had spent the night with me in my giant lake of a bed, and we dressed in silence.
Aeri tugged on her boots and put her pale hair in a ponytail. She met my gaze. “Ready for this?”
I gave the mirror one last look. Hair, done. Eyes, done. Zipper, done. “War paint’s ready. Let’s go.”
We left my quarters and headed to the war room. Everyone was there already, studying the three-dimensional plan of the King’s Grove. I introduced Aeri, and we ran over the plan again.
Most of the team would attack from strategic points, holding off the Unseelie Fae that we expected to appear, while Tarron and I made our way beneath the obelisk. There was supposed to be a portal there, since the Unseelie Fae didn’t technically live underground. They’d used some pretty serious magic to connect their two realms and send their destructive obelisk through.
I met Tarron’s gaze just briefly, but we didn't speak. Now we each possessed the other’s greatest secret. He was magically forbidden from speaking mine, but I wouldn’t tell his either.
The twelve of us departed the war room fifteen minutes before sunrise. It didn't take long to make our way through the silent castle and toward the King’s Grove. The dark magic that had rolled out from the place earlier had grown thicker in the time that I’d been away. It still reeked of brimstone and putrid night lilies, and my heartbeat thundered.
Aeri covered her mouth and grimaced. “That’s awful.”
“It is.” And it might be the scent of my mother.
Fates, that was terrible.
I shoved the thought aside.
With the way that the magic was expanding, we were handling this just in time. Tarron wouldn’t have been able to hide this from the citizens much longer.
Tarron held up his hand, and we stopped on command, then circled up. He held the Wish Stone in the center of the circle of people.
“Protect our minds from the dark power of the Unseelie obelisk.” His voice rang with authority, and the carved rock glowed bright as it absorbed his commands. His gaze flicked around the circle. “Lay your hand upon the orb.”
One by one, we reached out to touch the glowing surface. When my fingertips pressed to it, magic sizzled up my arms and wrapped around my chest, shining bright. All around me, the Fae glowed as well. Warmth flowed through me.
Protection.
Suddenly, the stink of the dark magic didn't smell so bad.
Thank fates. If this hadn’t worked, we’d have been screwed.
Once we were all protected, Tarron gave the orb to Luna, who tucked it into a pack on her back. He then strode ahead, approaching the gate with determined steps. He wore navy tactical wear—boots and sturdy pants with a dark chain-mail vest that was imbued with some kind of repelling magic. A small pack was strapped to his back. Within, he carried the bomb and the amplifier.
He touched the gate, then frowned, shooting me a look.
Whoops. When I’d broken in earlier, I hadn’t been able to replace the spell that had protected it. “Sorry.”
He turned back to the gate and unlocked it, then pushed it open. Dark magic billowed out, and I held my breath, muscles tense. It floated around me, a dark mist that prickled and burned, but the horrible thoughts of sacrifice didn’t overwhelm me.
I joined Tarron, and we walked through the trees, approaching the obelisk. He carried a long silver sword, his posture stiff. Tension tightening my muscles as we neared. The magic grew thicker the closer we got, but our protection held it at bay. Our backup spread out to our left and right, Aeri at my side.
We were only forty feet from the obelisk when the ground cracked open around it. It sounded like thunder booming, and more black smoke billowed up. My skin chilled as figures crawled out of the ground. Their skin was pale white and their hair jet black. Every stitch of clothing on their bodies was the color of midnight, and they bore obsidian blades, the sharpest on earth.
The thorn wolf appeared at my side in that moment, a low growl rumbling through his chest. He pressed his side against my leg, and I felt the prick of his thorns. It was comforting, somehow.
I called on my bow from the ether, heartbeat thundering in my ears. There were a dozen Unseelie Fae. Then two dozen. They moved with a graceful swiftness that was almost eerie, and I began to fire my bow.
My arrows sailed true, piercing one Fae in the