Page 189 of A Legacy of the Light

“MOVE!” he screams, trying to break past the line of Seelie blocking his path to me.

I turn back to the Brollachan, flying through the air toward us, and watch in horror as Reyne moves in its direction, ready to meet it head on. Ready to sacrifice herself so that I might get out alive.

NO!

The Craobh Beatha releases a shock of energy—a pulse so strong it throws the creature intent on killing us through a building at the other side of the square. It sends the Dorche rebels around us crashing to the ground where they meet their end at the hands of the Aotrom. The square stand silent as everyone seems to hold their breath.

I stand and I wait for that thing from the depths of hell to crawl out of the rubble of the building that collapsed with the force of the Brollachan slamming into it.

Nothing stirs from within the crumbled stone.

Reyne turns to me; the Seelie around us, too. Shock, awe, and something like fear settle over their faces.

I search for Tavish. I find him staring at me, eyes wide with shock and hope. I just killed a Brollachan. That means they can be stopped. I can stop them.

Tavish winks at me and launches himself back into the battles raging around him. I take Reyne’s hand and we sprint across the town square. We reach an alley away from most of the fighting and stop, bracing ourselves against the wall.

“What the fuck was that?” Reyne asks, eyes wide as she watches me brace my arms on the stone and rest my head.

“Not here. I’ll explain everything, but not here,” I tell her.

She nods, and we turn to look out at the chaos we left behind. Tavish is still fighting, blood coating his face and his lips peeled back in a feral grin as he beats back rebel after rebel.

“Let’s go,” Reyne says. “He’ll be okay, he’s the strongest of us all,” she adds, noting where my gaze is held captive.

She grips my hand and pulls me down the alley. We exit into another steep street that sweeps down toward the forest. Since most of the fighting is now in the town square, we don’t check if anyone lingers here. Getting out quickly is our top priority.

“You!” a deep voice growls further up the hill.

Reyne and I whip round to find a Seelie man with black hair tied at his nape and deep eyes charging toward us.

I’ve seen his face before.

He was the rebel who stared at me from across the courtyard when they attacked Elfayne City.

“Reyne, we need to move. Now.”

She sprints ahead of me and I throw all the strength I have built up into my legs, pushing faster down the incline. Heavy footsteps echo behind as the Seelie chases us.

“STOP!” he commands.

Something warm and strong binds my legs below my knees, forcing me to the ground. I bring my hands up and the hard ground bites into my palms, tearing them open from the force of my fall.

The Seelie catches up to me and lifts me by my throat, my feet barely touching the ground, so my eyes are level with his.

“I’ve seen you before, you were at the palace.”

With his other hand, he moves my face side to side and his eyes must catch on the chain of the pendant.

“You have it, don’t you?” he asks with deathly calm, his accent harsh. “I saw what you did to that Brollachan. You have the Craobh. And the prince . . .” he trails off.

Reyne skids to a stop. “Get the fuck away from her!” she screams, sprinting back to me.

The Seelie moves fast, twisting me in his arms and angling a blade at my throat. “I wouldn’t, Red,” he purrs in my ear. “She’s coming with me.”

Reyne stops dead and holds one hand up in surrender. “You don’t want her, she’s human. Take me! I’m General Macleod’s daughter.”

“Reyne, no,” I whisper. I won’t allow it. I will not allow someone else I love to be taken and killed by these fuckers.