Chapter 22
22
I barely slept that night. My mind whirred; my heart pounded in my chest. Wraith Lugh didn't want me to know that the real fae still lurked deep inside of him. He wanted me to believe that there was no hope. Truth was, my Lugh must have been more in control of his body and his mind than the wraith realised.
He'd kept me alive. He'd fed me three times a day. Good meals, too. Sure, that wasn't much. He'd also attacked me and locked me up in a cage. But a nightmare wraith would never have let me live, nor cared that I needed sustenance to survive.
Lugh was alive, and he was trying to take control of his body again.
When the door cracked open and footsteps pounded toward my cell the next morning, I was ready for him. Now that I knew the truth, I had a purpose. Now that I had seen the light in his eyes, I had hope .
"Back against the wall. Same deal as before," he said.
With a deep breath, I jogged back, holding my body tight.
Lugh cracked open the cell door, and that was when I pounced. I was taking a massive risk, but it might be the only chance I had. My body whirled toward his, my fists outstretched. Shock flashed across the wraith's face as I made contact, my knuckles pounding deep into his flesh. He stumbled back, leaving the cell door hanging wide open.
I rushed forward, my feet pounding against the stone floor. He roared as he jumped from where he'd fallen. I might be strong, but I knew the wraith was even stronger. I had to make it up those stairs and out the door before he caught me.
Fists pumping by my sides, I raced up the stairs and threw open the door. And found myself face-to-face with a dozen hungry wraiths. They stood, eyes glassy, around a sparse corridor lit only by flickering torchlight. A few glanced my way, but they didn't really seem to notice my presence.
That's odd.
No time to worry about that. Wraith Lugh had reached the steps and would erase the distance between us within seconds.
I had to get out of here.
As I rushed forward, I chose a random fork in the corridor, flinging myself left instead of right.
Lugh roared from behind me. I kept running, my feet pounding, my lungs aching, my arms churning the air—
My feet tripped on something, slamming hard into a random object strewn across the floor. With my hands flying up to catch me, I launched forward. My knees made contact with the stone, and a sharp stab of pain lanced through my body.
Dazed, I glanced behind me to see Lugh storming down the corridor. His eyes were wild with anger, and his entire body brimmed with that unmistakable power that was his. He bore down on me, his nostrils flaring.
I grabbed the object from the floor, jumped to my feet, and held it before me.
It was...
The five-pointed tip of Lugh's broken spear.
I stared at it, dumbfounded. "Where the hell did you get this?"
Narrowing his eyes, he stormed toward me. I jumped back several feet, pointing the weapon's five sharp points right at his chest. "Careful. The spear might be broken, but I can still use it to stab you in the gut."
Lugh went still, and his voice was dark and dangerous when he finally spoke. "I can call all those wraiths in here within an instant. You'll be dead before you can take your next breath. "
I cocked my head. "Maybe. Or maybe you can just let me go."
Wraith Lugh might want to kill me, but the real Lugh would fight against that urge. It meant that I might have just enough time to get out of here alive. And save the rest of the world while I was at it.
"Hand it over," he said, his lips curling back into a snarl.
I arched my brow and lifted the spear just a tad higher. "You mean this old thing? Why would it even matter to you? It's broken."
"It is a powerful weapon," he countered.
Yeah, right. I could feel the spear just fine, and all the magic that had once resided within it was gone. It was still stabby, of course, but it no longer pulsed with power.
"It's dead. There's no magic here any longer."
He scowled. "A broken five-pointed spear is still a better weapon than one you'll ever wield."
I cocked my head and danced backward, waving the spear before me. "Last I checked, I am wielding it."
"Hand it over," he demanded.
"Why?" I shot back. "Tell me what you want with it."
He launched a hand toward me, but I was too quick on my feet. Darting to the side, I ducked low, out of his reach. He roared and rushed toward me. Heart racing, I whirled on my feet and ran. Up ahead, a door shone, daylight slipping through the cracks. All I had to do was get outside.
He was fast, but I was faster. I reached the door within an instant and pushed outside into the bright morning sun. The grass was soft beneath my feet as I raced across the lawn. I glanced around, getting my bearings. Hopefully, I could keep up my pace and make it back to the portal unscathed.
"Moira!" Lugh bellowed after me. "Stop! Give me the spear, or I'll kill your mate."
My feet faltered beneath me, and I slipped on the damp grass. Falling face-first toward the ground, I caught myself with the edge of the spear. Footsteps thundered toward me. I flipped onto my back and scrabbled away from Wraith Lugh, who stalked toward me with a deadly glint in his eye.
"I thought you said Lugh was already dead," I puffed, pushing up onto my feet. "You said he was gone. Forever."
"I lied," he sneered.
Wetting my lips, I took another step back and pointed the spear at his chest again. "Where is he? What have you done with him?"
"He lurks inside my mind." Wraith Lugh winced but continued his slow stalk toward me. "Quentin broke the spear, giving me control of the body. But still, Lugh remains inside. That's why I need the cauldron. As soon as the queen is destroyed, I will use it to fully exorcise Lugh from this form."
"How will the cauldron drive him out? I thought it was used to bring people back from the dead," I said, keeping him talking. I took another step back, stumbling a bit on a hidden tree root.
"The cauldron is a powerful object and can do far more than what you know. And it is the only thing strong enough to destroy Lugh completely. I intend to use it to melt the spear until it is nothing more than a sea of gold and silver. That should finally get him out of my head."
"Interesting." Another step back. "Unfortunately, I have no intention of giving you this half of the spear."
He matched my step with one of his own. "Put it down, Moira."
"What's wrong with those wraiths back there?" Another step back, and another step from Lugh. How long could I keep up this dance before he went on the attack? "They're just...standing around."
"It's daytime," he growled. "Wraiths can do little when the sun is in the sky."
Ah. Things were beginning to make a bit more sense now.
"But you don't seem to have any trouble at all with the sun." I darted back when Lugh took a swing at me. "In fact, you seem pretty lively to me."
Did that have anything to do with his connection to Lugh? Perhaps Lugh's existence inside of the wraith's body kept him a little more fae. He could walk in daylight, he had enhanced intelligence, and he had goals, plans, dreams.
"Are you sure you really want to get rid of Lugh?" I asked, pausing a moment in my retreat away from him. I'd reached the edge of the lawn. "If he's keeping you so...alert, maybe you'd be better off keeping him around for a long time."
The flicker in his soulless eyes told me everything I needed to know. Wraith Lugh had already considered this. He enjoyed the extra intelligence, the enhanced powers. With the fae inside of him, he was far stronger than he would be without.
"It is too big of a risk allowing him to live," he finally answered before narrowing his eyes. "Just as you have now proven that it is too big of a risk to allow you to live. I would have kept you safe for a time, Moira. Instead, you have forced my hand."
He launched toward me, catching me off guard. With a cry, I jumped back and swung the spear at his head. He knocked my blow aside as if it were nothing. I fell to the ground, teeth knocking together.
Wraith Lugh stormed toward me. I scrabbled back, grabbing the spear from where it had fallen to the ground.
As Lugh lurched closer, I jumped to my feet, whirling out of the way just as he threw his fists at my head. He stumbled forward, caught off guard by my movements.
I took that opportunity to throw all my weight behind the spear, jabbing it at his ribs.
But then I held my blow, stopping suddenly as the edge of the longest point brushed against his shirt. Heart beating hard, I stared up into his venomous face. Only a second longer, and I would have stabbed him right in the gut.
Tears burned my eyes as we stared each other down. I could still finish the blow. All it would take was another burst of fae strength, and the sharp points would sink deep into his skin. Caer's prophecy flashed in my mind. One day, I would kill my mate. This was the moment she had envisioned. She had seen us face off, and she had seen me sink the spear into Lugh's gut.
To save myself. To save my queen. And to save the world.
But I couldn't do it. He was Lugh. My mate. The other half of my soul. I couldn't stand here and watch the life drain out of his eyes, even if the wraith now controlled his body and his mind.
With a heavy sigh, I pulled back and let the spear fall to the ground by my feet. I had chosen my own damn fate this time. Fuck the prophecy, Lugh had always said. Well, if this wasn't a ‘fuck you' to the prophecy, then I didn't know what was.
Surprise flickered in his eyes.
"Why didn't you kill me?" he asked gruffly. "You had your chance. You held back."
"Because while you might be willing to destroy the one you love, I'm not." I brushed aside the tears and stepped toward him, despite all the warning bells clanging in my mind. "If I kill you, then I kill my mate." I shook my head. "No matter what happens, I will never do that."
"Caer's prophecy," he murmured. "You are supposed to kill me."
Once again, intoxicating power pulsed between us. The mating bond.
"Lugh?" I cocked my head and reached out toward him. "Is that you? Can you hear me?"
Wraith Lugh suddenly snapped back into control and roared, his eyes flashing with rage. "Stop that!"
The two Lughs were clearly battling for dominance inside of the man who stood before me now. With a deep breath, I plucked the spear from the ground. I pointed it at him, my hands shaking.
"Give up," I said, inching closer. "I know you're fighting him. Give up!"
Wraith Lugh whipped his head toward me and sneered. "Or you'll what? Stab me? You just proved you'd never do that."
He had a point. There had to be another way to get him out of Lugh's body. But how?
I glanced down at the spear. It all came back to this damn weapon. There was something about it. Something holding the fragments of Lugh together. Something keeping the wraith from fully taking control. The thing was...Lugh's soul wasn't inside the spear anymore. I could feel that it was gone. Instead, his soul was...
With a gasp, I looked up again. We'd been wrong about all of it. His soul had never truly been inside this weapon. It had been inside of his body, along with the wraith. They had existed side by side for decades. The only thing that had kept Lugh in control was the spear. Which meant, I didn't need to get Lugh back.
I need to get the wraith out.
Memories flashed through my mind. Pages of the books we'd searched when trying to find a way to defeat the wraiths. Nightmare wraiths weren't demons, but they were close enough.
"No," Wraith Lugh growled, his eyes going wide at the expression of understanding on my face. "Do not try it."
I took a step back, lifting the spear before me. Gritting my teeth, I dug the sharpest, longest point of the weapon into my palm. A stinging pain lanced through my hand. Droplets of blood fell onto the grass by my feet, painting the green strands red.
"Stop it!" Wraith Lugh screamed, an inhuman sound that scraped against my eardrums.
I lifted my hand, curling it into a fist, and let the blood drip onto the sharp points of the spear. Wraith Lugh stumbled back, shaking his head. But then suddenly, his footsteps stopped. His body froze, his eyes going wide.
My heart hammered my ribs. Was that my Lugh, taking control of the wraith's body?
I couldn't wait to find out.
With a deep breath, I closed the distance between us. Lugh shuddered as I lifted the shirt away from his chest. Meeting his eyes, my lips twisted into a sad smile.
"I hope this works," I whispered.
And then I shoved the ends of the spear into his skin. Lugh screamed. I didn't push far, too afraid the weapon would slice him in half if I put too much strength behind this blow. I clenched my teeth, holding onto one of his arms while my blood mixed with his.
He roared and ripped out of my grip, stumbling away like I'd burned him with a torch. His entire body began to shudder, and his eyes rolled back into his head. I dropped the spear like it was a scorpion, fear and horror churning through me.
Lugh collapsed. His body went still.
Heart pounding, I rushed toward him and fell to my knees by his side. He wasn't breathing. His entire body had gone still.
Sobbing, I leaned over him and checked for a pulse. I didn't feel one.
Sorrow churning through me, I threw back my head and screamed.
What the hell had I done?