Titus let out a tired sigh and curled up in her lap. Sally leaned her back against the wall and held him tight. She closed her eyes, letting herself drift to sleep because she might as well get some much-needed rest, too.
“I will watch over you both,” her mate said.
“I know. I’ve never doubted you and never will.”
Chapter 14
“There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die…” ~Human Bible. The Word of the Creator of humankind.
Nissa held a fae blade in one hand while using her other to wield her power. She and the other warriors left at the Keep were trying to repel Alston’s army, which showed no signs of withdrawing its assault on the stronghold. She couldn’t believe the sheer number of warriors Alston and Ludcarab were able to recruit. When she’d shown up on the battlefield in Arizona, she’d been surprised at how large it had been, and the army they were battling now was every bit as big, possibly more so.
Just as a fae warrior lunged for her, she heard the unmistakable whistle of arrows.You’ve got to be kidding me..
“How could you be so stupid to choose to turn on your own race?” Nissa asked the male as their weapons hit with a satisfying clang. She fully expected to be impaled by an arrow at any moment but didn’t have time to look up.
“What could possibly be stupid about not wanting to live in the shadows any longer?” He shot a bolt of magic at her.
Nissa noticed that his magic was no longer white but instead was completely black.How did I not notice that in Arizona?The slice of a blade way too close to her ear caused her to forget the question. It didn’t really matter. His soul had obviously been consumed by the poison that Alston was feeding him and those who followed the traitorous high fae. “I’m not going to dignify that question with an answer.” Nissa turned and knocked him in the back with her elbow. He stumbled. As he righted himself, she leaped in and placed the tip of her blade at his throat.
“You would kill your own kind?” The warrior glared at her, eyes so full of hate that if he were able, he would have killed her by his stare alone.
“You are a traitor. That means you are no longer one of my kind,” Nissa growled. Though she was high fae and normally quite calm, especially compared to Perizada, she was a warrior in her own right. “I have no problem killing a traitor. You’re not my first, and you won’t be my last. May the goddess have mercy on you,” she said and then ran her blade straight through his trachea.
She pulled her blade out just as quickly and didn’t bother to watch as his body hit the ground to join the fallen. She remembered the sound of the arrows, and her head snapped up. There were definitely arrows, but they were suspended in midair about eight feet above their heads. She glanced around and saw Jareth, the djinn, staring very hard at the arrows, apparently holding them in place. Surrounding him was a group of wolves who’d phased into their fur forms and were protecting him while he not only lit up the battlefield but also kept them all from being hit by the soaring weapons. She didn’t have time to marvel at his power as suddenly there was a vampire in her face.
Nissa shoved her hand against the vampire’s chest and shot a pulse of power into him, disintegrating his heart. She stumbled forward a good ten feet and turned to see that a warlock had slammed into her back. Nissa narrowed her eyes on the large female. “That was not smart.”
The woman didn’t respond, just ran straight for her.
Nissa grunted as her sword sunk into the warlock's stomach. The warlock’s brute strength was one of their strongest fighting qualities, and Nissa found they were actually a tougher opponent than a vampire.
Nissa turned and saw Alina battling two traitorous fae. She began to run in the alpha female’s direction when a loud bellow stopped her in her tracks. She turned at the sound and saw Drake, one of Vasile’s males and the mate to Bethany, fall to the ground. An elf male stood over him with his dagger sunk into his stomach to the hilt. Nissa changed course, sprinting toward the fallen wolf, but Vasile was there before she had even taken two steps. He swung his own blade up over his head around in an arc and sliced it straight through the elf’s neck. The elf’s head went flying as his body fell to the ground.
Nissa watched the whole thing as she ran to the other side of Drake and knelt across from Vasile. She looked up and saw Thalion and Cyn fighting around them, protecting them as they tended to their fallen.
“Rachel,” Nissa called out as she saw the she-wolf who was also one of the Romania pack healers, fighting just past Cyn.
Rachel dispatched the vampire and then turned at the sound of her name. Her eyes widened as she recognized Drake on the ground. She hurried over and pushed in beside Nissa. When she saw the elf blade deeply embedded in Drake’s stomach, her face paled.
“This is beyond what I can heal,” Rachel said, her voice trembling. Her hands shook as she ripped the bottom of her shirt and wrapped it around the hilt that was touching Drake’s abdomen. “Hold the blade steady and apply pressure.” The healer looked at Vasile. Then she turned to Nissa. There were tears streaming down Rachel’s face. “Bethany,” she practically whispered. “Their baby.” Those two words came out more like a plea.
Nissa could think of only one thing that might be able to save Drake’s life: a sprite. But since it hadn’t been until recently that they’d actually had any contact with them, the sprites weren’t a resource she would have ever considered in the past.
Nissa nodded. “Stay with him,” she told Rachel. Then she stood and looked at Cyn, “I will be right back. Your mate and Gavril can protect them. You need to find Perizada and her mate. Now. I don’t care what you have to do, or where you have to go, but you bring them here as quickly as you can.”
Cyn nodded. The swords in her hands suddenly disappeared. “I’m on it. Go. Get Drake and Bethany help.” She flashed from the battlefield.
Nissa glanced around, checking on their army—people who had come to mean very much to her simply because she respected their desire to help those who needed it and because they didn’t give in to the pull of darkness that unbridled power offered them. They didn’t allow themselves to be motivated by what they could gain for themselves, but instead were willing to sacrifice their very lives for others. They were still fighting valiantly, but the battle was too evenly matched, and they weren’t necessarily winning. She saw that Alina had apparently killed her two vamps and now was facing off with two warlocks. “Dammit,” Nissa growled. She’d only facedonewarlock, and that had been bad enough. But Alina was powerful. She was a warrior and knew how to fight.
“Nissa!” Vasile snarled.
She saw Alina kick one of the warlocks in the face, and it went flying.Yes, she will be fine.Nissa flashed to the sprite realm.
The queen of the sprites paced the great hall. As soon as Nissa appeared, the woman turned to face her. The look on Nissa’s face must have conveyed the seriousness of the situation.
“What do you need?” Andora asked without preamble.
* * *
