impossible to see the queen. I caught a flash of movement from ahead of me. Pale skin and dark hair.
“There!” I sprinted for the Unseelie.
Closer up, I realized it wasn’t her. Not the queen. Another.
Where was she? This one had to be protecting her. I raced closer.
Three Unseelie leapt out from behind a rock, joining the first. All four had eyes glowing with manic light. At least two of them looked to be enchanted, while the others might’ve been acting of their own accord.
The difficulty of figuring out who was on her side and who wasn’t made frustration devour me. I hated that I might hurt one who was unwilling, but so many more would die if I didn’t stop her.
I hated difficult decisions.
I charged, stashing my sword in the ether and calling on my bow and arrow. It was in my hands when the first pain hit.
I doubled over, feeling like I’d been stabbed in the stomach by the queen’s magic. Gasping, I tried to straighten.
“Mari!” Tarron’s worried voice penetrated the haze of pain.
“I’m fine!” The words tore from me. “Keep going!”
Finally, I managed to force myself to stand, a nearly overwhelming compulsion to join the queen surging through me.
No.
I straightened and raised my bow, focusing so hard on the weapon that it became my world. It had to be my world right now.
I aimed at the Unseelie who was farthest away and sent an arrow right through his neck. Tarron was slicing the head off another, and Aeri had crushed a skull with her mace. Wally and Burn tag teamed the fourth one, claws and fangs flying.
Where was she?
Panic raced through me.
This was the final showdown.
It had to be. I couldn’t let her make it to the Seelie realm—not with the flame.
Screw it.
I called upon my wings and took to the sky. I needed the higher vantage point to find her. Fast. The heat singed my skin.
“From the left, Mari!” Aeri shrieked.
I didn’t hesitate or even look—I just darted to the right as fast as I could, skin and wings burning from the proximity to the clouds. I was so close that it felt like I was actually on fire.
I prayed I wasn’t.
Tarron would hit me with a jet of water if I was, right? I had to be fine. Though fine was really relative in these circumstances.
I darted through the air, avoiding the flaming clouds and trying to spot the queen through the haze of heat.
Finally, I saw her. Regal and elegant in her sleek black dress with an updo that was horribly perfect, she was standing in front of a huge jet of flame that shot from deep within the earth. She held a crystal ball in her hands, directing it toward the flame. The crystal pulsed, absorbing the fire from the mountain.
Shit.
I dived for her, wind tearing at my hair as I pushed myself to the breaking point. The ground rose up to meet me at a horrifying pace. I was an airplane about to crash.
I slammed into the queen, sending her flying backward. The flaming globe flew out of her hands, rolling away. I tumbled with her, the two of us going head over heels as we bounced over the hard ground.
Her black hair flew around her head, and midnight eyes met mine. She shrieked, her claws going for my face. I ducked, calling a dagger from the ether. I gripped it tight and tried to slam it into her ribs.
At the last minute, my hand stilled.
I thrust it forward, but it wouldn’t move.
She clawed my face, nails raking. Pain and frustration roared within me. I tried to stab her—tried to thrust the blade forward so it would pierce her stomach.
My arm wouldn’t move.
“You can’t hurt me,” she hissed. “My magic prevents it.”
The stupid potion she’d hit me with.
I tried to knee her in the stomach, to see if a weaponless attack would work.
My leg froze.
Shit.
She clawed at my neck. Pain flared. Blood welled. Her strong hand yanked me to her.
“Come with me, daughter.” Her words pulled at me, dragging at the magic within my bones. It was so desperate to obey her. Connor’s charm suppressed it, but I could still feel it trying to roar to the surface.
A slender dagger slammed into her shoulder, appearing out of nowhere and shocking me out of my trance. She shrieked, her eyes going wide.
Someone had nailed her.
I scrambled back.
Tarron or Aeri hadn’t been hit by her damned potion, so their daggers could hit her.
My muscles burned