Chapter 10
10
I pried open my eyes. Everything hurt. My lungs, my skin, my very bones. I felt as though I’d been smashed to bits by a lorry, ten times over, and then burnt to a crisp. Needless to say, those vampires had done a number on me.
Lugh’s face was the first thing I saw. He leaned over me, his dark hair falling into his eyes. I reached up and traced my finger along his strong jaw, wincing when a new wave of pain crashed into every single one of my bones.
“Ouch,” I whispered, my throat raw. “What happened?”
“The vampires. There were at least a hundred of them.”
Groaning, I tried to make sense of it. We’d been surrounded. I’d fallen prey to their fangs. Truly, I should have been dead. “How...how did we survive?”
“When we first got to Craigmillar Castle, I sent out an alert to the rest of the team. Something felt off, particularly with that sorcerer who calls herself a witch.” He let out a low growl. “The team showed up just in time to fight the vamps. There were enough of us to scare them off, and we got you back to the healers in time to save your life.”
“Ah.” I sighed and sank lower into the cloud-like pillows. “So I was useless.”
“There were too many of them for us to take on alone.” His eyes narrowed. “I will make them pay for what they did to you. I will rain down fire from the skies. I will—”
“Lugh,” I said hoarsely, pressing a finger to his lips. “Don’t become all nightmare wraith on me now. I’m okay. See?”
I tried to push up from the mound of pillows behind my head. But as soon as I was barely forty-five degrees upright, exhaustion swept over me. I fell back onto the pillows, puffing.
“You are not all right,” he said in a growl. “They have gone too far this time. The vampires of this city grow too strong.”
“Ask Clark to send help. The Raven Court has plenty of warriors willing to fight some out-of-control vamps, especially ones willing to team up with a fae trying to take down this city.” I gave him a faint smile, knowing his answer before he spoke it.
His jaw flickered as he ground his teeth. “I will not ask your queen for help.”
It was a familiar argument by this point. Lugh was convinced that asking for Clark’s help would be demonstrating a weakness he couldn’t afford to show. As king, he believed that he and he alone should take care of his people, of his city. In truth, that might have been the way of the world once, but it wasn’t anymore. Clark would help. She wouldn’t demand fealty. But Lugh didn’t know how to reconcile her modern rule with his ancient mind.
“At least we got a location for the spear guy,” I said, wincing again. Even talking hurt.
“If Jezebel was even speaking the truth,” he said.
“She was,” I replied. “She ran when the vamps showed up. Pretty sure she had nothing to do with that attack. They probably followed us to the castle from Old Town.”
His expression softened as I huffed out the last few words. “You shouldn’t worry about this right now. After what you’ve been through, you need to rest. We’ll take care of the situation. The team and I are going to A Knight’s End to finish this once and for all.”
“Oh no you don’t.” I tried to push up once again, gritting my teeth until my back was steady against the wooden headboard. “You can’t go rushing off to confront this guy without me.”
“It needs to be done. Now. As you said, he knew you were on my side the entire time. Your prior hunch was right. He knew you would warn me and that we would increase our guards. Now he’s biding his time. We cannot allow him to have any more of it. ”
“You have fae skilled in healing,” I said, glancing at the open door. “They can get me back into fighting shape in no time.”
“Not fast enough. We need to go. Now.”
I pressed my lips together. I recognised the expression on his face well enough. I’d made it a million times myself. He would go confront Quentin at A Knight’s End regardless of what I said. He was too stubborn to back down.
“At least tell me the plan,” I said. “You know, since I have to sit on the sidelines. I need to live vicariously through you.”
He hesitated for a moment, but then sank into the chair beside the bed. “I’m only taking a small team with me, so that we can continue to have the increased guard numbers on the castle walls.”
I nodded. That made sense.
“Uisnech and Saoirse will stay behind. They aren’t fully trained fighters, and I shouldn’t have dragged them into the field last night. Instead, I’m taking the warrior twins and a few others. We have a solid team formed.”
“And what will you do?” I asked. “If he sees you coming, he’ll probably bolt. Judging from his past actions, I don’t think he wants hand-to-hand combat. He likes his sneak attacks.”
Lugh nodded in agreement. “He is a schemer, not a fighter. We don’t plan to barge in through the front door. We’ll find a way to sneak in through the back. The element of surprise will be important for this one.”
“Okay,” I said, trying on a smile. It hurt to even do that. My mind whirred as I tried to find another question I could ask. I didn’t want him to leave, not without me.
He smiled back, the light reaching his eyes. Slowly, he stood to go but didn’t turn until he’d dropped a soothing kiss on my forehead. Even at the slightest of touches, the magic curled around our bodies, beckoning us to remain as close as we were.
“You should get some rest,” he said softly, fingers drifting down to my neck, to where the vampires had sucked out my life-force. “When I get back, all of this will be over and then...”
And then what? I didn’t know anymore. I would have no more excuses for why I had to stay. I’d have to return south to my Court and say goodbye to my mate once again. Lugh seemed to read my mind. He gave me a sad smile and crossed the room, heading for the door.
“Lugh,” I said, my voice going sharp as I called after him. Heartbeat pounding in my ears, I lifted a hand, beckoning him to return to my side. He did, striding back over and taking my hand, but he didn’t sit. He’d made up his mind, and there was no turning back from it now. I could try to crawl out of this bed and go after him, but I knew as well as he did that I would probably pass out from the pain before I even made it out of the castle .
“Moira.” He lifted my fingers to his lips and kissed me fiercely. “I know what you’re going to say—”
“Don’t do anything stupid,” I hissed, tears filling my eyes. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
His lips quirked up in the corners. “Out of everyone, I thought you would be the last to forget the prophecy. You’re the one who is fated to kill me, yes? So that means I can’t die in this fight tonight.”
I opened my mouth to argue, and he laughed.
“This isn’t funny,” I said.
“Isn’t it?” He grinned broadly. “If you’re convinced the prophecy will come true, then you have nothing to worry about. Like you always tell me, I can take care of myself.”
Frowning, I tried to come up with another argument, but he had a point. Damn him. “I mean, maybe I’ve been wrong. Maybe all this time I’ve worried for nothing. We don’t know what you’re walking into, Lugh…”
He leaned down and tucked a finger beneath my chin, his eyes flickering as they stared deeply into mine. “Either you believe it will come true, or you don’t.” For a moment, he didn’t speak, considering his next words. “And if you don’t, then perhaps you should consider what you truly wish your future to be.”
Lugh turned and strode out of the healing ward room, leaving me frowning after him. My heart thumped hard as my mind whirred from his words. Uneasy, I wanted to call after him, though I knew nothing I said would stop him from heading out into the night. Hell, I wanted to jump out of the bed and run after him, mind-numbing pain and all.
Maybe I really had been wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time in my life. All this time, I’d been focusing on my fear of what could happen, but even druids couldn’t predict the future with absolute certainty. My answer had been to run away from it all, to flee instead of facing the possibility head on.
But maybe…I stared after Lugh, my heart tripping.
Maybe I didn’t need to run.