered me a close-lipped smile as if to say, see? I’m sitting.
“You sure he’s not dangerous?” Lloyd asked.
He was a spirit trapped outside of his time. Watching him sitting on a rock alone, his huge frame hunched as if he wanted to simply disappear, sent a pang of unwanted sympathy through me.
“Oh, he’s dangerous all right, but not to us.”
He was cocky and arrogant and kinda nuts, but he hadn’t asked to be torn from his eternal slumber and shoved into an unfamiliar body.
From the look on Lloyd’s face as he studied Brady’s form, he was thinking along the same lines as me.
He tore his attention away from Lugh. “We have a hundred cadets ready to fight,” he said. “That’s all we have. How large is this Laramir’s army?”
Back to business. I liked it. “As far as we know, he has a thousand men. It could be more, or it could be less.”
“Fuck.” Lloyd ran a hand over his head in agitation.
“And the militia?” Kash asked.
Lloyd’s mouth tightened. “I still can’t fucking believe Orion didn’t tell us the fomorians were on our side, and that the real enemy was the fir bolg.”
“We’re grunts,” Hyde said. “They simply needed us to fight, not get involved in the politics of things.”
I answered Kash’s question. “Four hundred at the last count, but more were headed to the border when we left.”
Lloyd’s mouth turned down. “Shitty odds.”
“Yes, if our forces are split,” Hyde said.
Lloyd frowned up at him. “You’re right. If we could fight alongside the fomorians …”
“We can,” Hyde said. He looked to me to deliver the news.
“Laramir’s army isn’t affected by the mist, but our allies are.” I arched a brow and waited for him to catch on.
Lloyd’s mouth parted in comprehension. “We shut off the posts.”
“Yes.”
“You think Orion will allow it?” Kash asked.
I gave him a flat look. “Orion isn’t in charge here. I am.” I focused on Lloyd. “Give the order. Remove the AM modifier chips. We can begin at first light, start with sector three, and work our way across in a large team. Those fucking spider things are back up and running in sector two. We didn’t come across any in sector three, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any there. Hopefully, once the mist is gone, they won’t survive long.”
“Of course,” Devon said. “The fuckers live on mist air.”
“I believe so. If the lack of mist doesn’t kill them, it should weaken them enough for us to pick them off.” I looked up at Hyde. “Can you help us take point on this?”
Hyde nodded curtly. “Of course.”
We had five days until Laramir attacked. Not enough time to prepare, not enough time to do much of anything, but we’d need to make the most of it.
As the guys jogged back down the rise barking orders to the troops, I turned to Kash. “I need your help with Brady.”
Kash looked across at Lugh, still sitting on a rock looking miserable.
“You want Lugh out.”
“Can the weavers do that?”
“I don’t know,” Kash said. “But we have an Academy full of the most powerful weavers from headquarters, and there’s only one way to find out.”
It was late, and the weavers were probably asleep, but tomorrow, as soon as the posts were deactivated, I’d pay the Academy a visit.
Twenty-One
Sector one’s AM modulators had been removed, but it would be hours before the mist faded. Lloyd and Devon were leading teams in sector two, and Hyde had taken on sector three.
My team was in good spirits as we made our way back to base. The plan was to grab Kash and Lugh and head to the Academy to speak to the weavers. We crested the rise, and Orion came into view. His body was tense as he faced down Lugh. Raised voices greeted us, Brady’s deep timbre combined with Lugh’s regal inflection up against Orion’s irate melodic tone.
“What the hell?” I approached the men. “What’s going on?”
Orion turned to look down at me, his eyes flashing. “Do you know who this is?”
I crossed my arms and stared back at him. “Yes. It’s Lugh, heir of Balor and long-dead fomorian king, now trapped in my mate’s body.”
Orion blinked down at me in surprise, and then his expression smoothed. “So, you know … everything.”
“Yeah, we know everything.” I pressed my lips together. “We know the council lied to the knights.”
“He was trying to bribe me to keep quiet,” Lugh said slyly. “The great Winterlock with his technology is afraid.”
“I am not afraid of anything,” Orion snapped.
“You’re afraid your people will turn against you,” Lugh said. “Peons do not value a deceitful king.”
I raised a hand. “Whoa. There are no peons here, and Orion is not a king.”
Lugh’s brows shot up at the same time as Orion’s shoulders bunched.
Lugh’s smile was knowing. “I suppose you cannot call yourself a king when you no longer have a kingdom.”
There was subtext here that was flying right over my head. “Look, Orion, it doesn’t matter why you lied. All that matters is winning this war. Lugh won’t be with us for much longer, and you … You need to stay out of my way.”
Orion looked down at me with a fierce look on his face. “You believe I’ll cower while you take to the battlefield.”
“This isn’t about some macho bullshit. You’re not trained, so you stay out of the way.”
Lugh snorted. “Oh, dear, they really have no idea who you are, do they?”
Orion’s jaw ticked. “It has been a while.”
The two men shared a look that spoke of shared memories.
I didn’t have time for this. “If you can fight, then pick a weapon and grab some armor. If not, then keep off the battlefield.”
“You’re shutting off the mist,” Orion said softly.
It wasn’t a question. It was an observation, an acceptance that time was running out.
I looked out at the thinning mist. “I’ll be sending scouts to the sector three border as soon as the mist clears.”
Orion nodded. “You’ve done well, Justice. Henrich made an excellent choice of Shadow Master.”
I didn’t need his approval, but his confidence would make things easier. “I’m leaving for the Academy to see the weavers about freeing Lugh if you’d like an escort back?”
Lugh stood straighter, eager to be gone, no doubt.
Orion looked thoughtful. “No, I believe I’ll stay here a while.” He bared his teeth at Lugh, looking surprisingly feral for a cultured Tuatha. “I believe I will fight.”
I led Lugh away from the tech magnate, grabbing Kash on my way off camp. The sun was making an arc toward the ground as we made our way toward the Academy.
Hope simmered in my heart. Please, let the weavers have a solution.
Please.
* * *
Latrou and Helseth conferred in a corner while Lugh paced the ballroom in agitation. I’d promised him freedom. I just hoped the weavers could deliver.
Kash sat on the podium, legs dangling, hands gripping the edge of the platform. He met my gaze for a moment, his expression somber. He was worried the weavers would fail, and honestly, from the murmurs and tone of the conversation the two weavers were having, things didn’t look good for us.
If the weavers couldn’t help, what then? How could I get Brady back? I’d have to wait until it was safe to go out into the mortal world and search for the rest of the talisman. But what if the mortal world was never safe again?
No. Don’t think about it. Don’t panic.
Lugh stopped pacing and crossed his arms over his chest in
a pose that was so Brady it made my chest ache with longing for my mate.
“Do you have an answer?” he demanded. “Can you free me or not?”
Latrou and Helseth turned to look at him in annoyance.
“What do you think we’re discussing, young man?” Helseth chided. “The weather? Hmm? Now hush, and let us confer.”
Lugh looked taken aback by the dressing down. I guess kings didn’t get told off very often.
I bit back a smile, my gaze flicking to Kash to see him doing the same.
“Yes,” Latrou said to Helseth. “That may work.”
My ears pricked up, and I turned to face them, eager to know more.
“For now,” Helseth added. “I’ll begin work.” She hurried out of the room.
Latrou faced us, hands clasped in front of her. “We can’t free you,” she said to Lugh.
His face hardened as he looked to me. “You said you could help me.”
“You think I want you here?”
We glared at each other.
“But,” Latrou continued. “We can get Brady back.”
“What?” both Lugh and I said at the same time.
“A conduit.” Kash hopped off the podium, his eyes bright. “You’re going to create a conduit to allow Brady to surface.”
Panic etched itself across Lugh’s features. “You want to trap me. To put me to sleep in this body?” He bared his teeth and took a step back. “You will not touch me, witch.”
Latrou pursed her lips. “And yet you have no qualms about keeping Brady, the true owner of this body, suppressed.”
Lugh’s eyes narrowed.
“They tell me you’re a king,” Latrou said. “The question is, are you an honorable one?”
Lugh growled in exasperation. “Damn you, witch.”
Latrou’s mouth tightened. “In this world, we are called weavers, and the good news is you will not be suppressed entirely. You will share this body. One awake during the day and one during the night hours. I’m afraid that is the best we can do. The binding placed by your fomorian weaver is ancient and powerful. The only way to break it is to complete the quest and find the rest of this talisman.”
I looked down at his waist, to where the pouch had been that held the eye. “Where’s the eye?”
“At the camp,” he said. “In the tent you allocated me. Hidden.” His gaze flicked from me to Latrou and then back again as if he expected us to attack at any moment.
I couldn’t force Lugh to do this. I couldn’t make him agree to sleep half the day. I mean, I could get the guys to hold him down and ask the weavers to apply whatever weaver mojo they needed to, but … But it would be wrong.
I looked at Lugh, looked directly into his eyes. “Please. Please let me have him back, if only for a few hours a day.”
He looked momentarily torn, jaw ticking as he wrestled with the decision. I held my breath, waiting.
Finally, he exhaled and closed his eyes. “Very well. I will allow this.”
Latrou nodded. “I’ll get to work. It won’t take long. Kash?”
“Madam?”
“Would you like to learn how it’s done?”
Kash’s brows shot up. “Really?”
She smiled. “Come.” She headed for the door with Kash in tow. “We’ll be back within the hour.”
Kash dropped a kiss on my brow on his way out.
And then they were gone, leaving me alone with the fomorian king.
* * *
Ten slow minutes ticked by in which Lugh and I watched each other warily. Neither of us spoke; I mean, what did you converse about with an ancient fomorian king who’d been dead and then resurrected in your mate’s body?
Small-talk topics were limited, but if we were going to be stuck here for the better part of an hour, then we needed to talk about something.
I shucked off my breastplate and leaned it against the wall before walking over to the podium and pulling myself up to sit on the edge.
“What’s it like on the other side?” It was the first thing that popped into my head.
Lugh looked surprised. “You want to know what death is like?”
“No, I want to know what comes after.”
He frowned. “I wish I could remember.”
“You don’t remember, yet you want to go back?”
“I don’t remember the details, but I remember the feeling. It was bliss. I remember that.” He placed a hand on his breastplate by his heart. “I miss it.”
“I’m sorry.”
We fell into silence again.
Long seconds ticked by, and then Lugh spoke. “We should have wiped the fir bolg out when they first came to our shores seeking refuge. If we’d acted, then you would not be in this predicament now.”
“Why do they want the mortal realm so badly?”
Lugh walked over to me and leaned against the podium beside me. “Because the mortal realm was once their home. They began their journey here. This soil is their motherland.”
“They were mortal once?”
He snorted. “Goodness no. The fir bolg are immortal beings like the Tuatha.”
“But fomorians don’t live as long?”
He shook his head. “No. Fomorians do not have the lifespan of a Tuatha, although as a half-breed, I benefited from a longer lifespan.”
Ah, yes. He was half Tuatha. “And Laramir?”
“Pure fir bolg,” Lugh said. “I believe there are remnants of their existence in the mortal realm in what they call giants. They abandoned their world, the world which now belongs to mortals, to conquer other worlds. In their absence, humanity was born—fragile, beautiful beings with the lifespan of a butterfly—and the Tuatha were enraptured. They swore themselves the protectors of humanity. The fir bolg have been fighting to get the mortal world back ever since.” He shrugged. “My world was simply a means to an end. A pathway to their true goal.”
But the Tuatha hadn’t made it easy. They’d fought the fir bolg alongside the fomorians.
“The fir bolg want back what they believe is rightfully theirs,” Lugh said.
“But it isn’t.” I looked down into Brady’s face and curled my hands into fists to stop myself from touching his cheek. “They gave it up. They abandoned it. The world evolved, and it belongs to humanity now.”
Lugh’s gaze fell to my mouth. “I can feel him, you know. Looking out through my eyes from time to time.”
My breath caught. “What?”
“Like now. He’s pushing against my consciousness now, and he feels …” Lugh shook his head and broke eye contact.
I grabbed his chin and forced his head up to look at me. “What? What does he feel?”
Lugh’s eyes misted. “Longing, sorrow. Want.” His gaze fell to my mouth, then tore away. “And anger. He wants me gone.”
I released Lugh. “Can you blame him?”
“No,” Lugh said. “But we are both victims here.”
The clip of heels signaled the return of Latrou. Had it been an hour already?
“You’re done?” I slid off the podium as Kash entered the room.
Latrou smiled smugly. “Helseth is very good at what she does.”
Helseth joined us, carrying a leather strap. She held it aloft for us to see. “The leather has been etched with the requisite runes and woven together. Once I tie it to your wrist, the soul that belongs to this body will rise with the moon and sleep with the sun.”
I looked out the window at the red sky that signaled sunset. Oh, God. “Do it.”
Lugh’s smile was wry as he held out his wrist. “By all means.”
Helseth approached him and carefully knotted the strap to his wrist. The strap glowed blue for a moment.
Lugh looked at the setting sun and then fixed his gaze on me. “I’ll see you at sunrise.”
My pulse hammered in my throat as the sun finally set, and the world went dark. Lugh staggered back but caught himself, and then his eyes fixed on me.
Soft, dark, and filled with stars,
and heat flared through my veins. Anger, confusion, and then joy—not my emotions. His. The connection pulsed between us, stronger than ever before.
“You did it,” Brady said. “You found me.”
Hot tears turned the world into a shimmer, and then I was bridging the distance between us to wrap my arms around him and never let go.
Twenty-Two
Brady had me tucked into his side as he looked down on Kash. “You’re Kash?”
Shit, my stomach fluttered with nerves. I needed these two to get on, to like each other. Hyde, Harmon, and Brady already had a grudging respect for one another, and Hyde and Harmon were okay with Kash. I needed Brady on board.
I cleared my throat. “Kash helped with the band on your wrist. He helped get you back to me.”
Kash grinned up at Brady. “I’m pretty helpful.”
Brady gave him a flat look.
Kash’s throat bobbed. “It’s good to see you back.”
“Is it?” Brady asked, his tone as hard as stone.
Kash’s smile wavered, then dropped. He ran a hand through his thick, dark hair. “Look, big guy. I get it, you’re mated to her, and she loves you. But Indigo and I have a connection too.” He glanced at me. “She may not be in love with me yet, but she like-likes me, you know? I’d really like the chance to take that somewhere because …” He took a deep breath. “I’m fucking head-over-heels in love with her.”
What? He was in love with me? And he was telling Brady first? Irritation was chased by rational thought. What would I have said if he did tell me right now? Thank you? He knew I wasn’t there yet, but he was letting Brady know that he was. That he was serious.
A weird tangle of emotions swirled in my chest, ones that involved squishing Kash to my breast and hugging the crap out of him or shoving him onto the ground and fucking his brains out. Maybe a combination of the two?
The guys were doing a strange eye-lock communication thing. Kash was the first to drop his gaze.
Brady exhaled. “You hurt her, and I’ll break you.”
Kash’s smile was back, tentative but warm. “Sounds like a fair deal.”
Shadow Master: The Nightwatch Academy book 4 Page 13