She screamed, flipping onto her feet to search for her.
A rumbling halted her and the extinct volcano beneath them shook so violently, Echo stumbled to a knee, her injuries reasserting themselves with a vengeance. She gasped at the agony in her back and vaguely wondered if the stake had splintered in her body.
Then all thoughts distilled to one at the sight of the hill opening beneath them in four spots.
As the rumbling grew louder, the mountain trembling with what felt like rage, four monoliths rose out of the volcano in a circle atop Arthur’s Seat.
Four standing stones.
A gate to Faerie.
“Astra, show yourself!” she roared into the sky.
No answer.
Echo’s gaze dropped to her birth mother as she smeared Astra’s blood and flesh from her mouth with the back of her hand. Tears burned her eyes.
So much pain. Echo had caused Margaret so much pain … and led her to her death.
“It isn’t your fault,” Kiyo’s voice carried to her. “This is Astra’s doing. No one else.”
Astra appeared in the middle of the standing stones. Her hair blazed behind her with unnatural wind, her dress fluttering against the curves of her body.
Her eyes were bright gold.
“They’re coming,” Astra announced with a smug smile.
The air crackled around them, the hair on the back of Echo’s neck rising in response. Suspecting Astra would assume Echo would attack her again, Echo vamp-sped over to Kiyo instead and yanked the silver blade out of his back.
He shot her a dark look of thanks before he transformed into a wolf more quickly than Echo had ever seen a were invoke his beast. It was too fast. Then, of course, Kiyo was no ordinary wolf. Wolves had the gift of long life … but not immortality. Yet, Kiyo did. Kiyo was the world’s only immortal werewolf. Clearly, that came with perks.
Like Conall, he had thick black shining fur, and he was huge. He bared his teeth at Astra, but the fae female just grinned viciously at him.
“Now, now, it’s a little too late for that.”
Before Kiyo had time to charge at her, Conall and Thea appeared with Rose out of thin air. Rose held them, having brought them here bytraveling. Then Fionn appeared. And then Elijah, whose gaze darted around the cliff top. Echo felt his relief as he spotted her. He followed her eyes as she gestured with her chin to Odette, Nancy, and Bill, who had come to in the last few seconds.
Elijah’s expression softened with more relief—until he saw Margaret. His head whipped to Echo. His sorrow mingled with hers.
Astra scowled at the supernaturals. “Where is my sister?” she shrieked.
Niamh.
Kiyo growled low in his throat.
Then Astra’s eyes widened as she looked beyond them to where the hill sloped downward.
Niamh’s voice carried up toward them. “Looking for me, you psychotic fae feces?”
Echo might have laughed if she’d been capable of it.
Astra’s paling features had Echo turning toward Niamh, and she drew in a breath at the sight before them.
A bitter smirk curled Echo’s lips as she realized Astra was shocked. “Ah, you didn’t see that coming, did you?”
36
For months,Niamh had been burdened with visions of what could be. Not just one possible outcome to the fight to save the freaking world, but many possibilities. With that burden came the realization that to achieve the ending she desired, she would have to move everyone like chess pieces. Not just Astra. But even the people she loved and cared about.
