Page 45 of Kings and Monsters

The fae woman looked Arthur over. "I want your pet."

Arthur made a worried sound in the back of his throat. "Merlin, don't you dare…"

Merlin ignored him, and his smile grew wider.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The Temple of Braciaca rose out of the autumnal forest like a jewel of bronze and porphyry. Eirianwen crouched low in the long golden grass on the outskirts of the glade and counted six temple guards dressed in bronze armor that was beautiful, but not practical. There had to be more inside.

Eirianwen checked the position of the sun, trying to calm the pre-skirmish nerves. If she was honest with herself, being away from Bleddyn set her on edge. She didn't trust Madoc, but Bleddyn trusted him with her even less, which was why Eirianwen and Aiden were readying themselves to create a good enough of a distraction. Bleddyn, Madoc, Daesyn, and Bran would be moving the marker stones. Bleddyn would meet her to move the last one in the south once the others were complete. It was a good plan, but she still didn't like it.

"It should be harder than that," Eirianwen had said when Merlin explained how to move the stones.

"Why? In the middle of a battle, I don't want to be thinking of complicated magic. I want it effective and easy to remember."

Despite the way he constantly goaded Bleddyn, Eirianwen liked Merlin. He reminded her of Bleddyn when he was youngerand not so controlled. It made her wonder what a handful his mother would have been.

Aiden appeared through the long golden grass beside her. "My lady, we are in position."

"Well then, Aiden Fireheart, it's time to cause some trouble. You know what to do."

His bright orange eyes glowed with excitement before he unleashed an inferno. The golden grass in the glade caught in seconds, surrounding the temple with flames.

The guards cried out in panic as they were suddenly surrounded by Unseelie guerrilla fighters. Two fell, skewered with Aiden's fiery arrows, and Eirianwen neared the entrance.

As suspected, the guards were ceremonial and not of the Autumn Queen's elite knights. Eirianwen cut through two of them with ease before closing in on a third.

"You are too late!" he cursed, backing up against a wall. "The message has been sent, and the queen's warriors will slaughter you before you leave this place."

"Thank you for saving me the trouble of sending the message myself," Eirianwen smiled viciously. Her eyes caught on the door he was pressed up against. "What's in there?"

"It is the queen's inner chambers and not for Unseelie—" the guard gasped. Eirianwen's blade pressed against his neck.

"Open it," she demanded. The guard fumbled at his belt and passed her a ring of keys.

"I fear her more than you, Unseelie."

Eirianwen snatched the keys from his hand and tried them until the lock opened. The door swung open, and they were assaulted by the smell of rotting flesh and incense.

"Move," she shoved him before her.

It was dark in the inner chamber, but when she illuminated the room with magic, Eirianwen wished she hadn't. There was an elaborate tiered altar with sacrifices to the autumn goddess—wheat sheaves, fruit, cider, flowers, and in the center was the body of an Unseelie girl. It didn't look like she had been dead for a week. The queen had removed her heart and placed it in the girl's cold hands.

"Did you know of this?" Eirianwen whispered, unable to look away from the grotesque scene. The deep rage inside of her made her vision swim and her fangs lengthen.

"Yes, but I couldn't stop—" the guard garbled before Eirianwen tore out his throat with her teeth. She spat out his too sweet blood and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Filth.

"Aiden!" Eirianwen called. She took the bolt of fine altar cloth and wrapped the girl tightly in it.

"General?" Aiden appeared, looking at the scene before him in disgust. "What happened here?"

"The queen." Eirianwen touched the corpse, and it floated up behind her. "Burn it all until there is nothing left, do you hear me?"

"With pleasure, Eirianwen."

Outside, the Unseelie fighters were remounting their horses and keeping watch for any Seelie in the forest. Eirianwen instructed one to take the body back to the Night Courts so that she could try and find her family. She pulled herself into her saddle just as an albino raven circled her and landed on her shoulder. She held out her hand, and the bird dropped a small red berry into her palm. As she crushed it, Fintan's voice rose around her.

"The queen is sending soldiers to the temple. Get your men out of there now."

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