“Gotcha, one of everything. One Indian feast, coming right up.” Flynn pressed the phone to his ear and left the library.
“Be careful.” I kissed Blake’s forehead, my lips lingering as a delicious heat shimmered across them.
“Careful is my middle name, Princess,” Blake grinned. “Oh wait, I lied. It’s actuallycarnal.” He leaned forward and stole another breathtaking kiss.
Arthur shot us a disgusted look and stormed out of the room.I wonder what’s wrong with him? I thought I’d made it clear that I hadn’t chosen any of the guys. I thought they all knew what was going on. But maybe I haven’t been clear enough.
I hated the idea of Arthur being upset with me. I wanted to go after him, but he would have to wait. I needed to stay with Blake. If I thought he was in trouble, I might be able to help him inside his dream.
With a final flash of those sparkling eyes, Blake tipped his head back and downed the glass in one gulp.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
BLAKE
The things I do for this woman.
I laid my head back on the puffy chair they called a sofa. The draught burned my throat on the way down and settled in my stomach like nectar wine, ready to dissolve the inside lining.That’s it,I resolved as my eyelids drooped and my brain went fuzzy.This is the last time I drink anything that makes me sick. From now on it’s just curry and cakes and roast lamb and bollocks to anyone who tells me otherwise?—
My eyelids slammed shut. A moment later I was back in the meadow ofTir Na Nog.
Soft grass swirled around my legs as I clambered to my feet and steadied myself on shaking legs. That draught had messed with my balance.Methinks Rowan should stick to baking cakes.
I stared down the valley, wondering what might greet me when I reached the bottom – if I managed to reach the bottom alive. The meadow ran along the single, solitary valley inTir Na Nog, separating the two sides of the forest – one each for the Seelie and Unseelie courts. The sidhe at the base of the meadow had been built by the ancestors of the fae as a meeting place for the royals during their revels, where the two courts cametogether to dance and drink and copulate. But ever since Daigh killed Morgana, they were the sole domain of the Unseelie Court.
I knew I’d find Daigh there, which meant I’d also find answers. All I had to do was get down there without being seen.
Luckily, I knew all the good hiding places. First step, get to the forest. I lurched toward the trees on the Seelie side, dragging my shaking body into the shade of the towering oaks just as footsteps crunched over the grass.
I ducked down behind a trunk, my body tense. I peeked over the edge to watch a column of soldiers – their uniforms mixed green and black – heading toward the gateway. They carried the carcass of a deer. Dried blood caked around an arrow wound in its neck.
A sacrifice. A fae ritual was afoot.
They’re trying to break through the gateway again. They won’t do it this time, but it won’t be long until they succeed. At best, we’ve got two days left before their combined power breaks through our warding spell and they come for us.
I will not allow it to happen. I’d only just discovered the joys of the human realm – Eccles cakes, roast lamb, sofas, Maeve’s lips pressed against mine, the warmth of her cunt as it tightened around my finger, and tonight…curry.
It would be a cold day inTir Na Nogbefore I let Daigh take all that away from me.
I waited until the column passed out of sight over the crest of the hill then I darted deeper into the forest, keeping low to avoid detection. Above my head, birds chirped a cheery tune, but I knew even they could betray me if Daigh offered a tempting reward. I skated around the lookout towers, trusting that Daigh hadn’t thought to change them after my departure. The sound of laughter and music filtering through the trees told me I approached the sidhe.
I crept as close as I could to the clearing, parting the blackberry bushes in front of me so I could see the dancing Unseelie fae. Seelie slaves in green loincloths carried trays of meat drowning in berry sauce and struggled under the weight of huge amphorae of nectar wine. It must have disgusted them to carry that dead flesh around for their new masters.
If only I was close enough to hear what they were saying. But between where I hid and the revels was a field of meadow grass. I’d never be able to overhear anything useful unless some fae decided to go make out in the forest?—
I’m in a dream. I can do whatever I bloody well want.
I closed my eyes and thought myself into a nearby tree. A moment later, something hard and thick slid between my legs. And I wasn’t talking about that Irish witch’s meat, although that too was a mildly tempting proposition.
I opened my eyes and found I was straddling a thick oak branch, high above the clearing at the centre of the sidhe.
Shit. I’m in the High Oak.The sacred treeright in the centreof the court sidhe. Not the ideal place to be if I wanted to stay concealed. Fae danced right beneath my dangling feet. If a single one of them looked up, they’d see me.
Let’s try that again.
I closed my eyes again and thought myself back into the trees, this time a little further down the valley from where I’d been before. I opened my eyes and found myself back on the ground in a different spot. The blackberry bush I’d landed in looked right onto the entrance of the Royal Sidhe. I could see glowing lights inside and shadows moving. Daigh would be holding court, directing the fae in the next stage of whatever-it-was he was planning.
If I could just get closer, I could hear what they?—
