Morgan stares at him, his mouth twisting in annoyance more than anything else. ‘For fuck’s sake,’ he mutters. ‘Why won’t this bloody cunt just die?’
He grabs Warrior’s sword from its sheath and, in one swift arc, cleaves the fae’s head from his body. The gurgling stops, but I still stare dubiously at the severed pieces even though he’s at least quiet now.
‘You don’t think they’ll reattach?’ I point. ‘His guts are still moving.’
Morgan strides to the wall, ripping a torch from the sconce. ‘The problem is that we keep trying to kill him like he’s fae because he looks like one.’
Morgan thrusts the torch into the headless piece of Warrior, charring the place where his head used to be.
‘But he’s not. He’s Dark Realm through and through.’
He chars the head for good measure, though the other wounds seemed to stop healing as soon as he used the fire on the neck.
'Come back from that, you Dark Realm cunt,’ he snarls, throwing the torch on Warrior’s body and turning away.
He takes my hand and speaks to the villagers. ‘Those who are willing to fight, with me. The rest, stay behind us.’
We leave the dungeon, the people of Halsford in tow. I notice dead guards piled in darkened corners courtesy of Morgan and the villagers strip the weapons from them as we pass.
‘Come.’
Morgan leads us up the stairs to Fiana’s ballroom and I peer through the half closed door to find the court in complete disarray. There’s open fighting between fae and human slaves. There are fae guards dressed differently who seem to be attacking the members of Fiana’s court. A fire is burning the banners that hang from the ceiling, and more than one Dark Realm creature is running around, attacking humans and fae indiscriminately.
‘Morgan?’
‘The Underhill,’ he says, relieved. ‘Don’t kill the ones in gray. We make our way to the courtyard on the other side. With any luck, the Harbinger is here, and she can open the Breach to send you all back to Halsford. Come.’
He opens the door and we begin to move through the chaos. Fighting erupts around us almost immediately, a few of Fiana’s guards seeing us as easy pickings. But the villagers are angry. They don’t wait to be attacked. Twenty strong flank Tavish, using their numbers to overwhelm the few guards standing between us and the Ring on the other side. There’s pandemonium. I keep my knife ready as I ensure no one is left behind, stabbing a fae lord who tries to hit me, just as a huge, black, wolf-like creature lunges for him, tearing into his throat. I back away, putting myself between it and the others, but it doesn’t even look at me, just leaps away.
When I look behind, I see that some of the villagers are dead, but a quick survey of the bodies has me frowning at Morgan. The four who are on the ground are the ones who were standing with each other in the cells, Tavish’s men who beat me by the river.
I quirk a suspicious brow, and the glance he gives me in return is too innocent.
He killed them as soon as he had the chance. I know it.
I smile at him and he gives me a surreptitious wink. Time seems to stand still for a moment as we gaze at each other, but then he turns away to throw a fae guard into a group of human slaves who are armed with kitchen knives and are hacking at any fae master they can find.
'This way,' Morgan says, as we circumvent more of the battle.
We move quickly as more slaves join in the fighting and the Underhill gets the upper hand. We get to within twenty paces, but then a battalion of Fiana’s soldiers form a line between us and the courtyard we’re trying to get to.
Their swords are drawn. The villagers ready themselves to fight them for their freedom and Tavish takes the lead. They rush the soldiers, yelling and screaming. But, before the villagers can reach them, the entire enemy line falls. Every single one drops dead.
I look beyond them to see Lia standing in the archway in front of the Ring.
She beckons us. The people around me mutter to each other about the Harbinger’s power, and we run the rest of the way to the courtyard.
Once there, I see that the Breach is already open.
‘Go,’ Lia says. ‘It will take you directly back to Halsford. The village wards are down for now. If anyone comes after you, follow the river to the next valley. Gwen will be there. She, Drak, and Grim will keep you safe.’
The villagers don’t wait. They pile through, disappearing into the Breach.
‘So, the Council Five finally allowed you to come?’ I ask Lia.
She shakes her head. ‘Let’s just say that the political landscape in the Underhill changed drastically over the past two days. Hopefully for the better. Isbeth isn’t one to back down from a fight.’
‘Isbeth?’ Morgan asks. ‘But I heard she was gravely ill.’
