Page 92 of The Court of Thorns and Wings

“Get the Seelie princess,” Eldrin commanded. “And make sure she doesn’t shed too much blood. We need it for the veil before the Seelie comes. She has to be in the same spot or nearit. Better yet, anyone who has snow magic, blow it toward that section so we can see their outline.”

Five guards soared toward me. I ignored the torment ravaging my body and lifted my sword. I refused to flee.

They searched for me, unsure where I might be with the darkness that cloaked me until the female guard used her magic. Snow pelted us as she said, “Look, the snow hits there and not the ground. Someone must be there.”

My stomach knotted, and I realized I should’ve moved farther away.

The five guards circled me, and I tried to remember every type of self-defense I’d learned from my time in Ardanos and on Earth. I’d been trained to protect myself.

The female nodded, and all five soared toward me at once. Only the woman had her sword out, while the other four must be planning to restrain me. I had to play this smart.

Lira, I said hide!Tavish shouted.I can’t hide us with darkness much longer. I’m using too much magic. He can’t sense you if the rest of us stay here. Take the girl with you and go.

I refuse to leave you like this, and she won’t leave her father.If she was anything like me, she’d stay in one spot, and forcing her to leave would make it easier to find us.

The female guard swung her sword, and I lifted mine, the clash of metal confirming her suspicion. I kicked my feet out, hitting two of the men in the chest and using them to flip over. The other two guards crashed into each other as I turned myself upright again.

Unshed tears burned my eyes, but I gritted my teeth. The only way to end this was to kill Eldrin. Then the threat to the throne would be gone.

More snow spun around us as I turned, watching Eldrin track the magic surrounding us. This had to be it. I would take downthe son of a bitch who threatened Tavish. The person who had done all of this to him.

With my sword at my side, I pushed through the agony and raced toward him. I wanted to catch him off guard the same way he had done to me in the tub.

I’d drawn the sword back, ready to drive it into his heart, when his head snapped in my direction. He flew backward, and my sword hit air.

“I know that isn’t Tavish, but I can feel his magic coming off you.” He smirked.

I gritted my teeth, though my wings were growing sluggish. The injury was catching up to me. I had to act fast, and I swung the sword again. Each time I moved forward, Eldrin moved just in time for the weapon to miss him.

Something behind him flashed brightly, like fire, and I paused.

Had the Seelie finally arrived? If so, I couldn’t be happier to see my people. They had come in the nick of time.

“It’s time to surrender, Eldrin,” I said. Death would be too easy for him. He deserved capture and torture. “The Seelie are here.”

Eldrin glanced around, and another line of fire pulsed closer. Fire that was thick and signaling an alarm. The Seelie wouldn’t warn the Unseelie that they’d arrived, leaving only one explanation, especially with the sizable shape that could now be faintly seen slithering in the sky.

Dragon.

28

TAVISH

The frigid tendrils of fear that pulsed through our bond strangled me. I could feel the tugs of the darkness covering the eight of us, along with Nightbane below, as I made sure no guard could easily locate us. However, we had to determine how many guards had snow magic so we could eliminate them and hide more effectively. I was stretching my magic too far and could not engulf the entire force of guards with my nightmare illusions.

Something had to be wrong with Lira. The guard in front of me swung blindly, hoping to harm one of us, so I darted underneath him then shot upward and beheaded him. His blood sprayed, but I didn’t pay attention to that or the yells of the nearby guards as they watched their friend die at the hands of an invisible force.

Luckily, ten guards were hovering near the back of the circle, not getting involved in the battle.

I found Lira close to Eldrin, but they weren’t fighting… something I suspected even Lira would be capable of withhimafter everything he’d done to her.

The wildling.

I’d remedy that particular issue now.

A dragon is heading toward us, Lira connected, answering my unspoken question.

I jerked my head in the direction they were staring, and I gritted my teeth. Was it illusion magic? Why would a dragon be flying toward us? However, I wasn’t chained, and my magic was flaring inside me. I should see through any illusion easily.

---