27. Lira
27
LIRA
M y wings fluttered, and a mild ache coursed through their base. Tavish pushed me behind him, startling me.
Refusing to cower behind my mate, I stepped to the side just as a man with a bruise-colored face came out of the hallway in front of us.
Stomach dropping, I remembered exactly who the man was and understood the tension and terror churning through our bond into me.
This was Struan, the guard who had gleefully placed the chains on my wings and wished me to fail in the gauntlet.
Why had Lorne taken us here ?
Struan’s eyes flashed. “You shouldn’t have come here.”
“Everyone, move back,” Tavish growled as his wings stretched outward to hide Eiric, Finnian, Caelan, and me from Struan’s view.
The swirl of Tavish’s magic had an inky sensation, which meant one thing—he’d called on his nightmare magic to use against them. “I should’ve known not to trust you.”
I batted past Tavish’s onyx wing to see Lorne’s face. I had a hard time believing he’d turn on us. If he’d continued to play me for a fool after I’d chosen to trust him again, I wasn’t sure I would ever trust another Unseelie beyond Tavish, Finnian, and Caelan.
Lorne dropped his sword and wrapped his arms around his body. “My King, no.” He took in a ragged breath. “I swear to you, it’s not what you think.”
Struan threaded his fingers into his pale-green hair and clutched his head, then sagged to his knees.
Small flutters of wings caught my attention as a little girl flew into the room. She couldn’t have been older than ten, and her crystal-blue eyes widened as she jerked back. Her face blanched, and she opened her mouth.
Adrenaline shot through me, and I flew over Lorne and Struan and reached the girl in time to cover her mouth. “Please, don’t,” I whispered, pulling her back to my chest. She bit down on my fingers, digging her teeth into my flesh, and I wanted to scream.
I hissed, and Nightbane appeared beside us. He snarled, drool dripping from his teeth as he took in the threat toward me.
The little girl’s jaw went slack, and I yanked my hand free from her mouth to see my honey-colored blood dripping down the front of the girl’s pale-pink nightgown.
She whimpered, and her small body shook.
A lump formed in my throat as my stomach churned. “Nightbane, calm down. She’s just scared.”
“I’m not scared of anyone.” She lifted her chin despite the way her body quivered. “Release my father from your illusions, or I’ll kill you all.”
Finnian squatted next to Lorne’s sagging body and swiped the guard’s sword from the floor. He pointed the edge of the blade at the young girl and beamed. “Aren’t you a little shadowflare? Your bite is ferocious for one so small.”
“Isla, go back to your room,” Struan said slowly from where he cowered on the floor. “They aren’t here to harm you.”
“But I can’t lose you, Father.” Her bottom lip stuck out.
My heart shattered. Tavish could not continue down this road. Tavish, we should leave.
They know we’re here, he replied, his irises turning the stormy gray that showed he was angry or out of control. In this moment, he felt both.
Eldrin already knows we’re nearby, so it’s not like being here will give Eldrin and the others an advantage. Memories of leaving my parents when I was around this little girl’s age slammed into me. The pain of feeling abandoned was forever seared into my soul, even though it hadn’t been the truth. No one deserved to go through that, especially not a young girl trying to protect her father from the strongest Unseelie alive.
When Tavish closed his eyes, I didn’t need our connection to know the turmoil he was enduring, wanting to give in to my request but also feeling that, by doing so, he’d be exposing me to harm.
“If we release the illusions from your father, will you promise not to scream or cause us problems?” I lifted a brow and squatted next to her. “We were told you might have weapons you’d be willing to give us so we can protect ourselves.”
Nightbane hunkered down at my side, ready to attack. He didn’t snarl, but he clearly saw the girl as a threat.
She placed her hands on her hips and scowled. “You came to our house and attacked my father. What do you have to say for yourself?”
I mashed my lips together, trying not to laugh. Struan might be a douchebag, but he’d raised a brave and smart girl. “You’re right. That’s why King Tavish will release both your father and Lorne from their nightmares.”
Eiric headed back to the window to keep watch.
“I suggest we depart before releasing our enemies.” Caelan hovered over Struan, who was breathing raggedly on the floor.
“Wait. You’re King Tavish?” Isla’s jaw went slack, and she glanced from me to him. “And you’re the sunscorched from the gauntlet.”
“The one and only.” Finnian winked at her. “Ever since Lira returned to Ardanos, none of us have been bored.”
Isla’s brows furrowed. “Then why are you hurting Father? He has always been in King Tavish’s favor and always proclaimed that the king was a decent man to those who followed the rules.” Her body stiffened. “But I don’t agree with him now.”
Shock filtered to me from Tavish, and Finnian rocked back on his heels. “Decent man? Not sure if that’s how I’d describe him.”
The magic rumbling through our connection faded as Tavish swallowed loudly. “Is that the truth?”
Struan inhaled quickly and straightened. “It is, Your Majesty.”
“Then why did you tell us we shouldn’t be here?” Tavish tilted his head, assessing every reaction.
“Because of my daughter.” Struan gestured toward the little girl. “Lorne should’ve come alone and not brought all of you here. Eldrin is tracking you.”
Satisfied that Struan wasn’t an imminent threat, I moved back and threaded my fingers in Nightbane’s fur to ease his worry.
“I… didn’t…” Lorne gritted. “Have… a… choice. They need weapons.”
The longer we remained here, the bigger the threat was to their family. We need to get out of here. Eldrin will punish the little girl as well as the others.
I had so many questions. Struan had seemed extremely loyal to Eldrin during my time in the gauntlet.
“Where are the weapons? We’ll arm ourselves and leave.” Tavish pulled his wings into his back as the last bit of his magic fizzled into nothing, releasing both men from their nightmares.
Isla spun on her heels and waved for us to follow. “They’re in my room, back here.”
“Her room?” Caelan’s eyebrows rose.
“Please tell me the weapons aren’t those toys Lira brought with her from Earth.” Finnian shook his head. “They wouldn’t even reach the heart.”
Even in a dire situation, my pocketknife was a joke to him. In the human world, you could cause some damage with it if you caught someone off guard, but apparently, even toddlers here in Ardanos were trained with bigger knives.
“Yes, her room .” Struan stood and tugged on his gray tunic. “No one would expect me to hide weapons there because her room is across the house from mine. If they questioned my loyalties, they’d expect anything I’d hidden to be near me. ”
That made sense, but Eldrin was smart. Things would’ve been a whole lot easier if he weren’t.
“Come on.” Isla gripped my hand, dragging me down the hallway. A small bathroom sat on one side, and her room was across from it.
Luckily, she’d taken the hand she hadn’t bitten because my injured one still smarted from her bite. I glanced down, noticing that some of my blood had dripped onto the floor. I pressed my hand against my shirt to keep more blood from spilling.
Nightbane ran in front of me, scoping out the area with Tavish at my back. When we entered Isla’s room, a sharp ache shot through my chest.
Her room was bare, with only a small mattress set against the wall and a closet with a few outfits and one other nightgown. She had one pair of boots, and I realized how truly dire the people’s situation was here. One small window allowed her to see outside.
Struan marched in and passed Tavish and me, heading into the closet. He squatted at the bottom and removed a dagger from his side, then slid it into a small divot in the grimy floor. A portion of the floor lifted.
Taking hold of one end, he pulled up the cover, and I wanted to groan. There were three swords, a sling like the one I’d used in the gauntlet, and a bow and arrows. We had seven people in our group, excluding Struan and Isla, and six weapons, including Lorne’s sword. One of us wouldn’t have a weapon, and the one who carried the sling would have to find something to use in it. This wasn’t the mother lode I’d been hoping for.
“This is everything you have?” Tavish’s head jerked back. “Is there anything else?”
“It was hard enough to get these.” Struan grabbed the stash and tossed it at our feet. “We snuck them out over the past few days so Eldrin wouldn’t detect anything. We believed you were dead.”
I sighed, trying to make sense of everything. The more I learned, the more confused I got. “Then why were you hoarding weapons? Didn’t you expect Eldrin to be your king?”
“We’d hoped—” he started.
Tavish’s head snapped toward the window. “It’s Eldrin. He’s here.”
“Guys,” Eiric interjected. “We’ve got a problem. The guards are heading this way.”
Blast. He must have tracked my illusion magic. Tavish snatched up the swords, leaving one on the floor. “They’ll know you’re working with us, so you need to protect your daughter. She’s innocent in all of this, but if you betray me—”
“I won’t.” Struan lowered his head. “I am loyal to the rightful king. That has always been my stance.”
My chest expanded with so much love for Tavish. He’d always cared about the innocents, but his giving Struan a second chance reminded me more of the boy I’d known before our worlds drastically changed.
When I peeked out, I saw four guards heading straight toward the window, and there were probably more since the window was so small it limited my view.
Take this. Tavish handed me one sword, his eyes burning brightly. And, sprite, I need to know you’ll do whatever it takes to keep yourself safe. Don’t mourn these men who turned against us. They made that choice… not us.
I nodded, not wanting to waste time with words. We hurried into the hallway, meeting Eiric, Calean, Lorne, and Finnian there.
“Give me the bow and arrows,” Eiric demanded, holding out her hand. “I can use that.”
I wanted to argue, but Caelan took the sling. The fact that Lorne had nothing didn’t sit well with me, but that concern vanished when the rush of wings sounded right outside the house.
“Group together!” Eiric shouted and raised her hands, clutching the bow in one and the quiver in the other.
“What is she—” Struan started, but I didn’t let him finish.
I took his arm and tugged him into the middle of our group. With his hold on Isla, she followed just as the roof began to shake. I wished like anything that I could help with my water magic, but with everything we’d gone through, I was drained.
Pieces of the ceiling fell on us as the guards flew in through the window and stormed toward us. I held up the sword, ignoring the ache in my fingers and the blood from the bite marks coating the hilt. The muscles in my back trembled, and my wings throbbed from the injury I hadn’t finished healing.
Even with the ceiling falling hard on them, the guards kept moving forward, led by a female whose hardened eyes stared straight at me like I was the ultimate prize.
I probably was since Eldrin wanted my blood.
The ceiling above our heads broke apart, and Eiric threw the pieces at the guards as our group flew through the new hole in the roof.
My wings throbbed, and Tavish’s arm wrapped around my waist, easing some of my weight. His carrying me would slow us down, especially since we were surrounded. There had to be fifty guards around us.
Eldrin smirked from behind two guards, flying slightly above their heads. “Dear cousin, you can’t win. Surrender, and I won’t kill Caelan and Finnian upon recapture. Fight me, and I’ll make sure they perish in front of your eyes.”
Get away as soon as you can, Lira. I’ll distract them. Rage boiled inside of him like I’d never seen before, and the thrumming of his magic took over. He said out loud, “I will never submit to you. No matter what, you won’t capture us… not again.”
Before I could do anything, Tavish released me, and his power channeled out of him. I could see the moment Tavish directed his nightmare illusions toward each person, and darkness slithered across my skin, hiding us. The problem was that it wasn’t as strong as it had been, meaning he hadn’t recovered.
A guard screamed and raced toward Tavish with his sword held high. He swung down, trying to end whatever terror he saw.
Ice shot from Finnian’s hands in conjunction with him swinging his sword, and Eiric called her earth magic to aid her.
Everyone fought, and even Isla used her ice magic against the guards beside her father.
“Get the Seelie princess,” Eldrin commanded. “And make sure she doesn’t shed too much blood. We need it for the veil before the Seelie comes. She has to be in the same spot or near it. Better yet, anyone who has snow magic, blow it toward that section so we can see their outline.”
Five guards soared toward me. I ignored the torment ravaging my body and lifted my sword. I refused to flee.
They searched for me, unsure where I might be with the darkness that cloaked me until the female guard used her magic. Snow pelted us as she said, “Look, the snow hits there and not the ground. Someone must be there.”
My stomach knotted, and I realized I should’ve moved farther away.
The five guards circled me, and I tried to remember every type of self-defense I’d learned from my time in Ardanos and on Earth. I’d been trained to protect myself.
The female nodded, and all five soared toward me at once. Only the woman had her sword out, while the other four must be planning to restrain me. I had to play this smart.
Lira, I said hide! Tavish shouted. I can’t hide us with darkness much longer. I’m using too much magic. He can’t sense you if the rest of us stay here. Take the girl with you and go.
I refuse to leave you like this, and she won’t leave her father. If she was anything like me, she’d stay in one spot, and forcing her to leave would make it easier to find us.
The female guard swung her sword, and I lifted mine, the clash of metal confirming her suspicion. I kicked my feet out, hitting two of the men in the chest and using them to flip over. The other two guards crashed into each other as I turned myself upright again.
Unshed tears burned my eyes, but I gritted my teeth. The only way to end this was to kill Eldrin. Then the threat to the throne would be gone.
More snow spun around us as I turned, watching Eldrin track the magic surrounding us. This had to be it. I would take down the son of a bitch who threatened Tavish. The person who had done all of this to him.
With my sword at my side, I pushed through the agony and raced toward him. I wanted to catch him off guard the same way he had done to me in the tub.
I’d drawn the sword back, ready to drive it into his heart, when his head snapped in my direction. He flew backward, and my sword hit air.
“I know that isn’t Tavish, but I can feel his magic coming off you.” He smirked.
I gritted my teeth, though my wings were growing sluggish. The injury was catching up to me. I had to act fast, and I swung the sword again. Each time I moved forward, Eldrin moved just in time for the weapon to miss him.
Something behind him flashed brightly, like fire, and I paused.
Had the Seelie finally arrived? If so, I couldn’t be happier to see my people. They had come in the nick of time.
“It’s time to surrender, Eldrin,” I said. Death would be too easy for him. He deserved capture and torture. “The Seelie are here.”
Eldrin glanced around, and another line of fire pulsed closer. Fire that was thick and signaling an alarm. The Seelie wouldn’t warn the Unseelie that they’d arrived, leaving only one explanation, especially with the sizable shape that could now be faintly seen slithering in the sky.
Dragon.