Dwellers of Darkness (Darkness Series #3) Page 30

  “Please, don’t be dead.” My hands felt the back of his head, and I rolled him over. The sword was still tucked deep into his pants, weighting Josh down and pulling him below the water.

  “Shit.” I grappled for his clothes and tugged him. Terror caused my breath to falter; the edge of the underground lake was quite a distance from us. I couldn’t do CPR here. I hooked him under my bad arm and side-stroked toward the water’s edge. Between him, the sword, my bad arm, and depleting strength, it was touch and go to keep my own head above water.

  Finally, my feet brushed up against something solid. I thought being able to stand on the ground would be better, but getting his weight on dry land was still difficult. A wave helped push us enough so I could lay him on his back. Water lapped, bobbing his body back and forth.

  Using all my senses except sight, I tilted back his head and started CPR. I compressed his chest and blew repeatedly into his mouth. “Come on, Josh,” I wailed. “Breathe.” Frustrated with the lack of results from my efforts, I thumped my fist into his chest with as much force as I could gather.

  Josh sputtered and choked. I could hear water erupting from his mouth as he turned to his side, spitting up. He vomited, but at least he was alive. I sat back on my heels, shaking.

  “You saved me?” His voice was raspy.

  “Of course.”

  He didn’t respond, but rolled on his back with a groan. “Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or do I see a little light in here?”

  I turned to look at the glow. “There is some kind of opening over there. It’s enough to let water out. Let’s hope it’s suitable for us.”

  Josh pushed himself up and stood, which started another bout of coughing. With his hand he pulled me to my feet. “Let’s get out of here.”

  I nodded and turned toward our sliver of freedom. Both of us moved slowly, hobbling with pain. I was surprised neither of us had broken anything, though Josh clutched his chest as though he had cracked a few ribs. If that was all, it would be a miracle.

  We eventually rounded a corner, and the splinter of light turned into a gaping hole, enough for us to hike out. Josh let out a sigh of relief.

  As we climbed over the rocks and moved closer to the exit, Josh grabbed my elbow. “Em, wait. No matter what... thank you for saving me.” The expression on his face was pinched, whether due to pain or guilt, I didn’t know. He turned and crawled over the boulder through the exit to the outside.

  I had no choice but to follow.

  The hot, glaring sun blinded me as we ascended from the dark, cool cave. Instantly, the heat encased me. My strength was depleting rapidly with blood loss, and the temperature only aggravated it. The earth called to heal me, but there was still too much iron around. Josh grabbed my arm and dragged me across the threshold. The oppressing iron that had been in the cave lightened, but it still wasn’t enough. My power only tapped at the soles of my shoes, not breaking through.

  “Keep walking.” Josh hauled me forward. Guess our truce was over. The Sword of Light glimmered in the sunlight against his back.

  “Seriously, I save your life, and you’re still going to turn me over to her?”

  Josh’s eyes narrow. “Oh, should I be eternally grateful to the all-powerful Dae?”

  I shook my head. Just a minute ago he was like the Josh I had known. That boy was gone, again.

  With every step away from the cave, I felt better. Blood clotted, trying to heal my open wound, although I was still too drained to fight Josh. Sleep and a complete day lying in the woods would help, which was not an option. My brain was full of cobwebs; I couldn’t even plan an escape.

  I lost track of how far or how long we walked. The unrelenting heat sucked our energy before it even started to dry our clothes and hair.

  We stumbled down the mountain, and his grip on me tightened. When we reached a forested area, the shade felt like heaven. The relief did not last long, as a new sensation hit me instantly. Magic. It was so thick and powerful my lungs clenched, and I felt woozy.

  A dozen guards suddenly appeared and positioned themselves around Josh and me. Aneira stepped from behind them. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Probably the most extraordinary Fay who ever lived. She stood tall and elegant with deep red hair that fell to the middle of her back. She had pale violet eyes and alabaster skin. Breathtaking. Ruthless.

  I shook my head. Her glamour usually didn’t work on me, but I was weak and susceptible.

  “Your Majesty.” Josh pulled the sword from his back, laid it flat across his palms, and kneeled in front of her. “I have done what you asked. I have brought you the Sword of Light.”

  “Thank you, Joshua. Once again, you have proven you will be a great First Knight.” She touched his shoulder gently. “Please rise.”

  Josh stood, his hands still displaying her awaiting gift—the precise thing I had fought so hard to find and keep from her. Everything we worked to achieve for was now gone. It was as if someone gutted me from the inside out, tearing out my heart. My legs shook under me as a whimper escaped my lips. It was gone. All gone.

  Aneira’s fingers extended to touch the carved markings on the blade but stopped. Her hand only hovered over it. Her eyes flickered bright, and her face showed both desire and dread. She had wanted it for so long, but perhaps she feared it even more. When Josh stepped closer to her, she stepped back. She was terrified of the blade. And she should be; it was the one thing that could kill her.

  She stared at it greedily before she snapped her fingers. Guards rushed to her side. “Three of you please escort my remarkable First Knight back to the castle and see this is properly sealed away.” Her gaze never left the sword. Josh didn’t seem to notice, and he continued to stare at her in awe. Her praising words only made him stand taller, happiness etched on his features.

  “You honor me, my Queen, with this task.” Josh bowed his head. Every word he uttered sounded like it came from his video games or some movie. He was living his fantasy and blinding himself to the truth around him.

  Aneira finally looked at him and gave him an adoring smile. “I trust you completely, my knight.”

  “Ugh. I am gonna vomit listening to this artificial crap.” I couldn’t stop myself. It was such bullshit. How could Josh not see through her? Unfortunately, this brought Aneira’s unwelcome attention my way, and she glared at me with a look of hate.

  “Joshua, please go.” Like an overeager puppy, he bounded forward so fast the three guards had to run to catch up. About three hundred feet away, he disappeared into what seemed like thin air. Humans, unless they were seers, could not see the Otherworld doors. Josh did not hesitate. He had known it was there.

  “You look astounded, Ember.” Aneira mocked, moving closer to me. “You wonder how he knew the door was there. Once humans go to the Otherworld, it changes them. Their minds open, and they see things they never allowed themselves to imagine before. Humans like to be ignorant of us. We scare them.” Her smile widened. “Like they should. They are weak and stupid.”

  “Tell me how you really feel?” I crossed my arms. Every minute I delayed her, my powers grew stronger.

  “You may be Fae, but you are exactly like them. Actually, you are worse... a Dae who thinks like a human. What did I expect? Lily raised you,” she sneered and turned to her guards. “Cuff her.”

  Two guards clutched my arms, pinning them in front of me. Another pulled on gloves as he took the iron handcuffs from his belt. I was having a déjà vu moment: another country, on another hill with a different guard but otherwise it was the same. That recollection brought back awful memories. Trepidation ate at the lining in my stomach. I could not afford to lose more strength.

  I bit down hard, grinding my teeth as the guard placed the cuffs on me. The arms hooked around mine and kept my legs from collapsing. I tried to swallow back the pathetic moan that came up my throat, but I couldn’t. My lids fell, my body wanting to join them. Sleep. I just want to sleep.

  “I know you have been
keeping something from me, Ember. Shame on you.” She shook her head like I was a naughty child. “To think your little Druid friend was a prisoner in my castle. She may have gotten away, but I already have men tracking Lorcan. It is only a matter of time before she is mine again. Having both a Druid and a Dae?” She trailed off, her eyes flickering with excitement. “The possibilities are endless. Then, after I’m through with you, I’ll have the sweet pleasure of killing you both.”

  I bared my teeth, “Leave her out of this.” Strangely, I was suddenly glad Lorcan had Kennedy away from here.

  “I think you know me better than that, my dear girl.” The Queen laughed giddily. Now she knew about Kennedy, she would not rest till she captured her.

  “I know you are also aware of your family connection to Lars. Do you see now why I enjoyed using you against him? Utilizing his niece to destroy his kingdom bit by bit. Ripping him from his throne, destroying everything he and his brother built. It would have been even better if it was the prior Unseelie King. Not that it matters. They are both the same to me, and their blood runs in your veins. Lars was in love with your mother as well. He was her first love, but his need for power pushed her into Devlin’s arms. Knowing your disgrace of a mother, she slept with both. Who knows? Lars could be your father. Either way, this has been most enjoyable for me to use you against what they created.”

  The thought of Lars possibly being my father had crossed my mind, but I had quickly shoved it away. Now it was in my face. Images of Lars and Lily being together slammed into my brain. She had been with him before she fell for his twin? Everything I had seen between them seemed to dispute it. Even when I had first thought Lars was my father, the thought of them together seemed wrong. Time and anger did funny things to people, but it still didn’t seem right to think of them as an item.

  “Like Lars, you are all talk. You speak and devise plans to overpower me, but when it comes to actually putting up a fight, you crumble at my feet. ” Aneira looked thrilled as she revealed this to me. “Lars was here earlier. He came to stop the big bad Queen from taking the sword out from under him.” She opened her arms, gesturing around. “You can see how well that worked for him. He is gone now.”

  “Gone? Did you kill him?” The thought of my uncle dead tightened my chest. Not the Unseelie King or the Demon, but my uncle. I had barely learned the truth about him being family when he was taken from me. He had come here by himself to stop Aneira. That was why he ran from the cave earlier. Not because he was deserting me, but because he wanted to stop the Queen from getting me. I was ashamed of myself that, as usual, I thought the worst of someone. I hadn’t believed the Unseelie King as someone who would run from anyone, but my trust in people was so low it made it hard to automatically think the best of them.

  “He thought he could beat me. What a fool. I am the most powerful Fae. No one can defeat me, especially now I have the only weapon in my possession that can conquer me.”

  The sickness in my stomach rolled. Between the news about Lars and Josh and the effects of the iron, I won’t deny I was a blubbering mess. It became too much. She had won.

  Broken. Enough. My head fell forward and tears leaked down my cheeks. “What do you want, Aneira?”

  “I want revenge.” She said this quietly, but every syllable was resolute. I forced myself to look at her. My body was trying its hardest to fight the new dose of iron poisoning. The earth was helping me as much as it could, but it was not enough. Opposing sides gave and took at the same time, tearing trenches into my gut.

  “Against whom? Humans? For taking Earth from you? Is that what all this about?”

  She watched me carefully. “You have no idea what it is like to live in fear of something that should fear you. We were here first. This was our rightful home,” she spouted and then took a breath. “But you are part of my revenge. You should never have existed. I want to destroy you and everyone you love... slowly and painfully... as they did to me.”

  Her fingers gripped my chin, squeezing hard. Her fury was pointed at me. This woman truly hated me with every fiber of her being. There were other Daes who had existed. Had she despised them this much?

  “Using you to destroy the precise thing your mother tried so hard to keep from me renders it so deliciously perfect.” With a maliciously beautiful smile, she stepped back from me. “Let us go home, Ember.”

  The guards had only taken a stride forward when my blood ignited, tearing through my veins. My feet dug into the ground and stopped our group from progressing. I couldn’t see him, but I knew he was there.

  “No...” I muttered to myself, looking around. Even if the idea of him being near comforted me, I did not want him here. I wanted him safe.

  A solid crunch of gravel broadcasted Eli’s arrival. He could slink up on someone in the middle of the day without a hint he was there. He wanted to be heard.

  Aneira stopped and turned, glancing around. The guards became twitchy, looking for a new threat.

  “I hope I am invited to this little soirée.” Eli sauntered up. He was bleeding everywhere; cuts and teeth marks pitted most of his body. Chunks of flesh had been taken out of his side and shoulder. Battle wounds from the Strighoul. “Fairies do know how to throw a party. Please tell me someone invited the nymphs and water fairies.” Eli rubbed his hands together. He kept his attention off me, purposely not looking my way.

  What is he doing?

  “Elighan, it has been a while. The last time I saw you, blood covered you as well.” Aneira replied with disgust. “What brings you here?” The Queen pressed her lips together and looked at me, then back to him. “Please don’t tell me it is for her.” She frowned.

  Eli was naked, which became more and more apparent the closer he got. I guess I should be flattered he didn’t stop to change before coming after me.

  Aneira was not immune to his nude physique either. Her annoyance flipped the closer he got to us, changing into a look I recognized. It was the expression I saw on most women who looked at Eli. Her eyes flared with desire. I had gotten used to him being naked, but I still didn’t like her seeing him exposed.

  “If I had known you would grow up so sexy, and large, I would have kept you as one of my pets.” She sashayed up to Eli; her hand reached to his face. His body stiffened under her touch.

  “I’m not really good at being potty-trained,” Eli retorted, looking bored. But I could feel his tension raging underneath.

  Her hand drifted down from Eli’s face to his chest. “My, you have grown. I can imagine you would be a real beast in bed.”

  My hackles rose, almost choking me with anger and possessiveness.

  “You’ll have to ask her about that.” Eli nodded toward me. His eyes finally met mine.

  What are you doing? Are you completely insane?

  Yeah. I told you, Brycin, where you go I go.

  You are nuts. My lids blinked double time trying to keep the tears back.

  I think that’s been well established. His mouth stayed neutral, but his eyes held the glint of a smile. I am not letting you go in there alone, again. Cole went to find the rest of our group and then they will go after Kennedy. I came for you.

  My mom?

  I convinced her it would be best to go because she could help more from the outside.

  I let out a sigh of relief. I could not fathom the idea of Mom returning to Aneira’s prison. I didn’t know what happened to Lars, but there was this annoying bit of hope in my gut that said: He’s the Unseelie King. He cannot die easily. But if he wasn’t dead, where was he?

  “I’d prefer to see for myself.” Aneira’s comment brought me back to the present. Her lids lowered hungrily as she took in his crotch. She continued, salaciously looking him up and down. “You will be much more fun than your brother. Harder to break. I love a challenge.”

  The implication was not at all subtle, and she was not one for empty threats. Since my mother’s “death,” I knew I was capable of handling a lot, much more than I thought I could. This wa
s not one of them. The thought of her having Eli—oh, hell no—things would go down. I charged forward, the guard behind grabbed me, drawing me back into his chest. The Queen didn’t even flinch; her attention was still on the male in front of her.

  “You’re not really my type.” Eli shrugged indifferently.

  There was a brief flicker of annoyance on her face before a twinkle of laughter filled the air like music. “I am everyone’s type. I will be glad to show you.” Her eyes glinted with a challenge.

  Like the pop of a balloon, my fury erupted. Through the iron, my power dredged up from the depths of my soul. The thought of her touching Eli or using him like she had Torin drew a curtain of red. I didn’t see anything. I only felt.

  With a gust of energy, Aneira was torn off her feet and thrown back through the air. A hard thud sounded as she landed on the rocky terrain and skidded across the ground. The silence that came after was deafening. The soldiers stood in shocked muteness as they watched their Queen lying flat on her back.

  Crap... .

  Eli obviously felt the same. His head sagged forward, swearing under his breath, as he shook his head back and forth.

  “My Queen.” A guard ran to her, waking the other soldiers out of their daze. A handful scrambled to her.

  She lifted her head. “Get off of me.” She stood without help as rage ignited her eyes and burned into me.

  “You disgusting half-breed...” She persisted with a slew of insulting words, but it was in Gaelic, so I only understood the angered, biting tone. Power thundered off of her as she barreled toward me. The guard behind gripped me harder, keeping me in place. Her hand flew up, colliding with my face. A torrent of pain slammed through my cheek, and I stumbled to the side. Spots dotted my vision.

  A deep growl came from the form next to me.

  “Your girlfriend here needs to learn her place, as you do.” A handful of my hair was yanked up. Cool, blue-lavender eyes met mine. “If you ever do that again, Ember, I will kill you.” Her voice was icy-calm. She was back in control again.