“When you try to kill a fae,” the female said, lightning crackling up to the thundering floor, “you should know her power, her skill. Every time a blade swings through the air, it gives me power. So, you and every other idiot fae in this close have only charged my magic. And look at menow.”
She was charged alright. Bright white sparks shot along her arms and legs, burning up her clothes as they went. Her hair was alight with her power. It swirled in the air like strands of purelightning.
“Move out of my way, Morrigan lover, or I willmakeyou move.” Her voice was low, quiet,dangerous.
But I was pretty damn dangerousmyself.
“Duck low, hobgoblin,” I whispered urgently, my heart hammering against my ribs. I had no idea if this was going to work, but I had to trust my gut. I had to trust mymate.
Uisnech let out a little chirp. I knew without looking that he had fallen face-first onto the ground and that he had taken Saoirse along withhim.
Fiona cocked her head when I held my hand out to my side. “Whatever do you think you’re doing, Morriganlover?”
“You’ll see. But you should come up with a better insult than that. You’re just reminding me of why I fight.” I curled my hand into trembling claws and braced my core. Power flickered around me, just slightly, as I ground my teeth. The magic from Lugh’s spear rippled toward me, but then it vanished just asfast.
Pulling a deep breath in through my nose, I parted my lips and whispered, “Lugh.”
The bond between us snapped tight, and suddenly his eyes were on my back. The power of his nightmare wraith shot toward me, and I gasped as it slammed hard into my soul. Wind whipped my hair, and a thousand tiny strands of fire licked up from the ground to surroundme.
“What’s going on?” Fiona narrowed her eyes, and her own magic became a crackling storm around her body. “Stop it rightnow!”
The wind grew stronger and stronger around my hand, and then suddenly, something solid slammed into my palm. I closed my fingers around it and grinned, twisting it sideways so that the five points were now aimed right at herchest.
“Lugh’s spear.” Fiona’s eyes widened. “But you can’t. No one can wield it buthim.”
“Oh, butIcan.”
She screamed and launched toward me with her lightning magic hurtling straight at my heart. I pulled back the spear and threw with all of my fae strength behind it. It soared through the air, the glistening tips flashing withmagic.
It collided with Fiona, and her body curled around the points. Magic flashed through the rumbling close, the lightning vanishing in a cloud of black dust. The world went eerilysilent.
Uisnech stepped up to my side and peered down at the fae’s broken body. “Is that it, my noblefriend?”
I cupped my hand around his face, my heart aching. “That’s it, Uisnech. Fornow.”
22
The small roomon the top floor of the residential halls lacked a working heating system, but I was somehow going to miss that bone-deep chill when I went south. Most of my belongings had been burnt after the Sapphire bomb went off in my original room, but I found a few things to pack in my baganyway.
The very act of folding a shirt and putting it in the satchel gave me the closure to know that I’d made the rightchoice.
Probably.
I kept going back and forth aboutit.
On the one hand, this was not my Court and Lugh was not my King. I’d pledged myself to Clark, and that hadn’t changed, no matter what had happened since I’d arrived in Edinburgh. She needed me, and truth be told, I didn’t want to lose her friendship. Not to mention the whole prophecy part of it all. Lugh, the King of Wraiths, was my mate, and I was destined to killhim.
Kind of a hard thing to getpast.
On the other hand,Lugh was my mate. I ached to stay by his side. I wanted to curl up in his arms. I wanted to feel his lips on my skin. I wanted to fight by his side and face down hisenemies.
With a sigh, I wrapped my sword in the black cloth and gave it apat.
This had been one wild ride. After I’d defeated Fiona with Lugh’s spear, Imogen and the rest of her band of Cauldron Tossers had thrown up their white flag and had surrendered. Both sides had lost warriors in the battle, but in the end, they’d lostmore.
Lugh and his team had gathered them up and then deposited them in the castle prison. I wasn’t entirely sure what he would do with them now, but that wasn’t my business. Not anymore. I’d done my part. Mostly. I’d helped stop them from bringing Nemain back from thedead.
The only problem was...the cauldron had, as far as we could tell, been buried in the close. We’d only managed to get everyone out before the whole thing caved in, transforming Edinburgh’s city centre into a whole load ofrubbish.
