Page 57 of Kings and Monsters

"Please tell me you haven't shown this to Rosa," Bleddyn said.

"Of course not, but we can't wait anymore. We have to get this done."

Bleddyn looked up at the sky, swallowing the lump in his throat. "I know we do. The queen won't allow what happened with the marker stones go unanswered. We must…" Bleddyn broke off, his eyes fixed on the moon.

"What is it?" Merlin demanded.

"Do you see that?" Huge silhouettes were staining parts of the moon black as they headed towards them.

Screams cut through the noise of the music, the celebration exploding into chaos. Golden eagles, bigger than horses, swooped down from the sky, attacking revelers with sharp claws, launching back up to rip them apart in the air.

"We need to get everyone back inside!" Bleddyn unsheathedWidow's Furyand ran into the melee. "Find Rosa! These are the queen's beasts and will be hunting her."

Bleddyn felt the magic being used. These eagles were her golden soldiers, all-powerful magic users that would have shapeshifting abilities. The generals were already gathering their men to them, groups of warriors already forming protective lines in front of the fleeing civilians.

"They are coming back for another round," Bleddyn called, feeling the shape of their magic circling.

The eagles fell like golden lightning, and Bleddyn launched himself in the air, slicing the wing off one bird, wrestling it mid-flight to bring it crashing to the ground. The bird shuddered and shrunk until a limbless, dead Seelie remained at his feet.

"They are the queen's knights," he shouted to the others. "Try and find ways to break down their glamours." He spotted Daesyn and ran towards him. "Where is Rosa?"

"I don't know," he replied. "We got separated before the fighting started."

"Have you seen Eirianwen?"

Daesyn pointed. "She's doing fine as always."

Bleddyn turned and saw Eirianwen in a torn gown. She threw herself into the air and wrestled her way onto an eagle's back.

"God damn, Bleddyn. What did your blood do to her?" Merlin asked, appearing beside him.

Eirianwen locked her legs around its massive neck, and she stabbed it repeatedly in the head with her two long daggers. The bird thrashed in its death throes, bucking her off. Bleddyn ran and caught her before she hit the ground.

"Just in time, Seren Du," she said, breathless and covered in blood. She held Bleddyn's face, her eyes going from frightened to concern in a moment. "I was trying to find you when they came."

Bleddyn dropped her to her feet and looked at her ruined dress and the mess of her pinned silver hair. "You look beautiful."

She laughed breathlessly. "Idid. So much for dressing like a lady for a night."

He touched her arm gently, unable of stopping himself. "Are you hurt? I can smell your blood."

"A few scratches from a talon but nothing serious," she replied, her eyes searching the skies.

"Have you seen Rosa?"

"No, but she was armed, so she'll be okay," Eirianwen reassured him.

Bleddyn didn't have time to worry about Rosa as the eagles returned and they hurried to fight them. They struggled to protect the people running under cover of trees or hurrying back into the safety of the court, but the woods were clearing with the help of the warriors.

Bleddyn felt the hum of Rosa's magic, and he turned to see her drivingGaeaf Storomup into the underbelly of one of the eagles. She had tied a lasso of magic around its taloned feet to prevent it from scratching her to pieces.

"She's a clever one, your daughter," Eirianwen said approvingly.

Rosa was so busy killing her opponent that she didn't see the second eagle soaring swiftly towards her.

"Get down!" Bleddyn shouted, scrambling towards her.

The eagle's sharp beak never reached her. Gwyn was suddenly between them, catching the beast by the top of its head, holding it with an impossible strength as it tried to flap its wings backward.

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