Chapter Thirty-Nine
Remy and I didn’t do much talking after that. We didn’t do much sleeping, either, despite my insistence that he needed his rest. Remy had disagreed, and he’d been very, very persuasive.
“Where to now?” I asked.
“South Sligo,” Remy said. “Knocknashee is the hill that holds the entrance to the gateway. Its name comes from two old Irish words, cnoc and sidhe, meaning ‘faerie hill.’”
That was a pretty blunt translation. “So, another legend turns out to be true.”
“Most of them are in the Emerald Isle,” the driver said. He was an older Caucasian man with a shock of white hair, weathered skin, and an Irish accent thicker than Brendan’s.
“Fintan, meet Raine,” Remy said. “Raine, this is Fintan. He and his family are cousins of mine on Brendan’s side.”
“Nice to meet you, Fintan.”
“Pleasure’s mine.” He met Remy’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “Got a call right before you landed. The other group just arrived at Knocknashee.”
I stiffened, but Remy only said, “How many?”
“Two blokes and a woman who near knocked the eyes out of my nephew. A raven-haired goddess, he called her.”
“Zenobia,” I all but growled. I doubted that Daegal had another goddess-gorgeous, raven-haired family member.
Remy shrugged. “Probably. The two main participants in the duel are allowed to bring one witness each to observe the fight. You’re mine, so Zenobia must be Daegal’s witness.”
I glanced at the SUV following us. “What about Mandal?”
“He, like Malina, is allowed into the First Realm, but they have to stay behind during the duel.”
“I took Mandal’s spot as your witness?” Maybe Remy would have felt better with him in his corner versus me. I took a deep breath. “Would you rather Mandal go with you instead?”
Remy paused. The sudden silence felt like a gut punch.
“It’s okay.” I forced a smile that hurt like a cracked scab. “I want whatever makes this easier for you.”
“No. You’re my lover. It should be you.”
Remy’s tone made shivers run over me, and it wasn’t caused by his power this time. He sounded almost feral, and the look in his eyes made my heart pound. I might have a Beast inside me, but something lurked in Remy’s gaze I’d never seen before.
“My hesitation has nothing to do with wanting Mandal there more than you, Raine. It’s what you’ll see, as I told you.”
“What will I see?” I asked very softly.
Remy looked away. A breath left me that I hadn’t realized I’d been holding while trapped by that predator’s stare.
“What I’m truly capable of.”
He’d said something similar last night. I’d brushed it off. Hell, even five minutes ago I would’ve said that nothing Remy could do would shock me. Now I wasn’t so sure.
We passed the rest of the ride in silence.
An hour later, our caravan stopped in a rural farmland area. Lights from a few houses dotted the base of what Remy told me was Mount Ox. We parked and then ascended a narrow gravel path that quickly became steeper. I could see a tall mound up ahead only because it blocked out the stars.
It took almost another hour to reach the top.
No wonder Remy had said to dress comfortably.
This trek was like an inclined treadmill and a Stairmaster combined.
When we finally reached the top, an area ahead on the flat summit lit up with a glow that hadn’t been there before.
Several figures were silhouetted against it.
I stiffened until we got closer and I realized it wasn’t Daegal, Zenobia, or anyone else I recognized.
As we got even closer, I realized they weren’t human, either.
The Tuatha Dé Danann are tall.
That was my first thought. Their features were also sharp, with overly chiseled cheekbones and high foreheads crowned by shoulder-length hair or longer.
They had the lean, muscled build of runners, and when I got close, I saw that all of them had silver eyes despite their hair colors ranging from blond to black and their skin tones varying from alabaster to deep umber.
They were dressed in caftan-style outfits, with thick, ornate belts and armor that was so shiny it looked like polished silver.
Iron is poisonous to them, even by touch.
Guess I knew which metal this definitely wasn’t.
A guy with black hair and dark brown skin stepped forward. Those startling silver eyes fixed on Remy before he surprised me by embracing Setreg, who hugged him back. That’s right, Setreg was half Tuatha Dé Danann.
“Welcome, guests of the prince,” he said in flawless English. “I am Cormac, keeper of the bridge. We have garments prepared to ensure that no one brings hidden weapons into the duel.”
Remy, Mandal, Setreg, and Malina began to strip. The Tuatha Dé Danann held out caftans similar to what they were wearing. They even had sandals for everyone.
I wasn’t about to let modesty sideline me. I took off all my clothes, too. I’d barely had a chance to shiver in the cool temperatures when I was covered by one of those caftans. The material was thick and the sandals were well-cushioned.
Thus garbed, we followed the group to a wide circle of rocks farther ahead. A light appeared, looking like a glowing doorway. The Tuatha Dé went through it and disappeared. So did Setreg and Malina. Then Mandal. Now it was me and Remy’s turn.
Remy took my hand. “It’s not too late. You can still choose to stay. I’ll have Fintan look after you until it’s over.”
After that borderline-scary incident in the car, I was no longer convinced I could handle whatever Remy was going to dish out to Daegal. But I was very sure that I was going to find out.
I gave Remy a falsely bright smile. “Are you kidding? I didn’t just flash a hilltop full of people for nothing.”
He laughed. Then his hand tightened on mine, and we stepped through the gateway.
I hadn’t thought much about what the First Realm would look like.
Maybe I’d imagined that it would be similar to the elves’ home of Rivendell from The Lord of the Rings.
I certainly figured there’d be lots of that stunning, unbreakable stained-glass furniture.
Or lots of those impossibly formed woodworks like the midnight-in-the-glen version of Remy’s bed.
What I didn’t expect was the view from the ledge of the tall cliff where we stood: a grayish, twilight-dim sky over a purple sea that boiled with froth every time terrifyingly large creatures breached its surface.
Millions of tiny lights seemed to glow inside the water, making those huge, dark forms with spiny fins visible in backlit glimpses that would haunt my nightmares.
A few hundred yards away, an island rose up from the sea, its dark color reminding me of volcanic ash.
Jagged peaks clawed at the sky while waves smashed against its steep, rocky perimeter.
No beach softened its exterior, either. It only had sheer, tall cliffs surrounded by those frothing seas teeming with creatures I never wanted to see up close.
I rubbed my arms. I was so rattled by the deadly barrenness of this place that it felt like my skin was crawling.
“You came.”
My head whipped around. Daegal, Zenobia, and a gangly, dark-haired white guy were on the other end of the wide ledge. Like us, everyone was dressed in belted, loose-fitting caftans and sandals, although Daegal had managed to roll up the sleeves of his caftan to show off his thickly muscled arms.
“I thought you might come to your senses and reconsider,” Daegal went on. Then he gave Zenobia a conspiratorial nudge. “I know she’s been secretly hoping that you would. Despite it all, I think my cousin still has feelings for you.”
If that were true, why was Zenobia here?
I’d assumed she’d be Daegal’s witness, but now I thought the dragoness must be Daegal’s second instead.
The other guy was so gaunt, I was tempted to tell him to back away from the ledge before a strong breeze blew him over.
Then again, he might be another dragon. Looks were certainly deceiving.
“I’m here, and I’ll see this through, unless you’re willing to reconsider,” Remy said flatly. “I doubt it, but if you are, you can leave with your life and your lands in Orion intact.”
Daegal laughed so hard, he had to hold on to Zenobia’s shoulder for support.
“Oh, I needed that,” Daegal said, still chuckling.
“I’d thank you for it, but we both know that doesn’t go over well here.
Let’s just say for that laugh, I’ll kill you quickly instead of slowly burning you to death like I intended. ”
I dug my nails into my skin, fighting the mental images Daegal’s words dredged up.
Remy’s spell had ripped over half a dozen dragons inside out.
He could take Daegal and Zenobia. Or Daegal and the gangly dude, if that’s who Daegal’s second was.
Hell, Setreg was almost licking his lips as he looked at the unknown guy. Obviously he wasn’t worried.
I was. That unpleasant sensation had only gotten worse. Now I felt like I had bees trapped beneath my skin.
“Since both challengers have reaffirmed their intentions to continue, we will begin,” Cormac said, and clapped.
Applause was a weird way to start a fight to the death.
I stiffened, half expecting Remy and Daegal to start going at it.
Instead, they both looked out over the sea.
A white, faintly glowing line began to form out of one of the island’s jagged peaks.
I squinted, trying to better see it in the dim light.
It helped that it thickened as it stretched, and with a start, I saw that it was headed right for us.
Ghostlike hands grasped the rocky lip of our ledge when that long length finally reached us. More hands and arms piled on top of it. I backed up into Remy, who didn’t move as those limbs overlapped each other until they formed a spectral bridge between here and the island.
“Tell me I’m seeing things and that isn’t made of countless ghostly body parts,” I whispered.
“It is,” Daegal said, hearing that. “Soon, Remy’s limbs will be there, too. Everyone who dies on Blood Island forfeits their arms in the afterlife to form another link in this bridge.”
The thought was so gruesome, I would have backed away even more except Remy’s body was like a wall behind me. How could he stand there so calmly? His territories as Warden were important, sure, but they weren’t worth anything like this!
“The way is set,” Cormac said, adding another nail to the horror coffin of these circumstances. “Once you cross the bridge, you cannot return until the duel is finished. Who stands as your seconds to finish your fight should either of you fall in battle? Let them claim their blades now.”
Daegal stepped forward. The skinny guy did, too. Wow. He was Daegal’s second. Must be another dragon.
Setreg gave him a raking look. “This won’t be as difficult as I expected.”
“A relief,” Malina murmured back.
I wanted to be as confident as they, but I wasn’t. Not when I saw Zenobia staring at Remy with a resigned bleakness that made my fears feel like they were punching me from the inside out. She obviously didn’t think Remy would survive this fight.
What if she was right? I’d thought staying back and wondering what would happen would be unbearable, but how could I bear to watch if Daegal succeeded in killing Remy? Stress made me feel like I was vibrating from the inside out.
The Beast stirred, reacting to my tension.
Back, I told it.
An inner growl was its response.
Daegal accepted a gleaming silver knife from Cormac, who then walked toward Remy holding out an identical blade.
Remy gently pushed me out of the way to meet Cormac along the ledge, accepting the weapon from him.
Setreg bent down toward Malina. “For glory,” he murmured.
“Glory,” she repeated, pulling his mouth down to hers.
As they kissed, Daegal tossed his blade high into the air. It flipped end over end as it descended toward the gangly guy—
—who vanished as a huge Beast snatched the blade out of the air.
It caught the knife between razor-sharp teeth that nearly matched the weapon in length.
Part of the ledge crumbled away as the Beast’s enormous body slammed back down when it landed.
It then chewed through the blade until it swallowed all the knife’s mangled pieces.
Daegal’s laugh shattered the stunned silence. “See, Remington? You’re not the only one who captured a beithíoch!”