Chapter 16

16

I t had been three days since Saoirse had been taken, and the entire Court was on edge. Uisnech had cleaned up the mess, but half a dozen fae had seen the gore first. News had spread like wildfire, and everyone was too afraid to step outside their rooms at night.

Truth be told, I didn't blame them.

For the past two nights, I'd stayed in the Royal Palace guest room, but Lugh had been gone for most of it. At night, he would disappear after playing his harp for an hour, doing who knew what. I never asked him. I assumed it had something to do with Saoirse's disappearance.

Tonight, however, things were different. He'd called me into his room just before ten. Uisnech stood in the corner, rubbing his hand against his chin .

"What's going on?" I glanced between them. "Have you heard something about Saoirse?"

"The enemy has called. Saoirse can go free. For a ransom." Lugh's words were clipped, his expression betraying nothing.

"Are you serious?" I strode further into the room, my heart tripping. "What did they say?"

"They want to exchange you for Saoirse," the little creature piped up. His expression was nowhere near blank, like Lugh's, though he was just as hard to read. Nose twitching, his eyes swirled with a mixture of delight, curiosity, but also somber dread.

"Trade for me ?" I gazed from Lugh's blank face to Uisnech's strangely somber one. "Why the hell would they want to do that? I have nothing that would help them."

Lugh pursed his lips. "Unfortunately, they disagree."

My heart thumped hard, and I hated that I couldn't read his damn face. I knew he cared about Saoirse. They had a bond I didn't understand. Would he willingly toss me to the enemy in order to save her life? And could I even blame him? I wanted to save her, too. "It doesn't make any sense. What was your answer?"

At that, he finally shifted his eyes to meet mine. "I told them no."

I actually didn't know how I felt about that. Somewhat relieved, if I were being totally honest. That meant he cared about me, too, and that sent a buzz of electricity through me that I hadn't expected.

But then a jolt of frustration joined the much more pleasant emotions. Saoirse was a smart, savvy, intelligent fae. Well, druid fae. But she wasn't a fighter. She wasn't skilled in combat. I respected the hell out of who she was and what she could do, but if it came down to a physical fight, she'd lose. I'd seen those traitors in the streets. They'd been trained.

I levelled my eyes at Lugh. "We have to take them up on this offer. It's been days since her disappearance, and we've learned nothing about where they might be keeping her. No leads. Not even a lead for a lead. This might be the only chance we have to save her."

"I told you that's what she'd say," the hobgoblin hissed toward Lugh.

"Uisnech thinks you're some kind of noble warrior," Lugh said dryly, "but what he doesn't understand is that surrendering you to Athaira's lot will be signing off on your death sentence."

I crossed my arms. "Really? After everything we've been through, you still don't have confidence in my ability to take on these cauldron tossers? I can take care of myself, Lugh."

"They won't accept the trade if you carry a sword with you," he replied. "And I doubt they'd let you anywhere near something you could transform into a weapon, like that sign."

"I don't need a sword," I shot back. "I only need a blade. Or a few dozen. Yeah. I like the idea of a dozen."

Uisnech smiled wide, his yellow-green eyes crinkling in the corners. "Clever as well as brave!"

Honestly, it was nice the little guy didn't want to feed me to the Sluagh anymore, but this newfound devotion was a bit much.

"Explain," Lugh said in a low growl.

"My skill is with the blade. Knives work, just not as effectively. I like the feel of a sword, and I love how the steel sings when I swing it. But I can be deadly with something smaller than that."

Lugh twisted toward Uisnech, who gave an eager nod. But then he scowled. "No. Absolutely not. I'm not sending you to those fae."

"It's not up to you," I said with a shrug. "I'm not actually part of your Court, remember? I can do as I please." Then, I turned to the hobgoblin, whose little green ears were twitching with excitement. "Uisnech, do you think you can hook me up with a few knives and figure out how to hide them in my clothes?"

The hobgoblin nodded eagerly. "Oh, yes, my love."

For once, I didn't hate the moniker. I grinned at Uisnech and gave him a high five.

Lugh scowled, of course.

T he Cauldron Tossers—my favourite new nickname for them—wanted to do the trade in Gilmerton Cove, which was a half hour drive south from the castle. Much like the vaults where I'd been forced to fight the Sluagh, Gilmerton Cove was a tangle of underground chambers and tunnels. No one knew quite what the tunnels had once been used for. It was one of Edinburgh's favourite mysteries. Many theories abounded. A smuggler's lair, a secret drinking den—for humans or vampires, no one knew—or even a meeting place for the Knight's Templar, who had been fae.

I leaned more toward the obvious choice—that it had once been a haven for sorcerers trying to escape the witch trials. They'd holed up underground, waiting for the burning torches to pass them by.

Lugh had grudgingly agreed to go through with this plan. On one condition. I wouldn't actually turn myself over to the Cauldron Tossers. Instead, we set a little trap.

The trap was this: I would descend into the tunnels while Lugh and the ginger twins stood watch and trailed my every move from the shadows. As soon as the Cauldron Tossers showed themselves, we'd all fly into fight mode, including me. Uisnech had succeeded in hiding ten different daggers on my body. We'd tried twelve, but the extra two just wouldn't fit.

Standing alone outside of Gilmerton Cove, I eyed the small mining cottage warily. It looked pretty normal, as far as secret hideouts for murderous supernaturals went. The little white house sat on a nondescript road cutting through a southeastern suburb about four miles outside of Edinburgh's city centre, squatting right next to a vet clinic.

I tapped the hidden bluetooth mic and whispered, "You lot sure this is the right place?"

"Affirmative," Uisnech replied in a giggle. This whole mic thing had been his idea. Something he'd seen off of one of those American SUV or CSI shows, or whatever they were called. Everyone was listening in. The twin warriors, who were nearby and watching my every move. Lugh, who lurked in the pub across the street. And Uisnech, who had stayed behind at the castle to oversee the guard team there. Even though we were out prowling for the Cauldron Tossers, the castle still needed protection, just like always.

I rolled my eyes and pushed open the door, surprised to find it completely unlocked. Inside, I found a flight of stairs with only about a dozen steps leading into shadowy darkness. There was a bright red arrow taped to the wall, pointing downward. Gee, which way should I go?

"Current status," the hobgoblin's voice rang in my ear. "Echo, stat, affirmative."

I huffed. As much as I was starting to like the creature, I wished he would stop buzzing nonsense into my ear. "I'm inside. There's a flight of stairs. I'm heading down it."

"Careful, Moira," Lugh warned.

I gave a nod, even though he couldn't see me, and a slight ripple of panic went through my gut. My feet hit the first stair, and memories flooded my mind. Sluagh lurching out of the shadows. Creatures pinning me to the ground. I shook the thoughts away and continued downward.

When my feet hit the bottom stairs, I flicked on my torch. A long dark tunnel stretched before me. Wetting my lips, I pressed onward, hoping that the twins were right behind me.

"What do you see?" Lugh's voice crackled in my ear.

I whispered into the mic. "Dark tunnel. No one's here."

The crackle erupted in my ear, and I grimaced, smacking my hand against my head. A second later, the static vanished. I poked at the mic. "Hello?"

No response. I poked it again and whispered Lugh's name. Again, no response.

Great. Now I had no contact with the outside world. Down in the underground chambers, the signal was blocked. Still, I continued forward, heart hammering. Saoirse's life was hanging in the balance, and I wouldn't turn my back on her.

Somewhere ahead of me or behind, I heard the unmistakable echo of footsteps. My heartbeat sped up, and I flicked my torch left and right. The tunnel twisted left, and I followed, feeling like prey walking straight into a trap. At any moment, the big bad wolf would lurch out of the darkness and chomp me in half.

A hand pressed against my back, and I screamed. I whirled in an instant, dagger in my hand. Warin blinked back at me, his hands raised before him. "Whoa. Moira. Chill. It's just me."

Swallowing hard, I jogged a step back, my daggered hand still raised before me. "What are you doing sneaking up on me in the tunnel like this? You're supposed to stay hidden."

And he'd just totally given us away. If the tossers were watching, they'd know I'd come with backup.

"You've been walking in a circle. Boudica and I searched every chamber, and I've been using my enhanced hearing this whole time. No one is here. The whole place is empty."

My stomach dropped to the floor. "What? But this is where they told me to come."

He shook his head. "I know they did, but they must have left."

"Is there another way out of here?" I asked.

"Not that we could see."

"But you would have heard if someone else had been in here and left?" I prodded.

He pressed his lips into a grim line. "Yep. I had my hearing tuned in the entire time, and the only other fae I heard down here besides Boudica and me was you."

"Bollocks." I pushed past Warin and rushed back down the tunnel, and then charged up the stairs. All the way, I poked at the mic, waiting for the crackling static to return.

When I reached the top of the stairs, Uisnech's cheery voice rang in my ears. "Echo, beepedo ten four!"

"Uisnech. No one's here. It must be some kind of trick to get us out of the castle." My heart hammered. "I think they're heading straight for you."