“All right. I’m going to rush them. The rest of you hold back until my sword draws blood,” Reyna said. “I’ll get right in their faces. Trust me, they won’t be able to ignore me. That will give the rest of you a chance to charge.”
Lorcan gaped at her incredulously. “Hold back? Are you out of your fucking mind?”
“Maybe, but I’ve trained to do this. I’ll be fine.”
“She’s right,” Nollaig cut in from where she patted her gloved hand on top of Wingallock’s head. “Shieldmaidens train to dodge arrows.”
“And Unseelie has shown her standing on the battlefield in our shadow lands. That means she doesn’t die here now,” Tarrah whispered.
“You’re all in agreement with this, are you?” Lorcan growled as another arrow slammed into the ground not far from where they hid. He whipped his head toward Teutas. “Do you have anything to say about this?”
Teutas shrugged. “I’m not sure we have much of a choice.”
Lorcan growled. “You’re all mad, the lot of you.”
But there was no time left to argue. An arrow rushed through the air, the sharp point aimed right at Reyna’s head. She ducked just in time, and the arrow sailed past, vanishing into the forest.
Teutas let out a low whistle. “She’s got my vote.”
“Stay back,” Reyna whispered, determination curling in her gut. She leapt to her feet and released her Shieldmaiden’s roar. It was a sound as powerful as the thunder in the sky, and just as loud and deafening. Her cry spilled from her throat in a tumultuous rage, and every single part of her sparked with life. It had been far too long since she had truly roared. She grinned and charged.
Instantly, the air was full of arrows, and every last one of them hurtled straight toward Reyna’s chest. With hands curled into fists, she steadied her raging heart and focused on the sharp points. Her breath stilled in her lungs, and the world seemed to transform around her. Everything slowed down. The wind in the trees drifted away.
Reyna narrowed her eyes. There was one arrow to her left and three to her right. With a deep breath, she ducked down, avoiding the three, and then shot to the side to miss the last. The arrows carried on past her, thunking hard into the trees.
The world came back in a rush, and sharp cries filled the air. The wood fae were just ahead. She could see them now. There were six in total, all decked out in light leather armor dyed a deep green to match their surroundings. Their ears were longer and sharper than the fae in the north. Some had lightly-tinted green skin while others appeared almost translucent.
One in the front, a female with ginger hair hanging across her shoulder in a thick braid, lifted her bow and aimed.
Footsteps thundered behind Reyna. She frowned, keeping one eye on the fae while glancing over her shoulder. Lorcan was stumbling through the brush with his sword raised high and a scowl as deep as the night plastered across his face.
“Damn it, Lorcan!” she shouted. “I said stay back!”
Irritation roared through her. Couldn’t that godforsaken male just listen to her? Just once!
Asnickechoed through the forest as the fae loosed her arrow. Reyna spun toward her, watching the weapon slice through the thick, humid air. She gasped, and her heart almost stopped. In the flicker of a moment, she glanced over her shoulder to envision the path of the arrow.
Lorcan. It would hit Lorcan.
If Reyna dodged the arrow, the sharp, steel point would bury itself in his neck. He wore no armor there. Nothing could save him. He would die within an instant.
“No!” a furious scream ripped from her throat, and Reyna leapt high into the air. Notawayfrom the arrow but toward it. She threw herself into its path, holding her breath to brace herself against the inevitable blast of pain.
The arrow slammed into her gut, punching her back several feet. Agony stormed through her stomach with white hot fire, blinding her from feeling anything else but the utter torment of it all.
She fell to her knees, gasping, pressing her hand to the wound that was already slick with blood. Grimacing, she reached around to feel her back. The arrow had punched clean through, and the end stuck out the other side of her.
“Reyna! Reyna, no!” Lorcan dropped to her side, his words a roar of utter anguish. “No, no, no!”
She collapsed into his arms, and her head lolled against his chest. The scent of him filled her mind. Leather and smoke and steel. Reyna peered up at him, at his impossibly handsome face.
“Lorcan,” she croaked out. “I think I’m going to die.”
19
Lorcan
The pain was unyielding.
