He pressed his lips tightly together. “Do not mistake me for afool.”
“Trust me. I’m definitely not doing that,” Ireplied.
“I know why you’re here.” He stalked toward me, Warin’s arrow following him with every step he took. “You want to trick me into confessing what it is I have planned. You think that if you know, you will be able to stopme.”
“Maybe I will,” I said, lifting my chin. “Like I said before, a lot of men have made the mistake of underestimating me. Go ahead and join the ranks of those, if youdare.”
“And I said that I am not a man,” Lugh spat, before whirling away fromme.
Warin shot me a panicked look as Lugh left me standing in the middle of the ancient kitchen floor. He headed straight in the direction that Uisnech haddisappeared.
Lugh’s voice rose up loud as he called out, “Oh, hobgoblin! Where did yougo?”
“Shit,” I muttered. “I don’t think we were quite as stealthy as we thought wewere.”
My heart raced as Lugh disappeared through one of the many door frames dotted along the wall. I followed after, pulling my long staff from the strap at my back. Uisnech had no idea that Lugh was on to him. The little hobgoblin could be pretty sneaky when he wanted to be, but he was no warrior. If Lugh attacked him...I didn’t want to think about what wouldhappen.
When I ducked through the door, I found nothing but another almost-identical room. Lugh was nowhere in sight. Fighting back a roar, I raced through the castle, poking my head through every door Ifound.
My fear grew with each and every step until I finally rounded the corner to find the hobgoblin gripping the stone wall, a grimace flickering across his green-tintedface.
“I’m okay.” He held up a hand. “He gave me a good punch in the gut, but I’lllive.”
“Oh, Uisnech.” I rushed toward the goblin, my heart squeezing tight. When I reached him, I threw my arms around him and pulled him close. “Thank the Morrigan you’reokay.”
“The cauldron is gone.” Uisnech sighed. “And so isLugh.”
I ground my teeth together, forcing down the bile that stung my throat. We’d been so close to stopping him. But we’d lost. And I didn’t see how we would ever beat him now that he’dfled.
With a defeated sigh, I reached for my phone. “I’ll call Axel. See if he can pinpoint himagain.”
“No need, my noble warrior.” Uisnech’s yellow eyes flickered. “I know where he will have gone. Back to Faerie. He’s going to gather the nightmare wraiths. We havefailed.”
20
Defeat wasa bitter taste at the best of times. But it was far worse when it meant that you’d lost the love of your life. Your soulmate, the one fae in the world bound to you by powerful magic. There was nothing quite like a mating bond. It was terrifying and wonderful all at once, so all-encompassing that it was impossible to remember a time when it didn’texist.
But beyond that, the loss of Lugh hit deeper than a mere bond. I’d never met anyone quite like him, who felt so much for so many. He would sacrifice anything to save the ones he loved, even his life. I knew how he would feel if he could see himself now. And yet I couldn’t give him the one thing he’d begged me to give: the end of thenightmares.
The rest of the crew had given up. Uisnech returned to the castle to alert Saoirse of the developments. She would plan a speech now, prepare herself for the news that she had to give the rest of the Court. They would bedevastated.
Not as devastated asme.
But even after everything that had happened, I hadn’t given up on Lugh. I never would. Not as long as I was still breathing. While the others returned to the beds, I climbed into a car and sped out of Edinburgh, watching the city vanish into a small dot in the rearviewmirror.
Terror tripped through my veins as I thought about what I was about to do. My biggest fear in life had been that I would kill my mate, but that wasn’t the only thing that scared me. Being attacked by nightmare wraiths as a child…I’d never been able to rid those monsters from my dreams. And now I was going to head straight into a den ofthem.
A den of very hungry wraiths, who hadn’t fed inyears.
It was the only way to savehim.
* * *
The Lakeof the Dragon’s Mouth was located deep within the Devon forests, through a maze of twisting branches covered in deep green moss. Scents enveloped me as I made my trek up the hillside. Lilacs and wisteria. Moss and dirt. In the past, Caer had hidden deep within these forests, protecting the portal into Faerie from any wandering passersby. But now the portal was left unmanned. Anyone could enter, so long as they knew how to findit.
IncludingLugh.
I came to a tree-line and pushed through. Instantly, the landscape transformed before my very eyes. The damp chill was swept away by a bright, warm sun. Flowers danced in the light breeze, a kaleidoscope of bright, happy colours, the total opposite to how I felt deep down inside. Right now, I could use some bulging clouds and slashing rains, just so I could feel as miserable aspossible.
