Chapter Twenty-One

My eyelids opened, and I immediately regretted waking up. A dull ache pulsed in every bone in my body, and I let out a low moan, gasping for water.

“Elizabeth!”

Strong hands grasped my fingers. Finn hovered over me, his eyes bright and seeking.

“We’re alive…” I meant to say, but it just came out as a croak.

“Here, sit up.” He lifted me with his steady arm, and I leaned against him, breathing in his leathery smell. “Drink this.”

Bitter liquid hit my tongue, and I gagged.

“It’s disgusting, I know,” Finn said. “But it will help speed the healing. I could only do so much. You almost didn’t make it.”

I gulped it down, and Finn replaced my cup with some water.

“Thank you.” I glanced up at him, and he locked his arms around me, holding me close.

“Casualties?” I said.

“Marginal on our side, but we dealt a huge blow to the Fir Bolgs’ forces,” Finn said. “The plan was brilliant. You won the day.”

“We,” I said, taking hold of his hand. “We won it. All of us.”

Finn nodded solemnly, sitting back.

I let out a long exhale and closed my eyes for a moment. “I’ll need to meet with the commanders.”

Finn kissed the top of my head. “You need to rest. The wounds you suffered were massive.”

“Charlotte saved my life.” I looked away, studying the crystals in the wall, amethyst, smoky quartz glittering in the candlelight.

“I know,” Finn said. “I saw the whole thing. I couldn’t get to you in time.”

Silence stretched out between us, and I watched Finn’s chest rise and fall, matching his breathing with my own.

“We need to take Teamhair,” I said quietly. “It’s time. We need to destroy the device. Heal the universe.”

He reached over and smoothed my hair. “You need to heal. You’re not going anywhere in your state.”

Sleep tugged at my eyelids and a fresh wave of exhaustion overcame me. I fought it as long as I could, and then I knew no more.

When I woke up again, Finn was gone and the pain that had earlier gripped my body had all but disappeared. Night had fallen, and I sat up, taking long gulps of water from the pitcher beside my bed. I dressed myself, trying to move as little as possible, pushing back the waves of exhaustion tugging at my limbs. Eventually, I made my way to the council room, where, in spite of the heavy door guarding it, the sounds of shouts and passionate cries echoed through the caverns.

I walked inside and let out a long exhale at the bedlam greeting me. Fae stood on one side, Fianna and Druids on another, their shouting blending together in bursts of ear-splitting sound. Finn frowned in the corner but looked up when he spotted me, standing up straight. When he moved, a stab of rage pierced me. Charlotte sat beside him, studying her nails. I squashed the emotion, pushing it way down the elevator shaft of the darkest regions of my soul until it disappeared. I had to remain focused for what we needed to do next. And in the end, if Eamonn couldn’t figure out the secrets of the Fir Bolgs’ device, we would need her.

I took a deep breath, straightened my shoulders, and marched into the chamber. The shouting match quieted, and Amergin raised his hand, silencing the last of his fiery warriors.

“I’m glad you are all here,” I said, gazing across the room. Soft, beautiful Fae. Strong, hardened Fianna. Intelligent Druids. We had done it. Come together as Trinity as we had never done before. A true alliance, and now we would steer the universe from the brink of destruction…if they could all be quiet for five fucking minutes.

“The attack on the Fir Bolgs weakened their forces,” I continued. “Gather supplies, weapons. We will leave for Teamhair at dawn and take the castle.”

“A full assault?” Amergin interjected. “How is that wise?”

I didn’t need an assault. I needed a distraction, but I couldn’t reveal that. Not until the very moment I slipped into the castle to stop Thornton and steal the device. I couldn’t literally be two places at once, but with a little Druid magic, I might be able to buy us some time.

“We cannot simply take a castle. A castle guarded to the teeth by soldiers with weapons that can pierce our immortality. We must be smarter. This is ludicrous,” Amergin objected.

Finn bolted to standing, his chair rattling. “Are you going to hear out Elizabeth’s plan, or are you going to insist on mansplaining for the rest of the day?”

Amergin spluttered. “Mansplaining?”

“Yes. Mansplaining.” Finn puffed out his chest and glared at the bard. “It’s when a man attempts to explain something to a woman about a subject in which she is richly versed and experienced. There is no one who understands this foe better than Elizabeth, so I suggest you sit down, hear out her plan, and wait for the Q&A period after.”

Amergin blinked, his mouth opening and closing like a fish on a hook.

Finn grabbed the pommel of his sword, unsheathing it an inch. “Sit. Down.”

And by some miracle, Amergin did.

“Okay, so as I was saying…” My voice shook for a moment, and I swallowed hard, starting again. Moving pieces across a makeshift map of Teamhair, I walked everyone through their positions. Malachy had filled me in on the weak spots in Teamhair’s walls, and after the ward came down, Druid fire and a dragan attack would keep the Fir Bolgs busy, hopefully busy enough for me to get in the castle, free Grainne, take out Thornton, and destroy the device. Thornton would be heavily guarded, but it would be nothing I couldn’t handle— I hoped. It was me they wanted. And I would bring myself to them.

The Druids and Fae all marched off, whispering to each other. Finn and Charlotte remained in the empty room. Charlotte crossed and uncrossed her legs, fidgeting with the edge of her shirt.

“Finn,” I said. “Go see to Eamonn. I need to know where he is with everything.”

“I—”

I raised my hand. “Please. I need to talk to Charlotte. Alone.”

He nodded then slipped out of the chamber.

I studied Charlotte. Of course Finn would have fallen in love with her long ago. So calm and collected. Even in these rugged quarters, she peered up at me as if she were staring out from the cover of Vogue. I wanted to hate her, but the only person I raged at was myself. Disgusted by my own jealousy. My fear of her. I fought armies, traveled across time and space for Finn, and now it all seemed so tenuous. Love. Perhaps that was fleeting, too. “You seemed to have made yourself at home,” I said.

She bowed her head. “The Fae are very hospitable.”

“Do you think about that before you torture them?”

Charlotte shook her head. “I was never a part of that.”

“And yet, you were there,” I said. “In that secret facility, earning my trust, culling my secrets.”

“I was.” She stared at the floor before looking at me. “But mostly, I took care of my family. Did accounts. I was no more than a glorified secretary.”

“I’ve heard the Nazis also had very good secretaries.”

She frowned. “You speak so confidently about the past for one so young. I lived through German occupation. You want to think it’s all so simple, but it isn’t. War never is.”

“You are at war with my people. And that makes you my enemy.”

Her features remained smooth as glass, but I swear I saw her lips twitch. She was testing me, forcing me to show my hand.

“You keep speaking about ‘your family.’” I sat down on a hollow in the cave, smoothing my hand over the stone. “Who are they?”

Charlotte smiled and wandered over to the strategy table, playing with the tiny wooden blocks. “Trinity has its own magical races, but there are other secret societies all across the world. Eastern Europe, China…America. Some have infiltrated into the highest offices of the land. My father is a part of an ancient tradition that came from the old country, and our family has been in the government for generations, manipulating things behind the scenes.”

“So why come over to the Fianna?” I asked.

“Amergin recruited me,” she replied. “Perhaps I had that Celtic warrior blood running somewhere within my veins, and it called to him. I wanted to escape my father, the hold he had on me. In any case, I wasn’t long in their order before I met Finn.”

“And yet, you turned your back on him.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I had to. To protect him. My father would have destroyed him. I renounced him to spare his life.”

I raised my hands. “Save it.”

She sighed. “I don’t expect you to believe me.”

“Good, because I don’t.” I wandered over to the strategy table, wiping away the blocks and placing one at Teamhair.

“So why does your family want to help the American government pull off this mission? Why separate the worlds?”

She paused for a moment, as if to choose her words carefully. “My family believes the Fae possess far too much power. All of Trinity does. With Tír na nÓg out of the picture, their interests can only continue to rise.”

I folded my arms and leaned against the edge of the table. “Do you think Thornton can do it? Create a portal into Mag Mell?”

“Thornton has the kind of magic to enter Mag Mell, to seek out the Tree of Life. Once he breaks into that magical plane, the Fir Bolgs will use the bomb to sever ties with this dimension.” She shrugged. “Like cutting off a tree limb, basically.”

I hated her nonchalance, the unfeeling way she ticked down the secrets to the Fir Bolgs’ plan. At any moment, Thornton could break through into Mag Mell, allowing the Fir Bolgs inside that magical plane. He said he needed me, but that could have been just bait. He had tried to use me before, though, and I had thwarted his efforts. Perhaps I could do it again. But how?

“Tell me how to dismantle the device,” I said.

“You will kill me the instant I reveal it to you,” she snapped back.

“I won’t. I give you my word.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Your word isn’t good enough. I want something else.”

My blood turned to ice, and my shoulders tensed. A sick feeling overcame me, and I pushed down the quickening fear in my stomach. “What do you want, Charlotte?”

She wandered toward me, her clear blue eyes never leaving my face. She towered over me, but I stood firm, my hand itching for my spear.

“I want Finn.”

“Finn is his own person. I can’t give him to you like a car or a watch.”

“Forsake him.” Charlotte’s lips stretched across her small teeth in a grimace. “Give him up. Tell him you don’t love him anymore.”

“You’re disgusting,” I hissed.

“I made a mistake!” she cried out, her eyes shimmering. “I should have been stronger against my father. I should have returned to Finn, but I was scared and alone. He is my husband, and he belongs to me.”

“I won’t do this.”

She backed away. “Then you don’t get the plans. Then all of us die.”

“Are you insane?” Rage bellowed up through my chest, my throat tightening. “Whatever you and the Fir Bolgs planned, the universe is about to break apart. If you loved Finn, if you loved anyone beside yourself, you would help us. You would give us the plans.”

“Never,” she said. “Not unless you give him up.”

“No,” I shouted.

I barely had time to react before two glints of steel flashed in her palms. Raising my hands and summoning my powers, I stopped time, allowing myself a moment to dodge a knife and sending the second blade racing back toward her shoulder. Her eyes bulging, she ducked just in time, but not before it slashed her shirt.

She glared at the trickle of red staining the coarse fabric. “You have many interesting tricks, Elizabeth Tanner. But I was raised in a dojo under the tutelage of the samurai of Japan. You don’t frighten me.”

Power built in my fingertips, my body shaking with energy. “I don’t give a shit where you grew up. I just need you to dismantle a bomb, and then you’re free to crawl back under whatever rock you came from.”

“And if I refuse?” Her gaze shifted to the small knife three feet away.

Before she could move an inch, I blasted her with the full force of my power, holding her still as a statue. “You don’t get to refuse. You do as I say, or I destroy you.”

“I’d like to see you try, Aisling,” she said through gritted teeth.

With a deep breath, I closed my eyes, pulling at the threads of my power, twisting it around and around her arms like the silk of a spiderweb. It was so easy to split it, control the skin, the muscles and sinew. I gave in to one single tug with my mind, pulling until Charlotte screamed. A corrupt darkness took hold of me, the answers to the plans so close in the sounds of her shrieking, and with each scream, her terror expanded my power. I reveled in it.

“Elizabeth!”

Finn’s voice broke my concentration, and I staggered, my eyes fluttering open. Oh, fuck.

Charlotte fell to her knees, shaking and crying.

“Jesus,” I whispered, stepping back, rubbing my hands down my arms, my chest, wishing I could wash off the darkness that had overcome me, but it crept under my skin like a poison, eating away at my insides. Nausea gripped me, and I grasped onto the wall of the cave, panting.

Finn grabbed my elbow. “What are you doing?”

Charlotte scrambled to her feet. “Is this what you want, Finn? This psychopath? This torturer?”

I shoved my hands behind my back as if I could hide what I had done. How could I have allowed myself to sink so low? Did I really hate Charlotte so much? And where had such hatred come from? Her betrayal? Her bond to Finn? My desperation to save the world?

It didn’t matter. No one deserved what I had done, but the power had been so seductive, and I’d given in to it as surely as I would hold out my cup for more wine. It had poured into me so easily. Shrugging back my shoulders, I pointed at Charlotte.

“Take her to Eamonn.” I swallowed hard. “She will help him.”

Charlotte leveled me with a hard stare.

“She will help him,” I said in a quieter voice, and I gave her a small, meaningful nod. In that moment, I decided to let Finn go. Not forsake him. Not give him to Charlotte. But I wouldn’t beg. I wouldn’t cry or plead for him to stay. And after the war, after we had won, Finn could decide which oath mattered more to him. Marriage or love. The Fianna or the new world to come.

I refused to look at him as I left the room, walking calmly outside the caverns even though every nerve in my body screamed at me to run. Run. Keep running and never look back. Instead, I forced my limbs to stop shaking, pausing for a moment. I took a deep breath and gazed over the organized chaos sprawling in front of me. Fae, Fianna, and Druids working together, creating supply lines, cleaning weapons, stacking them in crates for transportation. Soon. Soon we would all stand together on the fields before Teamhair, coordinated to a common purpose—to save the world. I stared up at the broken sky above and thought of Danu and Bel. I had to bring them together somehow, save them from the threat of the Fir Bolgs, the threat of the Morrígan, the threat of chaos and darkness. It was bigger than Charlotte. Bigger than Finn. It meant the future of everything.

I found Una training with the other handmaidens, Aodhan watching over her, his arms crossed, a slight smile on his face. I lingered behind a tree, studying her patient movements as she slowly demonstrated a parrying technique. She had taken well to sword fighting, and I barely recognized her beneath her leather armor. Her jaw was set as she studied her students’ movements, and she nodded as the handmaiden completed the form, giving praise and suggestions for improvement. Her confidence had grown since coming here, since meeting Aodhan, and my heart ached for her and the quiet strength she possessed. She was not the woman I had met so long ago. But then again, none of us were.

“Nice work, Una,” I interrupted.

Una didn’t falter. She finished the form, parrying an attack.

“Something Aodhan taught me.” She winked at him, and he uncrossed his arms when he spotted me.

“Your Highness,” he said with a bow.

“I take it the Fae are all in order for our attack?” I asked.

He paled, glancing at Una.

I slapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. I know you have everything under control.”

Aodhan relaxed his shoulders, but his gaze grew serious. “Your Highness, are you sure you want to take a stand at Teamhair? We have other options…”

“I know,” I said. “You’ve schooled me well in them. Now, I need you to trust me.”

He let out a low exhale. “As you wish.”

We discussed a few more details about the attack, and then he gave us each a graceful bow and disappeared toward the camp.

I turned to Una, whose smile faltered as Aodhan walked away. She sheathed her weapon, picking up various battle gear and training weapons from the ground.

“I need to talk to you,” I said, picking up a random training sword and glancing around the grounds. “Privately.”

She furrowed her brow. The handmaidens were my most trusted inner circle, and we tended to do everything together as a team. Una waved the women away, and the two of us wandered from the clearing into the woods and toward the spring.

“What is it?” She pivoted on her heel, the late summer breeze lifting strands of her hair away from her face. The sun illuminated the long locks, turning them honey gold.

“I need to ask something of you, but it’s dangerous,” I said with a long exhale.

“Whatever you need. You know that.”

“I know.” I swallowed hard. “But this is beyond anything I could ever ask of anyone.”

Una narrowed her eyes at me. “Out with it.”

“The attack on Teamhair. It’s not an attack, not really. Mostly, it’s a distraction.”

She nodded slowly. “A distraction so you can take the castle.”

“Yes,” I said. “As you recall, there’s a spell, Eamonn can—”

“You need me to be disguised as you,” she said. “I can do that.”

My throat tightened. “It’s so dangerous. The Fir Bolgs will be after you. You’ll be a target. I just don’t see another way.”

“I will do it.” Her hand shot out and grabbed mine, gripping it tight. “I will fight for you. It has always been our destiny. We have always been on the frontlines, but now I know what we’re fighting for.”

“And what’s that?”

“Friendship.” She pulled me into an embrace. “Love.”

Tears threatened to fall, and I sniffed hard, willing them not to escape.

“I think I’ve lost him, Una.”

She leaned away, her eyes wide. “You’re not talking about that Fir Bolg lackey Charlotte.”

I snorted, the tears falling freely now. “Yeah. She…and…Finn…they’re married. They’re to be together. I can’t stop her. I can’t. There’s too much at stake.”

“Oh, really?” She pursed her lips and shook her head. “Let me tell you something about immortality. It’s a long fucking time.”

I let out a barking laugh. I had no idea Una had even the physical capacity to curse. Probably a bad habit she picked up from me.

She stroked my cheek, her touch cool and soothing. “She had every chance to return to him, but she didn’t. She’s been telling everyone who will listen that she had no choice, that her father had vowed to destroy Finn if she returned to him. I don’t believe that for a second, and even if it were true, it makes her a coward.”

“Okay, okay. You’re right.”

“Finn has to work through this. It’s who the man is, and you know that. But I do know one thing…” She took a deep breath and stared at me, her brown eyes bottomless and full of emotion. “The two of you were meant to be together. He may return to this mystery woman or not, but no matter what happens, he will always find his way back to you. Some things are fated. Some kinds of love are stronger than destiny. It’s not even what’s meant to be. It’s simply what is. Like air. Like the sky. Like the stars. These things cannot be changed.”

“And you and Aodhan?” I countered.

She wandered toward the pool and dipped her fingers into the clear water, creating concentric circles, her reflection rippling out in infinite waves. “Perhaps. You know as well as I do love is difficult after certain…experiences.”

“You’re afraid.” I said it, not as an accusation, but as one former prisoner to another. We both had cages we rattled against.

“I’ve been afraid. But not anymore. And that is why I need to fight. Because it may be the last thing I do on this Earth, and perhaps someday, others might be free.”

I sat down beside her, staring into the pool. The Fae believed anyone who drank from it would develop lycanthropy, but so far that hadn’t happened after we swam or waded in it. I wondered if our kids would come out as wolves.

I grasped at my belly. Kids. When was my previous depo shot? Jesus, the last time I traveled across into the mortal realm, I beamed myself up into a Planned Parenthood, leather armor and all, and had them poke that anti-baby juice into my butt. The Faerie Realm had many treasures, but free and accessible reproductive health care for women wasn’t one of them. My memory was hazy with time traveling and all. I would need to go again soon. I let out a snort. But why? No one was getting laid around here.

“I need to get ready,” Una said, interrupting my thoughts. “I won’t tell Aodhan what you have planned, but I need to see him. One last time.”

I placed a hand on her shoulder. “It won’t be the last.”

“Una!” a female voice shrieked.

Across from the pool stood Máirtín and Regina. Regina’s face appeared stark white, and Máirtín gripped her hand, pulling her away from the water. She slipped his grasp and, tearing off her pistol, dove into the water straight for Una.

Una’s lip trembled, her shoulders shaking, and she let out a small, gasping cry like a small animal.

“Regina?” she whispered, her head tilted in disbelief.

Una tore through the pools, splashing everywhere, nearly tackling Regina as she shrieked, the sound so visceral, it made my insides ache. I locked eyes with Máirtín, and he shrugged.

Mascara-stained tears tracked down Regina’s cheeks. “You’re alive! How did you—”

“I was taken by the Fomorians,” Una cried, her knuckles white as she clung to Regina’s shoulders. “They enslaved me. They—”

“Are you all right?” Regina peered across Una’s compact form, searching for invisible hurts. “How did you escape?”

“It was Elizabeth.” Una glanced over her shoulder at me. “She saved me. She saved all of us.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but Regina released Una and trudged to the shore, throwing herself to the ground in front of me.

“You have saved my beloved sister from the Fae scourge who stole her away from me so many years ago. I thought she was lost to them forever, but you brought her back.” She looked up at me, her big brown eyes rimmed with red. “I owe you a life debt.”

I almost laughed, feeling the intense weight of her stare. Regina and Una—sisters. It explained so much. Regina’s hatred for the Fae, Una’s fighting spirit. Warmth seeped into my limbs, and I smiled at Máirtín as he balanced on the rocks, making his way to the other side of the pool. He stood back, hands clasped, his gaze peaceful as Regina and Una kneeled together, chatting away in Irish Gaelic, laughing and crying. This reunion—so brief, so fleeting. I wanted to throw a ward over them to keep them safe, but I peered up at the bleeding sky, the hole growing bigger and more threatening.

“Regina,” I said softly. “I need you.”

Una stopped midsentence, her face growing solemn. She locked eyes with me and nodded, understanding what I needed, understanding what would come next. With Regina close to Una, both of them could likely perish beneath the Fir Bolgs’ fire.

“I will do anything,” Regina said, her eyes flitting to Máirtín who frowned.

“I can’t force you,” I said. “What I ask of you is beyond the call.”

“If it involves my sister”—she grasped Una’s hand, and the two of them rose—“I will be by her side. I will fight by her side.”

I gave her a weary smile. “Thank you,” I whispered.

The three of them wandered off, Regina and Una talking a mile a minute with a dazed Máirtín tagging behind them. My focus returned to the spring, staring at my rippling reflection. My to-do list unspooled through my mind a mile long, and yet, all I wanted was to remain by the pools, close my eyes, and listen to the wind. Autumn was coming soon, and small tips of yellow and orange dappled the edges of the leaves like tiny curling flames. Fall was always my favorite time of year. The crisp wind in my lungs, the far-off scent of wood smoke, the fuzzy texture of a wool sweater against my neck, school starting again. I had met Finn around this time of year.

Finn.

Everything came back to him somehow, and that needed to end. Perhaps Una was right. About destiny.

A single leaf fell into the pool, marring its pristine surface. The breeze picked up, and another fell. And another. I couldn’t spend my last hours wondering about our fate. I would live my life, save my friends, save the world, and continue on, because regardless of what was written in the stars, I had come to discover my own strength and my own sense of worth. I could find happiness in that knowledge.

I let out a weary sigh. All I wanted to do was collapse onto my mat, but I needed to find Malachy and go over the layout and defenses of Teamhair one last time. I wandered back into the woods, but as I approached the caves, I overheard strong voices.

I sidled behind a large oak tree and immediately rolled my eyes. Finn and Charlotte stood nose-to-nose in the midst of a heated argument. I turned to leave, but the sound of my name on Charlotte’s lips made me pause.

“Elizabeth is going to lead you all to your deaths,” Charlotte hissed. “She’s rash, untrained, and quite frankly, not a good commander.”

Finn’s face turned a lethal shade of red. “Elizabeth has taken this army from a ragtag band of Fae and transformed it to a fighting force with powerful alliances. Don’t underestimate her.”

A small smile crept across my lips, and I gripped the bark of the tree, leaning forward.

“I know exactly what she is capable of.” Charlotte raised her haughty chin, her eyelashes batting furiously. “My people studied her abilities. She has weaknesses.”

“We all have our weaknesses,” Finn said in a low voice.

“And you are her greatest one,” Charlotte snapped then stepped forward, her tense shoulders softening. “You should be leading the battle. Why do you stand behind her so? You have the skills to lead.”

“But she has the love of the Fae, and this is their war,” he replied.

“So, why are we here?”

Finn gestured to the bruised and broken sky. “Because if we do not fight, all of us are lost. And it is because of you, you and the Fir Bolgs and their American allies. You brought this fate upon us.”

“I didn’t want any of this,” Charlotte pleaded. “I swear to you. I didn’t think they would take it this far.”

“I want to believe you,” Finn said. “But I cannot.”

“Finn, please!”

He paused, staring at her, his eyes narrowing into two dark slits. “You died, Charlotte. I mourned you. I was in hell. My life was agony without you, but you did not return. Even when you could have. You made your choice. Now I have to make mine.”

He turned to leave, but she grabbed his elbow.

“What does that mean?” Her voice sounded shrill, and it echoed through the forest.

He wrenched away. “Neither of us are Fianna anymore. Perhaps you never were. The marriage rules no longer apply. I am divorcing you, Charlotte. When this battle is over, you and I are no more.”

“Oh, and you think Elizabeth will take you back?” Charlotte let out a thin laugh.

Finn shook his head and stared up at the sky. “It does not matter. I love her. And I would rather spend the rest of eternity alone than spend one more day living another lie with you.”

Charlotte’s mouth opened in a comical “O,” her clear eyes blinking hard as Finn disappeared into the forest. I stared at her for a moment, taking in the shifting muscles of her face as her shock turned to disgust and then rage. With a strangled cry, she kicked at the dirt then turned on her heel and raced after him.

My heart pounded, and I leaned against the tree, gasping for breath. I had told Charlotte I would leave Finn alone to let him choose. Would she still help us? I had to make sure. I took off running, finding her in front of the caves, talking with Amergin.

“Charlotte,” I said, interrupting their conversation. “Why aren’t you with Eamonn?”

“I told him what I knew,” she replied. “Now the Druid needs to sort it out.”

“Sort what out?” Amergin inquired, his Norman nose raised in the air.

I grabbed Charlotte’s arm and dragged her inside, ignoring him. “We’re paying the Druid a visit. I want you to walk me through the plans.”

She wrenched her arm away. “Finn has refused me.”

“That’s not my problem,” I said, gesturing toward Eamonn’s laboratory. “I made you a promise. You need to keep yours.”

She muttered something and whipped her blond hair over her shoulder, then stepped into the chamber.

Eamonn stood staring at a piece of large parchment tacked to the wall. I didn’t recognize his writing scribbled across it, the figures and letters tiny and unrecognizable.

“What is that?” I said, pointing to the paper.

Eamonn startled, dropping the quill in his hand. Deep circles dragged beneath his red-rimmed eyes, his hair blown back and wilder than usual, his robes wrinkled and stained. “I…”

I glanced at Charlotte and back to him. “Are these plans correct?”

Eamonn nodded. “I cannot say, but the magic is there. I thought it was the Morrígan who fueled the device, but it’s a much deeper magic. Deeper than even Danu or Bel’s.”

“And what’s that?”

Eamonn swallowed, running his hand across the stubble on his beard. “Before the Fae, the Druids, and the Fianna. Before the humans. Before anyone else, there was The Green Man.”

My heart skipped, my thoughts returning to the face in the tree that led me to Bel, that led me straight to the Tree of Life.

“The Green Man is an extension of The Tree of Life,” Eamonn continued. “The Father of all. It makes sense the Fir Bolgs would summon that magic to destroy us. There is nothing more powerful.”

“So how do we stop it?” I asked, whirling on Charlotte. “What destroys it?”

Charlotte shook her head. “You can’t destroy it.”

I bit the inside of my cheek, my fingers itching to gouge her eyes out. Instead, I forced my voice to remain calm. “So what do you propose?”

She wandered over to the drawing, pointing out different symbols. “This is the last phase of the device before it ignites. It is written in the Fir Bolgs’ language, the language of the First Men, the Fae closest in line to The Green Man and the spell that can summon his power.”

I studied the figures, which didn’t look like a language at all, but a series of symbols at the end of spokes on a strange wheel.

“They don’t write in a linear way,” Charlotte noted with an air of condescension. “Their language is circular, their stories moving ever outward. Press these symbols”—she pointed to four different symbols—“and the device will stop its march toward destruction.”

My gaze shifted to Eamonn. “Do you think she’s telling the truth?”

He shook his head sadly. “I don’t know. I have tried to configure so many different spells, but nothing makes sense. All I can think about is…” His voice shook and broke, and he turned toward the wall.

I walked toward him and pressed my hand to his shoulder. “I know she’s still alive. We’re going to get her.”

“But the attack…?”

I glanced back at Charlotte. “Go find Finn or Amergin and make yourself useful,” I said.

Charlotte left the room, and I edged toward Eamonn. “I won’t be leading the attack.”

“But who…?”

I explained to him quickly. “Una will be taking my place. I’ll need you to glamour her so I can get Grainne, find the device, and destroy it.”

His brows furrowed. “I don’t trust Charlotte. I knew her, you know, from before. I would see her and Finn at Trinity functions. She looks the same, talks the same, but it’s so different now.” His fingers traced the symbols she had pointed out. “It can’t be that simple. Green Man magic. It’s not something I would mess with.”

I leveled the Druid with a heavy stare. “What do you think? Not what Charlotte says. What you think.”

“The Fir Bolgs paid a heavy price for this magic.” He traced another symbol. “But there’s a deeper story here, a prophecy, you might say.”

“A prophecy?”

He pointed to a strange symbol on the left. “The Fir Bolgs talk of the Earth and the sun, Danu and Bel, respectively. You can see them in the story here, diametrically opposed. The Green Man is this vertical line, here.” His fingers trailed up and down. “If this is the Tree of Life, this symbol down here…” Eamonn frowned.

“What?”

“It doesn’t make sense.” He shook his head. “A child? A baby? Rebirth? I can’t figure it out.”

My hand instinctively went to my belly, a queasy feeling overwhelming me. Just nerves. Just an upset stomach.

“What does it mean?” I asked.

“It’s not that I think Charlotte is lying…” Eamonn massaged the space between his temples. “But I don’t think she’s telling the full truth, either.” He turned toward the table and lifted up a vial. “I have this, if nothing else.”

“What is it?”

His face darkened. “It’s stable now, but if I mix it with the Morrígan blood, it will destroy the device. It’s just that…”

“Out with it.”

His hand shook, and he set the vial down. “It will also destroy anyone or anything in a three-mile radius.”

My chest tightened. A suicide mission. “If it comes to that, I’ll do it. Just… Don’t tell Finn.” Tears threatened to fall. “I’ll teleport out of the castle and take care of it.”

“There are other people who are capable,” Eamonn pressed. “Fae who would gladly give their lives.”

“No. I couldn’t ask it of anyone. It has to be me.”

We stood there in silence for several minutes, and finally I nodded, folding the vials into a slip of leather and tucking it into a pocket for safekeeping.

“You did well, Eamonn,” I said before turning out of the laboratory, waiting until I turned the corner to wipe the tears from my eyes. Pushing them back, I searched the caves for Malachy to go over details about Teamhair and the guard, but someone mentioned he went hunting with Talia. I cursed, about to go back into the cave to catch a few hours of sleep, when a hand clapped on my shoulder and pulled me close.

“I have looked all over for you,” Finn whispered in my ear.

Instinctively, I drew back. A disappointed look crossed his face, and my hand ached to reach up and soothe him, but I resisted.

“Where have you been?” Finn asked.

“I need to talk to you.” I spied Charlotte glaring at us from across the cave, perched by Amergin, who continued to talk with her with wild, impassioned gestures. “Not here…”

I led him out into a clearing far from the caves. When I was certain we had walked far enough and no one could hear us, I planted my fists on my hips and took in a deep breath. “I need you to take back what you said to Charlotte.”

Finn’s face screwed up in a question mark.

“I mean, I heard you. The two of you. I shouldn’t have eavesdropped, but I did and”—I massaged the back of my neck, my pulse racing—“You said you wanted to divorce her.”

“I did.”

“I need you to change your mind.”

“What are you talking about?” Finn hissed.

“She wants you,” I replied. “And she told me if I let you go, she would tell us how to destroy the device.”

Finn frowned. “But she and Eamonn—”

“I don’t think she’s telling us the whole truth,” I said. “I need to be sure.”

Because otherwise, I’ll be the one detonating the device.

But I couldn’t tell Finn that was plan B. He would step in and be all noble, and there would be no way I could talk him out of it.

Finn took hold of my shoulders, his fingers digging into my skin. “I don’t love her, Elizabeth.”

“I know,” I said, resting my palms over his and prying him away. “I need you to pretend. For now. For us.” I gestured to the sky. “Until I can fix this.”

“But what if it can’t be fixed?” Finn said, his voice low and gravelly. “What if tonight is all we have?”

I ran my hand down his arm, my thumb tracing the smooth muscles rippling up toward his shoulders. “Then it’s all we have.”

I pulled him toward a large tree and pushed him against the bark, my hands searching under his tunic, under the waist of his trousers. A chill swept through the trees, but heat flooded my chest, my face as I pressed my lips to his neck, tracing my teeth along the taut tendons down to his collarbone. My tongue tasted sweat, desire, fear. I kissed his full lips, pulling his shirt over his head, running my palms against his smooth skin. I reached down and took hold of him, clutching tight against his thickness. His body was a furnace, and he groaned as I tugged harder, running my thumb over his tiny opening and coating his tip with the slippery essence. My own thighs drenched, I wanted him fast, hard, ready.

What if this really was it? The last night of the universe? What if the Fir Bolgs succeeded? What if Charlotte had deceived us all? I shoved all my questions away, focusing on Finn, the pure primal call of his body to mine.

I bit down on his shoulder, and Finn gasped, crushing me against his chest and thrusting toward my belly. I let go for a moment, and his fingers grasped for my tunic, my trousers.

“Do you want me, Elizabeth?” he whispered hot and wet in my ear.

“All I want is you,” I said, taking short breaths with deep gulps as his fingers pressed against my sex. “Forever.”

The word felt like a prayer, our bodies hovering, positioned in the darkness like our own private sacrament. He slipped a finger inside of me, and my knees buckled, his other hand grabbing my ass to lift me up against his cock. Another finger entered my opening, and I pulsed against him with a slow, languid movement, hard cock, thick fingers pressing against my mound, fingertips unfolding me like a flower. I felt the edge of an orgasm, the fire building, and Finn let go, hitching me up against his waist only to lay me down again in the cool grass and the soft earth. My tunic disappeared, my boots and trousers vanished. I shivered in the cold, the tall pines shifting above and whispering softly as beyond that, the sky threatened to explode. And there we were. In love. All we could do was hold on to each other as the world was falling apart.

Finn’s palm pushed me down, his fingers clutched on my shoulder as he guided himself into me. I knew him, knew every inch of his body, but life began again as he thrust himself deep once, and then once more. It was like tasting the apple from the tree of knowledge, discovering a new language written in my body, somewhere quiet, the quietest part of me, a place I could study it, him, me, us.

“I love you,” he whispered, kissing the side of my neck. “Grá go deo.”

Forever love.

I grasped his hips, forcing him farther inside, and he lingered there at the boundary of my womb, his back arched, his arms like two pillars, closing me in as he opened me. I shut my eyes, lifting my hips to meet him, and a rush of pleasure and pain shattered across the backs of my eyelids, pure ecstasy wrapping me in a bed of fire only, like a phoenix, to emerge renewed again. I panted, pressing urgent, hungry kisses against his chest as he collapsed, his weight delicious, overwhelming in a way that completed me.

As his breathing slowed and his shoulders shook with the end of his desire, I stretched my arm against his broad back, tilting my hips up one last time to take the last of his orgasm. Finally, he slipped out of me and clutched me close. I nestled my forehead in the hollow of his shoulder, resting my hand on his hard abdomen, watching my palm rise and fall.

“I will always love you,” he said in my ear, his breath so soft.

I sat up, leaning over him, my hair falling all around us. “We will get through tomorrow. We will take Teamhair, save the world. We will do this. No matter what we have to sacrifice, we will win.”

He swept his hand across my hair, twisting it over my shoulder. “I don’t want to win if it means losing you.”

“It’s temporary,” I said, the words ringing hollow in my ears. Everything was temporary, this world, Finn and me. A suspicion arose deep in my belly. I was late. Very late. I couldn’t wave away what I suspected. I carried Finn’s child. I opened my mouth to tell him, but instead I turned away. It would be one more tether to me, a tether when I needed him free, needed him to get close to Charlotte, give her an incentive to tell the truth.

“You must go to her,” I said, running my hands against his neck, taking in the sensation of his skin against my fingers. “I need you to pretend, if only a little while.”

“I don’t want this.”

“We’re all beyond wanting now,” I said, glancing up at the sky. “We must make this right.”

He nodded, pulling on his shirt, his trousers. We dressed silently, the heights of our lovemaking collapsing into quiet movements in the dark. We stood up at the same time, our bodies so close. Finn took hold of my shoulders and pressed a kiss on the crown of my head.

“Go to her now,” I whispered.

He took in a deep breath. “For tomorrow,” he said.

“For tomorrow.”