28. Lira
28
LIRA
I raised my sword as the gas formed into some sort of snake. Then the massive snake split into three, each one twice my size.
Three blasting snakes.
As an environmentalist, I enjoyed testing water and dirt in the hope of saving the environment and animals, but hanging out with snakes had never been high on my list of priorities.
My chest heaved, and I realized this was the surprise. “Snakes,” I rasped, alerting the others who still had their backs to them.
One darted toward me, shadowy tongue slithering out and hissing like I’d angered it by warning the other five.
Maybe that had been foolish, but I’d rather the six of us take them down together. I felt more comfortable going up against fae than shadow snakes.
The three snakes struck before the others had turned around all the way. The one closest to me came for me, and I swung my sword at its neck. Before my sword could hit, the snake dissipated, turning back into mist, and my blade cut through air.
Blighted abyss, how was this possible?
A strangled cry came from my left, and I turned. Another snake had latched onto Dougal’s arm while the second one struck at Lorne.
Bran, Rona, and Moira had flown above the snakes.
My stomach roiled. If the snakes didn’t kill me, the fae would because they had access to their wings and magic.
Instead of lifting his sword, Lorne raised his hand, and ice shot out of his palm toward the snake. Like mine, the snake evaporated into the dark mist, and the ice shot through the area, hitting the sandy and gritty floor twenty yards away from us, almost halfway across the arena.
My breathing quickened as Dougal and Lorne took flight, leaving my ass alone down here.
Lovely.
A small part of me regretted telling the others about the snakes since it was clear they had no intention of helping me. Four of them beamed and crossed their arms as they settled in to enjoy watching the three snakes take me on. Lorne scowled.
Was this Eldrin’s way of demonstrating that even the Unseelie who acted against their king were worthier of life than me?
Quite possibly, but I refused to die that easily.
Dougal screamed and descended to the ground. Startled, I jerked toward him. His body convulsed near me. Sweat beaded on his face as whatever the venom was doing to him took effect and spread throughout his body.
My wings moved, trying to lift me off the ground, but the chains clanked. I wasn’t free and probably never would be again .
I swallowed as the wall of mist split into three parts and swirled around me. If I ran through and tried to reach Dougal to save him, the gas would take effect and weaken me for the snakes to kill too. Even though I’d like to help him, I wasn’t willing to sacrifice my life for him.
Raising my sword, I felt my tattoo pulse faster, like a heartbeat. I would’ve thought it was mine—my pulse was rushing in my ears—but it wasn’t beating in time.
As the gas condensed again, I prepared and struck. My sword still hit air like the snake wasn’t even there.
Could they not be killed? That sounded like something sadistic Eldrin would do. The blazing asshole would stop at nothing to have me killed.
Eiric’s voice popped into my head: Don’t waste your energy stabbing at the snakes until they materialize. You can’t kill them otherwise. You have to wait until they attack.
I wanted to stare at Tavish. I had no doubt he was helping me, but the three split sections of air began solidifying again.
They had me surrounded, and I could only hope I found a way out of this. Otherwise, I was breathing my last few breaths.
I turned my head from side to side to keep an eye on them, waiting for the moment. The farthest one on my left seemed to grow denser again.
Without hesitating, I spun toward it and swung my blade where the neck should be. It formed a second before my sword reached it, and its eyes widened as my blade slid through its neck. Though it went against every natural instinct, I continued toward it, hoping my slice had debilitated it—in order to avoid the other two, which could strike at any second.
Black blood squirted from its neck, coating me as I looked behind me. Another snake surged toward me. Unable to swing my blade fast enough, I lifted the armor a second before the snake clamped down.
Its teeth clanked against the metal, but the force of its momentum propelled me back and slammed me into the dying snake’s side, where blood poured from its neck and down my tunic and chest. The blood was cold, and shivers racked me.
The attacking snake released its jaw and was rearing up to attack when Lorne appeared right behind it and lopped off its head.
“Lira, watch out!” he yelled.
I jerked my head toward the injured snake, which bared its teeth as if to attack me, though its head wobbled.
It struck, and I swung toward it, using the hilt of my sword to smack it in the head. Its mouth chomped inches from my face, and my right hand jabbed forward, hitting its eye with the long blade.
The snake’s body lurched before it crashed to the ground, sending dirt and sand into my eyes. I blinked to get the particles out since my body was covered in blood. I groaned, but I held up my sword, ready to fight the last snake or anyone else who dared to attack me.
Lorne flew down next to me, scanning me.
My breath caught, and I waited for him to make a move, but he pivoted, so his back was to me.
“The last snake will move quicker now that it’s not coordinating an attack with the other two,” Lorne said as he pressed his back to mine. “Keep your eyes open.”
My body tensed as I prepared for him to turn on me. Before I could call his bluff, through my blurry vision, I saw something black hurtle toward me.
I readied myself to lift my sword, but the snake was already upon me. I thrust my armor toward it, but its head dodged, going for my left side. I wasn’t sure what to do, but my feet moved of their own accord, spinning me toward the snake.
Cold terror choked me as I moved toward the striking beast, but by me doing so, it didn’t have a clear angle to my body. Rotating, I lifted my sword, not wanting it to attack Lorne without him knowing, but the snake dissolved into gas.
“Be ready,” Lorne rasped as he landed back on the ground behind me. “It won’t wait long. It’s trying to tire us out.”
“Us?” I hated to ask the question, but he hated my guts. I wasn’t sure what he was doing, but I didn’t want to fall victim by being too trusting.
Fae couldn’t be trusted on either side. That was something my parents had told me multiple times. My brow furrowed, and the world shifted. Mom and Dad had never told me that on Earth. They didn’t know anything about fae, yet the memory remained, though the faces and voices weren’t clear.
“You saved my wings one too many times,” Lorne answered tightly. “I owe you, and that’s something I don’t take lightly.”
My body relaxed marginally, but the snake reformed and streaked around the arena. If Lorne felt like he owed me, I wouldn’t argue. I needed every bit of help I could get to survive and fight … for my life and my freedom.
The snake didn’t move like the ones back on Earth. Another random fact jumped into my head. It moved similarly to the ones in the Seelie kingdom that enjoyed playing in the Aelwen River back in Gleann Solas, with more of a glide than a slither because water coated its body. This snake was made of gas and didn’t need to move its body from side to side because it was as light as air.
I tightened my hand on the hilt and lifted my sword, ready for the snake to attack. My pulse thudded so hard that I could feel it in my neck. Every cell in my body was alive, and I swore my vision had improved marginally.
The muscles in Lorne’s back jerked, and I glanced over my shoulder to see the snake attack him. Lorne swung his sword, but the snake moved to the left, leaving Lorne open for its attack.
Screaming, I jabbed my sword at it. The snake evaporated, and I hit the dirt. My chest heaved from exertion and fear. How the hell were we supposed to kill the damn thing when it kept disappearing into thin air?
“Blighted abyss, Lira. I’m supposed to be paying off my debt to you, not adding more to it.” Lorne shook his head, but he placed his back against mine.
I almost wanted to laugh. “Saying thank you works just as well.”
He scoffed, but we faced away from each other and waited for the snake to reappear. This time, the gas charged toward me, moving faster than I could comprehend until the snake was upon me.
I needed to do something rash, or Lorne and I would die, so as the snake opened its mouth, I thrust the sword and my hand inside while wedging the armor right behind to keep the snake from closing its teeth on me.
A loud hiss gurgled from it, and I jerked my hand out, leaving the sword behind, not wanting to chance getting bitten. I was lucky it hadn’t bitten me already, and somehow, I knew the best way to take out these snakes was by handling it just like I had.
I could see the technique being taught to me, but my teacher was blurry.
Why were all these memories coming back to me suddenly? I wasn’t sure if they were comforting or not, but I couldn’t deny this one had saved me.
The snake rose forward like it was fighting for its life before it dropped toward me. I tried to move, but all I managed to do was turn around and shove Lorne out of the way before its massive body landed right on top of me.
I smacked into the ground with the weight of the snake bearing down on me. I waited for its head to lift so it could bite me before it died, but all I felt was blood trickling from its teeth onto my head and into my hair.
“Lira, hold on,” Lorne said.
Then, the sound of several feet hitting the ground caused my heart to leap into my throat.
Now that the three snakes were dead, the other fae had landed, and I didn’t have a hard time figuring out their goal.
Me.
I’d survived the snakes to die at the hands of the Unseelie prisoners who had magic and free wings. There was no doubt I’d soon be dead. It had been Eldrin’s goal the entire time.
Fear surged through me. There wasn’t a damn thing I could do to stay alive. As the blood coated my left side, I lifted my head to see Bran squatting ten feet away, his silver eyes glowing and his smile filled with glee … as if he could feel my terror.
Like he could very well be causing it.
Emotions could be manipulated as part of illusionary magic to make someone feel something they didn’t truly feel. That had to be his power.
Gritting my teeth, I tried to take deep breaths, but more sand and dirt clogged my throat and filled my lungs, preventing me from calming down. I had to get the snake off me fast.
Blades clanged, no doubt from Lorne and the others fighting. I hoped he could hold them off and wouldn’t decide that his debt to me wasn’t worth dying for.
I clawed at the ground to free my body from the snake, but my chained wings were stuck. I couldn’t flatten them to get out.
“What’s wrong, Princess Sunscorched?” Bran winked, straightening and stalking toward me. “Having your wings bound and restrained causing you some problems?” he cooed, enjoying the fright on my face.
Even scared, I refused to be a coward.
I curled my feet underneath me and took a deep breath. I tried to stand. If I couldn’t crawl out, the next best thing was to shove the beast off me. I groaned, and my legs shook, but eventually, I made progress. My muscles screamed. Strength shot through me, and I stood enough that the snake rolled off my back and landed with a thud behind me.
Bran lifted a brow, and his smile spread wider. “This is going to be fun. I get to take the Seelie princess down when she’s starting to show signs of actually being a fae . So much better than killing you when you seemed mortal.”
“Not so fast, brother ,” Rona said from behind me. “You got to have your fun. It’s my turn.”
She lifted a hand, but I’d had enough. I was done with people seeing me as weak, including Tavish.
I stomped my foot on the snake’s head, opening its huge jaws, and reached down. I yanked out my sword. I’d kill them if that’s what it took to return home … wherever that might be.
Suddenly, spiders were everywhere around me, crawling toward me like they were desperate to reach me. I froze, glancing around and seeing more behind me.
Shit. The snakes weren’t the only obstacles Eldrin had created.
Lorne and Moira clanked swords, the two of them fighting. Lorne shot ice at Moira’s feet, and she fell.
The spiders weren’t around them; they were only around me, their target. Fear had my pulse rising and my mouth drying as my mind fogged over. I couldn’t hold on to any calm.
When a few of the spiders reached me, I yelled, swinging my sword at them. I spun around, slicing all the ones I could reach in half, but instead of bleeding, they flickered and disappeared like they hadn’t been there, and more spiders took their place.
Like they were an illusion.
With every ounce of willpower, I pulled my focus away from the spiders to Rona’s face. She wore a smug expression, just like her brother’s. Their powers were different but worked perfectly together, and I had to be stronger than them and not fall for their magic.
I stood straight, ignoring the fear that had my heart galloping.
This ended now .
Not wanting to leave my mangled armor behind, I bent down and got it. Then I lifted my head, knowing the first person I needed to take out.
Bran.
His fear-inducing powers made me struggle more than the illusions .
I spun and charged him. His smirk disappeared. He lifted his sword just as I reached him, and I swung at his neck.
He blocked me, our swords clanging, but the contact was immediately followed by a loud crack .
My world tilted as half of my sword’s blade fell to the ground, just as Bran rebounded and jabbed at me.