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His breathing grew shallow, and I knew we were running out of time. So I asked, “Did you see a human girl, a red head?”
His voice was so quiet, I needed to bend closer to hear. “No, but Daeary will find her. The Lost Princess…”
I waited for him to continue, keeping my ear near to his mouth.
“He’s gone, Bleddyn.”
I looked at the winter Fae and realized Mal was right. The warrior’s chest had stilled and his eyes glazed over. I closed them and said a quick prayer to the Goddess.
Mal had gotten up and picked something from the ground. He held up a piece of fabric, his face grim. “Eryr Eyra.”
My heart stopped beating for a moment. The elite forces of the house of Llwyd were after Beth. If they found her before me, she was lost.
No, correct that. She was lost anyway, because no living Fae could stand against the Eryr Eyra.
Chapter twenty
BETH
Dyfhadpickedmeup and carried me out of the river. We were both drenched to the skin, but while he didn’t seem to mind, I shook so hard, I could barely speak. The wet fabric clung to my skin, draining my body heat. I knew the dungeon had been much colder, but sitting on a flat rock, hugging myself as I shivered, I couldn’t remember ever feeling more miserable.
The pants Dyf had given me were so torn and tattered, I might as well have worn a skirt. His shirt hung to my knees and slipped off my shoulder, making me feel like a child next to the tall Fae. He sat next to me on the rock, glancing at me from time to time.
I’d hoped he’d allow me to borrow his body heat as Than had. But when I asked, he shook his head. “My skin is cooler than yours. I would only make you colder.”
Despite the sun sitting high above us, there wasn’t much heat from its rays. My hair was dripping wet, and my teeth wouldn’t stop chattering, no matter how much I rubbed my arms.
Dyf’s glances grew concerned. “You humans are so fragile. When it is safe, I shall make a fire so you can warm yourself.”
I was about to thank him when he held up his hand and listened. Then he muttered, “Curses. They found us.”
“Who? Prys’s guards?” I gripped my arms until it hurt. No way would I return to that damn cell. I’d rather die out here.
“Not the guards, but the Llwyd’s elite force, the Eryr Eira. They use elemental magic to track their prey.”
Dyf’s words carried a sense of dread that made my knees shake. “What are we gonna do?”
“Keep moving,” he said, grabbing my arm and pulling me to my feet. “They must not catch us. Our only hope is to reach the Vale of Shadows.”
We hurried along the riverbank, Dyf dragging me more than I walked. My body was so bone-tired, I kept stumbling. I wanted to lie down, get warm, go to sleep. But Dyf’s movements were jerky, and he kept looking to the side and behind us, as if he expected an attack at any moment. His nervousness was contagious, and I found enough reserves to follow him quickly as I could.
Something was coming. The air crackled with malevolence, even though I couldn’t see our pursuers. I didn’t know how long we could keep going at this pace. Damp earth squelched between my toes, and a biting wind whipped my face and legs.
At first, I couldn’t hear anything over the pumping of my lungs and the pounding of my blood in my ears. But then, metal clanged against metal, followed by strange cries, piercing like birds of prey, but not. They were catching up with us.
Dyf’s long legs stretched beyond what I was capable of, and I floundered as I tried to keep up. My fingers wanted to draw the travel rune, but the path was winding. Each step, powered by magic, would have taken me half a mile in a straight line, and I’d have bashed my head against a boulder on my first step.
The river grew wider, squeezing the path against a sheer rock face. My legs burned as I reached my limits. Dyf yanked my arm so hard, it felt like he was trying to wrench it from its socket.
“Faster,” he gasped, but I was done. I couldn’t go any further, not even when the first sensation of magic prickled against my skin. A triumphant howl behind me raised the hairs on my neck.
They’d reached us, appearing with a crackling flash of light as if summoned from the air itself. I turned at the noise, too scared to keep my back to them.
They were Fae, judging by their size, but they wore helmets with wild, hawk-like designs. Their silver eyes, ringed with bronze, shone like beacons of hell. In their hands, they held cruel, curved swords, ready to finish us.
Dyf’s fingers dug into me like talons. Breath hissed between his teeth. “They will not hesitate to kill you and take your broken body back to Emlyn.”
“Thanks. As if I wasn’t scared enough already.” I glared at him while gasping for breath.
