“Where the fuck have you been?” Varian hissed, drops of blood splattered over the front of him. “What happened to Ariel?”
I was late, all right. This battle had been raging for at least ten minutes, given the number of dead and dying Fae soldiers, while to our right, metal clashed, the reek of freshly spent magic clogged the air.
“She’s…alive.” That was the best I had to offer. “What happened toyou?”
“We got the Crown, but…”
Through a doorway, Ryland backed into the corridor, slashing and stabbing at a slew of attacking guards, the Crown gripped in his free hand, fresh blood pouring down his cheek as he struggled to raise his weapon. With a roar, he shoved the guard back through, throwing a frantic glance over one shoulder.
“I have to set Arial down to fight, but if I do…” I scanned the hall, the thunder of more soldiers rushing our way. “We have to get out of here, Var. Please tell me you have enough magic left to get us out of here.”
Flying us out had always been the plan, but seeing those dark circles under his eyes, the pinched look to his face, I knew we were pushing our luck.
And now there were four of us.
“Gods, you found her,” Ryland ducked, a Fae guard’s blade skimming over the top of his head with a whistle of air. “Is she alive?”
“Alive and wanting to get the fuck out of this place,” I sidestepped Ryland as he parried the guard’s next blow. He was moving slow, slower than I’d ever seen him move.
“Finish him off so Var can take us back to the island.” I turned back to Varian.
“I’m assuming you can? Get us out of here?”
“As soon as Ryland quits playing with his food. Come on, old man, put some muscle into it,” Varian called, his grin cracking through the mask of blood and sweat. “He needs all the encouragement he can get these days,” he said with a sideways look.
“You two are a pain in my ass,” Ryland hissed, lunging forward, tipping his head to the side, just enough for the Fae guard’s blade not to go straight through his eye socket. Ry’s aim was true, his blade pierced armor, punched out the guard’s back, metal on metal screeching when he withdrew.
“Old man my ass,” Ryland glowered between the two of us, reminding me of old times. “Didn’t even drop this.” He tossed the Crown up into the air, and I lost my breath as the relic spun round and round in slow motion, flashing gold, before snagged midair by tanned, deft fingers.
More soldiers rushed down the corridor from both sides, so many the floor rumbled beneath our feet and Iswallowed, holding Ariel tighter. There were too many; we’d never fight our way out of here.
“That’s it, we’re leaving,” Varian bellowed, his hand closing over mine. “Try not to lose the Crown this time, Ryland, I’d hate for Rooke to think we’retotallyincompetent.”
I never heard his answer, because the moment Varian touched me, the four of us vanished into a roaring wind.
38
LYRAE
Rooke was waiting on the shore when we landed on Frostveil Keep, his snow-dusted silhouette unyielding against the approaching storm front. Ariel was fast asleep, limply draped over me until Varian gently extricated her and swung her up into his arms, her face whiter than the snow-filled wind wailing around us in the near-dark.
“Storm is almost here,” Rooke murmured with a dismissive glance toward the lot of us. “It’ll be on us within the hour. My guess is, the snow will last all day.”
Wonderful.
I was exhausted to the bone, and the day was only just beginning.
Dawn was close at hand, but with the dark clouds rolling in, you’d never know. Overhead, I still caught glimpses of a star-flecked sky, the moon dropping to the opposite horizon, the barest blush of color to the east.
Ryland pulled the Crown from beneath his cloak, the shards of bloodstones glinting. “Success all the way around. Lyrae has Ariel, and look what we found. We’re back in business.”
I didn’t know where they’d found the thing, only thatRyland was covered in blood and sporting a wicked black eye.
But that story could wait.
“You gave her the emergency draught?” Surprisingly, Rooke didn’t reach for the Crown, his gaze turning distant, staring out across the ice with a thousand-yard stare I’d never seen from him before.
How long had he been out here, anyway?
