Her gaze found Cole on the field as he battled through the men trying to destroy him. He had to know these monsters were here, but he didn’t look up as another rocketed down to claim another victim.
Another round of arrows launched at him. Cole spun in time to deflect many of them with his father’s sword while dodging the others with a fluid grace none of the others possessed. Though none of the arrows hit him, she saw what they’d truly intended to do with those bolts… distract him.
“No!” she screamed as half a dozen dark fae charged at him from behind.
Cole spun and took down three of them. He ducked back from a fourth who lunged at him, but the fifth had come up behind him. The steel of the fae’s sword glinted in the firelight as Cole spun toward him, but he wasn’t in time to stop the fae’s blade from plunging into him.
Chapter Six
The blade piercedthrough Cole’s shoulder and burst out the other side. Whatever it hit in there caused his nerve endings to send a command he did not issue as his hand went lax, and he released his sword. It hit the ground as the fae twisted the blade within him.
Cole gritted his teeth as, instead of trying to tear himself free of the sword as the fae expected, he pushed his way forward and toward the fae. As he moved, the blade cut through sinew and muscle while plunging deeper into his body.
The man was so shocked that Cole was impaling himself, he stood and gawked at him. When he looked away, Cole knew he was contemplating releasing the sword and running, but it was already too late.
His claws extended, and with one swipe, he cut the fae’s head from his shoulders. Others ran toward him as he gripped the sword handle and tore it free.
It was made of fae metal, but he didn’t hesitate before turning it on his attackers. With one hand, he swung the sword at the fae charging toward him, disemboweling one and cutting the hand from another before the others jumped back.
His dominant hand remained unmoving at his side, but he’d spent years training with both hands and was as good with his left hand as he was with his right. Another screech from above drew the fae’s attention to the skies as the craz soared into view.
Cole didn’t look up. The creatures were hunting, and they had plenty to feast on down here. Instead, he used his enemy’s distraction to throw the sword that had impaled him into the fire and retrieve his father’s sword. He’d secured Nissa’s dagger in the sheath for his sword by plunging it into the side to keep it in place.
When one of the craz plummeted from the sky and streaked toward them, the fae closest to him turned and ran. Behind them, Durin mounted his horse as more fae turned and started to flee from the malicious birds.
With his weapons secured, Cole finally looked up to discover nearly a hundred craz crowding the sky and choking out the moonlight. Nissa turned and started to run too.
Cole shifted his hold on his sword and pulled the dagger from his sheath. Once it was free, he sheathed his sword.
He could not let her and Durin escape. They would only try to regroup and continue the rebellion if they did. Without them as leaders, this uprising would come to a fast and bloody end. If one of them survived to lead, it could continue for weeks or months.
There was no way he would allow the loss of life that would result.
A craz dove at him as he sprinted after his enemies. When it landed before him and opened its mouth, he shifted the dagger into his other hand. The feeling was starting to return, and his fingers closed around the dagger’s hilt.
Without missing a step, Cole lifted a lost sword from the ground and plunged it straight down the craz’s gullet. The animal choked, but he didn’t see what it did next as he sprinted past it.
Nissa climbed onto her horse and gathered her reins. Most of her guards had fled from the craz, but some remained. A few turned toward him as he approached.
Cole ducked beneath the first sword arcing toward him and swung up with the dagger. It plunged into the man’s solar plexus before Cole ripped it free. The fae grasped at the wound as he staggered back, but more fell in to take his place. And they all wielded weapons made of fae metal.
When another swung a sword at him, Cole blocked the arc with the forearm of his still-healing arm. The metal sliced through his flesh and embedded in muscle. He bit back a shout as he used his arm to keep the fae from tearing his sword free.
Cole stuck the dagger into the fae’s belly, grasped the sword's handle, and jerked it free. He swung the blade out in time to clash with the swords of more rebels. Over their shoulders, he saw Niall thundering across the ground with his sword raised high.
Behind him, more of the king’s army closed in on the others, but as they encircled the leaders, the craz descended. Some of the king’s men were plucked straight from their horse’s backs; others managed to avoid the creatures as they clashed with the rebels.
Cole yanked the dagger free of the fae’s gut and, lowering his shoulder, attempted to charge through the ten fae who remained. He used the sword to block their lethal blows, elbowed them out of the way, pushed them aside, and punched to the best of his ability.
They swarmed over him like locusts, kicking and stabbing as he deflected one sword after another. He was determined to make it through this even if he couldn’t see beyond their barricade.
And as he was about to break free, fiery pain lanced across his nerve endings.
One blade had gotten through to find its mark.
Throughout all his battles, he’d endured countless blows, cuts, gashes, and slices to his body. He’d been stabbed, burned, and buried alive beneath the sand of the trials.
But he’d never felt pain like that of fae metal piercing through his muscle and bone to embed deep in his heart. The organ lumbered to beat around the intrusive blade as the fae who stabbed him bared his teeth in a twisted smile.
