Page 44 of Evil Eyed
His fingers trembled on mine and his shoulders sagged with defeat. “At least slit my throat before you paint your way to Dún Bhalair.”
“No,” I whispered, shaking my head violently. “Never.”
“Someone has to put me out of my misery before you die. I can’t bear it, Riann. I won’t.”
25
AIDAN
Iturned to the only hope that remained. “Doran, if you have any love and friendship left in your heart after all these lifetimes, I ask that you do me this one last favor. Kill me. Please.”
Eyes sealed shut, I waited for steel to enter my body. I welcomed it. I needed it.
“Lad, you know that I love you like me own brother, and so I cannot kill you.” Doran gripped my shoulder, squeezing hard enough my bones creaked and the muscle throbbed beneath his fingers. “You said yourself that she be fucking fae, and right you are.Mo stórwill not die on us like the treasurekeepers who came before.”
I gritted my teeth, quivering beneath his fierce grip. “So what you’re saying is that Evil Eye will fucking torture her for all eternity rather than kill her outright. That’s fucking great. I feel so much better.”
Riann ducked beneath Doran’s arm and wrapped her arms around my waist. “Look at me.”
Sighing, I opened my eyes, not surprised to find her glaring up at me like a little fireball.
“No one’s going to be tortured for eternity.”
I feigned surprise, arching my eyebrows. “Oh? How’s that? Pray tell me of this fucking brilliant plan you’ve concocted.”
“He swore he wouldn’t kill us.”
“My fucking point exactly. It would be a blessing to be killed cleanly and quickly. He has something much worse planned for us.”
“How have you defeated him before?” She turned to Doran. “You said you remembered chopping his head off before.”
“Sacrifice,” Doran replied.
She shook her head slowly. “I don’t understand.”
“Flip a fucking coin,” I drawled. “Winner sacrifices himself first, creating a distraction for any of the dark fae that Evil Eye keeps nearby. Though I believe that time it took all three of us to buy you enough time to take his head.”
“I went last.” Ivarr nodded. “I was the reserve. Aidan and Keane waded through a wall of oilliphéists, hacking on all sides, bellowing and screaming a war cry to cover up the sound of Doran’s wings. He swooped down at Evil Eye’s head but one of the largest oilliphéists caught him in its jaws. I let loose my light to free him.”
Doran chuckled. “If by ‘let loose your light’ you mean you fucking roasted yourself to a cinder, than aye, you freed me.”
Face pale, she looked at Ivarr. “You… burned yourself? With your own light?”
Grinning, he shrugged. “If I pull too much power, I incinerate from the inside out. It was a hell of a way to go. I’ve never killed so many dark fae at once.”
Doran slapped him on the back. “You even singed my wings off with the massive fireball. That’s why I had to take Evil Eye’s head—I couldn’t hold the gargoyle form. Aidan tossed me his sword so I could finish the deed.”
“I was already dead anyway.” I regretted the words when she turned back to me, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “We always die,mo stór.Perhaps we should have been telling you all of these stories all along rather than spare you the gore so you know what to expect.”
“But…” Her voice quivered, making me feel like dog shit. Especially when tears trickled down her lovely face. “Doesn’t it hurt? Aren’t you afraid to die like that? It sounds so horrible. Awful. It makes me want to scream and throw up and wail at the top of my lungs. I want to spare you that kind of agony.”
Ever so gently, I wiped her tears away with the backs of my knuckles. “The only agony I care about is yours. I’ve died a million different ways already, and I’ll do it all again a million times over, if only to save you. Dying is nothing.”
“Not to me,” she whispered raggedly.
I snagged her neck in the crook of my elbow and hauled her against my chest. “As long as I open my eyes to your face on the other side of the veil, then Evil Eye can do anything he wants to me. But I need to know you’re safe or I’ll go mad, Riann. You’ve not seen me fully out of my head, insane with rage and fear.”
“She can always make a wish,” Warwick said.
