“My future…Liah’s future…Maeve’s future…It’s no matter,” Daigh waved a hand. “They are all the same. Tonight I have put a stop to it. The world cannot die if the witches are already gone. You are here, and Maeve is here. I see you have already gathered a coven to join us. As soon as the rest of these witches are dealt with, we can get on with our business.”
“I’m not here to join you, Daigh. There are a million other ways to stop this vision from coming true than killing our daughter’s coven. We’re here to stop you.”
What?
Daigh’s smirk froze on his face. He honestly hadn’t expected Aline to stand against him.
My mind reeled. I hadn’t expected it, either.Was Aline telling the truth? Why had she run off to collect everyone on her own? Had she known Daigh was lying all along? Why didn’t she tell me?
Maeve,Blake roared inside my head.Stop worrying about Mother Dearest and her lover boys. Break your magic free.
I pushed again, forcing my mind to focus on the magic pulsing against my skin. But once again, it slammed into the invisible wall.
It’s not breaking!I cried at Blake.
It will, my love. But you must be ready.A voice that wasn’t Blake’s cut through my head, light and lyrical.
Aline. How did she get inside my head?
“You can’t stop me.” Daigh’s voice darkened. “The humans have spoken – the world does not want these witches. The Slaugh will come in three days to scour the earth of anyone who opposes me. They are unstoppable. Under my rule, the fae will have our territories once again. We will tear down the iron fortresses and rebuild our world in earth and leaf and stone.”
Aline tipped her head to the side. “One thing we both know about humans is that they can change their minds on a whim. And as for these fae who still follow you, what will they do when they learn your secret?“
“I have no secrets from my fae,” Daigh said, his chin high.
“I suspected you were planning something the day we spoke through the mirror in the forest. But I knew our daughter wasn’t yet ready to trust me, so I had to keep my fears secret from her. When you came back to speak to Maeve, I knew you were lying. I studied the wards of the castle when I discovered what you’d done to Robert. I know you cannot cross them, not even to speak through a mirror. The only way you could have achieved that was if you were no longer fae.”
What?
Blake’s voice screeched in my head.Bloody hell!
A gasp rocked through the fae legions. The two soldiers dropped Kelly and glared at Daigh.
I zeroed in on Daigh’s face. His casual grin did not falter, but the firelight caught his eyes. He blinked. That blink – the only sign from Daigh’s chiselled features that anything fazed him – told me everything I needed to know.
Holy shit.
It was true. I didn’t know how or why, but Daigh was no longer a fae.
CHAPTER TWO
TWO: ARTHUR
“...speak through a mirror.” A familiar singsong voice called me back from oblivion. “The only way you could have achieved that was if you are no longer fae.”
My head throbbed as I raised my neck toward the bright fire. Grass tickled my face. It took me a couple of moments to realise where I was. I thought I must’ve accidentally set the meadow alight. Panic caught me as I tried to shrug off my coat so I could smother the flames, but my arms wouldn’t budge.
Thin memories stretched across my mind. Standing on the staircase raining fire down on the compelled villagers. Corbin racing down the stairs, sucking all the air from the room and dropping them like flies as they gasped for breath. Corbin yelling at me to run. Corbin and I sprinting for the meadow and crashing into a phalanx of fae soldiers. My sword clashing against bone blades as arrows flew past my head. Losing sight of Corbin in the fray, my vision blurred with green and red – fae and human blood and the blinding force of my rage. My feet stomped on the fallen bodies of my enemies as I forced my way across the field, knowing that if I broke through I could run to Raynard Hall for help, or maybe I’d just stand on the crest of thehill and burn them all to dust. My sword plunging into a fae’s stomach. Green blood spurting across a green uniform. The fae collapsing against me, trapping my sword between us. Trying to shove him back so I could yank my blade out, and hearing a crack as something hard slammed into my skull.
Then the pain came, and nothing else.
I spat dirt from my mouth. Even with the pain throbbing behind my eyes, I got the gist of what had happened since I’d been out. The villagers had tied me up and immobilised me. I lay on my stomach, my hands bound and a heavy weight on my back, holding me down. I kicked out with my leg – my boot making contact with bone. My captor grunted in pain but didn’t loosen his hold.
A few feet to my right, my sword blade glinted as it reflected the orange flames. If I could get to it…
But any escape plans were halted as the rest of the situation came into view.
Behind the bright fire, six stakes lined the highest point of the meadow.Just like in Maeve’s vision.I turned my neck to the side and saw Maeve and Flynn and the others tied up and held down by the villagers. Daigh paced in front of an army of fae that faced up the hill, arrows drawn but not yet loosed. Kelly lay tied up on the ground between two warriors. She curled her body up and tried to wriggle away. They barely seemed to notice her, their attention drawn to a figure at the top of the hill.
