Page 66 of The Vanishing Throne

‘Head north.’

Kiaran’s voice startles me. I look over. ‘What? But Tavish said—’

‘He’s right,’ Aithinne says. ‘I hear them just over the hills.’ She flashes a smile at Kiaran, catching up to us with a quick urging of her mare. ‘So you’re not completely unobservant after all, little brother.’

He doesn’t look at her. ‘Being forty seconds older than me doesn’t give you an excuse to call melittle.’

I don’t hear a bloody thing – only groaning, cracking branches. Not even birds or rustling animals. Still, I lightly tug Ossaig’s mane and urge her to follow Kiaran and Aithinne. In our way are trees with thick branches, swaying from the breeze. Past thewoods up ahead I can see a clearing. Ossaig races toward it and we explode through the trees. She stops short above a high cliff. Below, the sea batters the rocks in a violent swell. Mist sprays my face and adheres like ice to my skin.

I scan the rocky edge and spot figures in the distance – three of them – with a contingent of fae at their backs. About fifty total.Oh, hell.

We stop and Kiaran says to Aithinne, ‘It’s been an age since you’ve seen a battle. Do you think you can keep up?’

Aithinne looks smug. ‘Of course I can keep up. I’m amazing. I always was the better fighter.’

‘Better at cheating,’ he mutters, watching the Seers hurtling toward us with the army at their backs.

‘Oh, please. Accusing me of cheating is a sore loser’s excuse for notwinning,mo bhrathair.’She smiles at him. ‘You need to improve your footwork. It’s terrible.’

Kiaran doesn’t seem fazed. ‘I don’t believe you.’

It’s amazing how calm they both are. Before any battle, I feel electric. My heart slams against my chest and I can barely stay still. Energy heats my skin, melting the ice there.

It brings me to life. Not like before, not with vengeance or anger or rage, but with purpose. I want Lonnrach’s soldiers to see me likethis, not the girl whose memories he stole. When Lonnrach catches word of who killed them, I want him to know that it was Aithinne and me together. That he never broke us.

My blunderbuss is already inmy hand, loaded and ready to go. Its wide spray injures groups of fae more effectively than a sword would in an initial attack. I’ll save the blade for closer combat.

Over Aithinne’s shoulder, Kiaran catches my eye. I see a mirror of my anticipation there. Aye, he loves this part as much as I do. The calm before a squall.

We wait until the Seers draw closer. The three men stop short, their metal fae horses protesting at their forceful halt. ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ Daniel’s face is flushed, a bloody gash across his forehead.

My anticipation calms me. This must be the way Kiaran and Aithinnefeel: no emotions, just a readiness.

I want this.It’s such a simple thing. There’s no room for fear or panic. Only the way the weapon fits in my hand, the way my body lights up at the thought of battle. How different it is from the insatiable hunger to kill.

‘We’re here to save your arse,’ I say. ‘Get to the city and stay there. We’ll hold them off so they can’t follow.’

Lorne growls deep in his throat – and it isn’t a pleasant sound. ‘You’re barking mad,’ he says. He gestures to Aithinne and Kiaran. ‘These two are immortal; if they want to fight their own, let them. Ladies have no place on the battlefield.’

Aithinne looks amused. ‘Says the manrunningfrom the battle. Ye’re feart, Seer?’

Lorne looks away. Aye, definitely afraid.

‘Lorne’s right.’ Daniel holds a hand out to me. A truce; he’s offering to protect me. ‘You shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe.’

To Daniel and Lorne, a human facing an army of faeries– especially a woman – is condemning herself to death. Daniel is trying to save me, the way he did Catherine.

Before I can answer him, Gavin says quietly, ‘Let her.’

Daniel turns his head in surprise. ‘I beg your pardon?’

‘She’s not what you think she is,’ Gavin says. Daniel and Lorne look at him like he’s gone positively mad, but Gavin’s gaze doesn’t waver from mine. ‘Make sure you come back this time. I doubt I’ll be alive in another three years.’

Gavin turns his horse to go, and Daniel and Lorne reluctantly follow. I’m sure they’ve left people behind before. I had to learn that lesson myself: you can’t save everyone.

Kiaran, Aithinne, and I watch the faeries make their way down the snowy hill. When they see us, they let out deafening howls that echo across the field.

A war cry. The same one Lonnrach bellowed when Aithinne and I were in theSìth-bhrùth.

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