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An earth-quaking roar lifted the hairs on Leaf’s arms. A shadow blocked the moon. Knowing the demogorgon was on the ground, Leaf’s pulse quickened, and he glanced up. A leonine beast with draconic wings and a scorpion’s tail circled above Maebh.
The creature was an elusive, mana-warped monster. It rarely bothered the public, and its habitat was a mystery to most. Those cages at the Unseelie war camp along the river made sense now. They’d been hunting monsters—this one in particular. The manticore’s venomous tail wasn’t its most terrifying part; it was the cleverness inside that swiveling, humanlike head.
Nova’s breath hitched, and fear trickled through their bond. He forced himself to remain calm and squeezed her hand. He kept scanning the sky and relaxed a little.
Maebh had a manticore but no Sluagh. Not yet, anyway. This meant the monsters were the first priority if Leaf succeeded in killing the queen with his raw power and her army continued to attack. Forrest’s gift was mind-to-mind animal control. If Leaf couldn’t get Maebh to stop this war and failed to make a devastating hit, he’d call the elf to the wall. Perhaps with Nova’s amplification, Forrest could control one of Maebh’s beasts before too much damage was done.
If that failed, Melody’s voice was next. More tactics entered Leaf’s mind. Satisfied he had enough contingencies, he let them go and focused on the immediate threat. The demogorgon snarled as Leaf and Nova approached the twenty-foot mark and stopped.
“Let’s talk about this,” Leaf shouted to Maebh. “We used to be friends. Surely there’s a solution that avoids shedding fae blood.”
Maebh cackled. “You must think I’m a fool. I was friends with Crimson, not you. You’re just a shell of that elf and a puppet of hers. I called you out here because the three of us started this. It’s only fitting we are together at the end.”
As she planted a boot on Aleksandra’s head and kicked, spilling white ringlets and battered wings, a ripple of discontent traveled over her soldiers. It wasn’t from the treatment of the Prime, but their queen’s suicidal declaration. It seemed she might have promised them something else, like glory and riches. Not to be part of some kind of death pact. One of her generals gave a side-eye from a few feet away. Maybe the army would stand down if Leaf killed the queen.
His heart tugged at his leader hunching to protect her frail body as Maebh kicked her again.
“We don’t need to fight,” Leaf yelled, trying again. “It’s what Nero wants. You might better know him as Niles Morales.”
Maebh’s gaze snapped to him. Confusion flitted in the madness. Only for a moment, then it was gone. The sound of buzzing was coming from somewhere.
“You’re mistaken,” she seethed. “This isn’t a fight. This is an annihilation.”
Ghostly faces manifested behind the queen. One, two, three… six beautiful males with tattered wings, each with a blue glimmering teardrop beneath their left eye. Legion’s cold, midnight eyes met Leaf’s.
This better be part of your plan.Leaf sent his thought to Legion.
No answer. Each of the Six looked down at Leaf with a blank expression. Did Maebh control them again? Or were they switching sides? Were they ever on the side of the Order?
Behind Leaf, someone at the Order shouted, “Traitors!”
Maebh’s black-stained lips curved, and suddenly, the soldier who shouted choked as though invisible fingers clenched around his throat. Leaf’s heart leaped into his throat. Emrys’s skull was illuminated beneath his skin, turning his pale complexion vibrant in places. His wraith form must be attacking that soldier as Legion’s had once attacked Leaf.
Moments after Leaf realized what had happened, chaos erupted. Maebh raised her hand and sliced forward. Battle cries tore through the night on both sides. The ground trembled as soldiers stampeded across the field. Leaf pinned Nova to his chest and raisedReckoning. Filling himself with mana, he prepared to unleash a wave of raw power, but the Hive voice burst into his mind:WAIT.
All six Sluagh turned their demonic gazes on Leaf as he hesitated. His hand trembled with the effort of restraining his power. He clenched his jaw and sent back,You have seconds to explain.
Seconds, and then Leaf’s opportunity was gone. If she couldn’t be reasoned with, the queen had to die.
We misjudged,they admitted.She controls us through the Wild Hunt. Share the memory now, and we will help direct it into her mind.
Nova twisted to look at Leaf with wide eyes. “They want me to share my memory.”
“I heard too.” Those precious seconds evaporated. Soldiers leaped from the shadows, faces fierce as they attacked. Leaf stakedReckoninginto the ground and released power. An invisible wave radiated outward, scorching the earth and flaying skin from flesh and bone.
A groove forged ahead of him, where his power carved a channel toward Maebh’s litter. Her shocked face glimmered from her soldiers’ manabeeze floating into the sky, already on their way to the Cosmic Well.
Leaf had targeted a good chunk of soldiers with his magic—maybe a hundred or so. But he’d held back, only killing those within his immediate range. It was a warning. A demonstration to Maebh that they were not powerless. They would not go down gently.
PullingReckoningfrom the ground, and keeping Nova pinned to his front by his forearm, he stepped over corpses and advanced on Maebh.
ChapterForty-Six
Nova was scared shitless, but she was proud of herself for not showing it. At least, not outwardly. Bright balls of light blinded her as they escaped the corpses Leaf had wrought. Beyond the light, sounds of battle raged on. Fae tore each other apart on either side of her and Leaf. The steady heat of his hard body pushed her forward, and she had to trust him. She had to focus on his confidence emanating through their bond.Trust him. Trust him,she kept telling herself. He would keep her safe. All she had to do was what she was told, like a good little mate.
She almost laughed hysterically at the reminder of his words so long ago. She’d hated him for it then, but no truer words had been spoken for this moment.
Leaf stomped and then shoved his sword forward. A gale-force wind from his hand blew manabeeze from their path, helping them avoid the intoxicating balls of energy. When the dust cleared, a nightmarish creature with split mandibles waited for them a few feet away. Its flesh had pulled apart from Leaf’s blast but now knitted back together. It drooled and pawed at the ground.
