Maeve!” he roared.
The company shouted agreement. Thorolf swooped low and the wolf mates climbed on his tail and his back. Several even managed to reach the top of his wings. Thorolf picked up more in his claws, and the other Pyr did the same, carrying their forces to the new battlefield.
This was as good as it got, in Thorolf’s view.
Yasmina had the gem of the hoard and was hurrying toward the armory when she saw a Fae warrior heading in the same direction. There was purpose in his stride and she felt a premonition of dread. She tucked her prize amongst a cluster of rocks to hide it, then shifted to a wisp of smoke to follow him.
It was the tall warrior she’d seen at Maeve’s side, although he had a purple mark on his forehead that she didn’t remember. Yasmina floated behind him, glad of the darkness to hide her smoke form. He crept close to the door of the armory, and paused there to listen, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.
“Liam?” he asked, but she could tell he didn’t expect a reply. “Hurry up, Liam. The Dark Queen is waiting on us.”
There was no sound from within the armory. The Fae warrior straightened, stared at the door for a long moment, then marched away. Yasmina knew she didn’t imagine that he was making sure his steps were audible. He pulled out a key and drew his sword, then darted back to the armory and unlocked the door.
There was a roar and the brilliant glow of dragonfire. The Fae warrior lunged into the armory, pulling the door behind himself, and Yasmina heard sounds of battle. Weight crashed against the walls. Something shattered. Someone grunted and fell to the earth.
And then there was silence.
Quick as a wink, Yasmina slid through the lock of the armory and was horrified to see Hadrian in his human form on the ground, blood running from a wound on his chest. The Fae warrior stood over him, his expression fierce, then swore as the blade on his sword became tipped with hoarfrost. He stepped away from Hadrian, circling the armory with increasing speed as he examined the melting weapons.
Then he turned to survey the fallen Pyr with mingled horror and awe. “You did this,” he whispered as Hadrian groaned. He kicked Hadrian who rolled to his back as if close to death. “I don’t know how it was possible, you will pay the price for this travesty. The Dark Queen will want to exact her own revenge.” He kicked Hadrian again, but the Pyr went completely still.
Yasmina didn’t think Hadrian was even breathing anymore and she feared their quest had claimed its first victim. The Fae warrior swore again and kicked Hadrian again, with no response.
“You were supposed to be dead already,” the Fae warrior complained. “Your corpse should have been burned to cinders in that fire.” He bent down and listened for Hadrian’s breath, then opened one of the Pyr’s eyes to peer into it. He stood up then, his disgust clear. “You will not escape the price of this,” he vowed. “If you can be roused, my queen will do it.” He nodded. “And then you will pay.”
Hadrian didn’t move.
The Fae warrior sheathed his weapon with a vicious gesture then hefted Hadrian over his shoulder, grunting beneath the weight of the other man. Then he left the armory, carrying the dead Pyr toward the court.
Yasmina feared that Rania might lose heart when she saw that her mate had been killed. She wondered whether the plan should proceed, then hoped that she might somehow have a chance to heal Hadrian. She hurried to retrieve the hidden gem of the hoard, and when she picked it up, she glanced toward the departing warrior.
And she saw the green glimmer of Hadrian’s eyes.
He was alive!
He had to be feigning the extent of his injuries in order to be taken to Maeve. Yasmina gripped the gem of the hoard and hurried in pursuit of the Fae warrior, slipping from shadow to shadow as she tried to keep up.
This was a confrontation she didn’t want to miss.
Rania manifested before Maeve with her prize and Alasdair fell hard against the ground. His scales looked shimmery and vital, even though he was supposedly dead, and she feared that their ruse would be discovered too soon. She was glad when he shifted one last time to his human form and remained motionless beside her. She bowed low before Maeve, trying to disguise her