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Odessa nodded. In her own hand she held a slender blade of polished pale steel with a silver crescent moon pommel. Its edge was keenly sharp and it looked perfect for swift strikes and precise maneuvers in closed spaces. Like betrayals in a throne room.
I glanced down the row behind her. Crescent stood by his sister’s side. To my surprise, his attention was not on the attacking horde of undead children but rather on the portal still open, hovering in the air despite Celeste’s fall. His face was set in concentration as he muttered to himself, his hands twisting in the air in front of him.
With a jolt, I realized what he was doing. He was trying to close the portal. To undo what Celeste had done. I wondered if it would work.
More small monstrosities were emerging from the hole in the sky, falling onto the table below and racing out into the crowd.
I watched as one ran up the aisle towards us, snarling and clawing with outstretched arms and raised my blade.
But to my shock, when it reached the edge of our aisle, it slammed into an invisible force and bounced off hard, landing a few meters away.
I looked back at Odessa and she gestured past Crescent at where Javer and Beks stood, arms out above them.
A shield. They were projecting some sort of an invisible shield over us all.
Beks’s small face was solemn and serious as he stood beside his master. Beads of sweat dripped down his face as he concentrated, his dark eyes devoid of playfulness.
Next to him stood Javer, his wings opened wide with a sinister grace, his eyes narrowed, dark pointed brows sharp and calculating as he stared at something over our heads that was too subtle to see. The shield he and Beks were creating together, I assumed.
“Keep steady,” he shouted to Beks. “Focus. Concentrate. The barrier must hold.”
Beks gave a tight nod, his small hands uplifted.
“Perhaps Javer can fly us all out of here,” I muttered. My dislike of the man had not come close to fading, no matter how he might be protecting us at the moment.
Something resembling a smile flickered over Odessa’s face. “He can’t fly,” she said briefly. “They’re only for show.”
For some reason, that pleased me. I was sure possessing such an extravagant feature that served no utilitarian purpose whatsoever must drive a man like Javer mad.
Javer must have heard us. I caught him glowering at me. Then his gaze went to the sword in my hands and a look of sardonic amusement crossed his face.
I thought I understood why and could even perceive the irony, but still, I gripped Odessa’s sword.
Down below, Draven and the other Siabra fought the fae children amidst bone-chilling cries.
Not all of the Siabra in the tiered seats were as protected as us. I watched as some of the children reached a huddled group of seemingly-defenseless nobles in the rows across the room and pounced upon them eagerly, shredding and ripping and screams filled the air.
“Shouldn’t we go and help them?” I asked Odessa, gripping my sword more tightly.
“There isn’t a chance in hell that they would have helped you,” she said darkly. “The prince said stay. We stay put.”
“But...” I started to say. Just then Gawain pushed past me, coming to stand on my right. He nodded at me with a small smile. There was a vicious-looking spiked mace in his hands. I stared at it. He had certainly not been wearing it when we’d entered. Perhaps he’d had the foresight to stash it under his seat beforehand. My respect for Crescent’s partner rapidly increased.
“The shield should hold,” Gawain assured me, speaking to me directly for the first time. “But just in case.”
“I can defend myself,” I told him, but I understood what he was trying to do. This was more about him and Draven than about me. He was simply doing as his prince had asked.
I glanced down at Draven and saw with shock that he was fighting in a close trio, with Lyrastra and Avriel. The three stood back-to-back, close to the Queen Regent. Crumpled small bodies lay littered around them.
The sight would have been heart wrenching had I not known exactly what those rabid things that had once been fae children were capable of.
They had killed Lancelet. Eaten her alive.
And now they were here. A continent away. I shuddered.
How much power had it taken to open that portal? Part of me couldn’t help but be impressed by Celeste’s capabilities.
Crescent let out a shout of triumph and we all turned to see him looking gleeful. I glanced up at the space over the stone table.
