36. Arthur

“Maeve!” I yelled, struggling against my captors as Blake swept in and dragged Maeve away. She called after us, tears streaming down her beautiful face, but her father – her father, what the fuck? – bustled her away so we couldn’t get her. My heart shattered into pieces as I reached for her, unable to get near her.

The green guards of the Seelie Court had learned their lesson from handling Corbin. At least twenty guards pounced on me, holding my arms down as they tightened my bonds. I lifted my head, searching across the barrows for Maeve, but she’d already been lost in the sea of green and black.

The guards dragged us away from the fire and dumped us in the middle of a clearing. Hundreds of fae crowded into the space. They passed wooden cups and plates of fruit and honey cakes between them. They stopped when they saw us, hands frozen halfway to mouths. Whispers circulated. I caught the gleam of bone knives glinting under flickering lanterns.

All eyes fell on us.

“These are the witches who’ve kept us imprisoned here for centuries,” the guard cried. “Our righteous and noble King has ordered their deaths. See that justice is done on behalf of all fae.”

The crowd moved around us, chanting and clamoring for our deaths. One of the fae struck out at Rowan, slashing a claw across his face. Rowan cried out as blood flowed down his cheek.

“Get away from him,” I growled, heaving my body up and throwing myself at the fae. I knocked him to the ground, but with my hands tied behind me I could do little more than flay about like a maniac. Two far darrigs landed on my back, claws slashing at my shoulders, and threw me down on my face, sitting on my legs so I couldn’t get up again.

I wish I had my bloody sword. Corbin was probably right and there was some spell that destroyed or repelled anything iron from entering. I’d have made a spell like that if I were a fae. I hoped like hell the blade was at least back at the castle, so I could be buried with it. Flynn made that for me for my twenty-first birthday?—

Wait a second…I have an idea.

Corbin was on one side of me, out cold. Lovely, just when I actually needed him to be a know-it-all git. I managed to toss the fae off and roll on to my side, jabbing Flynn in the leg.

“Oi, you lay off me!” Flynn yelped. “It’s bad enough those little blighters are going to string us up by our bollix?—”

“Just shut up and listen to me. This is just like a lucid dream, basically? We can control certain things. We can make stuff happen?”

“I don’t fecking know! I think Maeve is in charge, not us.” Flynn jerked his head back just as a fae jabbed at him with a bone knife. The blade skimmed his collarbone, making a long, shallow cut. “Mother Mary, that stings like a jellyfish in a lemon bath?—”

“Maeve!” I yelled, hoping like hell my voice carried over the laughing and shrieking of the fae. “Give me a sword!”

A fae kicked me in the head. Loud ringing pounded in my ears, and the sounds of the revels dulled and dimmed. My sword…

The single thought pushed through the pain as the fae kicked and bit me, again and again. Maeve, I need my sword…

I had no idea if she heard me, but I had to hope she did.

A sharp pain arced up my side, momentarily blinding me. I rolled away from the source of the pain, my body moving slowly, so slowly. Something heavy landed in my fingers. I closed my hand around it, hoping it was some part of a fae I could mangle, but knowing things were rapidly turning against me.

My chest soared as I felt the familiar weight of my leather hilt. My sword. I don’t know how she did it, but Maeve got it here for me.

And now I’m going to seriously fuck up some fae.

The fae kept up their attacks but I stopped trying to fight them. Instead, I inched my body forward, climbing up the blade, placing my hands over either side of it and rubbing the vines against them.

A moment later, the sword cut through and I popped free. My hand fumbled for the hilt again. My fingers closed around it, and I tensed.

Another fae leapt at me, bone blade raised high. I rolled over on my stomach, using the momentum to swing my arm up. The sword sang through the air before its heavy weight swung down. The blade sliced through the fae’s arm, lopping the limb off below the elbow.

The fae stared, eyes bugging, as its severed arm flopped to the ground. He only started to scream when a fountain of green blood spewed from the stump.

The cry was taken up by the other fae, who leapt back from us, their eyes wide with fear.

“Iron!”

I leapt to my feet, landing in a strong stance. Ignoring the throbbing in my head, I swung the sword in a wide arc. The fae darted away, desperate to avoid contact with the blade. Not one of them even stepped forward to help the one I’d maimed, who clutched his stump and howled. Iron and metals made from it were poison to the fae. That was why the blade slid through them so easily.

Two more darted forward, trying to grab my arms. I took a nasty slice out of one’s shoulder and it collapsed, shrieking with pain. The fae leapt back further, cries of panic echoing through their ranks.

“Stay back, you poxy bastards!” I yelled, waving the sword one last time before turning away to saw through my friends’ bonds. Flynn’s shoulder was in a bad way, his arm hanging limp and useless. Dried blood caked one side of Rowan’s face, and his usually tidy dreadlocks jutted out in all directions.

And Corbin…even after I cut away his bond, he still lay there like a corpse.

Rage burned inside me as I realized what that might mean.

I turned back just as the fae started to creep forward again. A tall flame rose from my hand. I gathered the power within me, forming the fire into a glowing ball. I lobbed it into the crowd of fae, watching in satisfaction as it caught on clothing and garlands, sending three fae rolling to the earth, their bodies ablaze. The fae rushed about, gibbering and panicking as flames leapt through the crowd, catching on clothing and skin.

That’s for Corbin, you bastards.

I raised another ball of fire in my palm, holding it aloft. “Listen to me!” I yelled at the panicking fae. “I want to know exactly where the king has taken Maeve, and if you don’t want your entire court to burn, I suggest you tell me, now.”