CHAPTER NINETEEN #2
My heart had quickened at the mention of those stones, and I knew Gwyn could hear it. “Did you?” I asked.
“No,” she answered, her expression still unreadable.
“The creature kept putting those damn rocks by us, and finally, one of my hunters decided to break one open. When he touched what was inside, he nearly lost his hand. I knew, then, what we’d stumbled upon.
So we pushed ourselves to the limit, again and again, to bring back as much as we could. ”
I stared at Gwyn, certain I’d misunderstood. “Wait … you brought the stones back? To this world?”
“And forged them,” she answered matter-of-factly.
Without waiting for my response, Gwyn turned and strode to the door, her powerful legs crossing the distance in just a few steps.
When she opened it, several of her hunters stood on the other side.
I tensed, and I sensed the members of my Court doing the same.
Gwyn grasped a sword that one of her people held and turned again, flipping it upside down.
“Weapons fit for an army facing an onslaught of demons from Hell,” she declared, coming back over to me. She presented the sword for my inspection. The pommel was covered in strange, beautiful symbols. “There’s more where this came from. Much more.”
I’d recognize that glassy material anywhere. It was exactly like the weapons the Guardians carried. I raised my gaze back to the hunters, taking in what else they’d brought as they all entered the barn. Axes, maces, spears, more swords … one of them even had a flail. I stared in wonder. Holy shit.
Gwyn had stolen from the devil.
“You are a fucking badass.” The second the words left my mouth, I regretted them. I’d just showed my entire hand and given Gwyn the ultimate bargaining chip. Wariness shot through me, and I inwardly cursed myself as I added, “Let me guess. You want something in exchange for them.”
Her lips curved in a small, satisfied smile. “A mere trifle. Just my freedom.”
I didn’t smile back. I looked at the huntress coldly, thinking about it from every angle. “We need you on Olorel, Gwyn. We need every fighter we can get.”
“The Wild Hunt will still join the battle against the Dark Prince. You have my word,” Gwyn said.
Despite all the lores and legends, I knew now that faeries could lie. They lied as easily as they killed, and fucked, and drank. My lip curled at Gwyn. “Am I supposed to rely on a pinkie promise? And how do I know you won’t kill me the second you’re not under my control anymore?”
“You don’t,” she said, just as I’d known she would.
I fell silent again as I considered all the angles a second time, and then a third.
I swallowed down a curse and a rush of frustration.
Goddamn it. We needed Gwyn and her hunters, desperately, yet those weapons could change everything.
Our holy blades only harmed demons when they were inside a host, and the creatures coming through that Gate would be different.
We had the stores from the Unseelie Court, sure, but most of that had gone to Viessa’s Guardians and the water nymphs.
Our other allies would need demon glass, as well.
In the midst of my silent struggle, I remembered that Gwyn was in Nym’s drawing. The Time Walker had depicted her at my side, standing amongst the rest of the Fallen who were there to fight.
An anxious sigh lodged in my chest. It was a gamble, but I was betting on my friend. He believed, so I would, too.
My insides trembled as I met Gwyn’s gaze. “You have a deal.”
The second the words left my mouth, both of us felt it—the connection between us dissipating.
The bond melting away into nothing. Gwyn belonged to herself again, and she was once again the sole commander of the Wild Hunt.
The faerie’s eyes slid shut for a moment, and a small sound left her.
The look on her face was one of such pure relief that I was almost glad about the decision I’d made. The risk I’d taken.
I glanced at Collith, wondering what he thought of what I had done.
He wore that royal mask of indifference, but I could still sense the tension rolling off him.
He didn’t trust the huntress, and for good reason.
I hid another flutter of apprehension and returned my focus to Gwyn.
Her hunters had taken the liberty of fully entering the barn, and they stood behind her now.
I didn’t like having them in here, so close to all the people I cared about.
But if we were going to fight together, we had to trust each other.
I just hoped I didn’t regret it.
“How many—” I began, but the sound of knocking cut me off.
That makes two, I thought dazedly. Maybe Mercy hadn’t been full of shit after all. I walked over to the door again, and opened it slowly.
This time, Cora stood on the other side. She’d brought her entire pack, too.
I grinned at the sight of her, and a weight I hadn’t known I’d been carrying began to fall away. “You came,” was all I said.
In her usual solemn way, Cora offered her hand. “You were right. This isn’t just your battle to fight—it’s all of ours. I’m sorry I was such a coward.”
I wrapped my fingers around hers firmly, without hesitation, and looked her in the eye as I replied, “A coward wouldn’t have shown up. Thank you.”
Her beta came forward to greet me, the tall female I’d met the night Collith and I had gone to see their pack.
I gave her a warm greeting in return and invited them inside.
Cora made a signal to the other wolves that had accompanied her, and they came through the door warily.
My Court moved to acknowledge them. Their kind smiles set our visitors at ease, and I felt a swell of pride as I watched them.
I glanced toward the Wild Hunt, and after a moment of hesitation, I began to make introductions between them and Cora’s pack.
We’d just started discussing the details of the battle when there was another knock at the door.
I swung the door open to a massive shape on the other side, the light against his back. But then his tail flicked into sight over his shoulder, and I knew instantly who it was.
“Luther?” I blurted, too startled to disguise my disbelief. Behind me, the room went utterly silent.
The Rat King ducked his head and stepped over the threshold.
He was just as big and pale as I remembered, and as I instinctively retreated, I scanned the driveway and the trees.
The shapeshifter seemed to have journeyed here alone.
I was on the verge of thinking he’d come in peace when Luther straightened and flashed his yellowed teeth in a terrifying grin.
I hadn’t seen the Rat King of Munich since escaping Belanor. Down in those dank tunnels beneath the city, I’d used his childhood trauma against him and kicked his ass in front of his subjects. Truth be told, I was lucky Luther had only turned me away when I’d gone to see him.
My voice was neutral as I said, “What are you doing here?”
“I have come at my queen’s request,” the wererat informed me. “I swore to her that I would give the Nightmare an audience.”
He must’ve meant Nan, I thought. I had mixed feelings about the fact that she’d convinced Luther to fight.
When his people denied me at the sewers, I’d been frustrated, yes, but part of me had been relieved, too.
But for the sake of my family and all of fucking humanity, I needed to swallow my dislike and play nice with this asshole.
I met his gaze and said evenly, “Thank you for coming.”
“I’m not here for you, Hure.”
My eyes narrowed. I didn’t need to speak German to know what he’d just called me. My voice was sickly sweet when I replied, “Being a dick won’t make yours any bigger, you know.”
From somewhere behind me, I heard the familiar sound of Collith’s sigh. The Rat King’s lip curled, and his eyes held a dangerous glint. I had a feeling that if I took a peek inside his head, I wouldn’t like what I saw. Collith must’ve agreed, because he shifted, his arm brushing mine.
“I still look forward to the day I can beat that attitude out of you,” the wererat rumbled.
For a moment, I was tempted to fill his mind with the bombs that had taken Luther’s mother and his childhood.
To remind him what I was capable of. But I had already humiliated this creature several times over.
Everyone had a limit, and I didn’t want to find out where Luther’s was.
So I stepped closer and lowered my voice, saying for his ears alone, “Don’t forget …
I know what you’re afraid of, Luther. I still remember the delicious, smoky taste of your fear. ”
The Rat King was silent. My words sent the exact flavor I’d just described creeping over my tongue.
I turned away from him and surveyed the strange gathering that had filled the barn.
My heart began to pound harder as I scanned their faces.
The faeries. The rats. The werewolves. The Wild Hunt. Everything Nym drew had come to pass.
And it still wouldn’t be enough. I knew that, and they did, too. But they’d still come.
I nodded at them and said, “Thank you for standing against Lucifer. The world may not remember us or the sacrifices we’ll make, but you don’t know what you’re living for until you know what you would die for. The people in this room may not share much in common, but we do have that.”
Cora smiled at me, and Gwyn just watched me with those sharp eyes of hers. The Rat King sneered. It would have to do.
After that, I offered to feed everyone, but they declined.
One by one, our new allies left, disappearing back into the night.
As the Wild Hunt took their leave, Gwyn and I made swift arrangements for our weapon exchange.
Eventually, it was just me and my Shadow Court again.
Once we were alone, I tucked my hands in the crook of Collith’s arm—I felt a small jolt of surprise go through him—and rested my head on his shoulder.