The Unkindest Tide (October Daye #13) - Seanan McGuire Page 0,134

isn’t against the Law, but killing your lover has to sting, no matter what she is when she falls off the edge of the world.”

Gillian stared at me, fighting against the Cephali who held her with renewed vigor. “What do you mean, killing a human isn’t against the law? That’s sick! Faerie is sick!”

My stomach sank as Torin’s head swung around to her, his attention finding a new target. “Faerie is sick, little girl, that much is true, and creatures like you are the sickness.” He took a step toward her, expression thoughtful. “I could make it healthier.”

I rushed forward, grabbing the bars of the courtyard gate. One of Torin’s guards stabbed at me with her spear, but half-heartedly, like she was too confused to really commit. I grabbed the shaft and yanked it toward me, pulling it out of her hands.

“No spears for you,” I snapped. “No swords or tridents or anything else, either. You don’t know how to use them responsibly.”

“Rowan and thorn, you’re such a mom,” said Quentin.

“Quiet,” I said, eyes still on Torin. “You get the fuck away from her, Torin, or you’re going to wish you’d killed me when you had the chance. Do you hear me? I’ll declare war on the Undersea all by myself, and I’ll win, unless you move away from my little girl.”

Gillian looked like she couldn’t decide between terror and irritation, and settled for rolling her eyes, moving as far from Torin as her living chains allowed. The Cephali who was holding her pulled her a little tighter, until her back was against his chest. That just made her fight harder. It was a vicious cycle, and one that wasn’t going to end well for anyone.

“Torin!” I shouted. “Look at me!”

He didn’t turn around. Not as I yelled, and not as Tybalt stepped out of the shadows, moved in close behind him, grabbed him by the throat, and yanked.

Torin shouted, confusion and fear wrapped into a tidy little package, and his guard swung around, ready to attack the invader. They were too slow. There were a lot of shadows clinging to the dock, and Tybalt was already gone, hauling Torin with him into the darkness.

“Try not to kill him!” I shouted, probably already too late to be heard—but that part didn’t really matter, not as much as having at least pretended to try. Privately, I’d be thrilled to know that the man who had menaced my daughter, arrested Dianda, and thrown a knife at my fiancé had met his end in the freezing cold and endless dark of the Shadow Roads.

“Mom!” wailed Gillian.

I whipped around. The Cephali had wrapped one thick tentacle around her neck, squeezing slowly. He glared at me, hatred in his eyes.

“Give him back,” he said. “Give him back, or I’ll—”

Whatever he was going to say died as he made a thick gurgling sound and slumped forward, revealing the sword protruding from his back. It was long and sharp and far less dangerous than the scowling woman who stood on the deck behind him.

Captain Pete folded her arms and glared at the lot of us. “I’m going to have to apologize to Chryseis, assuming she’s still alive, for killing one of her descendants. Someone want to tell me why this was worth it?”

Silence fell.

TWENTY

GILLIAN STRUGGLED OUT FROM under the fallen Cephali, sobbing as she pushed away the heavy tentacles that had bound her. There were sucker marks on her arms and throat. Those were going to bruise, leaving her marked for days, if not weeks. She’d have to wear even more illusions around the house as she concealed the damage from her father. It felt like my heart had become lodged in my throat, making it hard to swallow or breathe.

It was almost anticlimactic when Tybalt tumbled out of a patch of shadow, dragging Torin’s limp, motionless form in his wake. Anticlimactic for me, anyway: not for René. The Selkie man snarled and dove for the unmoving Merrow, stopping only when Quentin and Patrick caught his arms and held him back.

“Let me go!” he howled, following the demand with a string of curses in French. I didn’t understand any of them. Quentin did, and from the look on his face, they weren’t pleasant. René thrashed, trying to break loose, coming dangerously close to hitting one of them with his sword. “He killed my sister! You heard him! He as much as admitted to killing my sister!”

“You just had to go and summon your Selkies to my fiefdom,”