“I’ll admit, the plan did not go exactly according to…well, plan. But it was close enough.” He continued to smile. “Lugh is gone. You are here. And now, you are going to give me thatspear.”
I snorted, scarcely believing my ears. “You are joking, right? I would never hand the spear over to you. You’ll have to kill mefirst.”
The smile dropped instantly, quickly replaced by a spine-chilling, dead-eyed stare. “Youwillgive me the weapon. Or you forfeit the goblin’slife.”
Fuck. I flicked my eyes to Uisnech’s face. Staring deep into my soul, he gave a minuscule shake of his head. He didn’t want me to go along with this. The poor creature was ready to sacrifice his life in order to protect Lugh’s spear. Hell, I was willing to make that kind of sacrifice, too. But it wasn’tmylife on the line. It was Uisnech’s. Horror churned in my gut as I dragged up my gaze to focus on where the sharp point stuck into the goblin’sskin.
“Leave the hobgoblin out of this,” I hissed. “If you kill him, you’ll accomplish nothing.I’mthe one guarding thespear. ”
“I have no desire to fight you,” the fae said, smile stretching his lips again. “Hand over the spear. I won’t ask you again. In fact, I will give you sixty seconds to make your decision. If the spear isn’t in my hands at the end of those sixty seconds…well, then you will have a funeral on your hands.” He lowered his voice and shifted on his feet. “The hobgoblin’s funeral, just to beclear.”
“Yeah, I got that, thanks.” I rolled my eyes, refusing to let him see the terror churning through me. The seconds were flying by as if time itself had been doused in a vat of Iron Bru. Uisnech had closed his eyes, resigning himself to his fate. I stared at the little creature. My heart raced; my mouth wentdry.
Sucking in a sharp breath, I let out a guttural scream. “Dammit!”
I just couldn’t do it. Regardless of what it meant, I could not stand here and let Uisnech die. I couldn’t “sacrifice him for the greater good” or whatever other kind of nonsense people told themselves so that they could sleep at night after making terrible, life-alteringdecisions.
Unshed tears burned my eyes as I whirled toward the spear and unlocked the case. A sharp gasp rang out in the tunnelled room. “No, my noble warrior. You cannot dothis.”
“I have to. I cannot let him kill you,” I said through gritted teeth. “Just trust me,Uisnech.”
Quentin might get his hands on the spear, but I wouldn’t let him get out of this room with it. Not alive. I lowered my sword to the ground and backed away from the open case, gesturing for him to approachit.
“The spear is yours,” I said quietly, hands curled into half-fists by my sides, ready to reach up and grab my second sword the moment he made his move. “Let go of the goblin and takeit.”
Quentin’s thin lips curled up into a smile. He let go of Uisnech and strode toward the case. Quickly, I rushed to Uisnech’s side and pushed him behind me, pulling the sword out of the sheath at my back just as Quentin pulled the spear from itscase.
The gold gleamed and flickered in the darkness, the magic inside of it roiling with dread, as if it knew it was now in the hands of theenemy.
“You may have gotten your prize,” I said in a low voice, twisting my palms around the golden hilt, “but you won’t leave here withit.”
The fae chuckled, darting to the side just as I swung my blade at his head. The steel whistled as it missed contact. “Unfortunately for you, you are very, verywrong.”
Shadows flickered around him, engulfing his entire body until it was completely obscured from view. Growling, I rushed toward him, my sword raised. I swung hard at where he stood, but my blade whistled by when it once again made nocontact.
The shadows cleared in an instant. I stepped back, flicking my eyes back and forth. Quentin no longer stood before me. He hadvanished.
And he’d taken thespear.
12
It wasmy turn to wait at the gates. When Lugh returned, almost two hours later, I was chilled to the bone. In more ways than one. I’d been half-afraid that I’d never see him again. Quentin took the spear for a reason. The most likely was that he planned to use the powerful magic contained within to bring someone back from thedead.
That meant breaking the spear in half. That meant Lugh’s soul drifting away into the darkness. That meant Lugh would no longer be himself. He’d be awraith.
But I’d also been trying to come up with an explanation as to how and why I’d let the enemy take his spear. It all came back to the same answer every damntime.
I should have done more. I shouldn’t have let it happen. I should have been faster, smarter,stronger.
Uisnech, of course, was beside himself. He ranted and waved his little fists, angry that I’d saved his life. I was no longer his noble warrior for which he would follow until the end of times. Noble warriors didn’t bring on the end of the world. Noble warriors didn’t allow the enemy to steal the most important object on theplanet.
When Lugh finally strode through the gates, he looked as tired as my soul felt. Dark circles lined his eyes, and blood splattered his cheek. He moved as if a heavy barbell sat on his shoulders, slow and unsteady. What the hell had happenedtonight?
“Lugh.” I rushed toward him and grabbed his hands. My fingers raced up his arms, across his chest, and up to his neck. I couldn’t get enough of his skin beneath my hands. He was real and steady and strong, and I needed to feel every single part of him. I’d been terrified he’d neverreturn.
He flicked his eyes up to meet my gaze. “My soul has been taken from this place. I can feel it. It’s draining myenergy.”
I pressed my lips together. So that explained the exhaustion. “I’m so sorry, Lugh. Let me get you to bed. I’ll fill you in on the waythere.”
