Page 40 of An Unlikely Knight

They walked into the house. No one was in sight. The women had gone, to allow the men privacy.

“Go,” Erin whispered, rising up on her toes to kiss his cheek.

When she released his hand, Padriag took a deep breath and walked into the library and saw that Gavin had joined Tristan, Niall and Liam.

The Brit gave him a bored look. “Now let’s get on with this. Padriag and I have to return immediately.”

“What exactly did you see?” Tristan’s voice was low, tense, his gaze sweeping the room like a man searching for threats in every shadow. “If something’s coming, we need to be ready.”

Liam didn’t answer right away. His eyes like still, icy water, the weight of what he carried evident in the set of his jaw. “It’s going to take all five of us,” he said finally. “Every single one. No exceptions.”

The room stilled. A cold dread spreading like smoke.

Padriag’s stomach turned to stone. Whatever Liam had seen was unimaginable. His mind whirled in anticipation.

Liam took a breath, and when he spoke again, his voice was quieter but heavier. “This is the last quest. We will all return to the other realm. And if we fail ... we don’t come back.”

Silence fell like a blade.

No one moved. No one spoke. They just sat, still as stone, as if moving might make Liam’s words real.

Padriag stood, fists clenched. “No. I won’t allow this. Not after what you’ve all been through. You earned your freedom, you can’t be dragged back into that place.”

Liam met his eyes, and despite the gravity of the moment, there was a strange warmth in his smile. “It’s not about what we want, Padriag. It’s happening, whether we’re ready or not.”

“Good,” Niall said, breaking the tension with a steel edge in his voice. “Then we go. Together we are stronger and this time we won’t fail.”

Liam nodded once. “You’ll each need a weapon. Keep it close. I don’t know if you will be given any time before you are compelled back.”

Gavin raised an eyebrow. “Can I bring a gun? Better yet, a machine gun?”

“They won’t work,” Tristan said grimly. “Not in that place.”

“Not against dark magic,” Liam confirmed. “Steel, fire, skill—that’s what we’ll need.”

Padriag sagged. As if the warlock hadn’t already brought them centuries of penance, now, once again. They’d have to beat a quest to win their freedom. If it was at all possible.

Tristan stood, already half-turned toward the door. “I’m going to find Gwen. If we’re being pulled back ... I need to spend as much time as possible with her.”

He paused, looking back at the others. “You should do the same. We may not get another opportunity.”