Copper’s heart ached at Naal’s death, and fury rocked her as Junga and Darkwolf disappeared.
As soon as they vanished, she hobbled to Garran, who lay still. Her heart stuttered until she saw him move and groan. The bloodied warrior shook his head before he seemed to come to his senses.
With a shout he pushed himself to his feet at the same time he grasped his bow from the cavern floor.
Relief poured through Copper. She started to turn back to the battle.
“Stop!” A tremendous voice boomed through the cavern loud enough to cut through the growls, shrieks, and shouts. The voice shook the room so that rocks and chunks of stalactites rained from the ceiling.
Copper whipped her head in the direction of the red-eyed, bat-winged, fire-haired being where it had been perched or pacing during the entire battle.
“I am Ceithlenn, wife and soul of Balor.” Her voice filled the cavern in a tremendous roar. “When the time comes, you will all be extinguished.”
Due to the power and loudness of the booming voice, more rocks and silt fell from above, one rock grazing Copper’s shoulder.
The being had everyone’s attention, but the Drow and D’Danann didn’t falter in their attacks. The consummate warriors.
“Come, my children,” Ceithlenn said. “We will destroy these beings when the time is right. And that will be very soon.”
With that, the creature held out her arms. Red lightning crackled from her fingertips, creating an arc over everyone.
A flash like fire engulfed the cavern and Copper flung one of her arms up to protect her eyes. To her surprise there was no heat.
The red glow dimmed but did not completely leave the cavern.
When she lowered her arm, the D’Danann, Drow, and witches were staring at one another. All the living Fomorii, Basilisks, creatures she hadn’t recognized, and a three-headed dog had vanished, along with Ceithlenn.
Garran shouted something. What the Drow said, Copper wasn’t sure because it was in some strange language, but it sounded pretty much the way she felt.
Fucking demons.
Her gut churned. That creature—the being that called itself Ceithlenn—what the hell had been unleashed?
Copper grimaced as she skip-hopped back to where her sister stood.
Darkwolf, Junga, and that Ceithlenn creature had fled. The battle was over. For now.
Silver’s eyes widened as Copper hobbled up to her and she looked at Copper’s ankle. “It’s twice the size of a softball.” Her gaze shot back up to meet Copper’s. “What happened?”
“I broke it way back in one of the tunnels,” Copper managed to get out through gritted teeth. “Long story.”
Zephyr buzzed around and around the two of them as Silver knelt at Copper’s feet and held her hands to either side of the swollen ankle.
She closed her eyes and blue magic began to flow from her palms, sparkling in the air as it moved toward Copper’s ankle and then seeped through her jeans and into her skin.
Copper’s relief was so great she sagged. She might have fallen if Tiernan hadn’t grabbed her arms from behind and then folded her into his embrace.
She immediately caught his scent of leather and wind. It was mixed with the added smells of blood and sweat. She recognized the strength of his embrace and the way he held her.
She wanted to melt against him, but instead she pulled herself away. Her heart ached too much to let him hold her. The movement caused more pain to rip through her ankle and she saw a few stars again.
“Be still.” Silver frowned at Copper then went back to pouring her healing magic into Copper’s ankle. Silver wouldn’t be able to repair broken bones, but she could ease the pain.
And that was enough relief that Copper felt she could manage until the bones could be set.
Copper was completely aware of the man who held her, as Silver addressed her ankle.
Tiernan rubbed her upper arms in a soothing manner. He spoke soft words in Gaelic, but she didn’t even care what he was saying. She had to shield her heart from him.
When the swelling had reduced so that her ankle was only the size of one softball instead of two, Silver rose to her feet and hugged Copper. “If I had known, I would have eased your pain earlier.”
Silver drew away and Copper gave an uncomfortable smile. Uncomfortable because Tiernan was still holding her from behind, and his nearness was heady, almost causing her to forget that he may have to marry another woman.
“There was no time,” Copper said. “You healed my wrists and stopped the flow of blood. That’s what was most important.”
Silver frowned. “But still.”
Copper found the strength to put her weight on her good ankle and balance herself. She hop-skipped out of Tiernan’s arms and over to a stalagmite where she balanced herself and turned her gaze from him, trying not to let him see the pain in her eyes.
At the same time, a battle-worn Hawk came up to Silver and swept her into his embrace. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and Hawk pressed his lips hard against her forehead.
He closed his eyes and held his position for several seconds before his gaze met Silver’s. “A thaisce, I shall never let you out of my sight again. No more battles for you.”
Copper knew her sister better than that, but Silver just kissed him firmly on the lips. She drew back and smiled. “I love you.”
“Gods know I love you more than anything in any of the worlds.” He hugged and rocked her, her feet completely off the floor of the cavern.
Copper sighed as she stared at the pair and tried not to look at Tiernan. She’d thought she could have that same happiness one day.
It likely would never happen. She couldn’t get over Tiernan. It was her own fault, of course. She’d known where she stood from the beginning.
“Copper.” Tiernan’s voice startled her from her thoughts and from watching her sister and her future brother-in-law.
“I can’t,” she whispered, avoiding him.
Maybe she could help some of the injured D’Danann.
With that thought she pushed herself away from the stalagmite she’d been resting against. She hobbled past Silver and Hawk, blindly moving away from them all. She wasn’t sure where she was going.
Drow arrows littered the ground and she avoided the ones with diamond heads that hadn’t exploded. The mood of the Dark Elves was somber after the loss of their prince, Naal. Somehow they had known about each of the losses of their kinsmen, no matter that their bodies had vanished in sparkling obsidian.
Garran’s expression was so tortured that Copper’s eyes stung with tears for both him and his brother. Before she could say anything to him, he turned away.
The stench of burnt sugar had all but vanished, but the horrid smells of rotten fish, blood, and really, really bad dog breath still filled the cavern. One thing she was grateful for was that the bodies of the beasts vanished or turned to dirt when killed.
Copper ended up where the D’Danann were seated or standing, tending to injuries or talking of the battle. A young man tried to get up, but a female D’Danann warrior forced him down. “You are no good to any of us if you die. Let me at least stop the bleeding,” she was saying.
She didn’t recognize all the warriors. She didn’t know how Hawk and Tiernan had been able to cross over, but she was so glad to see them, as well as the new warriors they had recruited.
The warrior who had tried to get up was seated on a rock, his leather pants torn open at the leg and jagged fang marks in his flesh. The teeth that had made these wounds must have been poisonous to the Fae because they were still bleeding profusely.
Copper held back a groan as she tried to kneel and then sit by the young man’s leg without twisting her ankle further. She didn’t have a whole lot of luck, but she did manage to get her butt onto the cavern floor beside his leg.
“We need to get him to our healers,” the D’Danann warrior woman with long blonde hair said. “But we can only do that if the Great Guardian takes us back to our Sidhe.”
Copper focused her attention on his leg. “What’s your name?”
“Urien,” the man ground out. He was a good-looking, brown-eyed and brown-haired warrior. He looked young compared to the rest of the D’Danann.
“I’m Copper. Let me see what I can do to help at least a little.”
She cast a look over her shoulder and saw Silver, Hawk, and Tiernan across the chamber. Hawk and Tiernan were apparently discussing something. Silver had a strange look on her face.
More confident now with her hand magic, Copper put her palms a few inches above Urien’s wounds. She closed her eyes and concentrated until she felt warmth pulsating from her body, the ebb and flow of her magic and her essence.
When she opened her eyes, she stared with pleasure at the golden bubbles of magic flowing between her and the D’Danann. The flow of blood slowed and then stopped, but the flesh still lay open.
“He’ll need stitches,” came Silver’s voice from beside Copper. “We’ve got to get him to the shop or someplace in Otherworld and take care of it.”
Silver gave Copper a big smile as she knelt and hugged her shoulders. “I think you got all the poison out with your magic, and that was without your wand.”
“Really? The poison is gone, too?” Copper blinked, then looked closer at the wound. It did look clean, as if it just needed to be stitched up.
“It feels a hell of a lot better,” Urien said with obvious relief.
Silver frowned and tipped her head at Copper. “What happened to your wand, anyway?”
With a grimace, Copper pulled the mangled wand from her back pocket. It was now completely lifeless, smashed, and both crystals broken off.
Silver gave a pained expression. “Ouch.”
“You can say that again.” Copper sighed and almost tossed the wand aside but pocketed it instead. “I was pretty freaked out. I’ve never been any good at hand magic.”
“I think you can safely say that was all in your head.” Silver laughed, a sound that felt good to Copper. “You saved all of us by closing that door. And you really kicked ass out there.”
“I guess I did.” Copper’s smile faded as her thoughts turned to Naal, who had died saving her and Garran. “With a lot of help.”
“Tiernan loves you, you know,” Silver said softly.
The words made Copper choke up and tears threatened to fall. “It doesn’t matter. He’s probably going to marry someone else.”
“Is this redhead the woman?”
Both Copper and Silver startled at the voice of the young man whose leg wound they had treated. Copper had pretty much forgotten about Urien.
Copper furrowed her brows and Silver cocked her head.
“You are likely the guy he gave it all to,” Silver stated.
The young warrior’s cheeks reddened and he nodded. “He insisted. He has given Airell and me the means to be together.”
“What’s going on?” Copper looked from Urien to Silver. Her eyes widened. “Wait. Isn’t Airell the name of the woman Tiernan is supposed to marry?”
Urien and Silver looked at one another, back to Copper, and nodded in unison. “His family arranged the marriage,” Silver said.
“But Airell is in love with me,” Urien said, his face turning bright red.
Copper looked at Urien and grabbed his gaze with hers. “So what good is it for you to love her when she can’t get out of it, either?”
She raised her brows. “Wait. Silver said he gave it all to you, and you said he gave you the means to be with Airell. What the hell does that all mean?”
“He broke the arrangement between his house and Airell’s,” came Hawk’s voice from above them.
The big man had his arms folded across his chest. “He gave all his wealth to Urien so that Urien’s house might rise to the station necessary to wed Airell. Tiernan’s family has disowned him and he has no doubt been thrown from the court. If he returns to our Sidhe, he will live with the D’Danann warriors and will start out in poverty.”
Copper looked from Hawk to Urien and Silver. “Why would he do something as stupid as that?”
“Because I love you.”
Tiernan’s voice shocked Copper so badly she almost fell backward and had to brace her hand on the cavern floor to balance herself.
She raised her gaze—up, up, way up—to see him standing beside Hawk. In the next moment he was on one knee before her. His face was close enough for her to touch.
His features were worn, haggard, beyond what he might have experienced in battle. It was as if he’d fought another battle, too.
He seemed tentative as he reached up to brush several loose strands of hair from her face. He cupped her cheek in his warm hand and she leaned into his touch. Her belly flip-flopped.
He brushed her cheek with his thumb. “I love you, Copper. It is you I wish to join with, to be with always.”
Copper was so overwhelmed her mind spun.
He’d given everything up because he loved her.
Loved her.
For a long moment she looked at him. Everyone around them remained silent, as if waiting for her response.
She raised her chin a notch. “You’re arrogant, demanding, and bossy.”
“This is true.” He nodded. “And you are impulsive, reactive, and stubborn.”
Her lips twisted. “Made for each other, eh?”
“Aye.” His expression lightened and he gave a hopeful smile. “Will you join with me?”
Copper brought up her own hand to cup Tiernan’s against her cheek. “Okay.”
His hand slipped roughly from her cheek to grasp the back of her head and brought her to him in a rough, hungry kiss. Copper’s head still spun and she wanted him so badly. Wanted everything he had to offer her.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and he rose, taking her with him. She hiked her thighs around his hips. Their lips never left one another’s and she couldn’t think past Tiernan. Couldn’t think past the taste of him, the feel of his body pressed to hers, the strength of his embrace. Couldn’t think past her love for him.
When he finally drew away from her his breathing matched hers, heavy and ragged.
“I love you, Tiernan,” she said.
He grinned. “I know.”
She slapped him playfully. “Arrogant jerk.”
Applause broke out. Copper’s cheeks heated as the clapping brought her back to reality and the fact that they were surrounded by a cavern full of D’Danann and Drow warriors.
“Let’s do what we have to do and get out of here,” Copper whispered against Tiernan’s lips.
“Anything for you,” he responded with a smile.