He spared her a glance before turning and walking away, gesturing toward where Breandan and Baran waited in the trees. They looked from him to me, fascination on their faces before following.
Niamh didn’t notice. The only ones left were the minor Fae and Niamh’s followers.
Liam had stilled above me. He didn’t throw out threats, though I felt them. Unsaid, just below the surface.
Niamh didn’t seem to realize the danger she was in, even as she moved closer.
“There will be other lovers,” she said, flicking her fingers in dismissal.“Leave that one there and come along.”
I sensed the coiled violence in Liam’s body and touched his hand. He flinched, glancing down at me in disbelief. I gave him the smallest of smiles and a wink.
His body shook as he gazed down at me with something approaching wonder.
“The hunt isn’t finished,” Niamh said, her voice turning threatening when Liam didn’t respond.“The stag still lives.”
Liam stroked my cheek, a million words there. IfI’d doubted what he felt for me, that doubt was gone. The grief when he thought he’d lost me had been real. The rage, even now, wasn’t entirely absent, just banked.
Liam set me down, moving cautiously. His gaze lingered on mine, a warning not to move.
He stepped over me, his body hovering protectively over mine. He bared his fangs at Niamh.
“Connor, protect Aileen,” Liam ordered, sparing only the briefest of glances at the stag.
Niamh stopped, looking for all the world like he’d just slapped her. Her gaze went from him to me, whereI’d raised myself up on one elbow.
I wasn’t the damsel in distress type. If he planned to fight, so would I, even if my body protested each and every movement, my muscles trembling from overuse.
Denial was there on her face.“No, she should be dead.”
“So sorry to disappoint,” I said.
Rage turned her ugly. She didn’t stay that way long, her expression smoothing out.“The hunt still goes. Kill her.”
The words were a signal. Chaos descended.
Inara and Lowen dropped from above, a net of magic woven between them. Liam launched himself forward, meeting the first Fae with a snarl, breaking its neck and tossing it at those behind him.
I leveraged myself to my feet, determined to fight. As long as we lived, there was hope.
The stag reared, using his hooves to strike another Fae in the head.
From behind us, the howl of wolves rose. Furry bodies poured into the clearing, setting on the Fae and driving them back.
Liam’s enforcers were steps behind them. I flinched from Daniel as he wielded his broad sword with wild abandon. Instead of being cleaved in two asI’d assumed, he knocked a Fae out of the air, dispatching it easily.
I sank into my vampire, relying on its instincts to defend us, wrenching apart anything that came close, using fangs and the claws on my fingers to stay alive.
I got lucky. None of those who approached were those I knew.
Not until Jerry ended up across from me, an ax in his hands and murder on his face. He advanced, even as I had enough presence of mind to back away.
“Jerry,” I warned. He didn’t respond, the hunt and Niamh’s thrall binding him too tightly.
I thought I detected a hint of awareness in his expression, regret, even as he kept coming.
I dodged out of the way, aiming a blow at his elbow, then his shoulder. I moved around him, using speed and desperation to stay out of reach while hitting him in the few places he was vulnerable.
Liam roared, coming out of nowhere. The two meeting with a mighty crash.
