Page 71 of Ashes of Betrayal

He cut Bree a look. Aye, she too had spied the gap. A nerve flickered in her cheek, her tawny eyes shadowing. “Shit,” she rasped.

Their gazes fused, and Cailean flashed her a hard smile. “We’ll save them. Ready?”

Bree’s eyes glinted, her jaw firming as she nodded.

With Skaal snapping and snarling behind them, they slashed their way through the Ravens, catching many of the Shee by surprise.

Moments later, they leaped inside the pavilion.

The bodies of guards littered the floor, their blood soaking into sheepskins. Slaves and servants cowered in the shadows. However, Mirren, wild-eyed and clutching a bleeding arm, crouched a few yards from where two Shee warriors—both tall and lean, one fair-haired the other dark—held blades to Queen Teva and Princess Lara’s throats.

Despite the grunts, cries, and clang of blades outside the pavilion, a heavy silence had settled within.

The magic in Cailean’s blood called to him, yet he leashed it a moment, his fingers flexing on the grip of the broadsword he held before him.I’ll kill these two whoresons.

And he would. But first, he had to ensure the queen and the princess were out of danger. The Raven Queen’s retribution against the High King had been vicious indeed. She’d taken Cannich and raised a terrifying army to take on the Marav. Cailean couldn’t stop what she’d started, but he could stop the Shee from murdering these women.

Teva was weeping, tears running down her pale cheeks, while Lara’s face was taut, fury burning in her eyes. Fortunately,though, the princess minded the blade that the fair-haired Raven held at her throat.

But at that moment, Lara’s attention seized upon Cailean, shock igniting in her gaze.

Aye, he was back from the dead.

Meanwhile, the Shee who held her captive wasn’t paying the princess, or Cailean, any mind. Instead, he stared at Bree. A muscle feathered in his jaw, disbelief flickering in his slitted eyes.

Bree returned his glare. “What’s this, Gavyn?” she demanded roughly.

His lip curled. “I don’t answer to you, turncoat.”

“He’s taking them hostage,” Mirren replied, her voice husky with pain.

Bree flashed the lass a quick, concerned look. The maid stared back, gaze glittering. There was no recognition in her eyes though. She didn’t know her friend in her Shee form.

Meanwhile, the blond warrior, Gavyn, edged backward, toward a second hole they’d ripped in the tent. “Time to go, princess.” All the while, he kept the flat of his steel blade against his captive’s throat. Green eyes wide, her defiance wavering now, Lara moved with him.

Queen Teva started to sob then, a keening sound that cut to the bone. Heat started to pulse in Cailean’s gut. Teva was a gentle soul who’d spent a sheltered life within the safety of Duncrag’s high walls. This was too much for her. A moment later, the queen’s captor slapped a rough hand over her mouth, gagging her. “That’s enough. Shut up.”

Cailean stepped forward, earth magic rising in a burning tide inside him. A silvery glow lit up the tent then. “You’re not taking them.”

Both Ravens’ faces tightened, their nostrils flaring.

Druidic magic swirled through the pavilion, the air pungent with resin and campfire.

The dark-haired Raven’s step faltered, his lean face draining of color. But that didn’t stop him. Still gripping the queen close, the Shee drew nearer to the hole in the tent.

Cailean ground his teeth. He wanted to unleash himself on them, yet if he did so, the queen and princess would likely die. These two pricks might have been instructed to take the High King’s wife and daughter captive rather than kill them, but Teva and Lara were still in danger. The dark-haired Raven had a glint in his eye now that warned Cailean and Bree not to make any sudden moves.

Even so, every passing moment galled him. He wanted to act, to cut these two Ravens down.

Gavyn’s companion snarled a curse then.

Queen Teva had somehow managed to bite his hand. Fear had turned her savage.

Cailean’s stomach swooped. It was a brave if reckless move.

“Bitch!” An instant later, the warrior sliced his blade deep across the queen’s pale neck, steel flashing.

Blood spurted, and Lara’s scream pierced the air.

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