“Ye work for the Unseelie Fae,” he said, his voice a low whisper.
Leif nodded, and Kai felt a chill settle over him. The Unseelie Fae, those cruel, inhuman masters who would destroy humanity if they could.
“It doesnae matter,” he growled. “Yer master’s plans have failed. Give it up now, while ye still can.”
Leif merely laughed, a cold, cruel sound that seemed to echo around the room. “Ye have no idea how deep my plans go,” he said with a smirk. “Or those of my masters. This was just an opening skirmish. The war is yet to come. Ye will discover that right about...” He held his hand up and cocked his head as if listening. “Now.”
A sound like a thunderclap suddenly split the air and Kai was knocked to the floor by a concussion that rocked the building.
He looked up just in time to see a wall of the keep explode outwards, sending rubble and dust raining down from the sky. Thick smoke billowed out from the opening, obscuring the view beyond.
Leif Snarlsson grinned at Kai and said, “Still think ye can stop me? I’ve always been three steps ahead of ye and yer precious Order of the Osprey. It’s beginning. After what just happened nothing can stop it. War is coming. Chaos is coming. I’ll see ye all soon.”
With that, he darted through the door before Kai could stop him, leaving Kai and Caitlin and his men alone in a cloud of dust and confusion. Kai staggered to his feet, coughing against the smoke as it swirled around him. He needed to go after Snarlsson...needed to stop him.
But it was too late. The man was already gone.
Caitlin was lying on the ground, her eyes wide and fearful. He rushed to her side and gently lifted her up, holding her close as he brushed the dust from her hair. “Are ye all right?”
She nodded weakly, blinking away tears. Kai hugged her tighter and kissed the top of her head before helping her to stand on shaky feet.
“What the hell was that?” Emeric cried. “I thought westoppedthe explosion!”
Magnus staggered to the front of the balcony where he could look out at the devastation. “Clearly, we were wrong.”
Kai heard a strange sound behind him, an odd wheezing noise. He turned to see Tobias slumped against the wall next to Lorna, both of them being guarded by Emeric and Oskar. Tobias’s shoulders were shaking.
It took Kai a moment to realize he was laughing.
Fury seized him. He grabbed Tobias by the shirt and hauled him to his feet. “Why?” he demanded. “Why would ye do this? Why would ye destroy yer home?”
“Myhome?” Tobias cried. “This isn’t my home! I’m English and the only reason I’ve endured living in this disgusting hole for so long is because my masters commanded it! Now they will get what they’ve worked for so long. Alba will be destroyed!”
Kai shoved him away with disgust. “Ye are insane. None of this will bring about Alba’s destruction.”
“Willnae it?” Tobias asked. “It will when war comes to this land. It will when the combined might of Norway, Denmark and England come here seeking retribution.”
“Horseshit. Norway and Denmark are our allies.”
“Wereyer allies,” Tobias said. “Not anymore. Not when they discover what happened here.” His smile widened. “Don’t you know who was staying in that apartment?”
Kai felt a chill run down his spine as he realized what the man was hinting at. He released Tobias with a shove and stepped back, his mind reeling. Snarlsson had been right. He had always been a step ahead of them.
“Kai?” Caitlin said, her voice anxious. “What’s wrong?”
“He left the council,” Kai breathed. “He went back to his apartment to speak to a messenger.”
“Who did?” Caitlin asked, confused.
Kai pointed at the devastation, the mass of debris and wreckage where one of the guest apartments had once been.
“The king of Denmark and Norway.”
