Page 102 of Beneath a Shattered Sky
Lore wastes no time snatching me up and seating me on the saddle behind him, letting me snuggle against his back.
I wish I could nap, or at least doze, but Danu is restless beneath my skin. My bond to Caed is quiet, too quiet. Dread forms a heavy cloud over me, and it doesn’t dissipate, even as we draw closer.
It takes a day of travel until we reach the huge, barren waste where once mighty trees must’ve stood. An army of rotting stumps poking up from the mud is all that remains of the great northern forest, and my Guard chooses to backtrack, keeping tothe cover of the trees as much as we can while still following the Call.
Eventually, we have to stop to make camp. I want to keep going, even though it’s too dark to see much, but Jaro makes the point that we’re no use to Caed if we’re sleep deprived.
We’re close enough that we leave the camp as it is when we head out the next day. It’s barely an hour’s walk until we catch sight of the Fomorian camp, nestled along the banks of a fast-flowing river.
“So, what do we do now?” I ask, staring across the deadened space in dismay.
That wooden palisade is imposing, but nowhere near as much as the iron spikes sticking out of the grey mud in front of it and the screams and yells coming from within.
“I thought you were a warrior queen now.” Drystan leans back against the tree, raising a sardonic brow. “Ready to rush in and save the day.”
Take a breath. Count to ten. Do not snap.
“I’m asking for your advice, because I know I’m not.” Letting out a sigh, I meet his eyes. “That place is full of iron. If I try rushing in there, you’ll just have to save me.” Which would only prove his point.
“Bree.” Jaro nods at the púca. “Can you fly over and let us know what we’re up against?”
I shoot both of them a grateful glance as Bree’s wings brush over my skin before he takes to the skies in a burst of black feathers that disappear under a strong glamour the second he breaks the treeline.
“Now we wait?” I ask, worrying my lower lip between my teeth.
“Unless you want to do the fun thing and just rush in?” Lore asks, hopefully, offering me a familiar dagger. “If you time it right, it can be brutal and effective.”
His eager grin makes me shiver. “I think I’m good. Maybe next time?”
I’d like to sneak Caed out with minimal bloodshed. That’s probably a naïve thought, given the sounds coming from the place.
“Wait.” Jaro’s whispered word cuts off my thoughts. “The gates are opening.”
I peek around the tree, watching the immense gates as they shudder and swing outward. Without thinking, I take a step forward, something in me tugging me fully out of cover.
So my view is unimpeded when a lone figure appears, shoving both gates open single handedly. His head hangs low with the strain, and from this distance, I can barely make out any of his features beyond his short hair and blue skin.
It doesn’t matter. I know it’s him.
“Caed.”
Thirty-One
Rhoswyn
Ibreak into a run, leaving the others cursing in my wake as he staggers through the gap, then falls to one knee in the grey mud.
My head starts to pound, and I stumble a little just before Jaro’s hand captures my shoulder and pulls me to a stop.
“Let us get him for you,” he says, supporting me when I wobble.
I grimace, but realistically, I have little choice but to brace myself against his body as Drystan passes us with long, easy strides.
It’s unfair, I decide grumpily, as he stands beneath the gates and takes in the collapsed Caed with an unreadable mask on his face. He says something I can’t hear, then cocks his head at whatever he can see inside the camp, before hooking a hand under my Fomorian’s arm and hauling him back to his feet.
This close, I can see Caed’s ash-blond hair has been stained brown with blood, and the deep wounds across his body aresteadily oozing more of the stuff. He manages another step before his eyes roll back in his head and he collapses again.
Bree lands on my other side, shaking his head. “You don’t want to go in there, dragonfly. Let Jaro take you back to the camp. We’ll free the rest of the captives.”
