Page 94 of The Court of Thorns and Wings

“We have to. Eldrin will track us via my magic, and the dragon will smell you if he gets too close. I need you to stay safe and free to be withonlyme.” My chest tugged, the mate in me wanting to oblige her request. I didn’t want to leave herside either, but that was futile. I needed her to be far away from the dragon prince and Eldrin.If you remain, I’ll be distracted, worrying about you, and I could get hurt.I was able to say the words because they were true, but I wouldn’t deny I was also using them to get her to agree with me. She didn’t want me hurt either.

I could feel her frustration, telling me my words had swayed her.

Fine, but if you get hurt or captured, I need to know you’ll tell me.Her cobalt-blue eyes shone even through the darkness, searching for the truth within me.

As if I could deny her request.I promise.I flew us toward the stone ground, and Nightbane appeared below us.

Who knew I’d come to tolerate the blasting cù-sìth? Something uncomfortable twisted in my chest as I thought about all the things I’d done to him as a pup.

“Here, I can carry her.” Struan held out his arms. “Flying will get us away from here faster.”

The thought of another man’s hands on her made me want to kill everyone in sight, but Eldrin’s commands became louder. They were heading to fight us once more. “Fine. Keep her safe.”

I kissed her lips and passed her to Struan, then turned to face Eldrin just as the dragon flew over half the village, nearly upon us.

“I’ll take care of her,” Eiric vowed as she, Struan, Lira, and Isla flew quickly toward the ruined part of the island.

If I wanted them to have time to gain distance, the best thing I could do was reveal the four of us who were left. We’d taken out over twenty guards and were still grossly outnumbered, but I hoped that the ten guards who’d been holding back would still choose not to engage in battle. Finnian, Caelan, and I were the best swordsfae in the kingdom, and all I needed to do was kill Eldrin.

“I’m pulling back the darkness from the four of us,” I informed the others.

“Tavish,” Caelan warned. “That’s a horrible idea.”

Before I could respond, Eldrin’s loyal guard, Faelan, shouted, “There’s Tavish. He’s revealed himself.”

The dragon prince roared overhead as five guards swarmed me. Faelan swung his sword, and I blocked it as Caelan, Finnian, and Lorne attacked three of the other guards focused on me.

A female guard jabbed while I was distracted, and the tip of her blade pierced my side before I could jerk back. As the blade slid free, Faelan rebounded and swung at my right hand, which held the sword. I turned sharply, his swordswishingby my arm. The female guard darted toward me, her sword held straight out, and I shoved Faelan into her blade, causing it to ricochet off his armor.

“Detain Tavish now.” Eldrin gestured the other guards toward me just as Finnian slid his blade through Faelan’s exposed neck and Caelan cut the wings off the female. The female dropped to the ground, and ten more guards moved toward us.

The dragon prince blew flames, engulfing three guards, and flew closer to Eldrin.

Eldrin’s jaw clenched. He called out, “I don’t know where the Seelie sunscorched is! Figure it out yourself. I’m dealing with escaped prisoners.”

The remaining seven guards had paused but now continued toward us. The dragon prince engulfed five of them in flames, leaving two unmaimed. Finnian and I didn’t hesitate. I shoved the sword through the guard’s head as Finnian cut the other guard’s throat.

Now, only five of the guards who’d attacked us were left. The other ten had continued to hang back.

“Fine. I’ll help you locate her.” Eldrin’s nostrils flared, but he turned to his fifteen remaining guards. “Kill everyone but Tavish. We can find other people to work the lands.”

Sword raised, Eldrin flew down to where we were hovering and waited for one of us to attack him.

No.

The dragon could pick up Lira’s scent if he followed Eldrin down to where she’d been.

I barreled toward Eldrin and rammed him into the top floor of the cottage that faced the cave where the mushrooms grew for the people here. Eldrin grunted and elbowed me in the nose. After a sickening crack, blood poured into my mouth.

Tavish!Lira’s voice popped into my head.Did you get caught?

Like he’d done to Lira, I fisted the back of his long white hair.Keep moving. The dragon prince is here, searching for you.With the hilt of my sword, I punched Eldrin in the face, unable to swing the blade at him this close.

“She was somewhere near here!” Eldrin shouted and bent completely over.

My legs spun over our heads, and I hit the wall I’d crashed him into upside down. Pain radiated down my back as Eldrin turned toward me with his blade.

“If it wouldn’t weaken us so much, I would kill you right now,” he snarled, placing the edge of the blade to my throat.

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