CHAPTER SEVENTEEN #4
I was so distracted that I wasn’t ready when Collith moved in a blur, landing a front kick that knocked me entirely off my feet.
I hit the mat hard enough to make the air leave my lungs.
I wheezed, my vision blurring. Distantly, I heard Narfu make a sound that normally would’ve sent a quake of fear through me, but I was having a little trouble breathing at the moment.
“Easy, boy,” Collith said.
When I could drag in a breath again, I lifted my head to make sure the demon wasn’t ripping him to shreds.
Narfu was still on his nest of blankets, but he peered at Collith with an intentness that made me remember something Lucifer had said when I’d tried to get him to remove the collar around my friend’s neck.
Narfu comes from a violent species, and the collar keeps his impulses in check.
It was a good thing Narfu was on our side … but there were probably hundreds of his kind about to come through that Gate, and they wouldn’t be fighting those “impulses.”
“Again,” I rasped at Collith.
I was still lying on my back, and he held his hand out to me. The corners of his mouth had deepened and there was a telltale line between his eyebrows. “Fortuna, you need to rest.”
I shoved his hand aside and got to my feet, breathing raggedly. “Again,” I repeated.
Collith didn’t look happy about it, but he nodded. I returned to the starting stance, my body already aching, and I pushed through the twinges of pain as we continued.
During our next round, other members of my Court began to trickle in.
Gil and Seth, holding coffee cups that said Bea’s on the side.
Cyrus and Stanley, who must’ve heard us when they’d got back from their morning walk.
They all settled on the couches to observe me and Collith, and part of me was aware of their conversations, bits and pieces floating over like small feathers.
But I was entirely focused on Collith. As our sparring went on, and on, and on, I began to see a faint light of surprise in his eyes.
Before I’d gotten some of Michael’s abilities, I never would’ve been able to fight this long or hold my own against a faerie.
And Collith knew it—his blows began to land harder and faster.
“You’ve been holding out on me,” I panted as I stopped another strike with an outer forearm block.
His eyes gleamed. “Not anymore.”
In the next breath, Collith tried to position himself behind me, probably going for a chokehold. I grabbed his forearm and pushed his elbow upward, rotating my body away. Gil made a low comment that I couldn’t hear.
Unlike my other training sessions at Adam’s shop, there was nothing light in the air today.
No one made any bets, there was no trash talk or shouts.
They could probably sense the tension radiating from me, or feel it in the bond between us.
I knew my control was slipping. The image of the dreamscape was far away, along with all the strength it had brought me. I began to get sloppy and slow.
The next time Collith knocked me on my ass, I didn’t get back up.
I stared up at the ceiling, thinking about the sheer magnitude of what we were about to face.
A hundred Narfus, maybe even thousands, and a thousand more deadly species that we knew nothing about.
And who knew what other spells and dark magic Lucifer was conjuring behind the safety of his invisible wall?
Despair caught hold of me and burrowed its claws deep beneath my skin.
“It’s going to be a slaughter,” I said quietly, knowing everyone in the room was listening.
We were so still that I could hear air coming out of the vents.
I swallowed and continued, “The fae will follow me into those hills, and none of them will come out. An entire species wiped out because of my mistakes, and probably far, far more.”
For a few seconds, no one said anything. Then Cyrus’s quiet voice penetrated the stillness. “The fae won’t be your only ally on that battlefield.”
I sat up instantly, already shaking my head. “No, Cy. That’s not happening.”
His expression didn’t change, but there was something in his voice as he replied, “Are you saying I’m not capable of making my own decisions?”
“No, that’s not at all—” I stopped. Because it had been exactly what I was saying. Cyrus knew the risks, and he deserved to make his own choices, as everyone else did.
The thought of him being on that battlefield, even as a huge fire-breathing dragon, sent a burst of fear to my heart.
I knew Cyrus was in the drawing, but I didn’t want my family anywhere near that Gate.
It would be a liability, a distraction, because I’d be focused on protecting them instead of the fight.
Just as I opened my mouth to reason with Cyrus again, Emma’s gentle voice drifted through me. Being surrounded by people you love isn’t a weakness, Fortuna—it’s a strength.
I finally stood up and got off the mat. I should’ve been sore, every part of me aching from the bout with Collith. All I felt was a twinge or two as I went to the couch and flopped down beside Gil.
“Chin up, love,” he said, bumping his shoulder against mine. “The world has to end sometime. At least this way we can die together.”
“You always know just what to say,” I responded wryly. I slumped against the back cushion and let out a long sigh. “I don’t get it. I expected it to be easy, persuading them to fight with us. Nym drew all those pictures because he saw it happening with his own eyes … right?”
Collith hesitated. He squatted in front of us, his elbows propped on his knees. “Nym had already sustained damage from his travels when I met him, Fortuna. He is loyal to those he considers a friend, but I’m not sure how much we can trust his word,” he admitted.
The doubt that had taken root inside me only grew bigger, twining through my chest like a vine. Nym’s mind was broken. Maybe he’d only been drawing his dreams, instead of what he had actually seen during his time traveling.
And if that picture was just from a dream, what else could Nym have gotten wrong?
Once again, Cyrus’s quiet voice floated through the bleak stillness. “I could go with you next time. In my other form,” he added.
I looked over at him again. I had to admit, for a moment, I was tempted. I imagined it, showing up with a huge fucking dragon behind me. The fear would be so heady … another small, resigned sigh slipped between my lips.
“Thanks, Cy, but for once in my life, I don’t want to use fear. Joining this fight needs to be of their free will, just like it’s yours. Has anyone seen him, by the way?” I added. Everyone looked at me and I clarified, “Nym, I mean. Every time I look in his room, he isn’t there.”
Before anyone could answer, Cyrus lifted his head sharply. I glanced at the others, noting that they wore similar expressions of alertness.
“What is it?” I asked, following everyone’s gazes, which seemed to be laser-focused on the door.
I strained to hear something. I could only detect the soft sound of the air conditioning and Narfu’s claws scraping against the hard floor when he shifted.
There must’ve been something outside, though, because no one moved.
I stood from the couch and crossed the room to retrieve my socks and shoes.
I pulled them both on, then put my shirt on, too.
As I left the room, I felt a whisper of air, and suddenly Collith was beside me.
He didn’t say a word, but his arm brushed mine, the backs of our hands skimming.
His silent support quieted my unease. In the next moment, I opened the door …
but no one stood on the other side. I frowned and glanced at Collith.
“They’re in the yard,” he murmured. “Do you feel it?”
The second he said it, I felt a familiar tingle—magic. I stepped outside and immediately spotted a figure standing on the grass. She was bent over a wooden bowl, a bag on the ground next to her feet. Surprise made me falter.
It was Mercy Wardwell.
“Glad to see you’re alive. What are you doing?” I called over to her, unable to hide a hint of wariness in my voice.
“Protecting myself,” the witch called back. She finished whatever she was doing and straightened. Her gray eyes looked like steel. “Death clings to you, Fortuna. It gets bigger every time we meet, and it affects the ones around you, too.”
A rush of irritation pushed out my exhaustion.
I was really getting tired of Mercy Wardwell and her thinly veiled judgment.
As I walked toward the witch, my shoes crunching over gravel, I tried to remember what Gil had taught me.
I reminded myself that I didn’t kill people anymore …
especially ones that were related to my nephew.
“Why does Savannah get the benefit of the doubt and I don’t?” I demanded. “I may struggle with the dark, but at least I’m fucking struggling. I still try to do good and learn from my mistakes.”
Mercy closed the rest of the distance between us. I expected her to stop and say something, so I wasn’t prepared when she reached for me and, without warning, plucked a hair right out of my scalp.
“Ouch!” My hand flew to my head and I glared at her. “What the fuck, Mercy?”
Without a word, the witch returned to her spot.
There was a line in the grass I hadn’t noticed before—her protection spell, no doubt.
I wondered what would happen if I tried to cross it.
Best not to risk it, I decided quickly, imagining myself getting an electric shock or growing a donkey tail.
I’d never been able to get a full read on Mercy Wardwell, but I had always been a little scared of her.
So I just stood there and watched as she put my hair in the wooden bowl that reminded me of the Tongue’s, back at the Unseelie Court.
Mercy produced a lighter and tipped her wrist, setting the small flame against a candlewick peeking over the edge of the bowl.
The moment I saw that, I finally realized what was happening.
She was about to do another Telling.
She’d done one for me before, but in the world of magic, that didn’t mean much. Mercy had only caught a brief glimpse of one possible future. Would she be able to find a future at all now? My heart quickened at the thought.
Mercy sat on the grass and crossed her legs, then adjusted her long skirt and rested her hands on her knees.
The lines of her body were loose and relaxed.
However annoyed I was, I knew better than to interrupt a witch in the middle of a spell.
Collith and I observed silently as Mercy inhaled the smoke coiling up from the bowl. A full minute passed.
When the witch spoke again, her voice was softer. Distant. “Four times, there will be a knock at the door. Four times, you must be here to open it.”
“Pretty sure you have your wires crossed,” I muttered. “These sorts of things come in threes, didn’t you know?”
Mercy just opened her eyes and gave me a calm, enigmatic smile. “I wish you luck, Fortuna.”
I swallowed my instinctive sharp retort and watched her regather the supplies and ingredients. “That’s it? You’re not going to help us?” I asked.
“What do you think this is?” the witch countered, quirking a brow at me. She straightened again, holding the handle of her bag in both hands.
Fine, I thought, biting back another sharp response. “Okay, well, do you have any idea when I can expect those knocks?”
Mercy cast a glance toward the sky. “On the full moon. That’s always when these things tend to happen,” she said.
“And where will you be on the full moon?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking.
The witch’s eyes flashed. “I’m not the only one who casts judgment, you know. I cannot always be at your beck and call, Fortuna Sworn. We all have a role to play, and mine is not at your side. Clean up your own mess. And don’t get my niece killed while you do it.”
Mercy left it there. She began walking toward the trees and I watched her go, fighting the urge to sling a final insult at her departing back. However much it stung, I knew she was right. Her voice echoed through my head. Four knocks.
As far as Tellings went, that was pretty damn vague. I’d like to think it meant four potential allies were coming, the four armies Nym had drawn, but what if the meaning was more sinister? Should I send my family away again?
“You’ve changed,” Collith said.
I turned to him. The morning light tinted his skin gold and brightened his eyes, making the irises look green. As I studied them, I could’ve sworn the look in those eyes was pride. “What do you mean?” I said.
Collith inclined his head toward the barn. “What you said to Cyrus earlier, and the control you’ve been showing every day—not just when we’re meeting with the monarchs.”
I gave him a weak smile and turned from the yard. “Well, let’s hope I’ve changed enough to get us through this.”
We were both quiet as we went back inside.
Collith must’ve been more tired than he let on, because he drifted back into the room where he’d been working earlier.
As for me, I walked over to the wall in the training room where Collith had mounted all of our weapons.
My sword hung in a place of honor, right at the center.
I wrapped my fingers around the hilt and took it down, reveling in how weightless it felt now.
Then I went to the mat and turned, my gaze meeting Gil’s.
He sighed. “Don’t say it.”
I raised the sword and said, “Again.”