Page 157 of Throne of Dreams
“He’s only teasing,” Tiernan soothed, placing a kiss on her forehead, then whispered, “We’ve got all the time in the world for that.”
Her gaze lifted to his, and all the embarrassment vanished from her face. “When I do bear our children, they will be born into a world of peace.” She turned then, looking out over the Black Lake, across the vast expanse of the Autumn Court. “Not one on the brink of war.”
“As you wish,astora.” Tiernan pressed a kiss to the inside of her palm, mindfully taking note of the fact that Maeve had saidwhenand notif. But the possibility of a family was a discussion for another time. A time when war wasn’t looming on the horizon. A time when he didn’t have to worry about the lives of those he loved.
Clouds rolled in above them and the temperature dropped, instantly cooling the air. But it wasn’t his storm.
The sound of slow and steady clapping caused his stomach to drop. The icy touch of dread ran its frozen fingers down his spine.
“How romantic.” An airy, feminine voice slithered out from the edge of the forest.
Tiernan drew his sword, blocking Maeve with his body, right as Parisa stepped out from the shadowed woods.
There was no time to react.
The dark fae attacked.
ChapterForty-Eight
The dark fae overwhelmed them.
Creatures with gaping jaws and spiders crawling out of their eyes and mouths lumbered out from the dark folds of the forest. Beings of shadow and death with spindly arms and claws for fingers staggered toward them in a wave of terror. The stench of decay clogged the air, smothering them, making it almost impossible to breathe. It was a mob, a monstrous wall of darkness barreling toward the cliffs, shrouding out the sun, leaving them in a void of darkness and chaos.
Maeve pulled her Aurastone and began cutting them down.
“Aim for the throat!” Maeve shouted, remembering how much more difficult these dark fae were to kill than those poor mortals Fearghal had glamoured. She plunged her dagger into a fae whose eyes were empty pits of black and whose body resembled a mass of limbs all stitched together with vines. It turned to dust a moment later.
Brynn darted off to her left, slashing and slicing, wielding her sword and dagger with on point accuracy. Each strike was a direct hit and the fae dropped to the ground. Lir and Merrick worked as a unit, twisting and dodging, attacking and fighting. Lir’s curved blades arced through the air like streaks of lightning.
Bolts of violet exploded from Tiernan, shattering across the space, eliminating an entire swarm of dark fae in one fell swoop. Power erupted from her father as he stormed into the fray, unleashing the wrath of death and decay. Maeve’s magic swirled and she released the fire building inside her, decimating another group of dark fae aiming straight for Ceridwen.
Maeve’s heart lurched.
Like her, Ceridwen only had daggers to defend herself. She tossed all five of them, one right after the other, and their silver blades glinted through the overcast sky, piercing her opponents. More dark fae poured from the line of the forest, ambling toward her.
“Ceridwen!” Maeve sprinted toward the High Princess, obliterating any fae that tried to stop her. But Ceridwen wasn’t nearly as vulnerable as she seemed.
She raised her arms, palms out. Her golden blonde hair came unraveled from its plaits, swirling and snapping in the breeze. An ethereal glow of golden mist surrounded her, and her eyes turned white. The dark fae rushing upon her froze in their tracks, shrieking, covering their ears. They cowered before her, whining and whimpering, thrashing like they were being tortured from the inside out. Magic pulsed and swelled, sending the dark fae scattering in every direction.
Maeve stumbled to a stop, staring. She had no idea what Ceridwen was doing, but then the High Princess was running, leaping over the fallen bodies, and plucking out each of her daggers.
“Maeve!” Tiernan hauled her to his side, just missing the claws of a dark fae.
She blinked, drawing back. Raising her Aurastone high, she slashed it down across the creature’s throat. It howled once before turning to dust.
Tiernan captured her chin, sending violet bursts out around them. He smiled. “It’s not like you to be so distracted,moh Ríenna.”
Her blood stirred.My queen.
“Apologies,moh Rí.” The smile he sent her weakened her knees. “But were you aware your sister has some type of feral magic inside her?”
He laughed and it rumbled like thunder. “She does indeed. She doesn’t talk about it much.”
Maeve snorted. “I can see why.”
He dropped low and she flipped over his back, jumping up on the other side of him. She took down two more fae, shooting projectiles of fire from the tips of her fingers as Tiernan destroyed another with his sword.
From somewhere in the distance, Parisa cackled.
