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“How sweet.” She raised her wrist and smiled at the blackbird fluttering desperately at the end of a tiny chain. “Do you hear that, my little blackbird? Your seelie pig has come for you.”
I heard the palace doors open in the hall behind me, so I stepped to the side without taking my eyes off the Carlin. When guards stormed into the room, I shot each of them quickly, feeling a fierce stab of satisfaction at the flash of unease in the Carlin’s one eye.
“So you’re here for my youngest son, are you?” she snarled once they were all dead, like she wasn’t entirely sure what else to say. “A shame he is shackled to my wrist.”
“If you won’t let him go, I’ll just cut off your arm.” I nodded up at my own arm hanging behind her. “You have mine. I’ll take yours. It’s only fair.”
The Carlin laughed, the sound rough and grating. “Youarea confident little thing, aren’t you? You think that now you have your fae skin you have any chance at all of beating me? I’ll rip out your spine if you get any closer.”
“Not my fae skin,” I said, reaching back and plucking out one specific arrow. I’d coated three in Gadleg’s venom and used two on the Brid. I nocked the third and aimed it at the Carlin. “But I do have Gadleg’s venom. Even if it doesn’t kill you, it’s sure to do some damage, isn’t it?”
I was bluffing. My heart was pounding in my chest. I had no idea if Gadleg’s venom would affect the Carlin at all, but judging by the way her pale face went ashen, I was fairly sure that it would do something at least.
“Gadleg’s venom,” she spat, vibrating with fury. “Youhavebeen busy, haven’t you? And why do you have that?”
“I’m not here to talk,” I said flatly, ignoring the panicked thrum of my heart that hadn’t stopped since I’d set foot on the Carlin’s land. “I’m here for Lonan. Let him go.”
Her eye darted down to Balor, but he was still a whimpering, crumpled heap on the floor, bleeding profusely from his ruined groin.
“You want him?” she sneered, jerking her wrist up hard. Lonan trilled in panic, still frantically trying to get away. “What will you give me for him? He’s useless to me now anyway.”
“I won’t give you anything.”
She froze, then bared her teeth at me. “You’re not very good at being fae, are you, sweet boy?”
“I’m going to shoot you if you don’t let him go,” I told her. “And then we’ll see just what Gadleg’s venom does to you.”
“Why would I let him go?” she snarled, and my heart stuttered with fear when her cobalt eye darted to Lonan’s fragile body, filled with calculating anger.
I shot her before she could move. I was certain she’d been about to hurt Lonan—or worse. I’d seen it in her eye. She stumbled back in shock, staring down at the arrow in her chest.
Her murderous intent towards her son temporarily forgotten, she started advancing on me with a snarl. “I will kill you, seelie pig—”
But her steps stuttered. She sucked in a raspy breath, her skin going grey. When she dropped to one knee, my heart clenched again as the blackbird was jerked down hard by the fragile leg shackled to her wrist.
“It won’t—kill me,” she got out through clenched teeth, staring up at me in fury as her limbs stiffened up.
“I told you, I’m not here to kill you,” I said, silently adding,Not yet. “I’ll be taking your hand with me so the apothecary can’t reattach it, by the way. Maybe I’ll take your other eye as well.”
“Bres,” she shrieked. “Bres, stop him.”
I glanced up at the prince and nocked another arrow, waiting for him to move. He didn’t, his face even paler than normal as he stared between me and his mother.
“Bres, you worthless pig,” she snarled. “Iorder you. Eochu Bres de Cailleach, I order you to—”
“Eochu Bres de Cailleach,” I shouted quickly, “Ignore your mother. You listen only to me now.”
“No,” she screeched. “Eochu Bres de Cailleach, I order you to kill him!Kill him!”
Bres just stared at me, not even glancing at his mother as she shrieked. I slid my gaze over to Cethlen and heard his breath hitch, even though he couldn’t see me. He stumbled out of his throne and further away from me.
“Please—I have no quarrel with you.” He shook his head frantically. “I—I’m barely involved with—”
“Eochu Bres de Cailleach,” I repeated, feeling a little jolt of shock when Bres actually sat up straight to listen. Fae names were strange things. “Restrain your brother Cethlen. Don’t let him move until I am long gone.”
Bres rose instantly, launching himself at his brother who cried out weakly as they collapsed to the ground.
I turned my attention back to the Carlin. She was sucking in snarling breaths and had dropped onto her hip at some point. I could see her stiff limbs trembling, her chest rising in tiny movements.
