knew it would make contact. It was as though time slowed and I couldn’t do anything. I was helpless to watch that sharp edge coming for me. It would strike my shoulder, where it made a curve to my neck. Given the strength that was behind it, I would likely be partially decapitated. I prayed to Danu that the charm held. I wasn’t sure what would happen if the spell that held my magic in was suddenly unleashed. I would rather die than be the cause of another unmaking.
Then the sword simply stopped. Or rather it was stopped. A thick vine popped up from the ground and wound itself around the sword.
And the man. The soldier who’d been ready to take off my head was suddenly wrapped in thick, green vines that hadn’t been there before. The forest floor had spotty grass and patches of moss, but nothing like the vibrant green vines that tangled around the soldier’s body. I turned to face my second attacker, but he was already on the ground, nestled in the same vines.
“Don’t use all those bullets, bella,” a deep voice to my right said. “If we’re going to defend the queen, we’re probably going to need them since neither Devinshea nor myself can figure out how to open that door again.”
Kelsey blocked Kor’s next parry with her arm. Her arm. She shoved it up and let the red skin of her forearm take what should have been a blow to separate her from the limb. I heard Kor curse in Gaelic and then he grunted as she tried to pull the sword from his grasp.
Something hard smacked my backside and I yelped, turning only to find one of those crazy vines waving at me.
“It’s not the queen, Marcus.” Kelsey didn’t break a sweat. She merely tossed the gun toward the dark-haired man who was to my left. “The queen is back at Council headquarters. And hold that for me unless you want to do that thing where you make everyone gut themselves.”
“And spoil your fun?” the man asked. “I would never. Besides, I can feel your anxiety from here and I haven’t felt anything from you in months. You need to blow off steam. It’s going to be all right, Kelsey.”
“What do you mean she’s not the queen?” a deep voice asked. His accent reminded me of the people who’d raised me, lyrical and soothing. “I think I know the queen when I see her.”
I caught sight of a man dressed in all white, and a chill went up my spine. He was the one who’d sent the plants. I knew him immediately, but when I’d met him long before, he hadn’t spoken with that accent. He was powerful and he had a familiar face, but the soul was different.
It was exactly what I would do if I wanted to capture someone like me. I would send in someone I know, someone I might trust. I would save the person I wanted to capture, befriending her and letting her know she could trust me.
The man in white had been there on my first day. He’d helped me save my mother. He’d understood what I was and he’d been a patient voice whispering in my head, telling me how the world worked and what I could do. He hadn’t liked my father, but he’d been interested in Mom.
Why was he here?
Come to me. Let me protect you. Kelsey will handle the bad guys. There’s no need for you to be in the middle of battle. You could get hurt, bella.
My stomach turned because the words hadn’t been spoken aloud. They’d been placed directly in my mind. They’d whispered across my brain in an accent that was foreign to me. It was a rich voice calling to me, telling me everything would be all right. All I had to do was let him take care of me. He was willing to do it. He would protect me while Kelsey finished the task of dealing with the men who’d attacked. He wouldn’t let anything happen to me.
Do you have any idea how many times I’ve had someone promise to protect me? I’ve been on the run for years. I’ve been offered any manner of protection, and it almost always ends in someone trying to take my power. In some cases, they tried to end my existence out of fear.
It’s what happens when you’re the Fae equivalent of the boogey man.