He turned, moving fast through the water. I followed close behind.
“Where does this open up?” I asked in a whisper.
“Not far from the shore. If we can get to the water, they won’t be able to scent us out. We can swim a few miles, and then you can find the athame. As soon as you can get it, this is all over.”
“And you believe this blade is nearby because a witch grunted something. Near, but it might have been fear.”
“We are low on options for survival. Or rather, you are. I can return from the dead.”
“Why would the fuath want me dead? I have nothing to do with this. Perhaps I could bargain with them. I could give you over to the fuath in exchange for my freedom. They could torture the answers out of you,” I suggested.
“Mmmm,” his deep, rich voice thrummed over my skin. “But you wouldn’t do that.”
“Because you know I’m a good person?”
“Because I don’t die, and you would not get far from me. And moreover, if you were seriously considering it, you wouldn’t have told me.”
“Fine. But everything has become a lot more complicated since we last negotiated our contract. We now have a whole fortress full of possessed knights after us, wanting me dead. We need to renegotiate our terms.”
“I don’t know why you think we have a contract. You’ll just do what I tell you to do. That’s our contract.”
“Of course. I don’t know why I expected someone who brutally kidnapped me to be reasonable.”
“I believe the brutal part was when you shot me.”
Whatever. I’d just keep my mouth shut and the dagger ready. We were temporarily working together, but this man was my enemy just as much as the rest.
Chapter 16
His arm brushed mine again, and a ripple of his magic shivered over my skin.
“Why are these tunnels so small?” I asked.
“Because they were built by human crusaders a thousand years ago when they invaded.”
Rays of silver light glimmered at the end of the tunnel. They shone over worn, stone stairs that led upwards.
I glanced at Lyr. A few rays of light just highlighted the perfect planes of his face. The word sublime rang in my head. Beauty and death linked in one man. He was like the underworld itself—unknowable, concealed. He kept secrets about himself. Like death, Lyr was a mystery.
I could hear him whispering a spell under his breath, and his magic washed over me.
When we reached the stairs, he turned to me and whispered, “I’ve chanted a spell that will protect us from the spirits, but it won’t last forever. A few minutes, maybe? In the next moments, when we exit the tunnel, we run across the street. We leap over the wall’s edge into the ocean.”
His body looked completely tense as he stepped up the stairs. I reached for the dagger holstered at my thigh.
I whispered another protection spell, and I heard Lyr call on shadows to conceal us again. With the shadows around us, I could hardly see him. He was a silhouette now, like the light wasn’t quite touching him. When I looked down at my own body, I saw that shadows cloaked me too.
We reached the top of the stairs, and he paused in the entrance. The coast looked clear. Across the street, a stone wall overlooked the ocean. All we had to do was cross the street. Then, the ocean was our protection.
I whispered another spell—quietly—for speed.
From here, I could hear the waves crashing against the rock. We were so close to the sea.
Please tell me it’s not shallow enough to break my legs when I hit the rocks.
Lyr turned to me, his blue eyes piercing the shadows.
He nodded once—the signal to go. Then, he moved like the wind across the cobblestones.
I hiked up my dress to my knees and broke into a run behind him, darting across the street, propelled by my spell for speed. The sea wind whipped over me.
Lyr reached the wall first, then turned to look for me. When his blue eyes went wide, my heart lurched.
That’s when I felt someone gripping my hair from behind, pulling me back.
In the next moment, they were all surrounding me—all the possessed fae knights, swords drawn.
Midir stood before me, a sinister grin on his features. He pointed his sword at me. “You’ll be staying with us, Daughter of Malgven.”
How did the fuath know who I was?
By the stone wall, Gwydion pointed his sword at Lyr’s neck.
God of the deep, I hadn’t been fast enough.
“What do you want, exactly?” I asked.
Midir—or the fuath possessing him—stared down at me, his red hair bright against the night sky.
“We’re after your kingdom,” he said in a singsong voice.
My heart thundered against my ribs. That’s what they wanted? It didn’t exist anymore. What the hells was wrong with them?
The Nameless One—our unseen attacker—destroyed it. The dark fae who slaughtered my mother, who stole my true power, and sank the whole thing.
“It’s underwater,” I snarled. “Off the coast of Cornwall. Feel free to take what’s left. It’s all yours.”
“Is that what you think? You don’t—” A blur of movement cut him short. Lyr had knocked Gwydion to the ground and snatched his sword, so fast it had looked like one swift movement. He pointed it at Gwydion’s neck.
“Aenor,” Lyr said in a calm voice. “Get into the ocean.”
The fuath began to surround Lyr. None of them really cared if he slit Gwydion’s throat. After all, the knight was just a host.
I stepped back to the wall, but I wasn’t going to leave without Lyr. How would he make it out of here? I needed him to make sure Gina was okay. Plus—I needed to know why the fuath were talking about my kingdom.
Melisande lunged for Lyr, piercing his shoulder with her sword.
I threw my dagger at her, catching her in the neck. Blood spurted from her throat, and she dropped to the ground.
Sadly, I was fresh out of weapons.
Lyr stumbled, blood pouring from his shoulder, just below his collarbone.
He’d shifted again—crown glowing gold, tattoos sliding over his skin like living creatures. He snarled like a wild beast, then picked up Gwydion by his throat. Blood poured from the wound in Lyr’s chest.
I lunged for Melisande’s body, pulling the weapon from her throat. Her blood slid off the blade onto the pavement.
We were wildly outnumbered—completely surrounded now.
Midir pointed his sword at Lyr’s neck. “We will torture the truth out of you. Even if you can’t die. Walk back to the fortress the way you came.”
Now might be the time to unleash the attack spells I’d been keeping under wraps.
Low and under my breath, I chanted a fae spell. Lotherus neachan angou.
Green sea magic crackled down my arm, then shot out of the end of the dagger. I whirled, using the blade to conduct the magic with precision. I hit the knights in a wide arc of sparkling magic.
It wouldn’t kill them, but it would certainly knock them on their butts for a while. When I’d flattened them all, I met Lyr’s gaze.
We both turned fast for the wall. As I scrambled over the ledge, I gripped tightly to the blood-slicked blade. Just as I started to leap, a sword caught me from behind, ripping though the dress and my skin.