“Well?” Dathal got to him first, the rest of us on his heels.
Wyn stopped, slightly out of breath. “There’s no one outside, but a white SUV’s parked on the drive, the bonnet riddled with crossbow bolts—”
Dathal froze. “What colour?” he bit out. “What colour were the bolts?”
Wyn frowned. “Um… I think the shaft was a dark grey and the vane was blue.”
“Chlahri sinh,”Dathal spat, eyes searching out my father’s. “They’re the colours of the fae guard.”
A chorus of “What the fuck?” followed as Dathal’s words registered.
Max rounded on Dathal. “You’re sure?”
“As sure as I can be without seeing them for myself.”
I turned to my dad. “Do you know if any fae guard came through the gateways today?”
“No. But they’re no longer being monitored as heavily as they were. It would be easy for them to slip through if they knew someone working the gateway on their side.”
“What else did you see?” Max asked Wyn.
“Two dead fae. One just inside the treeline, the other near the house.” He bit his lip, clearly not wanting to say the next bit. “There’s a lot of blood by the side of the car. And drag marks. Like whoever was bleeding was dragged from there into the house.”
“Let’s go.” Dathal started to walk off, but Max grabbed his arm. “Wait. We don’t know what we’re walking into.”
“I don’t care,” Dathal hissed, two silver daggers suddenly appearing in his hands. “They could be dying while we stand out heredoingnothing.”
I growled, right there with him. “He’s right,” I said, feeling my wolf stir under my skin, itching to be released. “There’s eight of us. We can take them out before they even realise what’s happening.”
“I get what you’re saying, but just fucking wait a minute. I want to know if Wyn saw anything else before we charge in there.” Max glared at us until we grudgingly nodded. “Carry on, Wyn.”
“They had someone guarding the patio doors, so the back of the cottage was a no-go. But the kitchen window affords a glimpse into the living room. I couldn’t see much, but one of the fae in there has a crossbow pointed at someone in front of him. Even with the element of surprise, they’d still be able to shoot them before we even got inside.”
Dathal swore, throwing his daggers into the trunk of a nearby tree.
“What do you suggest?” My dad stepped forward, hands clenched into fists. Anger and frustration rolled off him.
Max sighed. “If they’re fae guard, I’m going to go out on a limb and say they have no shifters with them.”
Dathal grunted in agreement. “It’s unlikely.”
“Then we can approach the cottage without fear of anyone sensing us before we get in range.” Max glanced at Gabriel. “Do you remember the layout of Blake’s cottage?”
Gabriel frowned. “Vaguely.”
“There are three access points,” Max explained. “The front door, the patio doors leading off the living room, and a back door to the utility room. Wyn said that there’s a fae on the patio doors, and it’s likely they have someone watching the front door too, but the utility room has an alcove that hides the back door. You wouldn’t know it was there from a cursory glance inside.” He shrugged. “I say we go in that way and surprise them.”
“And the fae with the crossbow?” Dathal asked.
“Wyn,” Max said, turning to face him. “I know it’s asking a lot, but if you go in first, would you be able to get in there and get a shield up around whoever’s in the firing line?”
“I can try.”
I didn’t like it.
Not one fucking bit, but I also didn’t see another option.
“Wyn,” Dathal said, “was the fae in front of the patio doors wearing his guard uniform? The one like mine?” He didn’t have it on now, but I knew he’d worn it to the raid on Yates’s compound.
