He walked across the marble court with Daisy in his arms. The nobility parted ahead of him, wariness or outright fear on their faces. The doors opened when he reached them, and fae servants on either side hurried to clear the way. The doors closed crisply after they’d passed through.
Are you okay?Tarian asked Daisy. Faelynn hurried beside them, her hands on Daisy’s ankles, helping Daisy’s body repair the damage.
Yeah. I’ll heal. My ACL is just about good. I’ll be fine to walk in a moment. Almost there. It wasn’t a deep cut, thank god.
The other damage?
Before Daisy could answer, Faelynn dumped a plethora of images and feelings into their heads, detailing the magical maladies and what was healed and what was left to go.
Who was helping her?Tarian mused to himself.She doesn’t usually team up with anyone. She doesn’t keep anyone that powerful close enough in case they try to sabotage her.
Is teaming up with someone a vulnerable thing or something?Daisy asked as they turned a corner.
Yes. Very. It requires great trust. You are linked for a time, and in that time, your power can be used against you. It’s the perfect opportunity for a fae to betray another, so very few do it.
Daisy lifted her eyebrows.She must really want you. This level of obsession is extreme.
She always has, yes.
Tarian is the ultimate prize in this court,Faelynn said.The realm, really. The most handsome, the best pedigree, the promise of the most powerful offspring—she wants him like she wants to breathe. And she recognizes that he found in you what she has always wanted him to find in her.
Let’s hope she’s the only one who recognizes that,Gorlan murmured, his eyes continually scanning.Or else?—
The lighting in the hall cut out.
They are trying my patience,Tarian said, setting Daisy down in the middle of the hallway.Stay there. Don’t move. Let us handle this.
(Like hell she would.)
Daisy.Tarian waved his hand, and diffused light peeked through the black along the top corners of the ceiling.I don’t need your hidden thoughts to alert me to your stubbornness. Stay there.
Your internal wounds are healed enough for you to defend yourself,Faelynn whispered in Daisy’s head as she pulled a dagger out of a sheath.Be prepared in case something gets through us. Tarian has called theFallen.They are hurrying. We just need to hang on. Don’t let anything affect your heart. These types of creatures always go for the heart.
Great. She didn’t have one of those. She was all set.
25
Daisy
Darkness moved all around them,coalescing into shapes and figures. Creatures grew from the ground, the same sort Tarian had pushed on her outside of the charity auction hotel. Even then, he’d been preparing her for something like this.
Faelynn sliced her palm as the creatures filled the hallway. Blood welled up, and she ran it over her blade. It started to glitter gold in the low light, her magic coating the sharp edge. Gorlan did the same, the three of them forming a protective circle around Daisy, knees bent, postures battle-ready. Tarian’s glowing weapon had turned into his favorite, the staff with a blade on either end.
Daisy rose, pulling out her own blade. Her ankle hurt, and her stomach pinched, but she was good enough. She wasn’t the type to stay idle. If Tarian had met Lexi, they could’ve bitched about that fact for hours.
The creatures jostled each other as they closed the distance between themselves and Daisy’s crew.
No, Daisy specifically. All “eyes,” hollowed-out holes filled with flickering fire, were on her. The soulless orbs gave her a chill to look into.
At once, they started running, slowly at first, then faster. Claws elongated into disproportionate lengths on the ends of spindly arms. They clacked against the ground on tripod-style legs. The first one reached Tarian. He dodged a swipe gracefully, stepped, and plunged his staff through the chest, then pivoted, yanked his blade, and swung for the next. His movements were effortless and beautiful, someone who’d taken great pains to learn and master the forms of fighting.
Gorlan was next, followed quickly by Faelynn, both of them also showing a mastery of their blades. Gorlan hacked off a limb as Faelynn twirled and sliced her blade across a creature’s neck. She stepped as she pulled free and plunged the blade into another. Gorlan did the same, hacking and slicing and stabbing. Their skill was far beyond that of the nightmare creatures advancing, but their number was too few. Way too few. They’d be overrun in no time.
Normally, Daisy would’ve stepped into the space between Faelynn and Gorlan, hiding her involvement from the person—fae—who had told her to stay out of the fight, but she didn’t know them. She hadn’t fought with them. She did know Tarian, and so she filled the space between him and Faelynn. He’d just have to get over it.
She sliced through a reaching arm, hacking it at the elbow before sticking her dagger into the creature’s chest. The magical blade cut right through. Unlike the first time she’d battled such creatures, these didn’t scream. Daisy and crew would be treated to a lovely, quiet fight. That wasn’t so bad. Less annoyance.
“She’s even entertaining when she’s fighting,” Gorlan called over the wet sounds of blades finding purchase.
