I peer through the mist at the bladed face of the male who’s wanted me dead for weeks now.
“I’ve no need for help.” Bronwen seizes Arina’s reins and climbs atop the filly with the grace of a seasoned equestrian. It’s evident that she, like Nonna, must’ve once had a stable full of horses at her disposal.
My gaze drops to Aoife. Although she is stone, sound penetrates. When she awakens, she will tell Lorcan everything.
Lorcan. . . “Was Lore even struck, Bronwen, or was it all a ruse?”
Arina jerks her head at the sound of my voice, her eye growing large. As much as I want her to pad closer, to toss Bronwen off her back and choose me, I fear that Dante or one of his brutes will harm her if she does.
“I’m speaking to you, Bronwen!” Still, she doesn’t answer me. “At least have the decency to tell me why you pitched me onto Dante’s lap!”
“I will let my nephew explain. After all, you two will have plenty of time for chats in the coming days.”
A pair of shiny black boots outfitted with gleaming spurs stops in front of me, blocking my view of the duplicitous seer. “Shall we get on with our evening?” Dante crouches, his cold blue eyes boring down on mine.
“Fuck you,” I snarl. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“That’s no way to speak to your king.”
“You’re not my king! You’re not my anything!”
LORE!!!I shout down our bond.
My heart jolts when the sky rumbles.
Did he finally hear my call? “LOOOR—”
Dante springs open his fingers, sending a reedy cord of water into my mouth. I gag on the icy trickle.
“Better not tarry, Dante. I suspect Lorcan has noticed her absence.” As Arina paws at the mist, Bronwen nods to Aoife. “And take the Crow into the tunnels with you, or Lorcan will awaken her with his call, and she’ll disclose your whereabouts.”
I snort. The only reason Bronwen wants Aoife out of Lore’s range is because she fears her involvement will be revealed. “Lore and my father will shred you once they learn of your betrayal, Bronwen. And Cian . . . he’ll despise you.”
“Except none of them will ever find out. Unlike you, child, I’ve learned to guard my mind.” She stares at me with her moon eyes before kicking Arina’s flanks and taking off toward Lore’s mountain.
I will the sky to fill with wingbeats.
I will this to have been a marvelous trick to draw Dante out of hiding.
I will Bronwen not to have left me here alone.
“BRON—” Water fills my mouth again, and I choke because this time, it isn’t a weak ooze but an unending gush. One that’s coming from the raised palm of the blue-eyed soldier beside Dante.
“Are you quite done shouting, Fallon? Or does my guard need to feed you more water?”
I snap my lips closed and use the mind link. Since my words aren’t reaching Lore, I picture him and will my soul to leap toward his. Yes, I’d be leaving my body unguarded, but it isn’t as though I’m doing a swell job at protecting it as it is.
However hard I try, the valley doesn’t fade, and Lore’s face doesn’t overtake Dante’s. I blink away my frustration. Why is the bond not working? The answer hits me at the same time as vines tangle around Aoife’s stone body. The tea Bronwen made me ingest wasn’t for my womb, it was to hush the bond! That has to be it.
I’ve hated the sightseer many times in the past, but never more than at this moment.
As Aoife is dragged into the cavern, I stare at the arrow protruding from her waist. If I sprinted, I could reach her and pluck it out. At least, she’d be saved.
One of the Fae must sense the direction of my thoughts because the second I leap to my feet, vines tangle around my ankles and send me sprawling face-first into the ground.
Dargento crouches beside me, simpering. “Looks like you’ve gotten yourself in a bind, Crow-charmer.”
My chest beats with such fury that I roll onto my back and shriek at the top of my lungs, hoping a passing Crow will hear my distress.
