Page 3 of Void of Endings
Maeve shoved up from the ground, stretched her wings, beating them in rapid procession. She knocked back the male and female who moved in on her with their axes raised high.
These fae were not warriors. They were not battle-hardened or trained to fight. They knew nothing of combat or the ways of war. She almost pitied them, for they were simply following the orders of a common fae, and she could practically guarantee they never thought he would be a good enough reason to die.
Unfortunately for them, they’d chosen to fight on the wrong side.
Againsther.
Maeve rose up on her toes and spun, the flares of her sword taking them down in one clean swipe. Their charred bodies dropped to the ground, the resounding thud rumbling up into the face of the mountains.
Three down. Two to go.
The other trooping fae before her scrambled to his feet, his yellow gaze focused on her. His face was drawn, furrowed with loathing. No doubt he’d seen the mess she’d made of his companions.
Stepping toward him, she offered a ruthless smile. “Are you afraid now?”
“I’ll kill you for what you’ve done to them!” he shouted, spittle clinging to the scruff of his filthy face. He rushed her with his sword and she parried.
“Not if I kill you first.”
Maeve didn’t even give him a chance to retaliate. She summoned the creation, the lifeblood of magic flowing inside of her. A well of power poured from her, its magnitude enough to bring down the heavens. She channeled it into the earth, and a tremor rumbled beneath the trooping fae’s feet. His eyes went wide, his skin turned the color of ash. The soil cracked, fracturing into a dozen different directions as fissures took form, shooting debris into the air. The ground he stood upon crumbled, giving way at Maeve’s command. There was a brieflook of horror on his face before he fell into oblivion and the earth swallowed him whole.
Gradually, the land repaired itself, sealing every crevice. A cool breeze filtered down from the mountaintops, dusting away the footprints, erasing every last trace of the trooping fae.
Maeve turned to face the so-called leader and the blood in her veins ran cold.
He stood behind Tiernan, flashing her that same hideous smile. His gnarled hand was fisted into her mate’s hair, yanking his head back and exposing the length of the bronze neck. Positioned at the base of his throat was a jagged blade.
One wrong move, and the bastard would plunge it into Tiernan, killing him.
“Release him,” she warned.
“Drop your weapon.” The leader angled the blade deeper, so beads of red slid down Tiernan’s neck. His veins bulged, and even from a few feet away, Maeve could see the severe clench of his jaw.
He was furious.
But she hadn’t come all the way back from the Ether only to watch him die.
Maeve opened her hand, and the sword of sunlight vanished.
The fae blinked. “Who are you?”
“I am Maeve Ruhdneah. High Princess of the Autumn Court. Goddess-blessed. The Dawnbringer. Queen of the Furies.” Maeve took one calculating step forward, and for the first time since her arrival, she met her mate’s empowering gaze. “And I show mercy to no one.”
Dawn exploded around them.
Maeve grabbed her Aurastone, and just as the blinding aurora ebbed, she flung it right into the trooping fae’s throat.
The blade of the Aurastone never missed its mark.
She stalked over to the fallen fae and pulled her dagger from his neck. The sucking sound it made caused her gut to seize. Wiping away the sticky blood, she sheathed it, then finally faced the two fae males who each held a different piece of her heart. One, her family. The other, her soul.
Time seemed to halt completely. An eternity could have passed and she wouldn’t even have noticed. Merrick stood there, his face discolored from bruising, his lip busted and bleeding. His snow-white hair with a streak of shocking pink fell in his face, covering one bright blue eye. Carefully, so not to hurt him, she reached out and gingerly smoothed the pieces back from his face.
His smile gutted her.
Whatever moments they shared, whatever time they spent together, was lost to her.
Merrick bowed slowly, and winced. “Looking good, my lady.”
