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“How many more are there?” she asked, turning to Toryn. “These humans who want to leave on their own?”
“Ten, maybe, at most.”
“All right. I’ll go find them and try to talk some sense into them.”
Val stood. “I can help.”
Niamh moved toward Val’s side, and the red-haired mortal cut a nervous glance her way.
“I’ll come with you,” Niamh said to Val with a smile. “They could be angry and itching for a fight, like Asher was.”
Tessa shook her head. “They’ll handle it better if it’s just us.”
The door suddenly flung open. Alastair and Gaven charged into the room, their grim expressions turning my bones to ash.
“Tell me what’s happened,” I said, crossing the room in two quick strides.
Alastair’s lips flattened. “There are screams, coming from outside. I think some of the mortals have tried to flee into the mist.”
Tessa gasped.
Tensing, I tossed the words over my shoulder. “Fenella and Niamh, grab your weapons. They may have run into a group of pookas outside the wall.”
Toryn shoved away from the table. “I’m coming, too.”
The Mist Guard made for the door while I went to Tessa’s side. Her cheeks were pale, and as I took her shaking hands in mine, the chill of her fingertips seeped into my skin. “Stay here. I’ll do everything in my power to get them back inside the city walls safely.”
Her hands tightened around mine. “My mother could be out there.”
“I know. I’ll look for her first.”
I started to pull away, but she held me against her, the fierceness in her expression burning a hole right through me. “I can’t stay here being useless, wondering what is happening outside the walls. At least let me come to the gate with you. Let me do something. Please.”
Her voice cracked on the last word as her eyes shone with unshed tears. I understood far too well how she felt, how that useless feeling could root itself in your gut like a worm until it carved its way through you, consuming you in slow, agonizing bites.
“Fine.” I pulled a dagger from my belt and pressed the hilt into her hands. “Stay behind me. Don’t do anything rash—a big ask, I know, but I mean it, Tessa. I cannot save them if I’m distracted by protecting you.”
She nodded. “I understand. I’ll stay beside you.”
I lifted my gaze to Nellie and Val, who huddled by the hearth. The flames splashed orange light onto their faces. “Don’t leave this room.”
Val swallowed, but it was Nellie—surprisingly—who offered me a lifted chin and flare of nostrils. “I have claws and fangs.”
Tessa cast her sister a frantic glance. “Not now, Nellie.”
I frowned as we backed toward the door. “What’s that all about?”
“I’ll explain later,” she said before flipping the blade in her hands.
We reached the door and burst out into the corridor. The others had already made their way down the corridor, and together, we broke out into a run to catch up. As Niamh flung open the front doors, a wailing scream rushed into the castle.
The sound chilled me to my bones. Alastair was right. The pookas were here.
Thirty-Five
Tessa
My mother was out in the mists. Her terrified face flashed in my mind. It was all I could think about as I struggled to keep up with Kalen’s pace. Niamh and the others were spilling out onto the castle’s front steps just ahead of us, their forms vanishing into the ever-present fog. I gripped Kalen’s dagger in one hand while fingering the bandage at my neck. It still ached from the sting of Asher’s blade, but it was nothing compared to the painful thump of my heart.
