Niamh stepped out behind him, a dissatisfied expression on her face at the sight of Liam clinging to me as if he’d lost the only important thing in his life.
Her gaze lifted to the stag, standing close by, and her lips curled in a snarl. Her expression was incandescent with rage.
Arlan began to laugh when he caught sight of the stag, his shoulders shaking as the sound boomed out of him.
“That’s impossible,” Niamh snarled.
“Evidently not,” Arlan said, sounding amused. For being her husband, he seemed awfully elated to see Niamh so upset.
Not a happy marriage between those two, I was guessing.
Liam hadn’t reacted to their presence, still rocking me back and forth, looking lost.
“Her death should have cemented my hold,” Niamh said.
I realized the two didn’t realize I was still alive. Granted, I felt about two steps away from death, my body bruised and beaten, but the pain told me I was still very much among the living.
I remained very still, afraid to call attention to myself.
“That it hasn’t, means you are unable to deliver on your promise to put the vampires in this territory under your hold,” Arlan said.“What will your master say?”
“Shut it, wildling.” Her voice was nasty as she glared at him.“I have not lost yet.”
Niamh moved closer to us, her gaze locked on Liam’s bowed head. I debated what to do, whether it was better to show my hand or remain still, faking a death she was sure to see through.
I decided to stay pliant in Liam’s tight grip. Dawn wasn’t far. The sun was minutes away from cresting the horizon. The hunt was all but at an end.
Liam’s head lifted, his gaze locking on Niamh’s.“You did this.”
The rage in his voice was enough to make me flinch. Any sensible person would have fled.
The skin on his face had thinned, releasing the monsterI’d only caught the briefest glimpses of. My heart gave a painful thump. Even knowing that look wasn’t intended for me, it was hard not to react.
It wasn’t just anger there. No, he was every god of wrath and revenge given form. Almost primal, as he looked fiercely at Niamh with the kind of emotion I hadn’t thought he’d ever feel for me.
He didn’t just want her dead. He wanted to bathe in her blood, to draw out her ending and make it as long and painful as possible.
To her credit, she didn’t flinch. Instead, her smile turned seductive as she brushed her hair back from her face.
A glint of purple and blue shimmered from above.
Lowen and Inara looked down at her, their small bodies making their way along the branches as they shadowed her.
I didn’t know what they had planned, but from their furtive movements and the snarl on Inara’s face, I didn’t think it would be good.
Still, I waited, even as the Wild Hunt’s magic called the rest of the hunters to the clearing.
Jerry stepped out of trees, his big body surprisingly graceful for such a large man. Ruth and Harry followed, along with several other Fae. Their gazes were all locked on the stag, and me in Liam’s arms.
Arlan had a thoughtful look on his face as he glanced around. He looked from me to Liam, cocking his head as he considered. He shut his eyes and breathed in. They popped open, gleaming with surprise and something that looked like awe.
“The hunt’s still going,” he said softly.
I tensed, waiting for him to call Niamh’s attention to that fact. If he did, Niamh would figure out what was going on.
“Very well done, little breaker,” he murmured, just loud enough for me to hear.
Niamh didn’t react as she glided forward.
