Chapter 21

21

T he male fae's smile stretched wide as he held the spear up before him. "Don't want to forget about this old thing here, do you?"

"Give me the spear, Eoin," Lugh growled, inching forward so that his front now pressed against my back. Just the feel of him this close to me made my body sigh with relief. And then I remembered we were staring down the enemy. And that enemy had Lugh's soul in his hands.

Wait a minute. Eoin? My eyes widened. I knew that name. He had been the fae that very first night in the courtyard when I'd been spying and had overheard Lugh asking someone about the cauldron. He must have turned on Lugh sometime after that.

"What would happen if I snapped this thing in half?" Eoin snarled, spinning the spear in his hands so that it now sat horizontal on his palms. His long fingers curled around the shaft. My heart stopped .

"Moira, get down on your knees," Lugh ordered. "Saoirse, too."

Eoin sniggered. "Yeah, they should get down on their knees where they belong."

I wanted to punch the guy in the throat for that, but I listened to Lugh instead. I didn't know what propelled me to trust him, but I ducked down, knees and hands slamming hard against the rough stone ground. Saoirse did the same by my side, even though she was practically unconscious at this point.

The spear hummed as soon as I hit the ground. Magic vibrated through the underground close, the walls rocking as deep tremors caused glasses and bowls to tumble from the shelves and crash onto the floor.

I glanced up just in time to catch the flash of surprise on Eoin's face. The spear ripped out of his hands with a deadly force, and Eoin's body flew backward out the door. The spear landed in Lugh's hands, the vibrating intensity knocking hard against my ears.

I swore they even popped.

"Come on," Lugh growled. "Let's get out of here. The walls are crumbling. This place could cave in."

To emphasise his point, another glass shattered right beside my foot, and shards scattered everywhere. One sharp sliver even dug its way into my arm.

"Ow." I jumped up, wrapping my hands around Saoirse's arms and pulling her with me. She stumbled a bit, her body still broken from the terror the enemies had put her through.

A chunk of wall slammed onto the floor beside us. Lugh pushed me forward, and I broke out into a half-jogging run, doing my best to support Saoirse's weight. We rushed into the close, turning right to zoom straight for the exit.

But ten more black-clad figures whispered out of the shadows, led in front by—

My stomach dropped. Imogen's pink hair stood out from the rest. Her eyes flashed; her grin twisted in a way I'd never seen before. I glanced from her delighted face to the black-clad fae that surrounded her. They all held blades, including her, though hers was a bright, neon pink. I shook my head, taking a step back, still holding tight to Saoirse.

"Imogen, what the hell are you doing?" I demanded. "What did they tell you to get you to join them?"

She laughed, and then rolled her eyes. "They didn't have to tell me anything. I've been one of them all this time. How do you think they learned everything they did about the Court? I can't believe you thought my power had something to do with my love for pink. My real gift is the ability to blend into the shadows. No one ever knows I'm there. How do you think I became such a good thief?"

She snapped her fingers, and she vanished before my eyes. She came back into view almost instantaneously.

I shook my head, and she continued.

"You were such a prat to come to me about Lugh. If you hadn't, you might have actually saved him. But there are more of us Athaira loyals than you thought, and they were ready to charge in when I told them you were here."

Everything suddenly made sense. How the enemies had known so much about our every move. Why Saoirse's vision had been muddied about someone with red hair—it had been pink hair all along. And Imogen must have overheard the details about the back gates, and that was how she'd let the traitors into the castle.

I jumped when another chunk of rock slammed into the ground behind us. Glancing up at Lugh, my heart pounded. The close was caving in on itself, and we were surrounded by a dozen enemies.

"What do we do?" I whispered to my mate, hoping he heard me beneath the rumble of the earth. Power still sparked across his skin. The magic he'd called upon to bring his spear to himself had caused the avalanche, but there was nothing he could do to stop it now.

He glanced up at the shifting floor above us. "We're going to have to fight."

"What about Saoirse?" I asked. "She's unconscious, Lugh."

"I'll take Saoirse," a voice called from behind us .

I whirled toward the new arrival, and my heart tripped when Uisnech whispered out of the darkness, Boudica, Warin, and ten other warriors following just behind him. His eyes flashed as they met mine, and he gave me a solemn nod. "I got your note."

"Thank the Morrigan," I muttered.

"Let's not go that far," Uisnech chattered. He scurried toward me and took Saoirse in his little green arms. As soon as he'd pulled her back, the warrior team strode in and formed a V behind me and Lugh.

Sucking in a deep breath, I turned and grinned at Imogen. "Well, looks like you're not the only one who knows how to call for backup."

With a high-pitched scream, she raced toward us, blade raised over her head like something out of a horror film. I whisked two hidden daggers from my vest and hurled them through the air. They thunked into the armoured bodies of the two closest attackers. Blood spread from the wounds, but they didn't slow the fae down.

The close erupted into chaos. Warriors beside me flew into battle, and Lugh wielded his spear. I grabbed two more daggers and held my ground, waiting for the enemy to come closer. One rushed toward me, dark hair hidden beneath a black cap, orange eyes flashing with rage. He held two swords, and they spun like a whirlwind of pain.

He sliced them toward me, but I danced back. I threw a dagger, and it hit him square in the head. He thunked to the ground, revealing another enemy hidden behind him. She had fierce, shortly-cropped purple hair, and she was holding a bow and arrow.

With a gasp, I ducked down just in time to feel the whistle of the arrow soar over my head. A loud crunch echoed from behind me as it sank into one of my friends. Gritting my teeth, I glanced behind me to find one of the warriors who'd been guarding Saoirse now down on the ground.

Uisnech's little green ears twitched in fear, and then he pulled Saoirse further into the shadows.

The ranger drew another arrow, and I flattened myself on the ground before rolling to the side. The arrow skittered off the stone and ricocheted into the air. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Lugh whirling, spear sparking with electric energy.

A rock slammed into the ground by my face.

Heart hammering, I looked up. The ground above us had cracked. Any minute now, and we'd all be toast. We had to get out of here.

"A way has opened back here!" The hobgoblin's screech came shooting through the chaos.

"Retreat!" I jumped to my feet and screamed the words at my comrades. "The close is caving in! Retreat!"

Twisting on my feet, I rushed back to hook my arm around Saoirse's waist. Uisnech looked up at me, green eyes spread wide.

"You've got her other side?" I demanded .

He nodded. "Yes, my noble friend."

"Come on. Let's get out of here." I pushed forward. Saoirse dangled helplessly between us, but we inched away from the fight in a hasty retreat. As I glanced behind us, I could still see the warriors fighting. They were protecting our retreat, taking down the enemy one by one as the walls literally fell on top of their heads.

Uisnech pointed at the crack that had formed in the walls. A dim light speared the hole, a beacon of safety amidst the doom.

And then a figure rose out of the darkness. Fiona and her ashen hair, her eyes alight with fire. She grinned as she raised her arms. Magic crackled, bouncing across her skin like lightning.

The three of us came to a sudden stop, and Uisnech let out a little shriek.

I let go of Saoirse. Uisnech took her weight, and then I angled my body in front of them, blocking them from Fiona's view.

"When you try to kill a fae," the female said, lightning crackling up to the thundering floor, "you should know her power, her skill. Every time a blade swings through the air, it gives me power. So you and every other idiot fae in this close have only charged my magic. And look at me now."

She was charged all right. Bright white sparks shot along her arms and legs, burning up her clothes as they went. Her hair was alight with her power. It swirled in the air like strands of pure lightning.

"Move out of my way, Morrigan lover, or I will make you move." Her voice was low, quiet, dangerous.

But I was pretty damn dangerous myself.

"Duck low, hobgoblin," I whispered urgently, my heart hammering against my ribs. I had no idea if this was going to work, but I had to trust my gut. I had to trust my mate.

Uisnech let out a little chirp. I knew without looking that he had fallen face-first onto the ground and that he had taken Saoirse along with him.

Fiona cocked her head when I held my hand out to my side. "Whatever do you think you're doing, Morrigan lover?"

"You'll see. But you should come up with a better insult than that. You're just reminding me of why I fight." I curled my hand into trembling claws and braced my core. Power flickered around me, just slightly, as I ground my teeth. The magic from Lugh's spear rippled toward me, but then it vanished just as fast.

Pulling a deep breath in through my nose, I parted my lips and whispered, "Lugh."

The bond between us snapped tight, and suddenly his eyes were on my back. The power of his nightmare wraith shot toward me, and I gasped as it slammed hard into my soul. Wind whipped my hair, and a thousand tiny strands of fire licked up from the ground to surround me.

"What's going on?" Fiona narrowed her eyes, and her own magic became a crackling storm around her body. "Stop it right now!"

The wind grew stronger and stronger around my hand, and then suddenly, something solid slammed into my palm. I closed my fingers around it and grinned, twisting it sideways so that the five points were now aimed right at her chest.

"Lugh's spear." Fiona's eyes widened. "But you can't. No one can wield it but him."

"Oh, but I can."

She screamed and launched toward me with her lightning magic hurtling straight at my heart. I pulled back the spear and threw, putting all of my fae strength behind it. It soared through the air, the glistening tips flashing with magic.

It collided with Fiona, and her body buckled, curling around the points. Blood sprayed the rubble. Magic flashed through the rumbling close, the lightning vanishing in a cloud of black dust. The world went eerily silent.

Uisnech stepped up to my side and peered down at the fae's broken body. Her lifeless eyes stared up at the crumbling ceiling.

"Is that it, my noble friend?" he asked.

I cupped my hand around his face, my heart aching. "That's it, Uisnech. For now."