“You wouldn’t. I don’t care, and Scarlet wouldn’t even notice. She needs to know you. You’re her uncle.”
“You shouldn’t say those things.”
“Why not? It’s true.”
I rode on, leaving the others in my wake again. I relished the speed of Dubh, how he moved effortlessly. “Good boy,” I whispered, holding on tight.
I leaned forward and let him take over. Riding was the only time I felt truly free, apart from when I ran, and I didn’t get much of that lately. Before long, I grew guilty for leaving Rumble behind with the others, so I pulled the reins and forced Dubh to a stop. He shook his head and huffed, stamping his feet as he walked on. Something was up.
He wandered off the worn track and into the trees. It was eerily quiet. Even Dubh barely made a sound. A whimper sounded nearby, but it was quickly silenced. It occurred to me that there might be trouble, but Dubh generally led me away from people trying to kill me.
“Hello?” I called out. “Is anybody there? Do you need help?”
Nobody answered, so I let Dubh lead the way. He suddenly made a lot of noise, almost as if he didn’t want to creep up on whoever it was.
And then I saw her. At the base of a tree, a woman crouched, holding a baby in her arms. The baby’s floppy arms and legs were stained with black pockmarks. It whimpered again, and the woman held it tighter.
I slipped off the horse’s back and knelt by the woman. What on earth was she doing in the woods with such a small baby? Not that I was one to talk. I'd given birth in a forest.
She kept her head bowed. “Are you all right?” I asked. “Can I help?”
“Run,” she said hoarsely. “Get out of here.” She looked up at me then, and her bruised eyes widened.
“Who did this to you?” I asked, and then I realised I knew her. “Marie, right? You came from Fiadh’s home to ask for a blessing. It is you, isn’t it?”
“It worked,” she said hoarsely. “I had a baby, but the child is sick, and I thought to take her away. But he followed. He’s angry. He won’t let any of us leave, so I snuck away, but someone must have told because he’s here.”
“Who? Who won’t let you leave?”
“The master,” she whispered. “He’s out there, hunting me. He’ll take the baby. He has others, but he wants them all.”
My stomach turned. That man sounded like Sadler. “Who’s the master?”
She blinked. “Glic. He tried to kill the queen, he said. Needs more men, so he’s raising an army of his own. But look at my baby. She’s sick. They’re all sick. And we’re starving. There’s no food, no hope. I lost my way, and he’s out there, in the woods. He’ll kill me. You should run. You must run. He wants you dead.”
That explained a lot. No wonder the assassination attempt had failed if the hapless Glic had been in charge. “I’m not running from the likes of Glic. We’re going to get you fed then send you back to court. Fiadh can take soldiers and deal with Glic. I’ll find someone to help the baby. But don’t worry, Marie. We’ll figure this out. You don’t have to be scared anymore.”
A horn sounded. Marie burst into tears. “It’s him. It’s him already. He’s coming. Run, please, run!”
“Get on the horse. Nobody can outrun Dubh.”
“I can’t,” she whimpered, paralysed with fear. “I can’t get up on that.”
“Come on and walk then. We can’t just stand here and wait for him to find us.”
She was too frightened to argue any further. I helped her to her feet and led her by Dubh’s side. Dubh was agitated, and I knew whoever was behind us was closing in. I just hoped Rumble and the others would find us first. I wasn’t completely defenseless, but I was just one person.
The sounds of horses drew closer. My skin crawled. We were caught.
“Hide,” I whispered. “Now, Marie.”
She crawled behind a tree and hid next to a thick fallen branch. I held Dubh’s reins and waited, wishing the others would hurry the hell up. I might be better with weapons than I had been but not if I was massively outnumbered.
Glic burst into the clearing, closely followed by three others. All of them had been in Sadler’s court. The fact they weren’t in mine told me everything I needed to know.
When he saw me, Glic’s mouth widened into a grin. “I go looking for vermin and find me the queen of them. It must be my lucky day.”
I gripped my dagger tight. “Ready for that duel?”
He looked unsettled at this reminder of his past humiliation. “A duel?” he said at last. “This will be a massacre.” He jumped off his horse, holding up his hand so the others wouldn’t follow. “And she still thinks she has a chance. You may fool the idiots back in that pathetic excuse for a court, but you can’t fool me. You’re a human dressed up to be something you’re not. And you destroyed my life, so it’s only fair I take yours.”
Dubh stamped his feet next to me. I let go of the reins as Glic stalked me. Dubh reared up, and Glic flinched.
“It’s okay, Dubh,” I said softly. “No need to scare him. He’s already terrified.”
Shouting with rage, Glic forgot himself and lunged at me with a short sword. I sidestepped out of his way then stepped toward him and sliced his wrist with the dagger before neatly moving out of his reach. With a cry of pain, he dropped his weapon, swearing as he backed away from me.
His men leapt off their horses and advanced on me. Then a whizzing noise sounded, and Glic’s head rocked back in one violent movement. One of Bran’s daggers was embedded in his throat. His eyes were unseeing as he dropped to his knees. Dubh ran in front of me and kicked with his back legs, knocking one of Glic’s soldiers onto his back. Rumble reached us, and the soldiers forgot about me.
Silently, which was somehow much more intimidating, Rumble jumped to the ground and swung his sword in a single swift motion, fatally wounding one soldier and disarming the second. The third jumped on Rumble’s back. Rumble backed up against a tree as hard as he could. The sound of bones breaking made me cringe. A fourth came for me, whirling her two-handed sword as if it weighed nothing.
I braced myself, but as she swung, so did Dymphna from her horse. The swords clashed and vibrated. I kicked the soldier, and she stumbled, still trying to balance her sword. “Thanks,” I called out to Dymphna as she leapt to the ground and advanced on the soldier.
“Not a problem.” Dymphna knocked the soldier’s legs out from under her and ended her life with one heavy thrust into the woman’s chest.
The fight was over before Brendan and Drake could even dismount. Brendan looked dissatisfied. He needed to release his bloodlust. My emotions were all over the place, so I likely wasn’t helping. I made a concerted effort to calm down.
I nodded at Bran. “So you do come in useful, after all.”
He grinned, pleased with himself.
“How do you manage to find trouble wherever you go?” Brendan asked harshly.
“It’s a gift. I found an old friend who needs help.” I called out for Marie, telling her it was safe, but she refused to budge until I helped her up. “Glic thought he was going to build himself an army and take over,” I explained to the others. “He’s also the one who tried to have me killed. Anyway, Marie escaped and got this far.” I squeezed her shoulder. “That was so brave of you, Marie. We’re going to sit here and feed you, and then we’re taking you back to court where you’ll be safe. Okay?”
Brendan tutted, still agitated. “We don’t have time.”
“We’re going to the sinkhole,” I said. “While we do that, Rumble can take Dubh and bring Marie and her baby to court. He can meet us back here. It won’t take long on Dubh.”
“I can’t,” Marie whimpered.
“You can,” I said firmly. “You have to. Your baby needs shelter and medicine. You’re going to do this for me because Fiadh needs to know what Glic’s been doing in her absence. She has to take back her home before somebody else steps up. I need you, Marie.”
“No, I can’t see Fiad
h.” Her hands trembled so much that I took the baby from her. “She knows what he’s done. She’ll know everything.”
“Fiadh’s a mother, too. She’ll only know how to help you with your baby.”
“You don’t understand.” Tears rolled down her cheeks, leaving streaks in the dirt stains. “This is Glic’s daughter. Fiadh will kill us both.”
“Fiadh wouldn’t—”
“Please don’t send me to her. Please.”
“All right,” I said gently. “Will you go to the human realm instead? If I send you to my daughter, will you feel safer?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Anything but the lady herself.”
I sighed, wishing Marie understood that Fiadh wasn’t anything like Glic. “Right. Change of plan. Rumble will take you to my family in the human realm. Then he can warn Fiadh about Glic and come back to us. When it’s all done, we’ll sort everything out with Fiadh.” I gave Marie a warm smile. “Don’t worry. I won’t let any harm come to your baby. What’s her name?”
“I… I didn’t give her one. Glic said we shouldn’t, and—”
“Forget him,” I said, seeing her grow agitated. “You can figure out a name while you spend time with my family.”
“Thank you.” She took the baby back and smiled. “My grandmother’s name was Liliana. You wouldn’t know it to look at me, but she was known as a great beauty. Maybe… would that name be all right?”
I patted her arm. “It’s a lovely name.”
“She’s half-starved,” Dymphna said. “She can’t feed that child if she can’t even feed herself. I’ll prepare a meal for her.”
Rumble took me aside. “I’m not comfortable with this.”
“It won’t take you long. Not on Dubh.”
“But you’ll be alone.”
“There are four other people here. I’ll be fine. Don’t you trust me?”
He grunted. “I will do it. I just wanted you to know I’m not happy about it.”
“Okay. Eat before you leave. I know Marie’s a nervous wreck, but we can’t leave her out here with a new baby.”
“Fine,” he said abruptly then left me standing there alone.
Shaking my head, I made to join the others, but then I saw Brendan wander off into the woods alone. I followed him. “You okay?”
He clenched his fists. “I’ll be fine.”
“Go hunt something if you need to.”
He looked at me. “Am I so obvious?”
“Yes.” I grinned. “And next time, get to me faster.”
Brendan gave a little growl and advanced on me, pinning me to a tree. “Fast enough?”
My heart raced at the proximity and the dark look in his eyes. “No,” I said teasingly.
A smile crept across his face. “I always knew you were trouble. Do you have any more dances with death planned on this journey?”
“Well, I have to keep you on your toes, or you might get bored, so who knows?”
He leaned closer, that wild look he got whenever he was restless flashing in his eyes. “There are other ways to keep me entertained.”
“Like what?” I reached up and tapped his chin.
He blinked a couple times, his eyes dilating. “You really have to stop doing that, Cara. It makes it hard to think straight.”
“I’m not doing anything.”
Brendan looked down on me suspiciously. “Are you sure about that?”
“Pretty sure,” I said, cheeks burning. “Not on purpose anyway.”
His smile grew delighted. “Ah. Is it the rush from the danger then?”
I bit back a smile. “Why? Are you dangerous?”
He pinched my chin, his expression shifting again. “Only sometimes, Darksider queen.”
Standing up straight, I leaned into him with an attitude of defiance. “Are queens a problem for you now?”
He grinned. “Only sometimes.”
Dymphna called out my name, and Brendan let me go. “I’ll hunt,” he said. “If you leave, I’ll follow and catch up to you.”
Then he was gone, and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my stupid face.
Chapter Fifteen
Marie worked up the courage to speak after she had filled her belly. Her baby mewled but didn’t cry properly. I wasn’t even sure if the Miacha could help her, and I wished Glic would come back to life so I could kill him. Who were these men to think the world owed them something? When Marie had first come to me, she thought she wasn’t a real woman because she couldn’t get pregnant, and now it had happened, and her child was dying because of the blight. None of it was fair.
“I can’t believe he’s dead,” she said almost under her breath.
I leaned closer to hear her better. “He can’t hurt you anymore. You’re safe now, Marie.”
But she didn’t believe me. I could see it in her eyes. “He was planning your death,” she said, gazing at her child’s face.
“It’s over now.”
“Someone will always think they can do a better job than you.” She looked up at me. “You’re not safe, either.”
“Didn’t you see Rumble fight? Nobody’s safer than me.” I smiled. “And he’s going to protect you for me.”
“For now.”
I couldn’t bring her out of her unhappiness, so I packed her off with Dubh as soon as I could. Rumble held Marie secure, and she clung to her baby.
I touched her hand. “Next time I see you, you can tell me her name.”
Marie’s smile was weak, but at least it existed. I touched Rumble’s arm. “Keep her safe for me, no matter what. We’ll meet you back here tomorrow.”
Rumble nodded. “Sleep with one eye open until I return.” He dug in his heels, then Dubh was off and away, soon out of sight.
Bran made a snort of indignation. “‘Sleep with one eye open.’ Who does he think he is?”
“My bodyguard,” I said, sinking next to him.
“You didn’t die on my watch.”
“That I didn’t.” I exchanged an amused smile with Dymphna.
“Rumble is good at what he does,” Dymphna said. “He has seen things you haven’t, Bran.”
Brendan returned. “I already ate,” he said when Drake offered him some food. “We should move on. We won’t want to camp for the night anywhere near a sinkhole.”
He was calmer than he had been when he left. There was so much I had to learn about the faery realm. I didn’t understand why bloodlust and other impulses existed.
We packed up and moved on, five of us this time. The Darkside always seemed to separate my friends. It was strange how we kept letting it.
“She seemed scared of Fiadh,” I said as we rode along a narrow path through a forest. I was unable to shake off a strange, uneasy feeling.
“She was very concerned,” Dymphna said.
“The father had her terrified,” Drake said. “Glic probably filled her head with all sorts of notions.”
“Poor Marie.” I shook my head. “Fiadh knows better than to blame the woman for her husband’s actions. It’s not like they love each other.”
“Enough about love,” Brendan said with a scowl.
“What’s up with you?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
I frowned and urged my horse on, but he was no Dubh, and Bran was able to keep up with me.
“I told you,” he said with a broad grin on his face.
“Told me what?”
“That I know how to use my weapons.”
I laughed. “Oh, that. You did well.”
“It was only because you hesitated,” he said.
“I did not hesitate.”
“You could have killed him, but you merely defended yourself. You hesitated when you should have taken the advantage.”
“Maybe I’m sick of having blood on my hands, Bran.”
“Maybe you should get used to it.”
I sucked in a breath. “Go away.”
“No.”
“Loser.”
“Very matu
re, Queen of the Darkside.”
I reached out and slapped the back of his head before he realised what I was doing.
He rubbed his head. “So ladylike, too.”
“Must I separate you?” Dymphna joked as she matched our pace.
“He’s just so annoying.”
“She’s just mad I saved her life,” Bran said.
I was mad because I really had hesitated, thinking of the blackness in my veins spreading farther.
Dymphna nodded. “I’ve noticed she doesn’t like that.”
“Shouldn’t you two be shadowing your kings?” I asked snappishly. “You might catch the blight off me.”
A gasp escaped Bran’s lips as he moved ahead of us on the path, getting in my way. Thinking he'd done it on purpose to annoy me, I urged my horse past him and almost fell off in my shock as the forest abruptly ended.
Stretched out ahead of us was a large, empty space in the ground, at least two miles long and broad.
“Look at it,” I murmured. I moved as close as I dared.
Brendan got off his horse and inched toward the edge. Stones crumbled down. “I can’t see the bottom. If this keeps happening, there will be mayhem.”
“Then let’s get to the solution as soon as possible,” Drake said.
“The gardener told me the land rots from underneath and that this place was abandoned a while back because of that. We’re still not sure if anyone was here when it happened.” I shuddered as I looked at the gaping hole. “I hope not.”
“They wouldn’t have suffered,” Drake said. “They couldn’t have survived the drop.”
A smell slowly emerged from the hole.
“What is that stench?” Bran asked, wrinkling his nose.
“Whatever’s beneath us,” Brendan said. “It might be too late to save this land.”
“We won’t know until we try,” I said. “Let’s take a quick look around and see if there are any other signs of impending disaster, but then we should return to camp and rest for the night. Rumble will be back tomorrow, and we can find the Watcher’s tunnel after that.”
The others moved on, but Brendan hesitated. “You should never have come to the Fade for me. If I had known it would cause this…”