An hour later, a knock sounded on the door to my room, and I turned to open it.

  Aeri stood on the other side, her pale waterfall of hair flowing over the shoulder of her white ghost suit. She’d come as soon as I’d called.

  I hugged her. “I see you came prepared.”

  “You mentioned there might be a fight.”

  “Isn’t there always?”

  “Usually.” She pulled back and studied me, her blue eyes intense. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  I nodded.

  “How did you keep your identity a secret from him?” She gestured to me. “Because right now, you’re pretty obvious.”

  “He just figured me out, so there’s no point in hiding anymore. But I had him fooled for a while.”

  “But he knows now.”

  “He does.”

  “Which means we’ll have to kill him.” There wasn’t a hint of a joke in her voice. Aeri would commit regicide for me in a heartbeat. I’d do the same for her. In fact, I didn’t want to think of what I’d do for her.

  The little bit of darkness that had always existed in me roared to life at the thought. That darkness would take out legions of people to protect Aeri.

  Somehow, I had a feeling she wouldn’t approve of that.

  “We don’t. I got him to make a blood oath that he wouldn’t reveal my secret or do anything to harm either of us.”

  “Do you trust him beyond that?”

  “It doesn’t matter if I do. I won’t see him again.”

  “Despite the fact that he thinks you’re his fated mate?”

  “He’s determined to ignore it.”

  “How do you feel about that?”

  “Fine.” Lie.

  I didn’t want to have my destiny determined by Fae magic and fate, but I felt something for him. It would be smart to ignore it, but I didn’t want to.

  I shoved the thoughts away and changed the subject. We sat on the bed, and I brought her up to speed with what she’d missed, including the missing bomb that Declan was hunting. I didn’t know much about what we were up against—all I knew was that the Unseelie Fae were the evil ones and that the Seelie hated them—but then again, we often went into fights only partially prepared. We had the Fae at our side, at least.

  I debated telling her about my mother, but it was late. We had only hours left, and I wasn’t ready to face that yet.

  That night, it was hard to sleep. Stress made me eat so many hard candies that I became ill, and the dreams were worse.

  Dreams of Tarron killing his brother. Of me killing Tarron.

  When I woke, I was desperate to get this over with. The battle would be dangerous—possibly deadly—but at least it would get my mind off things.

  Aeri had spent the night with me in my giant lake of a bed, and we dressed in silence.

  Aeri tugged on her boots and put her pale hair in a ponytail. She met my gaze. “Ready for this?”

  I gave the mirror one last look. Hair, done. Eyes, done. Zipper, done. “War paint’s ready. Let’s go.”

  We left my quarters and headed to the war room. Everyone was there already, studying the three-dimensional plan of the King’s Grove. I introduced Aeri, and we ran over the plan again.

  Most of the team would attack from strategic points, holding off the Unseelie Fae that we expected to appear, while Tarron and I made our way beneath the obelisk. There was supposed to be a portal there, since the Unseelie Fae didn’t technically live underground. They’d used some pretty serious magic to connect their two realms and send their destructive obelisk through.

  I met Tarron’s gaze just briefly, but we didn't speak. Now we each possessed the other’s greatest secret. He was magically forbidden from speaking mine, but I wouldn’t tell his either.

  The twelve of us departed the war room fifteen minutes before sunrise. It didn't take long to make our way through the silent castle and toward the King’s Grove. The dark magic that had rolled out from the place earlier had grown thicker in the time that I’d been away. It still reeked of brimstone and putrid night lilies, and my heartbeat thundered.

  Aeri covered her mouth and grimaced. “That’s awful.”

  “It is.” And it might be the scent of my mother.

  Fates, that was terrible.

  I shoved the thought aside.

  With the way that the magic was expanding, we were handling this just in time. Tarron wouldn’t have been able to hide this from the citizens much longer.

  Tarron held up his hand, and we stopped on command, then circled up. He held the Wish Stone in the center of the circle of people.

  “Protect our minds from the dark power of the Unseelie obelisk.” His voice rang with authority, and the carved rock glowed bright as it absorbed his commands. His gaze flicked around the circle. “Lay your hand upon the orb.”

  One by one, we reached out to touch the glowing surface. When my fingertips pressed to it, magic sizzled up my arms and wrapped around my chest, shining bright. All around me, the Fae glowed as well. Warmth flowed through me.

  Protection.

  Suddenly, the stink of the dark magic didn't smell so bad.

  Thank fates. If this hadn’t worked, we’d have been screwed.

  Once we were all protected, Tarron gave the orb to Luna, who tucked it into a pack on her back. He then strode ahead, approaching the gate with determined steps. He wore navy tactical wear—boots and sturdy pants with a dark chain-mail vest that was imbued with some kind of repelling magic. A small pack was strapped to his back. Within, he carried the bomb and the amplifier.

  He touched the gate, then frowned, shooting me a look.

  Whoops. When I’d broken in earlier, I hadn’t been able to replace the spell that had protected it. “Sorry.”

  He turned back to the gate and unlocked it, then pushed it open. Dark magic billowed out, and I held my breath, muscles tense. It floated around me, a dark mist that prickled and burned, but the horrible thoughts of sacrifice didn’t overwhelm me.

  I joined Tarron, and we walked through the trees, approaching the obelisk. He carried a long silver sword, his posture stiff. Tension tightening my muscles as we neared. The magic grew thicker the closer we got, but our protection held it at bay. Our backup spread out to our left and right, Aeri at my side.

  We were only forty feet from the obelisk when the ground cracked open around it. It sounded like thunder booming, and more black smoke billowed up. My skin chilled as figures crawled out of the ground. Their skin was pale white and their hair jet black. Every stitch of clothing on their bodies was the color of midnight, and they bore obsidian blades, the sharpest on earth.

  The thorn wolf appeared at my side in that moment, a low growl rumbling through his chest. He pressed his side against my leg, and I felt the prick of his thorns. It was comforting, somehow.

  I called on my bow from the ether, heartbeat thundering in my ears. There were a dozen Unseelie Fae. Then two dozen. They moved with a graceful swiftness that was almost eerie, and I began to fire my bow.

  My arrows sailed true, piercing one Fae in the chest and another in the eye. They tumbled backward, shrieking. The rest of our troops joined in, firing arrows or magic. No one dared use fire in the King’s Grove—the trees were far too valuable.

  That didn’t stop the Unseelie Fae, however. They lit the place up, and two of our troops dedicated themselves to shooting blasts of water at every flaming tree.

  I fired arrows as quickly as I could, taking out Fae after Fae. But they kept coming, climbing out of the ground like huge, evil insects.

  Tarron and I had gained almost no ground. We needed to reach the crevasses from which the Unseelie crawled, but it took all we had to stay alive and avoid their deadly attacks.

  Next to me, Tarron shot blasts of light from his palms. It was so bright it blinded me to look at it, and when the light hit an Unseelie Fae, the creature shrieked and tumbled backward.

  As if he noticed me watching, he grunted in answer. “Sunlight.”

  Genius. The trees would like it. The Unseelie Fae would not.

  All of the Fae used some kind of earth magic. At times, the roots beneath my feet would reach up to grab my legs. I had to abandon my bow in favor of a blade to slice them away. They twisted tightly, trying to drag me down. I hacked at them, cutting them away.

  My sister fought the same battle, hacking at the roots. They fell away from her, useless, and she continued to slice at oncoming Fae with her blade.

  The Fae on our side manipulated the tree limbs, using magic to twist them downward. The limbs grabbed the Unseelie and hoisted them into the hair, squeezing them until they died. Screams echoed from above, and some of the Unseelie managed to use their own magic to wither the tree limbs until they were dropped to the ground.

  The thorn wolf was fast, lunging for the Unseelie who fell out of the trees and tearing at their flesh with his fangs. When an enemy would get too close to the wolf, he’d shoot huge wooden spikes from his fur, never missing. The Fae would fall back, screaming.

  Breaths heaving, I dodged a fireball that nearly took off my head, and noticed Aeri doing the same. A second fireball glanced against my arm, making pain flare. Panic surged on its heels. There were so many of them.

  The Fae were nearly upon us now, four of them headed right toward Aeri and me. Two others joined them.

  I caught Aeri’s eye. “Lightning?”

  She nodded sharply, then sliced her palm with her blade. I did the same, calling upon the electric magic within me. This had been one of the first magics we’d made together, one of many desperate attempts to escape captivity as children.

  We sprinted apart from each other, making sure we stood on either side of the Unseelie who were running toward us. With the lightning crackling inside my chest, I raised my hand. I forced the magic through my arm and out through the bloody cut. Aeri did the same, and our lightning met in the middle, forming a glinting rope of electricity that we dragged across the oncoming Fae.

  It sliced through them, lighting them up like fireworks. Aeri and I ran forward, managing to take out eight of the bastards. When we got too close to a cluster of trees, we killed the magic.

  I grinned at her, darkly satisfied. It’d been iffy to try lightning in the King’s Grove, but there was now a pathway to the crevasse that led to the Unseelie realm.

  “Tarron!” I shouted.

  He caught sight of me, then the pathway, and sprinted for me. Two Unseelie lunged for him, but he took off their heads with impossibly fast blows of his sword.

  I ran for the crevasse that cut deep into the earth, leaves crunching underfoot. A root reached up to grab me, but I jumped over it and kept going. I could hear Tarron running from behind. As I neared the deep pit that opened up right in front of the obelisk, the dark magic that billowed out grew stronger. Cold began to seep into my chest, the protection charm starting to falter.

  I fought it and the natural darkness within me, focusing on my task and all the lives that I could save. Tarron appeared at my side, and a moment later, we reached the crevasse. It shimmered with dark light at my feet.

  A portal.

  He grabbed my hand, and together, we jumped.

  The ether swallowed me, spinning me around through space until my stomach lurched. It spit me out in the darkness of an underground world. I gripped Tarron’s hand tightly as I stumbled, barely managing to keep my footing. Magic sparked within me, strange and foreign. This whole place felt weird.

  Familiar?

  It pulsed inside me, magic flaring to life. Almost like recognition.

  No.

  I blinked, trying to adjust my vision.

  Instinct made me look up, and I caught sight of an Unseelie Fae about to land on me.

  I darted out of the way, dragging Tarron with me. The Unseelie Fae landed in a graceful crouch, then lunged for us, black claws outstretched and obsidian blade glinting. I kicked the sword away, then stabbed him in the stomach with my own blade. As I twisted, Tarron turned to fight another two Fae. They’d been waiting for us—guards, perhaps.

  I finished off the Fae who was stuck on my blade, while Tarron blasted the other two with pure sunlight.

  When all three had fallen, I stood tense, panting, every sense alert for another attack.

  Tarron looked ready to pounce, every inch of him screaming with violence. His horns had come out, along with his black eyes and fangs. He even had massive wings sprouted from his back. They looked like silver lightning, ephemeral yet powerful.

  “We need to hurry,” he said. “We’ve taken out the advance guard, but eventually, they’ll send more.”

  I nodded, finally taking in our surroundings. The first thing I did was check on my transport power. Relief flowed through me when I didn’t feel any kind of powerful blocking spell. I could get myself out of here when this was all over.

  I looked at Tarron. “Can you transport?”

  “I can.”

  “Good.” We’d have a way to run for it after detonating the bomb.

  I inspected the huge room. We stood inside an enormous underground dome. It was much taller than it was wide, with a broad ledge spiraling around the edges down to the bottom. We were near the top, with a long way to go to get the ground below.

  The obelisk speared down from the middle of the domed ceiling, all the way to the floor below. It glowed with faint light, illuminating the entire huge space. Crackling magic—a bit like lightning—shot from it, filling up the entire dome. It terminated when it reached the spiral walkway that led to the bottom, but it would be impossible for Tarron to fly down through the huge open space in the middle. He’d be struck by the lightning as soon as he took flight.

  “We need to blow it up from the bottom,” Tarron said. “It’s the only way to destroy it.”

  I nodded, then started down the long ramp that hugged the walls of the massive cavern. We ran as fast as we could, spiraling into the depths. We moved so fast that when the floor in front of us broke away, it took the ground right out from under my feet.

  A scream burst from my throat as I plummeted, then a rush of air picked me up. It tore at my hair as it carried me back up toward the spot from which I’d fallen. Soon, I was level with Tarron, whose wings kept him aloft. He waved his hand, and the wind carried me to stable ground. Only part of the ground had broken away, and I staggered when my feet hit solid rock.

  “Oh fates, thank you.”

  He nodded, and I kept running. I wanted to go more slowly—to watch out for the earth falling away from below me—but we didn't have that kind of time. To be safe, I’d have to mince along, and it just wasn’t an option. Not with the Unseelie Fae headed our way, ready to defend their turf.

  Anyway, there was always Tarron, who could control the wind.

  I’d just have to have faith in him.

  I kept going, sprinting until my lungs wanted to burst.

  We were halfway down when we passed by a huge hole in the wall that acted as an entrance. Four Unseelie lunged out, their obsidian blades drawn. Each was tall and slender, with burning dark eyes and sleek black hair. One of them lunged right for me, and I darted left, spinning back to face him as I raised my blade.

  He was fast, though, and managed to grab my arm. I winced and yanked it free.

  His widened eyes met mine. Recognition flared. “You.”

  “What? Do you know me?”

  He swung his blade for me, and I darted back, sucking in my stomach to avoid a nasty evisceration.

  “Do you know my mother?” I hissed, making sure that Tarron couldn’t hear. I pointed to the obelisk. “Is this her magic?”

  The Fae lunged for me again, swiping his sword toward me. He nicked my side, and pain flared. I darted back, determined not to kill him before I had my answers.

  Light flashed from behind him, and he blasted forward, falling to his face, a massive blackened hole in his back.

  Tarron.

  He’d saved me.

  Damn it.

  He was taking out two more of the Unseelie Fae with sunlight that made them hiss and shriek.

  Another Fae appeared to my left. She showed no sign of recognizing me, so I lunged for her, and our blades slammed together. Though hers was made of obsidian—which should have been brittle since it was made of volcanic glass—it didn’t shatter. The power of the blow radiated up my arm. I yanked my blade back and tried again, slicing at her arm.

  Her sword slashed at my leg, making agony surge. I gasped, trying to ignore it. I managed to dart out of the way before she could cause too much damage, then I landed a blow to her gut. Her dark eyes widened, and she hissed at me.

  I kicked her in the stomach, dislodging her from my blade. She teetered toward the edge of the walkway, her arms whirling. Then she fell. I leaned over the edge to watch black wings sprout from her back, but they didn't help. The electricity shooting from the crystal obelisk in the middle of the room crackled into her, making it impossible for her to fly. She slammed to the ground.

  I pulled back, not wanting to look anymore.

  “Let’s go.” Tarron led the way, sprinting deeper into the cavern.

  We were nearly to the bottom when a smoke wolf appeared. Far larger than a normal wolf, the creature had a body made of ephemeral black smoke and pearly white fangs. They dripped with a ruby red venom, and its eyes blazed a bright neon green.

  A growl sounded from my left.

  I looked over.

  The thorn wolf.

  “Your friend is here to protect you,” Tarron said.

  I looked at the one-eyed thorn wolf. “You sure you can take him?”

  My wolf just growled louder, crouching low in an attack position. Despite the fact that he had only one eye and a very ragged ear, he looked tough. He probably looked tough because of those things. Like he’d lost the eye in a battle that had prepared him for this very moment.

  He lunged for the smoke wolf, which turned to flesh and blood when the two collided. Jaws snapped and claws raked.

  “Come on.” Tarron grabbed my arm, and we ran around the side of the two fighting wolves.

 

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