And she burned with rage for them.
She had promised them peace, and that peace had been stripped away, bringing war to their doorstep once again.
She loosed another cry. Her mate answered. They closed in.
And Arianna didn’t possess an ounce of fear.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Saoirse
Saoirse panted, her body exhilarated as she fought beside the harpies, momentarily falling back to catch her breath. Zylah stood at her side, eyes bright with their impending victory.
“You good?” Zylah asked without looking at her.
Saoirse smirked. “Don’t get cocky.”
“Just making sure your age isn’t catching up to you.”
“You’re one to talk.” A knowing smile crawled across Zylah’s face. Saoirse still didn’t know how old Zylah might be.
Saoirse stood, adjusting the grip on her sword. They were pushing through; bit by bit, they were gaining the upper hand.
The harpies fought with wild calculated movements that left Saoirse wanting to learn a thing or two from the warriors before they disappeared back to the mountains.Ifthey disappeared back to the mountains.
A loud chittering had Saoirse jerking her head toward the forbidden forest. The mass of Dark Fae had divided there, as if—Fairy Folk were suddenly in the air, buzzing around, insurmountable magic flying from their tiny bodies that rendered the Dark Fae incapacitated on impact.
Then the trees moved. Saoirse squinted through the lines, struggling to understand exactly what she was seeing. Then she recalled the statue in Ruadhán. The claim made by Rion and Arianna that it resembled one of The Guardians.
And now there were hundreds of them.
But not just them.
Countless creatures she’d never seen before and had no name for. They engulfed the Dark Fae, descending on them like a wave.
Allies.
A grin spread across her face and Saoirse rallied her magic again.
They had more allies.
She didn’t know how or why. Maybe it was the eruption of Rion’s and Arianna’s magic. Maybe it had been their transformation. Maybe the gods were finally answering them, realizing evil was trying to triumph over their land and creations.
Tears sprang to her eyes.
These were the stories of old. This was history in the making. This was the battle they would write stories about for ages to come.
And Saoirse was right here in the middle of it, making history right alongside everyone she loved.
Are you watching, Máili?
The harpies and Guardians merged into a single line in the distance, both fighting alongside one another as if they’d trained to do so their entire lives. Maybe they were reliving history, too.
Saoirse took a single step, ready to leap back into the fray, when a Fae bounded past, swift as a deer. Saoirse turned, her world moving in slow motion. She pivoted without another thought.
Saoirse knew that Fae like she knew her own heart.
Saoirse flew over the remains of the fallen, struggling to keep up. Eimear’s legs landed gracefully, flying like she had wings of her own. Eimear veered around one group, her sword out, but unused. Then she swerved around another, flowers, vines, and trees unfurling in her wake.
