he struggled. My magic might be rough, but I was still a Hunter, through and through.
“Stop right there,” I said, my voice low and cool, but everyone seemed to hear me; the guards who had been pushing through the ballroom paused uncertainly. “I’ll snap the prince’s neck if I must.”
Faer snorted, although it turned into a choked gagging sound. He forged on, “No, you won’t.”
Herrick knew I would never kill Faer—not when there was a chance of peeling Herrick out of this body. I wanted my brother back.
But that didn’t mean I couldn’t hurt him a little. I tightened my grip, pressing on the primary artery in his neck. It takes too long to choke someone out by airway—it’s tiresome—but a blood choke yields nighty-night time within about thirty seconds.
For a moment, the guards and I stared at each other. They looked lost as to what to do while their king was sagging in my arms.
Raile melted backwards quietly; without his magic, he was weak as a kitten compared to other Fae. Per tradition, he’d come to the wedding ceremony unarmed. Even the Fae counted on bride-and-groom not to murder each other at the altar. Knowing Raile, he probably had his eye on some weapon, though.
Then suddenly several of the guards rushed at Raile. He side-stepped the first one, dropping low to sweep the guard’s leg. The guard slammed into the marble floor.
The second lunged at Raile with his sword, but Raile spun, catching his wrist to stop the sword’s stroke, then kicked him in the chest. The male fell down the long marble steps toward the bottom of the dais.
Faer went limp in my arms. This time, I made sure he wasn’t faking.
But there were still more guards, all wickedly armed and headed for Raile. I pushed my suddenly unconscious brother away, hoping I had enough momentum to shove him down the steps. No such luck. Faer crumpled to the marble floor.
I raised my hands, trying to shape Raile’s unfamiliar magic.
One of the guards thrust his sword toward Raile. I sent a wave of that magic toward the guards. The magic knocked them down, and they struggled to rise before succumbing to unconsciousness.
Raile wrested swords from two of them as he stepped over the bodies, then tossed one to me. I caught the sword out of the air, swished it for balance. I felt a lot more optimistic about the state of the world when I was armed.
I searched Duncan and Tiron out of the crowd; Duncan was engulfed by several guards. Tiron had vanished.
And then he was back, in the doorway again with his sword in his hand and his lips moving as if he were swearing to himself. Maybe he couldn’t leave Duncan behind to meet his fate alone.
“Fancy a honeymoon, my queen?” Raile asked.
“If you’re trying to ask me if I’d like to get the hell out of here, Raile, the answer is definitely yes.”
The two of us raced down the steps of the dais, turning the world into a blur. Most of the high Fae had tried to flee, but some of them were still trapped in the ballroom because of the fight that had broken out. Dozens of Faer’s guards were attacking Duncan and Tiron, who whirled and fought.
The odds were ugly.
Duncan slayed one guard. As he pulled his bloodied sword free, he was already trying to whirl to face the one behind him. But the blade stuck in bone. He had to stop to kick the body off. He wasn’t going to parry the guard’s blow in time.
I raised my hand, sending magic flickering over the heads of the guards to strike down the one who loomed behind him.
Duncan turned to face no opponent, just for a second. His eyes flickered up toward me, thanking me silently from across the room.
Three more guards moved in toward him.
Then suddenly, Duncan and Tiron weren’t alone anymore. Some of Faer’s knights were turning against his guards and fighting alongside Tiron and Duncan.
“Great,” Raile drawled. “Now there’s more of you land walkers I’ll have to take along to keep you from being strung up.”
“I could knock the castle down behind us so they don’t follow,” I said, because at the moment, with all Raile’s magic flooding me, I felt sure I could; I could raise waves from the ocean and obliterate the castle. I could let the marble crush our enemies. I could let the castle wash in pieces out into the sea, plummeting to the ocean