I lost my balance, falling to one knee on top of the pile of crystals and candles on the top step, scattering crystals and candles across the stones. The flames flickered and went out, plunging the circle into darkness.
The ground bucked and I grabbed the edge of the step to stop myself slipping. From the other side of the sidhe, Maeve criedout. The fear in her voice made every hair on my body stand on end.
I forgot myself. I broke from my position in the circle, scrambling across the heaving earth toward her. I only got a few steps before my body slammed into an invisible wall, sending me flying backwards. My foot slid off the edge of the step and I toppled down into the barrow.
My head bounced against the earth floor. Red welts danced in front of my eyes, and a dull, faraway pain throbbed behind my temples. The thought occurred to me that it was probably a bad idea to be down here while we were trying to block the gateway. I tried to crawl toward the stone steps, but between the pitch blackness and the red welts I couldn’t see where they were.
I have to get back to Maeve.
I chose a direction and crawled, dragging my body behind me. Exhaustion grappled with my mind, and from the way my limbs dragged and my muscles contracted in slow motion, it was close to winning. The urge to curl up into a ball and close my eyes tugged at my body, but no way in hell was I going to leave any of them alone up there when they needed me.
“You have lost them all,” A voice rasped in my ear. Cool breath whispered against my neck.
I whipped my head around, but I could see nothing but deep, penetrating darkness.
I raised a hand and flailed at the air, trying to grab the figure who belonged to the voice, but it only laughed – low and deep and menacing, his voice echoing around the vaulted barrow.
“Show yourself!” I demanded, my voice swallowed by the darkness.
The voice laughed again, this time from my left. I rolled over and grabbed for it, but my fingers gripped only darkness. The voice spoke again from the other side of the barrow.
“Who are you without them?” the voice demanded.
“Fight me like a man,” I screamed back.
“Foolish little boy. You’ve spent your whole life as a guardian, watching over them, watching over the human race. You’ve held my plans back by many years, and kept me from knowing my only daughter. For that, you will know my anger. I’m about to take them all from you. So I ask you again, who are you without them?”
The Unseelie king.
I didn’t need to have heard his voice before to understand I was speaking to Daigh, Maeve’s father.
He’s talking about the coven, about Maeve and the guys. He’ll kill them all and burn the earth to dust and leave me behind so I’ll have nothing left but guilt and regret.
Daigh’s words shuddered through my body, riding on a wave of horror. In the darkness I saw my enemy for what he truly was. I felt his presence beside me and around me andinsideme, his fingers crawling over my mind, digging out every little secret and insecurity and fear I had and bringing them to life. He showed himself in my head – only a sliver, but enough so I glimpsed his malice, his determination, his righteousness. I understood my enemy, and that understanding brought with it only terror.
Pull yourself together, Corbin. This is bigger than you, bigger than the darkness.
“I’ll kill you!” I found my rage and found my voice. I leapt toward his voice, pulling my magic inside of me to suck the air out of his laugh. My body slammed into the earth and the fae king’s laugh – now behind me – boomed louder, pounding inside my head like a jackhammer.
A bright light flickered in front of me. My eyes watered. The laughter boomed in my ears, fading away as the roar of my thundering heart took over.
“Corbin, mate, are you down here?”
Arthur’s voice.
Hands grabbed my shoulders. I thrashed and kicked, trying to throw the king off me.
“I found him,” Rowan yelled. I startled at the loudness of his voice. Rowan was never loud. My body went limp. Pain flared inside my head – white hot heat melting my skull.
“Corbin, Corbin, can you hear me?”
“The voice…” I murmured, pressing my hand to my temples.
The air around Rowan shifted, his stormy tension becoming a cold, bitter chill. “I think he’s hurt,” he called.
“Careful, mate, we got you.” The fire flickered out as Arthur’s strong hands slid under my elbows. He helped me to my feet, supporting my weight against his sturdy frame. I hated how weak I felt, but there was no way I could physically walk out of the sidhe alone.
I leaned against Arthur as he practically dragged me up the stairs. Flynn, Maeve, and Blake waited at the top of the stairs. Maeve rushed at me as I collapsed on the grass. She cupped my face in her hands and a warm energy leapt from her skin into mine.
