As if she’d heard her son’s name in my thoughts, Savannah shot to her feet.
“What kind of creature is it, at least?” I asked, following her into the room my brother and nephew shared. “Give me an idea of what to expect. I’ll help you, okay? But you need to help me, too.”
She whirled, her eyes so wild that I drew back. “I’ve never seen it,” she breathed. “I can hear it, though. I hear it all the time! Like thunder!”
Savannah’s hands bunched into fists, and without warning, the necromancer started hitting herself in the head. Swearing, I caught hold of her arms. A shadow filled the doorway behind us, and I looked over my shoulder at Emma.
“Will you stay with her?” I asked tersely. There was no time to worry about the fact that I was about to leave Emma alone with the person who killed her husband.
“Of course. Go,” she said, grabbing Savannah’s wrists.
I turned and ran. As I flew down the stairs, I fought the urge to summon Laurie, thinking of how he’d called me a distraction. I focused on the bonds instead. Gil. Finn. I imagined their threads and tugged at them.
The distance between me and Gil made it clear he was in town. Finn was still in the garage struggling with his transition—he’d been a wolf for too long this time. Though I felt their responses instantly, I knew they wouldn’t be able to help me. I tried Lyari next. She didn’t appear, either. I opened the barn door and stepped outside, scanning the driveway and the distant tree lines. Cringing at what I was about to do, the syllables of Collith’s name formed in my mind.
Gwyn stepped out of the darkness.
She wore black leggings, thick boots, and a fur vest over a white shirt. Her blond hair hung to her waist in a braid adorned with wooden spikes. I blinked with genuine surprise, and the sight of her made my thoughts dissipate like mist. “You’ve been killing witches? Why?” I blurted.
The huntress twirled her sword, making it seem light as a feather, but I knew how heavy swords were now. I knew the strength that simple-looking maneuver required. Her blade caught the moonlight in a flash of silver as she answered, “Revenge, of course. You weren’t even a twinkle in your mother’s eye when I started hunting them. Most of the witches who cursed and entombed Creiddylad are long dead, but they have many, many descendants. I like to imagine screams from the other dimensions as I slaughter their bloodlines. With Creiddylad free, there’s no more need for discretion. It’s made the Hunt so much more enjoyable. I suppose I have you to thank for that, my dark queen.”
“Don’t call me that,” I said through my teeth.
There was more movement in the trees—the Wild Hunt, I discovered after I’d spared a glance in that direction. I hadn’t heard them arrive, but I’d been distracted by Savannah. Thunder, she said upstairs. That was how she’d described the sound of her pursuer. It made sense now.
Horses and human-shaped figures emerged from pockets of shadow. Like the last time I’d seen these fearsome riders, the dark-haired male sat in the center. Second-in-command, I thought. His eyes were fixed on me, gleaming with menace.
Turning back to me, Gwyn cocked her head. “Which part offends you? ‘Dark’ or ‘queen?’”
“Both. I am neither.”
“Still lying to ourselves, I see,” the faerie remarked, starting toward the barn. “Now, I’d love to discuss this further with you, but I have a hunt to finish. Perhaps afterward we could—”
I moved to put myself in her path. It was a pointless gesture; Gwyn might possess the ability to sift, and even if she didn’t, she was capable of cutting me down in a heartbeat. I could only hope a little intrigue would buy me time to think.
“I’m afraid your hunt ends here, Gwyn. Turn around and leave, right now,” I ordered with more bravado than I felt.
“Or what?” she questioned, sounding genuinely curious, just as I’d planned.
I met the huntress’s gaze without flinching. An idea had formed in my mind. A dark, terrible idea. “Or I’ll make you.”
There was a tense pause, and then Gwyn pointed her sword at me.
“That,” she said, ignoring how I’d stiffened. “That is why I couldn’t bring myself to end you when the time came. ’Twould be a shame to snuff out such a lovely flame. But you’re standing between me and what I want, Fortuna Sworn, which presents a problem. So now I must ask myself which is more important… revenge or desire?”
Gwyn’s gaze went from my face to the window above my head, as if she were really torn between the two. Then she stepped toward me again, flipping her sword, and I knew she’d made her choice.
But learning that Gwyn had been killing for her own agenda, even before I’d freed her, felt like the missing piece to yet another puzzle.
“You’re the one who’s been killing heads of the Unseelie bloodlines, too,” I said flatly, remembering Micah’s accusation in the throne room. Someone is murdering council members, Your Majesty, and Fortuna Sworn has made multiple threats against this Court.
This time, the faerie across from me said nothing, which seemed like answer enough. I quirked a brow in an attempt to keep her attention on my face and continued, “You made one vital mistake, Gwyn of the Wild Hunt.”
Her mouth curled with amusement. “And what mistake is that?”
Ignoring the quiver of fear in my belly, I closed the space between us. Gwyn wasn’t alarmed or threatened; her posture remained relaxed. Her gaze was bright with curiosity. Perks of being a creature that couldn’t be killed, I supposed. I smiled up at her, making it soft and inviting, and I willed my power to float around me like a perfume. To entice, and allure, and distract. For once, I welcomed the seductive side of what I was… and it worked. Gwyn couldn’t take her eyes off my mouth.
She was still watching it when I crooned, answering her question at last, “You brought a sword to a gunfight.”
Gwyn was so preoccupied with the beauty she saw that she reacted a beat too late as I took out my Glock, raised it, and shot her in the chest.
The force of it sent the faerie to her knees. In an instant, her riders surged from the woods and flew toward us with supernatural speed, weapons raised. I saw the flash of fangs and a glimpse of yellow eyes. I raised the Glock again, and I brought my other hand up, palm-out, a physical gesture that helped to ready my power. But Gwyn surprised me by making an abrupt gesture, her meaning clear. Stop. The oncoming figures immediately halted. The dark-haired one glared at me with a promise written in the lines around his mouth.
Good doggy, I thought. His eyes went black, as if he’d heard the taunt.
“You’ve surprised me,” Gwyn commented, drawing my attention back to her. She knelt in the snow, holding a gauntlet-covered hand against her wound. Blue blood already stained the metal. Gwyn winced and added, “Was that a holy bullet? Hurts like one.”
“As holy as it gets,” I said, grateful when my voice didn’t shake. “I aimed for your heart, but I’m not entirely convinced you have one. Leave with your hunters, right now, or you won’t like what comes next.”
She laughed, and blood splattered her lips. “I am immortal, foolish creature. I will heal from this.”
“Good thing I wasn’t trying to kill you, then,” I countered.