I raised my head, and the first thing I saw was Rian with his hand around Aoibheal’s throat. But Nuala lying prone with Darragh was all that held my attention.
Releasing Sage, I stumbled toward her on weak legs. My braid was ripped over my shoulder by a violent gust, and I realized I’d been too disoriented to notice the air rioting around me. It was also insanely loud in the dome, there was a roar echoing around us, which was partly why it was so unsettling. Like my senses were overwhelmed.
I finally reached Darragh who restrained the witch as gently as he could while she thrashed and convulsed.
“She brokeMionn na Síochána,” explained Darragh. “You cannot heal her.”
I could probably use Rian’s magic to try and consume the curse, but I was completely drained. And I was also wary of messing with whatever ramifications would come from breakingMionn na Síochána. I glanced up at Sage who stood with Ciaran right behind me, but both of them were staring at Rian. I followed their gazes across the dim expanse of the dome to our leader.
Rian had raised Aoibheal up into the air by her throat with one hand. His shadows had latched onto her like a cocoon of spiderwebs, and her thin body was convulsing with every deep pull he was taking from her. Her power flowed through his shadows and ignited them in pulses of purple as he consumed her. It was the most morbidly beautiful and the most horrifying thing that I’d ever seen. But I could practically taste the anticipation blaring down the bonds from each of the other riders who had all been waiting years for this moment. The moment when they would know whether everything they had done to find the fey monarchs and protect Ahnnaòin had been right.
But it was not just my fellow riders who were feeling a tentative hope. There were no traces of sadness in the rapt eyes of any of the Draugr warriors who watched through Rian’s shadows. They had been forced to protect an old queen beyond her natural reign. I didn’t think they were displeased at all by the prospect of her power transferring to a younger and stronger monarch.
“Rian cannot contain all of that power,” said Darragh, drawing my attention. He was still holding Nuala, but his worried eyes were on the Autumn Prince.
“Can we help hold it?” I guessed, but the demidragon shook his head.
“Not evenallof us could manage such power,” he said beforeshifting his gaze to me. “You can weave magic. Perhaps you could become a conduit so he can funnel the power directly to Caelan?”
“But I am completely drained!” I objected.
“You need not do anything but allow power to flow through you,” Darragh insisted urgently.
I hesitated before glancing back over my shoulder at Rian again. His jaw was clenched, and I could tell he was in danger of crumbling under the immense weight of so much magic. As powerful as he was, he was not made to house it; none of us were. There was only one fey in all of Ahnnaòin who was built to be a vessel for this magic.
I rose before I could overthink. Sage caught my hand and interlaced his fingers with mine to stop me, but I had the feeling I might need him, so I tugged him with me.
“Where are we going?” he asked as I formed a portal to take us to the other side of Rian’s shadows.
“To make a king. I hope,” I answered just before we strode through the swirl of autumn leaves.
And thank all the fucking gods I brought Sage and his lightening-fast reflexes, because his blade was suddenly intercepting another sword in front of my face. I blinked, almost missing how easily he then disarmed the Draugr and kicked another so it stumbled back from us.
Maybe I shouldn’t have portalled us straight into the midst of the enormous warriors. But my mind had been rather preoccupied with the enormous task that Darragh had charged me with. My only thought had been to get us as close to Prince Caelan as possible.
“Whoa!” I shouted angrily with my arms spread wide, then I turned to look around us until I spotted the prince as he raised a hand to stop the attack. “Please don’t kill us before I can make you our king! Your Highness,” I added more demurely when he glowered at my impertinence.
“Who are you?” he demanded in a deep rasp.
“Ornella and Sage,” I replied as I gestured to myself and then to my mate who still stood braced for battle with both of his swords in his hands. “We are friends of Rian. I’m going to try and help him transfer Aoibheal’s power directly to you,” I explained, since it seemed like Caelan was familiar with the leader of the Wild Hunt. They must have known one another before Rian became a traitor.
“How can we know for sure that you are not working together with Rian to take over this court?” asked one of the Draugr as he put a protective hand on Caelan’s arm.
“You know neither of us is even capable of containing this power! That’s why I need to funnel it straight to you. Ithasto be you, Your Highness. Rian knows this too!”
Caelan gave a slight nod and sheathed his sword at his hip, which prompted all the other Draugr to do the same. They all seemed to hold their breath as the prince walked forward and stopped before me. They shifted nervously while I considered Caelan and how to do what needed to be done. I knew magic was transferred through the blood, which was why the Wild Hunt exchanged it in order to bind the riders together. So I took my knife and quickly cut both my palms. Caelan seemed to know something of blood bonds as well because he did the same and then let me grip his hands.
“I have never done anything like this,” I warned him, and the prince nodded his understanding before I lowered my head to focus.
Ready, I told Rian who immediately began to redirect the power he was taking from the queen straight to me.
Within seconds, it felt like my body had swelled and my joints were at risk of being torn apart. Not only was it physically taxing to try and manage even a drop of that magic in my veins, but it was the primal and raw essence of fire magic. And that was something that I was simply not built to handle, especially in a pure form, which made it even more painful for me to try and work with it.
I could hear myself growling in determination to focus through the pain, and I felt Sage’s hand on my shoulder as he tried to offer as much comfort as he could. Light hit my eyelids, and I knew from the murmurs around us that the fire was visible under my skin. I kept my eyes closed and gritted my teeth against the pain as I tried to find a way to push the magic toward Caelan instead, but it felt too heavy for me to move it.
I almost succumbed to panic, but then I remembered what Darragh had said about how I wove magic together. That was the reason he’d asked me to do this.
The only thing I knew for sure was that I needed to put some space between me and the raw fire so I could think. So breathing in deeply, I reached for Sage’s light to try and insulate myself like I did while using Rian’s power. The second the burning pressure was relieved, I began to recall how it felt to push my magic into the other riders during my initiation. Only instead of giving my magic to the Draugr prince, I pushed the maelstrom of fire at him.
