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The unseelie fae had arrived.
“Oh my goddess,” Angela breathed, her face draining of color, “those are the neamh-mairbh.”
I wasn’t an expert on fae by any means, but I knew the name meant something like “walking dead.” They were a fae version of the vampire but with no desire to join society except to feed. As far as I was concerned, a vampire was a vampire.
Unfortunately, they weren’t alone.
Other figures glided from behind trees like wraiths, revealing dusky skin and shades of blond and white hair—Winter Court fae. They were also considered unseelie but weren’t forbidden to walk the day like the others.
My stomach curled in on itself. No wonder the nightmarish creatures had approached without the guardians stopping them. The trees must not see them as a threat while accompanied by the Winter fae. Talk about a loophole that needed a firm plug.
As we formed a defensive line to guard the pool, one of the Winter Court fae stepped forward ahead of the others. His icy blue gaze appraised us, a condescending sneer on their lips.
“Step aside.” The fae man’s lovely tenor voice belied his true nature. “The Otherworld and anything within belong to the fae.”
The weapon is under my protection, the stag’s voice tinkled in my head. He pawed at the ground and snuffed, lowering his head in a distinct challenge. You are not welcome here.
“So be it,” the fae said, devoid of emotion.
Grotesque and inhumanly beautiful fae streamed out of the forest, snarling or hissing as they flowed toward us. Fae of any kind were graceful, even when getting ready to tear you limb from limb.
As I raised my arm to throw a knife at the closest vampire-fae, a gust of wind whipped past me, tugging at my jacket and hair. The closest attackers ran into an invisible barrier and stumbled backward with high-pitched squeals and cries. Some creatures bounced off and back into the forest.
On the other side of Thane, Kit held her palms out toward the barrier, grimacing as she held the wind shield that kept them at bay. Blasts of ice magic crashed against it as the Winter Court fae retaliated.
I tapped into my inner flame and blended the magic with Kit’s shield, creating fiery tendrils that whipped out toward the creatures approaching. Their oozing skin caught fire quickly, sending them squealing and fleeing into the forest.
The stag let out a harsh bray. Outside the shield, a group of vampire-fae surrounded him, but he was holding his own, using his antlers and hooves to keep them from getting too close. He must have been too far from Kit’s protective reach.
Ivan and Thane blinked out of existence and appeared outside the wind barrier. Setting himself on fire, Ivan reached for a Winter Court fae casting spells at the stag. The fae shrieked in pain as searing flames licked his skin, and the next spell missed the stag and embedded in a nearby tree.
Thane’s black scales rippled across his skin right as a vampire-fae bit down on his arm. The creature’s shark-like rows of teeth scraped across the scales but never found purchase. Thane’s scythe swept through its neck with ease, and its body crumbled to the ground.
Tsarina, the stag’s urgent voice echoed through my mind, and I met his gaze through the haze of smoke and wind. Dusk is nearly finished. You must get the dagger.
I fed the shield more of my magic. “Lena, go get the dagger!”
“Like hell I’m leaving you for a second,” she growled back, adding her fire to mine until the windy blaze reached high above our heads and lashed out hungrily.
“If we don’t get it at dusk, we won’t get it at all,” I argued, then winced as I held our magic against a wave of ice shards. The cold seeped deep into my bones despite the shield, and my teeth clattered together.
“I’ll go,” Angela said behind us, staring wide-eyed as she took in the fight. She spun around and ran down the path between the walls of water, disappearing into the tiny cave with little trouble.
I’d almost forgotten she was with us, which I immediately felt bad about. She was the right one to go after the dagger since there wasn’t much she could do against the fae, and she was far more vulnerable.
Plus, she’d fit into the cave a hell of a lot easier than the rest of us.
“My magic’s not as strong here.” Kit grunted as another spell battered into our shield. “I can’t hold both the air shield and the water back much longer. I’ll have to drop the shield first if she’s not back soon.”
I opened my mouth to agree as a fresh wave of unseelie fae swarmed out of the forest. My blood chilled to glacier level as I tried to count their numbers. They had outnumbered us already; now, they would overwhelm us.
Releasing a frustrated cry, Kit dropped her hold on the wind and moved behind Lena and me to protect the pool.
Our fire barrier still held, but the fae’s ice magic battered against and froze pieces of the flames, which broke off and shattered against the rocks and ground.
“No!” Ivan’s anguished voice traveled through the inferno.
The stag let out a horrible whinny as it sank to its knees. Vampire-fae scrambled over every inch of the magnificent beast like a horde of ants, tearing into his hide with teeth and claws.
