Brin’s answering smirk was particularly obnoxious. “Shall we end this?
Muiredach snatched a sword from a Lucie nearby. Fire erupted along its length as he rushed Brin.
My biological father stepped to meet him. The two came together in a thunderous crash that sent a blast wave ripping through the clearing.
Luckily, I was already lying down or the force would have toppled me.
It did topple several others. Almost immediately, they climbed to their feet to resume fighting.
In the middle of it, Callie strolled over to me, her head snakes waving gently around her face. “Little niece, you’ve pulled off quite the feat. A road between the realms. I didn’t think it possible.”
“How?” I asked.
How were they here? How had they known to come?
Callie squatted beside me to scan my injuries. “Your father.”
I wanted to ask how he had known the exact time to be here, but I had a feeling Alches had told him.
“Stay awake, little nightmare. The fight’s not over yet,” Callie urged, her voice coming from a vast distance.
Sluggishly, I realized my eyes had drifted closed. The thought that I should force them open occurred to me.
But I was so tired. And that seemed like more trouble than it was worth.
I was just beginning to sink back into the darkness when blood touched my tongue. Pure lightning coursed through my veins.
I jolted back awake, opening my eyes to see Ahrun’s smiling face above mine as he withdrew the finger he’d stuck in my mouth. The small wound he’d made by scraping the finger pad against one of my fangs already healing.
“Careful, dearest,” he crooned. “Else you’ll lose the battle after winning the war.”
I followed his nod to the fight taking place between Brin and the Summer King. Inara wove around them, darting in and out of the king’s range, magic flying as she provided Brin with support. Together, the two had managed to open several small wounds.
Strangely, there was no blood coming from those gashes. Not even a hint of red.
“What is he?” I whispered.
Ahrun’s blood acted like an elixir, beginning the healing process. The tears in my flesh began to knit themselves backtogether. I no longer felt that crushing sense of pressure around my organs either.
I was still weak.
It would take hours, if not days, for me to return to full health, but that tiny drop from Ahrun was enough to get the process started.
“That is for you to figure out,” Ahrun told me. “Give your father my best, and tell him I’ll meet up with him later.”
“Where are you going?” I asked as Callie supported me to sit up.
“I can’t do everything for you, my dear,” Ahrun tossed over his shoulder. “My heir has to prove herself, after all.”
Heir? No.
“Despite Vitus’s assumptions, it was never going to be Thomas. He had neither the temperament nor the interest. You, though.” Ahrun nodded. “You’ll do quite nicely, I think.”
Ahrun broke into a sprint, disappearing from the meadow in a pop of air.
I jumped as a body landed next to me. Its head split in half, blood pooling under it.
Owen stomped on the Red Cap’s chest, crushing it. “What’s Brin doing here? I thought our king ordered him to stay behind.”
