Page 53 of Immortal Game

“I will make you regret that,” she hissed.

Daniil grabbed Shea by the collar of her jacket. “Let’s go.”

He didn’t need to tell her twice. They ran.

As they stumbled into the darkness, the low-lying thorns of the bilberry bushes tore at them. She didn’t know where they were running except down—down toward the castle. A root caught her foot. She windmilled her arms, but it wasn’t enough to maintain her balance. She stumbled forward into Daniil, and they both went down hard. The force of their momentum and the slope of the hill sent them tumbling through the thickets. Her vision was nothing but a blur of motion: dark sky and dark earth and the dark shapes of branches. No,thiswas how she died. Not at the hands of a murderous fae—but from breaking her neck during their escape.

Finally, they landed in a heap at the bottom. Shea lay perfectly still. Adrenaline had numbed the pain, but she took stock of herself. Her ankle throbbed. Her head ached. Her palms burned. Fresh cuts stung on her face and shins. At least nothing seemed broken. Both of them were breathing heavily.

Shea raised herself onto one elbow and glanced over at Daniil. She couldn’t make out much but the wild shine of his eyes. His glasses were gone, either because he’d forgone them tonight or because they were lying broken somewhere farther up the hill. Leaves and stray twigs tangled in his hair. A thin line of blood trickled from his nose. In the darkness, it looked almost black.

“Are you okay?” she rasped.

“What the hell is going on?” he demanded. “Who was that?”

All of her goodwill evaporated in an instant. “I have no fucking idea! What are you doing here?”

Primly, he dabbed at the blood with the corner of his sleeve. She felt vindicated that he’d only succeeded in smearing it. “I followed you.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I saw someone else following you first. I lost sight of them, until you stopped to talk to them.” He sounded equal parts incredulous and impatient, as if such a thing required no explanation. She supposed it didn’t. Ithadbeen stupid to fall into such an obvious trap, but maybe she hadn’t made a good decision in years. Maybe she never would when it came to the few people she loved.

“Yeah,” she said skeptically, “andyoucare so much about my wellbeing.”

“I repay my debts.” He looked offended. “Besides, it’s a matter of principle. It’s not personal.”

Before she could muster a retort, a branch snapped.

Then, there came the gentle hunter’s tread of footsteps. They fell abruptly silent and stared at each other in wide-eyed horror.

The forest held its breath. The insects and night birds went quiet. The breeze ceased to stir. Shea had to clench her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering. Her mouth still tasted like copper, and she was painfully aware of the blood trickling down the back of her neck. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. A feeling of complete and utter unreality descended on her because she couldn’t help the absurd turn of her thoughts. What was worse: being saved by Daniil Tsoi and owing him for the rest of her life, or dying at his side because he’d failed to do so?

Maybe Not-Aideen couldn’t see them. They lay at thebottom of a small ravine, shielded by scrubby bushes and brambles. Shea shifted to get a better look at the faerie woman. Through the thickets, she could see the faint radiance of her skin. It silhouetted the deadly tips of her nails, which were blacker than the night itself. Just when Shea thought she might move on, she turned. Her one yellow eye fixed on them, aglow with hunger.

“Shit,” Shea whispered. Ofcourseshe knew they were here. Surely, she’d been capable of outrunning them, too. She’d just been toying with them.

The faerie woman stepped off the embankment and made her way toward them. She scraped her talons against the trunk of a tree. Sap rose from the thin scratches she left behind.

“We need to go,” Daniil said lowly.

There was nowhere left to run.

A flurry of low barks shattered the silence. Shea turned just in time to see a dog streaking past them like a bolt of white lightning.Beann.He launched himself at the faerie woman, and she shrieked as his jaws closed around her arm. She struck him with her free hand, but he hardly flinched. If anything, he only locked on tighter and thrashed her, clearly intent on dragging her down onto the forest floor.

“Out, Beann.”

Shea knew that voice.Ciara.

At Ciara’s command, Beann released his grip and immediately trotted back toward her. Shea shuddered at the sight of his muzzle stained black with gore. Ciara stood on a deer trail, one hand resting on her hip in the very picture of nonchalance. A few moths clung to the billowing sleeves of her cloak; Shea could see the elegant, striated pattern of their wings reflected in the fanciful designs around the cuffs. In a tone ofneutral curiosity, Ciara asked, “Who are you who wears the queen’s face?”

The faerie woman cradled her mangled wrist. Blood dripped steadily from the ends of her taloned fingers and pattered sickeningly against the dirt. “I am no one to you.”

Ciara’s expression softened with surprise. “I do know you.”

Not-Aideen grimaced. “It seems the fae’s memory is longer than I’d expected. I’d hoped to dispose of these two first.”

Ciara slid her gaze toward Shea and Daniil. “Are you hurt?”