My eyes widened in realisation. He hadn’t brought us here to hide in wait for an attack. He’d brought us here so he could dump me next to the bins. Lugh wanted to go fight the stalkershimself.
I shook my head and pointed at his cloak, where there was a glaringly obvious lack of a spear. Then, I pointed at myself and mimed holding a sword before me. I was trying to remind him that I was a warrior. I was trained to fight, even if I didn’t have my weapon of choice. But Lugh didn’t know that. He thought I was a solitary fae who’d spent her entire life on her own, without access to coaches and trainingfacilities.
“I’m your King,” he hissed softly, and then rounded thecorner.
For a moment, all I could do was stare after him. He was risking his life, a second time, to keep me from getting hurt. I hadn’t expected that from him. He was the King of Wraiths. He’d formed a secret Court, hidden from the rest of the fae world. He’d seemed so callous and uncaring. Atfirst.
But that was because hewas, I reminded myself. I had seen him at the Pack headquarters, with my own two eyes, asking for a cauldron that would help him steal the crown fromClark.
I was here to stop him. I was here as a spy, not as one of his subjects. He wouldn’t be so eager to help me if he knew thetruth.
My heart beat hard at the distant echo of his footsteps on the cobblestone. He suddenly stopped, and several more footsteps sounded through the close. Whoever had been following us now surroundedLugh.
My heart lurched as a deafening silence filled theair.
He may have ordered me to stay here, but I wasn’tactuallyhis subject, so I could do whatever I damn well pleased. Besides, maybe I could finally get some answers. Everything so far seemed linked. So, it stood to reason that whatever Lugh had planned with the cauldron could have something to do with why these fae were trying to take himdown.
Yeah. So helping him would be helping me.Nothim.
At that, I gave myself a nod and pushed away from the stone wall. Creeping down the close, I kept my footsteps silent. I couldn’t afford for them to hear me coming, not unless I wanted to be dragged out of the shadows and exposed for what I really was: aspy.
I followed the twists and bends until I came to a small square at the end of the close. Lugh stood in the center, surrounded by about a dozen armed fae. With a sharp gasp, I ducked into a doorway and peered around theside.
The fae were all clad in black, and their faces were obscured by hoods. I could only tell what they were by the way they held their bodies, the grace in their tiny movements, the magic that rippled like sound waves around their limbs. Every supernatural has a certainfeelabout them, and I could always recognise afae.
Lugh crossed his arms over his chest, his black cloak billowing around his feet. “Ten of you. That’s more than Ithought.”
One of the fae answered by cracking hisknuckles.
“Is no one going to speak?” Lugh asked smoothly, his face transformed by that cruel apathy he’d shown me from the very first day. I was starting to realise that Lugh only looked bored when he was anything but. “At least tell mewhyyou wish to killme.”
One fae strode out from the rest. A tall, large female with a voice that sounded like rain on the wind. “We know who you are, and we appreciate your heritage, but we also know you’ve been searching for the cauldron yourself. Why,Lugh?”
Lugh squinted at the fae, but his expression showed no recognition. “You must bemistaken.”
The female tsked. “A liar, too. That can only mean one thing. You’re searching for the cauldron to stop us from bringing back yourcreator.”
Frowning, I cocked my head.Bring back hiscreator?
Lugh’s entire body went stiff, and his voice dropped to a growl. “Don’t speak ofher.”
The fae let out a little laugh and drew a gold-edged sword from her back. “You and your constant ‘don’t speak of this’ and ‘don’t speak of that.’ So paranoid. It must be a terrible way to live, hiding everything from everyone. I guess that means we’ll be doing you a favour. Just think of it like this. We’re putting you out of yourmisery.”
My eyes flicked from Lugh’s stone-cold face to the warriors drawing their weapons. He was completely surrounded with no spear to keep him company. I didn’t need to be a druid to know how this fight wouldend.
The female swung her sword at Lugh’s head. He dropped low to the ground, grunting as he rolled to the left. The female scrabbled toward him. She slashed her blade toward his head, but he shifted left just in time, and the steel rang as it hit the stoneground.
Gritting my teeth, I cast my gaze around me for anything that would help. A metal sign, displaying a flat for rent in the building above. Not ideal, but it would do. I yanked it off the wall andcharged.
The warrior nearest me didn’t see me coming. I slammed the sign into the back of his head, and he crumpled to the ground without a word. But that was pretty much it for the element of surprise. I’d caught the rest of their attention now, and they were all staring at me with bulging eyes. I couldn’t see the rest of their faces, hidden by their blackmasks.
Except Lugh. He just lookedfurious.
“Moira,” he growled. “Get out of here.Now.”
I spun the sign in my hand and shrugged. “Nope. I owe youone.”
The female fae whirled on her feet to face me. Her entire face was obscured by a black cloth. Not even her eyes were visible. Damn. She must be someone that Lugh knew. Maybe even I’d met her. All I had to go on was her voice, and that was easy enough to change. A little warble here, a low growl there. Easypeasy.
