Page 45 of Shadow Master
“The shadow knights were always meant to be protectors?”
“Yes,” he said. “They were our gift to you. When the fir bolg tried to invade, the fomori-touched—what you call shadow knights—fought alongside us to beat them back. Many fomorians died in this war. Good fomorians who fought alongside the mortal protectors. Once we’d defeated Laramir’s forces, Orion Winterlock developed the mist. The arrival of the mist forced us back into Fomoria. It forced us to keep our distance and defend from within our borders, but we have always been, and will continue to be, allies of the mortal realm.”
Fucking hell. “Everyone believes you’re the aggressors.”
His smile was wry. “I see that now. But we are not. We mean you no harm. Our war is with the fir bolg. They’ve grown in number and strength, and I fear that this time, we won’t be able to stop them.”
“But the mist can stop them,” Harmon said.
“The mist was created to affect fomorian genes. Laramir has found a way to breed the fomorian gene out of his people. The bolg army has very little fomorian in them now. The mist won’t stop them.”
That explained why they’d been able to get so far into the mist and damage the AM post in sector two. The fir bolg weren’t hurt by the mist like the fomorians. But why not attack sooner? They had to have been scoping us out. Testing our defenses, our reaction time, and gauging our forces. It was the only explanation, and now, with the decimation of the fortress and our knights, they had the advantage.
“And the League of Salvation?” Harmon asked. “Why would they take our friend? Why would they experiment on me?”
Balan’s gaze settled on Harmon. “I wanted to ask about you … But felt it may be impolite.”
“I was moonkissed once,” Harmon said. “They took me, and they did this to me.”
Balan’s brow furrowed slightly in thought. “I don’t understand. The league is focused on the past. Their goal is to collect the great treasures and resurrect the power of the ancients.”
“The ancients?” Harmon asked.
“Fomorians of old. Kings and queens of great power who wielded magical talismans in the first wars.”
Powerful talismans … “Like the cauldron of Dagda?”
He smiled. “Yes, like the cauldron. That one was shared by the fomorian and the Tuatha people. But there were others wielded only by fomorian royal blood.”
“And the league wants to find them … But why take my mate?”
“I can’t answer that,” Balan said. “But I may be able to help you locate them.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ve sent word to the other militia camps in the cusp. They’ll be gathering at the borders to fight the bolg, but I fear it won’t be enough. Your fomori-touched defenses will need to be ready. One of you must go back and warn them.”
I stared at him. He didn’t know. He didn’t know about the fortress. “The fir bolg blew up the shadow knight fortress a week ago. All the shadow knights were inside at the time.”
His face drained of all color. “Oh … Oh, no. How could we have missed this?”
“All we have left are a handful of shadow cadets and some Academy students. We thought keeping the Atmospheric Posts running would be enough. I guess we were wrong.”
He pressed his hands to his knees and stood. “I need to send a message to headquarters. I’ll arrange for a scout to take you to the last known location for the league in the morning. Your injured friend will have healed by then. Rosata root is a powerful herb. I’m afraid I won’t be able to accompany you.”
“I understand.” My stomach quivered. “How far is the location?”
“Half a day’s trek,” he said.
The bolg would be at the cusp in a week. That gave me enough time to check for Brady and get back to the mist. A day there and back, a day to account for any mishaps and resting. Two days. I had two days to get Brady back, and if I failed, I would have to return empty-handed.
My world needed me.
Sixteen
Kash hugged me close, his phantom breath warm on my cheek. “Thank God, thank fucking God.”
I hugged him back, reveling in the contact. “I’m okay.” I pulled back slightly, but not too much. Our lips hovered inches apart. “I have a lot to tell you.”
