Page 52 of Deliverance

Shadows wrap around them. I’ve seen something similar from Nyx, but this is different. The darkness seems to obey Nyx, whispering to him like an old friend, whereas these creatures appear to bemadeof shadow. Their dripping fangs snarl and snap at me, and their strange, almost pearlescent eyes stare right at me. Petrified, I feel immobilised by my fear. There is no running as they are faster than me and experts at tracking. I wouldn’t stand a chance.

Even if I could run, I could never leave Blaise, especially when he’s not able to fend for himself. Had he been awake, he would be lecturing me, telling me to leave him. That is not the type of person I am though, so I take several deep, shaky breaths as I try to calm myself.

We are surrounded by vicious-looking creatures of all shapes and sizes now, but I have to focus on one thing at a time to stop myself from getting completely overwhelmed. The rock creature is stomping around, bellowing and smashing its fists against what I assume is its chest, the ground shaking with each stomp of its feet. Blaise still hasn’t moved, and my eyes sting with unshed tears. Hehasto be okay. He’s my friend, and I need him to help me get back to Alaric.

The huge creature rears back and prepares to crush him with his fists. This will kill him. I have to do something about it.

“No! It’s me you want. Leave him!” I shout, putting everything into my words. “I will come with you if you leave my friend alone.” I want to sound authoritative, but it comes out desperate, a tear rolling down my cheek. The forest rustles around me, and in the distance, I notice a stag stepping forward, his huge antlers standing proud, and he looks at me as though waiting for something.

Thankfully, my words do the trick, and the rock beast backs off, stepping away, with other strange creatures following its lead. A hound snarls at me, its hackles raised as it slowly treads towards me. More fae are arriving to watch, and as I look around desperately, I feel my hope sinking. All of them are Unseelie. I’m surrounded. They are even in the trees above me. There really is no escape—no, wait, that isn’t a fae creature in the tree, but an eagle. Looking from branch to branch, I realise the birds have returned, and they all seem to be looking at me.

Taking my attention off the hound was a mistake, as it takes the opportunity to leap towards me. Reacting out of instinct,I raise my arms to protect my face. Sharp, blinding pain tears through my arm, blocking out all other thoughts. Screaming in the agony, I try to pull away as the creature shakes its head, my arm still in its jaws. After what feels like a lifetime, it releases me, the muscle and tissue a complete mess of torn flesh. Without magical intervention, it will never be the same again. I clutch the arm to my chest and fall to the ground, blood pouring from the wound as I attempt to put pressure on it. My vision goes fuzzy, and I think I’m going to pass out, the pain so sharp that I am struggling to think straight. I know if I look at my arm it will make me feel worse and I’ll fall apart, so I keep my head up and try to focus on what’s happening around me. Tears of agony roll down my face, and my chest heaves with my rapid breaths.

Birds cry out above me, diving down with their talons exposed. I’m going to get torn apart. However, that doesn’t happen. The hound is preparing to attack me again, but a huge eagle lands on its back, digging its talons in and cutting it with its sharp beak. Other birds of prey join it, forcing the creature to back off and focus on protecting itself. Choking back my tears, I become aware that the other fae seem to be fighting. Squinting my eyes to see in the darkness, I watch the stag charge at a skeletal creature. Other animals are here too, a fox running past me with a redcap in its mouth.

I don’t know what’s happening and why the animals are here, but I am eternally grateful to them.

“Iris,” Blaise whispers, his voice laden with agony. He’s trying to move towards me, but his body isn’t obeying him, so he attempts to crawl. I sob, knowing that this reprieve is almost over and I won’t see him again.

Shuffling as close as I can without knocking my arm or attracting attention, I stretch out my uninjured arm to take his hand, only I can’t quite reach. In the distance, I hear a bellowthat I know belongs to Alaric, the bond telling me he is close but not close enough.

“Look after him for me,” I force out, making sure Blaise understands what I’m saying. I’m a complete mess, my words are choked and barely loud enough to be heard, but from the sorrow in his eyes, I know he understands.

Several of the long-limbed creatures walk over, their knees bending in the wrong direction as they lean down and wrap their long, skeletal fingers around me. Lifting me between them, they drag me into the forest.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Adripping noise pulls at my consciousness. I fight through the fog of pain and blood loss to focus on my surroundings. We’re still in the forest, but my bond is telling me that Alaric is far away. The Unseelie must have covered a lot of ground while I was passed out.

I’m tied against the trunk of a tree, the dripping noise my blood on the exposed roots. My injured arm has been bound to my chest, and that is probably the only thing that saved me from dying of blood loss. My entire body hurts, but it’s the pain in my arm that takes the majority of my focus.

My abductors seem to have set up a sort of camp, and I assume it’s to wait for the others who were still fighting. I’m struggling with the desire to close my eyes when a strange sensation moves through me. It feels like a caress in my mind, a cool touch that awakens me.

Ciaran.

“Why is my future bride tied to a tree?” His voice rings around the camp, the question reasonable, but the fae all seem to flinch, expecting the worst.

No one speaks. The pause only grows until there is an awkward clearing of someone’s throat and a small creature with a hard shell moves forward. “We needed to keep her—”

Ciaran cuts off the creature’s rough voice as he steps towards me, his head tipping back as he scents the air and his eyes lock on my injured arm. “Why is she bleeding?” This time he doesn’t bother to hide his anger, his tone icy. In fact, he sounds so cold that I almost expect my breath to mist in the air. No one answers, their fear obvious in the way they hold themselves. “I said, why is she bleeding?”

This time when he repeats himself, some of his power leaks out, and those around me fall to their knees. Fear creates a tight knot in my chest. How is Ciaran able to wield power so strong when some of these monstrous creatures are the stuff of nightmares and many times his size?

An ogre stumbles up to his feet, facing Ciaran with a deadly stare. “She got injured by one of the hounds.”

The lord’s lip curls up, and he nods in understanding. “Bring me the handler.”

Low murmuring fills the space we’re all gathered in as the Unseelie shuffle around, looking for the handler. They don’t have to look too hard, because he steps forward without their urging. He is the same type of fae as Ciaran, only much less powerful, his brown hair pulled back to expose his pointed ears.

Examining his expression as he faces Ciaran, I can’t help but feel like he’s accepted whatever fate is coming to him. I feel a little bad that he’s going to get humiliated in front of everyone for something his hound did.

Clearing his throat, the fae clasps his hands behind his back. “Lord—”

With a sharp gesture, Ciaran draws a horizontal line in the air. At first, nothing happens, and then the handler’s head falls, perfectly sliced off, before bouncing on the ground severaltimes and coming to a stop. My breath catches in my throat, a strangled sound escaping me and capturing Ciaran’s attention.

There was no chance for him to explain or redeem himself. He was executed on the spot.

This is the Unseelie court I expected, so why am I so surprised by it? It was a quick, clean death, but also ruthless. What is shocking me so much is the fact that no one seems all that surprised by it.

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