Somehow, his words cut through their sleep-addled daze. Rourke grabbed our belongings, and we were down the stairs within moments, joining the rush of startled fae as they fled from the burning building. The barmaid stood by the door, motioning everyone through with the wave of her hand. Tears stained her cheeks, and I felt my heart clench tight. This was her home. This was her life. And now it was all going up inflames.
After we stumbled outside, I stared up at the inn. Horror grew in my gut as the flames licked up the wooden sides, engulfing every room it came into contact with. I coughed, my lungs still burning from the smoke. Other patrons stumbled around or held their loved onesclose.
From behind me, I heard the rumble of hooves on the ground, and I turned to see four riders slowing to a stop at the top of the nearesthill.
My skin crawled at the sight of them. They reminded me of my dream, my nightmare. The one where I’d stood on the battlefield, staring down at dozens upon dozens of bodies. They littered the bloodied ground. Their vacant eyes stared up at a moonlit sky. But this wasn’t a battlefield, and there were no dead fae on the ground. Just fire and smoke filling the midnightair.
“No,” Rourke breathed, his voice full of horror. A chill set deep within my bones. I’d never heard Rourke sound like thatbefore.
I turned to see him staring at the riders. His eyes were wide, and his hands were curled into tight fists. Dread pooled in my gut, and I glanced at the hillside once again, following his gaze. The riders remained, their horses stomping their hooves against the dirt. There was something….off about them, though I couldn’t put the feeling into words. It was if they carried a darkness with them. Their faces were obscured in shadows. No detail about them could be seen. They were vague dark shapes on the hill and nothing more, but I knew without a doubt that they weredangerous.
They truly were like the fae in mydream.
“Who are they?” I asked, though I was afraid to hear theanswer.
“It cannot be,” Rourke said with a slight shake of his head. “It is impossible. I must bewrong.”
My heart thumped in my chest. “Wrong aboutwhat?”
When he turned to me then, my entire world was shaken by the haunted look in his eyes. “Those four riders are not of this realm. They are DarkFae.”
Chapter Fourteen
The riders vanishedbefore we could reach them. One moment, they were there. The next, they were gone. Another sign that they were who Rourke thought they were. The fae of this realm were not able to use their magic to shift from one location to another. Which meant…the Dark Fae must not be bound by the magic of this world. Not exactly a comfortingthought.
“Why would they be here?” I asked a pacing Rourke as he strode from one spot on the grassy hill to another, spinning on his feet as he kept casting looks down at the blazingfire.
Until now, I had thought I knew what the Dark Fae wanted: me. But they had clearly seen me standing here without a weapon in my hands. They’d had their chance to get to me just then, and they hadn’t attacked. Hell, they hadn’t even approached. So, why had they been here if not for that? Had they known who I was? Surely theydid.
“I cannot say why they were here,” Rourke said, rubbing his chin as he tried to reason through what had just happened here. “It it illogical. We have paid our Tithe thisyear.”
“Maybe so, but this certainly explains the earthquakes,” Liam said with a growl. He looked as though he were itching for a fight, his entire body trembling with unspeakable rage. “It’s been a very long time since they’ve come to Otherworld, but I heard stories of when they came in the past. The world reacted to their presence. Trees would fall. The stars would flicker. I never truly understood what that meant untilnow.”
“The storms.” Rourke’s face clouded over evenmore.
“I knew they would return,” Kael said in a quiet voice. “You remember what Queen Viola said. They want Norah. Viola failed, so they’ve come for herthemselves.”
My gut clenched tight, fear churning through my veins. I didn’t want to be afraid of the Dark Fae, but I couldn’t help myself. Iwas.
“If that’s truly the case, then we need to get her out of sight as soon as possible.” Rourke stopped his frantic pacing to glare out at the darkness. “We need to go somewhere that is safe, and we need to warn the courts about the presence of the Dark Fae in thisrealm.”
“We cannot return to the Academy,” Finn said with a frown. “We need to find the Starlight for Norah. Otherwise, the venom will take hold of hersoon.”
Kael clenched his jaw. “I can go find the Starlight alone. I know the best places to look. You three can take Norah back to the Academy where it’ssafe.”
“The Academy won’t be safe,” Liam barked as he stormed from one end of our huddled group to the other. “The Dark Fae will be expecting us to return there. Remember the last earthquake? That was at the Academy. I bet they’ve been keeping an eye on the place for days. I wouldn’t even be surprised if we found out they encouraged all thoseattacks.”
Kael paused, and then gave a nod. “You’re right. The Academy isn’t safe, but the Winter Court’s castle will be. There are a few Hunters currently living there, but that’s it. It’s deep within the mountains, surrounded by ice and snow. It would be impossible for the Dark Fae to sneak up on us there, and they are unlikely to want to trek through that kind ofweather.”
“We’d still have to make it all the way from here to there,” Rourke said. “And next time we come across them, they might not just walkaway.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, shifting my gaze left and right as I watched the heated exchange between my mates. It was time for me to get a word in edgewise. “We can travel off the road. It’s lessconspicuous.”
Rourke frowned but didn’t argue. Liam scowled. Finn didn’t look too bothered one way or theother.
But Kael...he hated the idea. “We’ve gone over this, Norah. You’re too weak to travel thatway.”
I gestured at myself. Even though my current state might have escaped their noticed, it hadn’t escaped mine. I wasn’t weak or unstable, and my neck didn’t even feel painful anymore. I felt strong. And I felt more than ready to tackle the road ahead of us, even if it was long and wearying and bitterly cold at theend.
