“Which means that your son is still in Fairy,” I said to Raza.
“Yes, I surmised as much,” Dylan added. “When I spoke to King Keir he told me that his men escorted the raven mockers to the rath but then left them there, thinking they could cross over at their own convenience. The raven mockers were free from suspicion and as such, the twilight knights felt no need to guard them. They left them to their own devices, as they would have any free fairy.”
“So somewhere between the time the twilight knights rode away and the time the raven mockers lined up to enter the rath, something happened to them,” I concluded.
“It would seem so and it would appear that dullahans had something to do with it,” Dylan agreed. “King Keir has already dispatched knights to search the area. If they don't find any trace of the mockers, they'll expand their search until they do. We will find your son, Lord Raza. If for no other reason than he is one of ours.”
“He's alive,” I whispered to Raza and took his hand. “I know it. In Fairy, Danu can help him and I don't believe for one second that she would let a bunch of dullahans murder innocent fey.”
“I'd like to believe that too but terrible things happen in Fairy all the time,” Raza said grimly. “Thank you for the information, Duke Dylan.”
“You're very welcome, Lord Raza,” Dylan said sincerely. “Goodbye, Seren... go get on a plane.”
“Yes, Uncle Dylan,” I disconnected the call.
Chapter Forty-Four
Our group was traveling in six SUVs since there were close to forty of us when you included the team who picked us up from the airport. My SUV was in the middle so I didn't immediately see the ambush. All I knew was that our vehicle braked suddenly and I was thrown forward, jerking against my seatbelt strap. Cat slid into the back of the driver's seat, paws outstretched and clawing at the floor for purchase.
Then there was shouting, a lot of shouting, and everyone in my SUV jumped out onto the road to see what the ruckus was about. Tiernan was in front of me and I barreled into his back when he stopped suddenly. Cat started growling, setting herself to the side of me and staring at the thick treeline next to the road.
“Dullahans!” Tiernan shouted back to me and the rest of our team. “Only a heart shot will kill them! And if you have any gold, bring it out for them to see.”
“Gold?” I asked.
“Dullahans are afraid of gold,” Raza growled as he came up beside me and smiled savagely, his gold eyes beginning to glow.
“That's a strange thing to be afraid of,” I remarked.
“It burns them, like iron does the rest of us,” Tiernan's hands filled with light as he stared around us steadily.
“Well damn,” I huffed sarcastically. “I left my solid gold dagger at home.”
Aidan started to head off toward the other SUVs but Tiernan stopped him.
“We stay with the Princess,” Tiernan looked over to Conri and the extinguisher who'd been driving our SUV, they both nodded.
“I need to help them,” Aidan protested.
“Everyone here can handle themselves,” Tiernan shook his head. “If we move, we'll play into our enemy's hands. We have to remain solid in our center or they'll break our group up.”
“Right. Okay,” Aidan nodded. “Then I'll watch our backs,” he shifted to the front of the SUV, where he could watch the other side of the road.
Even as he moved, the rest of my Star's Guard rushed over to us, abandoning both extinguishers and witches in favor of protecting me. Well, it was kind of their job. They formed a circle around me and Cat, Sir Ian completing it beside Tiernan. Tiernan huffed, his plan shot to hell.
The witches in the last SUVs started shouting and bursts of light outlined their vehicles. Aidan looked over to his people in concern.
“Go,” Tiernan said. “Do what you need to do. I guess it doesn't matter now.”
“Good luck,” Aidan said to us as he ran off towards the witches.
“Princess Seren,” a raspy voice drew my attention to the treeline.
There stood a group of some of the most disturbing looking fairies I'd ever seen. I'd read about them both as an extinguisher in training and after I'd become princess. I knew that if you were close to death, a dullahan could call your name and kill you early. I knew they usually traveled with a wagon made of bones and skin, and if you stared at them too long, you'd be liable to get a bucket of blood thrown on you for your curiosity. I also knew they were the original headless horsemen.
Except these guys had left their wagons at home and they didn't seem to be headless at all, nor were they riding their famous black horses. They were afoot and when I looked closer, I realized that they had fastened their heads onto their necks with wide metal collars. I guess you didn't want to have to carry your head around when you went to war. It could get exhausting. Which made me wonder; how would their magic work in war? Wasn't everyone technically close to death when they went to battle? Did that mean these guys could just stand there and call out our names to kill us? Evidently not because one of them had just said my name, hadn't he?
“And who are you?” I called out over the sounds of battle surrounding us.
