Page 90 of Hidden

A dozen lesser light fae swarmed around him. No bigger than hummingbirds, they shed a sparkling radiance from their transparent wings that broke into rainbows where it glanced off the king’s armor. It was like looking into a miniature sun.

King Elroth rode into the middle of the banquet hall, filling it and yet, with subtle magic, making the space stretch to accommodate him and the procession of riders that followed him through the portal.

He came, Lila thought with wonder. He came, and now everything will be fine. Except one person was not frozen in place. She’d forgotten the amulet.

Lord Farras’s spear twisted through the air toward the king.

CHAPTER 32

Light flared from the spear’s tip, fracturing into an iridescent shower bright enough to sear Lila’s eyes. She strained to leap forward and somehow intercept it, but King Elroth’s command gripped her tight. She might as well have been trapped in amber.

She recognized the spear’s radiance for what it was—a spell to guarantee Farras’s weapon would strike and kill the king. With no other option, she screamed a wordless warning that was echoed by a dozen other voices.

Two of the king’s retainers surged forward—one a female clad in silver mail, the other a male in armor so dark that it seemed to drink the light. The latter spurred his black steed closest to the king, ready to shield him at all costs, but he could not close the distance in time.

Farras had chosen his position well, launching his attack from the left and behind, outside King Elroth’s line of sight. At the warning cry, the monarch twisted in his saddle, but not fast enough to do more than glimpse his own execution.

A huge shape eclipsed the spear’s blinding sparks. Lila blinked, clearing her sight of the blazing afterimage to see an enormous gray wolf spring into the air, catching the spear in his jaws. Lila’s breath stopped. Rafe! He had bolted in from outside the broken wall and from beyond the sphere of the king’s command to freeze.

The spear, loaded with intricate spellwork, shattered in Rafe’s bite before his paws hit the floor. The power banked within the weapon discharged in a single, wild eruption. A searing flash ended in a clap of rushing air. Lila flinched, unable to duck, and squeezed her eyes shut. A wave of pins and needles coursed over her body followed by a strange nothingness.

Her ears recovered first as the remains of the spear clattered to the floor. Lila rubbed tears from her light-blinded eyes, relieved to be able to move again. When her vision cleared, she saw the king still seated on his horse, his face white with shock.

Amid the shards of the spear, Rafe sprawled at the feet of the king’s charger. The rush of unfocused magic had changed him back to human form, naked and unconscious.

Lila dove toward Rafe, frantic with worry. She fell to her knees and skidded the last few feet across the polished floor, heedless of the guards and the nervous stamping of the horses. One of the lesser fae dove past her head, wings buzzing in alarm, but she waved it away.

Rafe was facedown, one arm flung forward. Lila placed her hand against the lean muscle of his back, a soft cry of relief escaping her lips when she felt the rise and fall of his breath. But his skin was unnaturally cool, as if his vital spark had been seared away.

Someone was shouting at Lila, but the words were meaningless to her. She summoned the last of her strength, sending it through her touch and into Rafe’s still form. His heart skipped and fluttered until it caught the rhythm of hers. For an instant, their pulses beat together, fae and wolf. Without thinking of where she was or who might be watching, she used her free hand to smooth the dark tangle of hair from his face.

Only then did she notice the prick of a blade against her spine. Lila looked up, and the warrior in silver glared down. The fierce-eyed female had dismounted and held a sword inches from Lila’s flesh.

“What do you think you’re doing?” The warrior demanded, casting a meaningful glance toward Elroth. “We’re in a mood to strike anyone who gets too close to the king.”

“I have to heal him,” Lila replied, a headache pounding behind her eyes. She’d stretched her energy too far, but she couldn’t stop now.

The warrior opened her mouth, but her reply was drowned out.

“Seize Lord Farras,” roared the king. “Bring him forward to answer for this crime.”

Lila glanced up to see Farras sprinting for the broken wall. In a swirl of capes and swords, the fae fell upon the lord, forcing him facedown and wrenching his hands behind his back. Power flared, and a fae in silk finery flew backward. But there were too many for Farras to fight all at once, especially when the king’s mounted retainers joined the fray. The warrior in black produced iron cuffs, locking them around the prisoner’s bare wrists.

Lila’s attention returned to Rafe. His life force was steadier now, his temperature warming. Or maybe that was an illusion, because she was starting to shiver.

The warrior in silver mail grasped her shoulder. “You need to stop and step away now. You’re hurting yourself.”

“Not yet,” Lila said stubbornly.

“He’s only a wolf.” The fae frowned at Rafe, who was just beginning to stir.

Lila opened her mouth to protest the only, but gave a sob of relief as Rafe slowly sat up. He shook his head as if trying to clear it.

“Rafe? Are you all right?” Lila asked.

He nodded, then seemed to regret the motion. Reaching blindly, he grasped her hand and squeezed it in silent thanks.

With a chime of harness bells, King Elroth dismounted next to where Lila sat with Rafe. With a sweeping gesture, he unhooked his russet cloak, draping it around the wolf’s shoulders. A murmur rose from the crowd. The gesture was an enormous mark of royal favor.

---