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“My patience grows thin,” Wardon’s face is like stone. “Make your choice. Or I will choose for you.”
Bard takes a hesitant step forward, then another. I risk a quick glance around, but only Harmony is looking my way. Crouching down beside Aiden, I slip my fingers beneath the collar, its texture more like stone than leather or even synthetic. The fur of his ruff is matted with blood. I run my fingers around the edges of the collar, looking for a seam or a fastener. Something sharp pricks my skin. I pull my hand away to see my fingertips coated with blood. My blood. And on the back of my hands more blood, Aiden’s. The collar is full of glass shards. Wardon had been essentially bleeding him out before my eyes.
If I can get him free of the retched thing and back on his feet we might stand a chance. But if he’s lost too much blood too quickly....
Angrboda eyes grow wide as Bard approaches. Is that panic on her face? Does she believe her end is near?
Her water prison recedes down to her waist, keeping her hands and legs bound while enabling Bard to reach her. A flash of triumph crosses Wardon’s expression as Bard stands up on tiptoes.
Angrboda says something, too soft for me to hear and shakes her head, just once. Bard catches her face in a firm grip and then presses his lips—my lips—to hers.
She sags against the restraints. Wardon throws back his head and laughs aloud.
My lips—my actual lips—part as Bard steps back, hiding his shock.
I switch my gaze to the spirit landscape, wondering if somehow, some way, Bard managed to snag my ability. Could it be possible that he not only killed her but to tether her soul to the Hunt? But I don’t see Angrboda’s soul floating free or drifting toward Nahini and the others trapped in the trench. No, it’s still where it belongs, inside her body.
She’s faking it then. The question is, why?
At my feet, Aiden stirs, a soft whimper escaping him.
“Sash,” I say, partly to reassure him, partly so that he doesn’t wake up at the wrong time and ruin everything.
“A deal is a deal,” the Seelie king waves a hand and a rush of wave surges toward Nahini and the souls of the Wild Hunt. I expect to see them disappear beneath the crush of water, but instead it lifts them up, carrying them to the shore as though they are riding a parade float.
“And my wolf?” Bard asks. “I want that collar off.”
“First the blood oath.” Wardon lifts his palm and a silver knife appears within it. “Repeat after me. I, Nicneven, will wed Wardon, Master of the Waves and ruler of the Gray Throne. I will do so as soon as I have reclaimed the Shadow Throne and established myself as monarch supreme of the Unseelie Court. I have agreed to this union of my own volition and will hold to it, upon penalty of death.”
Bard repeats the words with the utmost sincerity and then Wardon cuts a line across his—my—palm, drawing blood.
Wardon makes a cut in his own palm and vows an oath of his own. “I, Wardon, Master of the Waves, vow to release Aiden, Nahini, Harmony the seer and all the souls gifted to me by Queen Brigit into the custody of Nicneven, the one true queen of the Unseelie. I will do so immediately and without hesitation.”
“And you will never capture or harm Unseelie subjects again.” Bard prompts.
Wardon starts, but then, sensing no trap, adds the phrase before the penalty of death bit.
Three drops of blood from each hand merge in a silver chalice. The liquid smokes and doubles, then doubles again until the cup overflows with red fog. Wardon extends it to Bard. “Ladies first.”
Bard takes it and sips before returning it to the king.
Wardon’s lips turn up as he lifts the chalice to his mouth. I can’t help holding my breath, waiting for something to go wrong, someone to shout out a warning. But he merely tips the chalice back, draining it dry.
Immediately I feel a surge of power, one I had been missing for months. It’s my missing members of the Wild Hunt, back under my control once more. I stare at the beach, urging the spirits to gather Nahini up. She’s drenched, seaweed clings to her clothing and her eyes are closed. At least she is breathing. I see her brother kneel beside her. Though unable to touch her, the spirits of the Hunt can influence the physical world in small ways. He reaches out a hand as though to cradle her head in his.
I want to howl with triumph. It worked. The king just agreed to marry the shifter, even as he returned control of the souls of the Hunt back to me, to the real Nicneven.
Serves you right, you bastard. I narrow my eyes on the Seelie king and make a silent promise. One day soon, I will make him pay for the suffering he has caused.
“We’ll be going now.” Bard squares his shoulders, lifts his chin. “There’s much to do. Remove the collar from my companion.”
“All business. I admire that about you.” Wardon snaps his fingers and the collar around Aiden’s neck vanishes. The wolf doesn’t stir, doesn’t even open an eyelid.
I shake him gently, and he groans but doesn’t wake.
“What’s been done to him?” Bard demands, the tone imperious.
But before Wardon can answer, slim hands grasp him from behind, lifting him up off the ground.
“You thought to betray me?” Angrboda’s eyes are like blue flames, her bloodred hair whipping about in an unholy wind. “Turned my own magic against me?”
Wardon gargles, as though trying to speak. His gaze is on Bard though.
I don’t wait to see what happens next. With the full strength of the dead of the Wild Hunt back in my grasp, I reach out to the souls I have claimed and bid them to obscure us from our enemy’s eyes.
They fan out, a rolling fog of death. Trolls fall before it, twitching in pain as limbs are removed, hearts pierced. The witnesses to the blood oath scream and flee. Bard and Harmony dart down through the crowd as Nahini’s body drifts toward me on billows of vapor.
Her face is bloodless, her beautiful jet hair streaked liberally with white as pure as new fallen snow. Extreme shock or terror can do that, leech all the pigment from a person. Her chest is rising and falling and there is a steady pulse in her neck. She’ll survive, if I can get her away from this wretched place.
“We need to cross back to the mortal realm,” I tell them. “The souls can reach the tear in the veil, but I don’t see Nahini’s horse and Aiden is in no shape to float us up to it. Any other suggestions?”
“Send a soul through the tear to alert the rest of your Hunt to your whereabouts,” The words come from Nahini’s brother. “Send me.”
I look up into him, the murderer who my third had sacrificed her life to stay near. He may not care whether the rest of us live or die, but he would do anything for his sister. “Go quickly. We’ll head inland, away from Wardon’s territory. Tell Freda to meet us there.”
He nods once and streaks into the sky like a comet going in reverse.
The Valkyrie I bound comes forth. “They are all dead or fleeing, my queen. Less the giant and the king. They escaped through a portal.”
I nod in acknowledgment then look about the blood-soaked beach. The fog has formed into ranks of the souls again, standing in perfectly ordered rows. Dead trolls and a few of the unluckier fey are scattered all around us. A shiver steals through me as I gaze upon the carnage. I ordered them to do this. Their blood is on my hands just as if I’d kill them myself.
One look at Aiden’s slumped form, Nahini’s gauntness and my heart hardens. It was them or us and if I had to choose over again, I would still choose us.
“We need to fashion some sort of sled, to carry them.” I nod to first Nahini, then Aiden.
Bard, back in his powerful lidless resting form nods toward the cave. “There might be something in there we can use, a door or some rope.”
“Help him,” I urge Harmony. She nods and then follows the shifter.
The souls of my victims surround me as I crouch beside Nahini. I sense their worry. Nahini is their caretaker, the living being who commands them but who also watches out for them. Some of the stronger or newer spirits can speak directly to me, but most are trapped into silent service. Even the dead need someone to care for them.
She is breathing, though I don’t like the greenish cast of her skin. Her pulse is light and quick and reminds me of a bird trapped in a cage, beating its wings in rapid succession. Aiden still isn’t waking up, still not responding to my mental probes. What had Wardon done to them?
Bard and Harmony appear, a heavy driftwood door dragged between them. Bard also has rope the color and texture of seaweed slung over one arm.
“Good to know Wardon stayed on theme even in his dungeon.” I quip and stand up before looking at Harmony. “Is it safe to move them?”
She nods. “They won’t die on an inland journey.”
I don’t like the way she phrases her response, but decided not to ask. Instead shifting my attention to the door. “That looks heavy.”
“I can handle it.” Bard says. He drops my backpack at my feet and then changes.
I watch as he shifts, becoming a large troll. After tying the seaweed rope to the door, he hoists it over his midsection so to drag the thing while Harmony and I load Nahini and Aiden on to the sled.
I pick up my pack, glad to have it in my possession once more. Something about its reassuring weight on my shoulder makes me feel as though I can face anything.
The sun is fully up by the time we find a smooth enough path inland for the sled. The terrain shifts from sand to rocks and clay, though it turns greener as we travel with larger trees and lush grass. No sign of a road or cars anywhere. It’s nature, wholly unspoiled.
“Is Wardon dead?” I ask as we make our way up a rolling hill, the last of the sea breeze at our backs.
Though I meant the question for Harmony it is Bard who answers. “No. I can still feel the throb of the blood oath. Whatever Angrboda has done to him, she hasn’t ended him yet.”
“I want a crack at him first.” I say, with another worried glance at my people. “Stop over that next rise. Let’s try and get some water into them.”
Bard pauses beneath a leafy oak. I crouch beside the sled and open my backpack. Sure enough, my metal water bottles are secured right up top. I lift one out, take a small sip, then crouch beside Nahini.
After a bit of coaxing she swallows the water. I check her pulse again. Still too light and fast for my liking, but at least it’s no worse.
I turn to Aiden, still in wolf form. How best to get him to drink? It’s not as though I can roll him onto his back and pour the liquid in and we don’t have enough on hand for trial and error.
I decide to try waking him again. He’ll need food as well as water for a rapid recovery.
I put a hand on his head and call his name. Once. Twice.
A green eye stares up at me, no sign of recognition.
There is nothing human in that gaze. Only the wolf.
I don’t have time to get out of the way before he lunges at me, going right for my throat.
****
I GET AN ARM UP A SECOND before his big fangs can sink into my jugular. The thick robe tears like wet paper beneath his onslaught, the flesh beneath it shredding. I hear Harmony’s cry and the pounding of great feet as Bard charges for us.
“No!” I shout. “Stay back. He’ll kill you.”
“And he won’t kill you?” Bard asks, though he does cease his charge.
I don’t bother answering him, my entire focus is for the wolf. For it is the wolf now, with Aiden nowhere in sight.
“Hey,” I say to the creature before he can lunge again. “Remember me? You know me?”
The only answer is a growl, low in the back of his throat. No hint of recognition in his leaf green eyes.
I try to gather my wits enough to contact him mentally, but nothing happens. It’s like bouncing a tennis ball off a brick wall.
“I’m not the one who hurt you.” I tell him, keeping my voice soft, unthreatening. I do my best to hide my terror, though it isn’t easy. I’ve faced off with the wolf before, though that time he’d been wearing a human body. I’ve touched the wolf before too, with Aiden in control. But with him standing over me, teeth bared and no traces of the man in sight, I can fully appreciate why the Vikings feared wolves.
“Let me change into you,” Bard suggests. “Confuse him and lure him away.”
“No,” I answer, not looking away from Aiden’s hypnotic stare. “He’ll know the difference, in scent at least.”
His growl intensifies. He should have stood down by now, seen that we are not a threat, even if Aiden isn’t in control. I shift slightly and he snaps at me, those massive jaws clicking shut inches from my face. A warning. Last time, the wolf had backed down when I held his gaze, because it recognized me as its mate. What am I doing wrong?
Another mistake could mean death.
My brain whirls frantically. Aiden had been taken, imprisoned and collared. He’d scolded me last time the wolf had taken over about holding his stare. Said his wolf might interpret the act as a challenge to his dominance.
Quickly I lowered my lids. Okay, he gets to win the staring contest. What else?
Submission. Though it goes against every fiber in my being, I need to demonstrate my submission. So, he knows I won’t challenge him.
My mouth is dry and I hold my breath and stretch my neck out, trying not to think of his teeth shredding the vulnerable skin there, piercing my jugular until I bleed out on the ground. A small whimper escapes and it isn’t part of my act.
The massive black head moves closer, until his nose presses against my skin. He sniffs. Then backs away.
I let out a breath on a whoosh of air and slowly, sit up. The wolf—it’s almost impossible to think of him as Aiden after the close call—lopes off toward the trees.
“Are you hurt, my queen?” Bard moves forward, Harmony half a step behind him. “Your arm.”
“It’s not bad,” I lie. Blood soaks the sleeve of the robe, turning it a brownish red. Gingerly, I push the sleeve up and stare at the punctured flesh. It could have been so much worse. The wolf could have torn the limb free and unlike him, I wouldn’t regenerate. I’d felt the strength in that powerful body.
With the adrenaline fleeing my system in the wake of the attack, the pain increases. “Get me the water bottle and my pack.”
Harmony does and helps me clean out the wound, smear my arm with antiseptic ointment and wrap it with gauze pads and more purple vet wrap. It’s the same color as her skin.
A half hysterical laugh escapes. It’s either laugh or cry at this point.
“My queen?” Bard prompts.
“I’m fine.” My gaze fixes on the spot where the wolf vanished into the woods. Did I just set a dangerous predator loose on the local population?
“Should we go after him?” Harmony sounds dubious.
I want to. I just got him back and don’t like Aiden being out of my sight when he’s not himself. But even with him right in front of me, I couldn’t get through to him. If we chase him and he turns on us, I might not be able to stop the wolf from hurting someone. And Aiden would be the one to suffer for it. Slowly, I shake my head. “No. We need to keep going. Aiden will find me, when he can.”
If he can.
