Daigh’s eyes glinted in triumph. He held his hand out in front of him, the palm pointed directly at me. “You will not be going anywhere with them,” he spat.
“Touch Maeve and we’ll hurt your prince,” Arthur roared.
I looked over my shoulder. I don’t know how, but Flynn had Blake under his arm. Blake’s own arm hung limp at his side, a jagged cut across his shoulder. Blake’s eyes bore into mine,cool and surprisingly serene, as Flynn’s bone blade pressed up against his throat.
“You’re making a mistake,” Blake warned.
“Shut up,” Flynn growled, pressing the blade against Blake’s skin. A thin line of red blood streaked across Blake’s throat.
The king laughed, wiping spittle from his jaw. He waved his other hand at Flynn. “Fine. Kill him if you must. It is of no consequence to me.”
“I will,” Flynn yelled, pressing the bone blade deeper into Blake’s throat. Blake tried to say something else, but all that came out was a strangled cry.
My chest lurched.
“Flynn, don’t,” I said, not really sure why I was trying to save the guy who’d betrayed us. But something feltwrong.
I tried to fling myself toward them, but the king’s magic still held me glued in place.
Panic rose in my throat, and I realized with startling clarity that I was watching the beginning of the deaths of my boys. As good as Arthur was, soon thesidhewould swell with reinforcements. A single shot from one of those deadly recurve bows and he would never swing a sword again. Not even my knight could hold them all back. I couldn’t see a way out of this, unless…
Unless I gave myself up. Unless I did what the king asked.
“Fine, I’ll do it!” I yelled at the king. “I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll stay here with you and rule your kingdom, but you have to let the guys go free.”
“Maeve, no,” Arthur growled, sliding his blade into a sprite who tried to latch on to his hair.
The king grinned. “Ah, so she does see reason. That’s my girl. I’m sure that if your knight puts down his iron weapon we shall be able to come to some kind of arrangement.”
“Arthur, put down the sword.” My voice wavered. My whole body trembled.
I can’t believe I’m doing this.
The idea of staying with Daigh, of becoming like the fae, turned my stomach. But if I wanted to save my boys, I didn’t have a choice.
“I won’t surrender,” Arthur growled as he cut down another fae. “You’re not staying here withhim. I’d die first.”
“Arthur, Flynn, please,” I begged. Tears streamed down my face. “This is the way it has to be. He killed my parents just so I’d come here. I can’t have your deaths on my conscience, too. Please…”
“He’s a fae. You can’t trust him,” Flynn hissed, pressing that blade harder into Blake’s throat. “Even if he is your father, it doesn’t mean anything to him. He’s going to let his own son die.”
“Perhaps you would take his place?” The king asked Flynn. “Blake’s not my biological son. He’s just some baby I stole before I was banished here. I thought he’d be a fitting lover for my daughter once she came of age. But if she has found more worthy suiters, I obviously have no need of him.”
“No thanks. Unlike your boy here, we don’t need your help to find a girl,” Arthur stepped forward, slicing through a horned fae that stood in his path. “You’re not getting Maeve, or any of us, and you’re not getting the earth back, no matter how many fae you send after us.”
Two black-clad fae leapt at him, but instead of attacking them, Arthur flicked his sword back over his shoulder, slashing a vine that rose to the ceiling. His blade sliced clean through it. The vine whipped up over their heads, and my gaze followed it up, realizing with a start what Arthur had done.
Now free of its rope, an enormous bone chandelier crashed to the ground, right on top of Daigh’s throne.
The throne collapsed, flattening Daigh against the ground by the weight of the chandelier. He moaned as a scapula pinned his chest. A heavy arm of bones crossed over his legs, bending his knees at impossible angles. Green blood poured from a deep wound on his head. His mouth hung open, but all that came out was a bubbling, strangled gasp.
The room erupted in chaos. Fae rushed forward to help their king, but one swing of Arthur’s sword cut them down and sent them back against the walls.
I collapsed to the ground, my feet free of the spell. I picked myself up and ran over to the guys, flinging Corbin’s other arm over my shoulder and taking some of the weight from Rowan.
“Maeve…” Daigh managed to choke out, his eyes rolling back in his head.
“She’s not yours to take. If you want Maeve, you’re going to have to get through us first.” Arthur slammed his blade through the king’s hand, driving it deep into the earth.
