I didn’t want to kill Faer, but I would to protect my people.
Could I destroy the castle without injuring the city beyond the gates, full of innocent low and high Fae?
“Bloodthirsty,” Raile said with a smile. “I knew I loved you for a reason.”
The two of us joined the fight, trying to get through the guards. Tiron’s magic must have been mostly drained by our battle, because he was still freezing people, but he had to get close enough to touch them. I could knock guards unconscious with my magic, but now that there were so many fighters in such close quarters, it was hard to pick out a target without risking another.
So swords and fists it was. My wedding gown was in my way, twirling across the marble floor as I fought. It seemed to glitter under the lights as I clocked another guard across the face.
We made it out of the ballroom and ran down the hallway. A handful of Fae knights were with us.
“Did all your friends make it out?” I demanded of Duncan.
He looked back over his shoulder. He didn’t have to answer; his face turned to thunder, telling me everything I needed to know.
“Go!” he told me, giving me a push toward the doors that stood open to the sea, that would lead us to the docks where Raile’s ship waited. I knew the second he saw me off safely, he’d run back—to his own death, if that was what it took to protect the knights who had fought beside him.
“Nope,” I said. “You need me.”
I flashed him a tight smile. I hope you hate that.
Duncan managed to return a dour look despite the speed at which the two of us were moving. But for once, the grouch didn’t argue with me; he just turned on his heel.
As we raced back toward the ballroom, the doors burst open. Out spilled guards who surged toward us murderously.
Suddenly, Tiron was there alongside us. He outpaced me, slipping just ahead, then threw up a hand. White magic whirled around his hands.
The guards were piling out of the doorway, but Tiron froze them in place. The momentum of those behind knocked some of the frozen bodies onto the floor, and the Fae shattered.
Then Tiron swayed dangerously on his feet, as if he’d almost exhausted his magic.
“Help him,” I begged Raile, who looked at me in disbelief, swore…and then grabbed Tiron as he almost fell.
Duncan scooped up a fallen Fae knight from the floor, her green hair flopping as he slung her over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes.
A handful of other Fae knights were in the hall with us too, with bloodied swords and grim looks—it was hard to tell them apart from our enemies, but Duncan knew who each knight was. I trusted him.
He nodded to me, then we ran toward the ship.
Behind us, there were slamming sounds and the crunching of breaking ice, as the guards sealed into the chamber hacked away at the frozen bodies. We were halfway down the hall when I glimpsed the first of them careening into the hallway behind us and sliding on the ice.
We raced down the marble hallway with Faer’s guards at our heels.
Chapter Two
Alisa
By the time we all reached the dock, the last of Faer’s guards had broken free of Tiron’s spell, but it didn’t matter. Raile’s archers lined the deck, and I heard the sound of bodies slapping against the wet wooden deck behind us as we ran toward the gangplank.
We made it onto the ship. Raile dropped Tiron on the deck without a hint of mercy and stepped over his body, already shouting at his sailors.
“What do you need from me?” I asked, because I had his magic and I had no clue how to use it to escape my own castle.
“Fill the sails and raise a current headed out to sea,” he said, which was not exactly helpful advice, but he was already stepping close to me. His voice was a low murmur in my ear as he coached me through how to use his magic.
The sails billowed with a crisp snapping sound, and the scent of fresh sea air teased around as the wind blew steadily. Raile looked self-satisfied, but then, that seemed to be his natural state.
“I don’t know if I’ll want to give this magic back,” I teased him.
“You might be in luck,” he said.
I wasn’t sure what that meant, but Tiron stirred, trying to sit up. His moan drew Raile’s attention.