Concord tosses her head in the affirmative, and moments later, we’re in the air.
We travel straight ahead.
The air is clear, and it’s the quickest path, but once we reach the edge of human territory, it will become more dangerous.
The sun is rising over the horizon by the time we reach fae territory. I would have preferred traveling in darkness, but there’s nothing we can do about it now.
The fae castle is a speck in the distance, where it sits on the side of a mountain.
A flash of light draws my focus to the airspace beside it.
I lean closer to Erik. “Did you see that?”
“I saw it.”
Another flash flickers across the air. Then another. The faint sound of thunder reaches me. And then we’re close enough that I can make out more specks, a mass of them flying above the plain.
“Monsters?” I ask, my eyes wide. But I discount that possibility immediately. The sky isn’t blood red across the plain. There are no churning clouds. The air isn’t filled with the copper scent that accompanies the darkness.
And yet there’s a hum of shouts and thunder and clashing steel while flashes of lightning and fire split the air.
In the next moment, we’re close enough to see.
I gasp. “They’re all thunderbirds.”
“They’re fighting each other.” Erik’s shoulders are tense. “The fae are fighting each other.”
I look to the ground, where the rows of tents used to be. They’re gone. The plain is bare.
Oh, no.
My heart is sinking.
“Erik, what if Karasi’s people turned on her? What if they wanted to follow Elowynn?”
I point to the ground. “She didn’t move hertroopsback. Those tents were full of families. Not warriors. She’s forced them toward the darkness so she can use them as leverage. Any fae warrior with a family at risk would do whatever she says.”
“Against those who no longer have any family to lose,” Erik snarls, his growl an angry rumble through his body.
We’ll reach their battle within minutes.
Concord gives a soft squawk, and I suspect she wants to know what to do. She’s Elowynn’s bird, and it must be taking all of her restraint not to try to find her rider right now.
To Concord, I say, “Take us across the mountain ridge above the forest. We need to pass north of the castle to avoid the main battle.”
But to Erik I murmur, “You have to stop the fight. The fae don’t need to fear the darkness. I will deal with it. Their families will be safe. They don’t have to kill each other.”
His body is tense, his jaw clenched. He hasn’t yet agreed, and I understand why.
It means leaving me.
It means that the final moment he has with me will be right here, right now, and it can’t be enough.
We’re hurtling toward a goodbye that neither one of us wants, and it’s too soon.
Up ahead, on the western side of the castle, a fight becomes visible on the ground.
My heart stops when I make out a flash of copper metal and a male figure whose silver hair is identifiable even from this distance.
