Page 61 of Duncan

I never said that I would marry you. I cannot even permit you and your kind to swear allegiance to me and come under my rule. You are of the dark court, and I am of the light. I merely suggested it would be to your advantage to declare yourself my ally, and bid your shifters fight alongside my warriors. As it was.

That was not what Mar had led her to believe, but when she went to the Fae king with her grievance, he took the prince’s side. He ordered her to take what was left of her shifters and return to her small, dismal corner of the dark court and be content that he had never tried her for seizing the Therion crown by murdering her own brother. The king then commanded preparations begin for the wedding of the triumphant Prince Mar and the Woodland king’s eldest daughter, the beautiful and much-adored Princess Eilonwy.

“My sovereign.” Speal came to join her at the railing. “We should weigh anchor here and slip through the mist barrier on the skiffs. ’Tis likely we may land on the island without any of the MacMar catching sight of us.”

“No.” She would not slither and slink her way to her vengeance, she would claim it with all the righteous fury she had kept burning for thousands of years. “Tell your sisters to stay out of my way.”

It had taken centuries to collect all the power she would need to take her revenge on Mar by wiping out every last one of the abominations he’d sired in the mortal realm. She had saved it lovingly, holding it deep inside like some unborn babe. In many ways it was the child Mar had given her, a dark and seething horror seeded by his seduction of her, and twisted and maimed by his betrayal. Tonight she would finally release it to seek out his other children, so it could gobble them up with its abyssal maw.

When Derdrui reached the bow of the ship, she spread out her arms, and allowed her full, pure power to rise inside her. Not since the war Mar had tricked her into fighting for him had she tapped every ounce of magic she possessed. The air around her took on a virulent glow as her aura expanded, engulfing her and the front of the vessel in that shadowy, lethal power.

Open to me. At her command the wall of mist parted, revealing the enormous island it protected. Come to me, my beautiful new spawn.

The water all around the boat began to churn as sharks with mortal limbs surfaced and stared up at her with their flat, black eyes. At first dozens appeared, and then hundreds. Most had never opened their minds to the queen of their kind, and did not know how to protect themselves, so it took only a few moments to bring them under her sway.

Derdrui smiled down at them, the instruments of her vengeance. Kill every mortal on that island, and take their place.

As the shifters submerged and streaked toward the gap in the mist barrier, she pulled back the power she had used on them, wrapping herself around it to save the rest for the MacMar. She noticed Speal hovering behind her and languidly gestured for her to come forward.

“Sail through the barrier,” she told the Cait Sith leader. “I wish to lead the attack on the clan myself.”

Chapter Sixteen

Nicole woke in Duncan’s arms, both of them naked, their limbs entwined. She dimly remembered him rising and leaving her in the night, but it couldn’t have been for very long. For a few minutes she let herself admire his handsome face so she could remember every feature, and then tenderly brushed a swath of dark hair back from his cheek. As she looked closer she saw that the streaks she had thought were gray were actually a very light blue.

“Keep touching me, my love, and I shall never again sleep,” he murmured without opening his eyes.

“I have no objections, as long as we can stay in this bed forever.” She sifted her fingers through the glittering strands. “I just realized you have blue streaks in your hair. Did you inherit that from your father?”

“The night before he ended himself, the prince came to my chamber. I remember he put his hand on my head and said something in old Fae to me, mayhap a blessing.” He looked at her, his dark eyes sad now. “Where he touched me my hair turned silvery blue.”

“Maybe he wanted to leave you with something to remind you of him.” She touched the red stone pendant. “My aunt gave this to me when I was thirteen. She said it belonged to Eilonwy, and if I wore it I would always be safe. I guess I shouldn’t have taken it off on the night of the family reunion.” As his expression changed she curled her arms around him. “In another day or two this will be decided, one way or another. When we win, I want to marry you.”

“’Twouldnae be for long.” He pulled her close and tucked her head under his chin. “I cannae leave my clan, and your family awaits you in the future.”

“If the druids can send me to the future, then maybe they can bring me back.” She showed him Lady Joana’s ring. “Or maybe this will let me make one last trip after I save my dad.” The sound of shouts and heavy footsteps running in the passage made her stiffen. “No more time. They’re here.”

Duncan kissed her before he helped her out of bed and dressed with her. Draping her with his tartan, he picked up his medical case, and from it took out a sheathed dagger attached to a small strap.

“I ken you wish use words to defeat the enchantress,” he said as he fastened the weapon to her left arm, and pulled her sleeve over it. “My sire said a knife strike here can slow the Fae.” He touched the back of her neck.

“I’ll remember that.” She hugged him tightly before they hurried out into the passage, where Lark and Julianne came rushing toward them.

“The watchers reported the mist barrier falling just outside the bay, and a merchant trader sailing through the gap.” the seamstress said breathlessly. “Jamaran and the Finfolk garrison are fighting back a bunch of hybrids that attacked their settlement, but some slipped through their lines and reached the shore. Caroline went with Nyall down to the bay. She said she’ll wait to stop time until we get there, unless she has no choice but to use it.”

They still didn’t know if Caroline’s time freeze would affect Nicole or Julianne; so far the only ones immune to it beside the diver were her men.

Nicole grabbed her pendant and held it tightly. “Where is Valerie?”

“V’s taken all the ladies and kids from the village and the farms into this ginormous storage basement under the watch tower,” the lifeguard said. “Their guys are with the clan so they can help defend the castle. I’ll jump you down to where Caroline is. If she doesn’t stop time, then we can jump to the ship.” She gave Duncan an unhappy look. “You should maybe get the infirmary ready for lots of patients, Doc.”

“I shallnae stay behind tonight, my lady. I’ve brought what I shall need with me.” He lifted his medical case. “We shall go together, and mayhap I’ll buy you the time you’ll need so you may reveal the truth she’s hidden from the shifters.”

Putting him in harms’ way was the last thing she wanted, but Nicole was done with saying no to him. “Let’s go.”

AS DARKNESS FELL OVER CALADH, Duxor began to worry that Jamaran hadn’t meant to only frighten him, but never intended to return and release him. He had already tried time and again to free himself from the stakes, but the long hours out of the water had left him weak, and the cords cut into his dry, flaking flesh now whenever he moved.

The water in the shallows off the islet threshed, and he managed to lift his head to watch as the commander waded on shore. The shadows and his blurry vision made it impossible to focus on Jamaran’s features, which seemed paler than before. He’d also thought Merrick’s thug had blue eyes, not black.