Page 27 of Stone Sentinels

Aima kicks my dagger out of my hand, and I cast a shield of light to deflect Kolvar’s axe as Aima attacks me from the other side. She gets close to cleaving me in two with her sword, but I grab her arm and the veins beneath her skin begin to bulge, appearing red as they crawl across her flesh.

She jerks her arm back and stares at me in surprise. “How did you do that?”

“I didn’t mean to,” I hasten to say, afraid I’ve hurt her. “I only meant to stop you.”

“Eilish... that... what was going through your mind just then?” she asks, still in awe. She doesn’t appear to be hurt. More amazed.

“Protecting myself.”

She shakes her head. “You weren’t just protecting yourself. I couldn’t move my arm no matter how hard I tried,” she says. “It was like venom in my veins. I was paralyzed, but I... accepted it. Iembracedthe submission forced on me by your power.” She rubs the place on her arm where my hand had been. Something catches my attention. Kolvar’s attention, too, as he tilts his head and his ears twitch. I move to stand beside my companions. The roar of footsteps breaks through the forest as something or someone comes closer. We run for the cottage just as Pyre opens the door.

“There’s—” I start.

“I sensed their presence the second they stepped through the portal,” Pyre growls.

“Who is it?” I ask.

“The Unseelie army. At least one hundred soldiers march through The Veil Forest. And they have Cambion with them.”

My heart beats painfully within the confines of my chest as Baron hands the others their weapons. Dragan summons a blade of pure flame, and even Flumph and Noni gather their crossbows. When Pyre shuffles over to the window, I follow. We pull the curtain aside and watch the tree line for signs of movement. “What do you sense?” I ask.

“At least two hundred Unseelie now. Archers and swordsmen mostly, no spellcasters aside from Cambion and Variant, from what I can tell,” he answers.

“Cambion is with Variant?” I ask, my heart dropping at the thought.

“Appears so,” Pyre answers.

He gives me a look filled with so much weight. He’s worried. I suspect, for once, that the necromancer can’t foresee the outcome of this event.

“Whatever happens, we fight together. We need to make a stand,” he says. He takes a breath and continues. “Letting them take The Veil will be worse than anything they could do to the Realms.”

“We will stand and fight,” I say.

He nods. “We must make sure they don’t gain control.”

My hand rests on his shoulder and he holds my stare for a few more seconds. A small company moves through the trees and into the clearing. I hear the others curse as Cambion appears beside Theren, bound and gagged with enchanted cuffs and a muzzle. He looks like a wounded, feral dog trying to cling to life.

“They’ve taken Cambion as their prisoner,” I whisper, shocked but also pleased to know Cambion didn’t join them, as I’d worried earlier.

But, then my gaze shifts to Theren. On top of his head is short, midnight blue hair, cut in a way that shows off the severe arch of his brows and the fine points of his ears. His skin is tawny, not unlike Cambion’s bronze complexion, looking like the physical manifestation of sunlight. Theren’s eyes are the color of honey and wheat, just like his brother’s, and they glow faintly, as though his soul is reaching out through them. His face features full lips, long lashes, and high cheekbones. He’s nearly as captivating as Pyre, but there’s a cold brutality hidden behind his illuminating gaze.

***

CAMBION

The Veil

The pain in my body is eclipsed by the sense of regret I feel when Eilish stares at me from the window of the cottage. Her beautiful blue eyes bore through me with the intensity of a war-hardened fighter. I can’t tell if she’s angry, disappointed, saddened, or a combination of the three, but I don’t see the expression of betrayal in her gaze. I half expect to see hurt there, though I see none. Perhaps Eilish will be willing to hear what I have to say? Because what I have to say is an apology.

I was a fool to think Theren could change. I was a fool to havehopedsuch would be the case. And I was a fool to have bet on it.

“Is that your angel, Brother?” Theren asks in a strange tone.

Not mine, but an angel,I think in response.Yes.

I can’t speak, for my mouth is bound as well as my hands.

Regardless, my brother doesn’t need an answer. He knows who Eilish is.

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