When we pulled up on the drive outside Blake’s cottage, the front lawn had been mowed recently and the flower beds were all neat and tidy.
“They did the garden too.” Blake sounded exceptionally pleased, and he had the car door open before I’d even turned the engine off.
By the time the rest of us got out, he was knelt down in front of a flower bed with what looked like… “Are thosekerysi?” I walked over to crouch down next to him.
“Yeah.” He gently lifted one of the dark blue flowers, the edge of the petals lined with a delicate pink. “I didn’t know whether they’d survive without me giving them the special plant food I made up, but they look pretty good, right?”
“Yeah, they do.” I hadn’t expected to see fae flowers in his garden, but as I stood and looked around, I caught sight of a few other plants from our realm. “Talis,” I called and beckoned him over when he glanced my way.
He took his time coming towards me, stopping every few steps head tilted as though he was scenting the air. Now that I was watching him, I noticed the tenseness in his shoulders and the way his jaw clenched at whatever scents he was picking up.
I stood up and met him halfway. “Everything all right?” I glanced around us, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. Apart from the fae plants dotted around, it looked like what I’d expect for a cottage in the countryside.
Talis frowned, gaze still darting around as though he was searching for something but didn’t know quite what to look for. “I don’t know.” He rolled his shoulders, then frowned. “I can only smell faint traces of Falon’s pack, which makes sense, but something just feels…off. Maybe I’m still on edge from before.”
From Zh’alek.
It was understandable. I was surprised I wasn’t more on edge, but Zh’alek was dead, and Gren Melhak was locked away in a fae prison. I refused to go back to looking over my shoulder every five minutes.
Lady Sarhin joined us, watching Talis with narrowed eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“Probably nothing,” he said, rubbing his jaw. “Something doesn’t feel right. Like…fuck.” His eyes widened as they met mine. “Like when Zh’alek was in the for—” A dull thud sounded and Talis stumbled backwards, hands clawing frantically at his chest. “Silver,” he gasped, sinking to his knees.
“No-no-no…” I dropped down next to him, horrified to see the end of a crossbow bolt sticking out of the right side of his chest. “Talis.”
The shaft was a dark grey with a blue vane.
The kind used by the fae guard.
“Chlah’al.” I heard Lady Sarhin curse behind me. “Axel, get him back to the car.” She was already hustling Blake towards it. I didn’t know if either of them could drive, but I had the keys in my pocket.
“Come on,” I said, trying to drag Talis to his feet, but he was too fucking heavy for me to lift on my own. “You need to help me out here, big guy.”
“Can’t.” He groaned as I pulled on his arm. “Leave me,” he murmured, giving me a half-hearted shove.
“I don’t fucking think so.”
The sound of metal on metal rang out, then another and another as whoever was firing targeted the car engine. And there was clearly more than one.
What the fuck was going on?
Another bolt hit the ground beside us, narrowly missing my leg.
The second one hit its target, slicing into the back of my calf. I cried out, the pain sharp and intense, stealing my breath.
An almighty roar filled the air as Talis ripped out the bolt in his chest and surged to his feet. The air shimmered around him, like it did before he shifted, but he stayed in human form, an agonised cry tearing from him. “I… can’t…shift,” he ground out, voice desperate.
I saw the bolt on the floor, the shaft snapped in half.Fuck, the silver tip must still be inside him.
I managed to push myself up to my feet, Talis catching me when I almost fell over again. He slid his arm around my waist, grimacing in obvious pain, but he half-carried, half-dragged me over to the car, rage urging him on.
That’s when I saw them, melting out of the trees at the side of Blake’s driveway. One, two, three, four fae. All carrying weapons of the fae guard. “Oh, fuck.”
I looked behind us to see two more wielding crossbows coming out from the side of the cottage.
With the crossbows at our backs and those four in front of us, we had nowhere to go. Talis slumped against the car, trying to shield me with his body.
I caught sight of my phone on the driver’s seat where I’d fucking left it. “Where’s your phone?” I whispered.
