“I’m touched, Coren,” Kaippa whispered.
I sucked a breath, heart pounding. “Keep quiet, vamp. Unless you want your ticket out of here to plunge to her death.”
The bottom of the drop cell consisted of vines woven loosely from stone wall to stone wall. I couldn’t see Kaippa, but from his voice, I could tell he was nearby and leaning toward me.
“Oh, right.” I could feel Kaippa’s breath on my forehead as I worked the fae knife out of my belt. “You’re only saving me because you think my presence might be necessary back at the cursed castle, that the magic and its rules might decide to kill your precious Lucus if I’m not there. Who knows how the curse will work now that we’ve twisted it? Where is Lucus anyway? I would think someone with wings would be more suited to this task.”
A pounding came from the door. My foot slipped. Heart seizing, I gripped the cliff face with shaking fingers and pressed into the foot that still had a spot along the rock wall.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hekla move, most likely trying to see if I was about to perish in a really epic way. The breeze carried the scent of pines, and I wondered if Lucus would ever show or if he was trapped by Arleigh and Corliss.
A rough voice followed the pounding on the cell door. “Shut your mouth, prisoner. I’m hungry, and your tongue might make an interesting meal.”
Kaippa snorted, and the vines moved as he seemed to change positions.
With my foot tucked into a fissure a little too far away to be comfortable, I set the fae blade against one of the vines, then dragged the sharp, amber edge against the green growth.
Shrieking erupted from the vines, and I flattened myself against the rock face as they slithered away to crawl up the stone walls of Kaippa’s cell. His shout of surprise rose at the same time as a younger voice called out.
Oliver.
The vines drew completely away, and there was no floor.
“He’s hanging on!” Hekla called out from the slope. There was no use trying to be quiet about this now.
Kaippa flew from the bottom of his cell, his wings buffeting me as he passed by, heading for the next cell, for the Binder’s son. So Kaippa’s wings were functional. Good. I leaned back as much as I dared and saw small, thin legs dangling from the outcropping, but just as Kaippa swooped over to grab him, the boy dropped.
I screamed, my throat burning, my heart snapping, my fingers and toes shaking hard. Too hard. I was going to fall too. Adrenaline raced through me, making my head light. I did NOT want to die, damn it. I had so much more to do in life!
My foot slipped, then my fingers.
“Love you, Hekla!” I shouted as my body peeled away from the cliff face.
The world was a blur. I couldn’t think. I didn’t feel.
And then something hit me hard. But it wasn’t the ground.
Powerful, warm arms. The drop and lift of wingbeats. I blinked and saw Lucus’s face above me. And then there was a flash of darkness beside us—Kaippa flying toward Hekla’s spot on the slope, one tiny little boy lodged under an arm. I’d never been more grateful in my life.
“Nice catch,” I croaked out.
Lucus almost smiled as he set me down next to Hekla. My bestie was covered in glistening tears and probably a good bit of snot, and that was fine with me. I hugged the hell out of her before I spotted blood spatter on Lucus’s arm and neck.
“Don’t worry.” He glanced toward where the guards had been. “It’s theirs, not mine. They’re dead. Now, we need to get back to the feast before we’re found out.”
Hekla and Lucus—the gorgeous beings they were—bent to help me put my socks and boots back on, and I sobbed for a minute like a baby. But man, I dared anyone to deal with all of that and not have a good cry.
Kaippa knelt beside Oliver, who was dressed in a ragged tunic and looked like he hadn’t eaten in days. The vampire wiped the boy’s face with a thumb and studied what looked like a small cut.
Standing, Kaippa brushed himself off. “This little worm is fine. I’m not sure I care, but I enjoyed the challenge of catching him.”
I smiled shakily as Lucus helped me to stand on my wobbly legs. He pressed a quick kiss to my temple, his presence whirling around me like a sudden storm of desire.
“You are a brave fool, Coren, and I adore you, may the earth save me.”
My body seemed to suck some strength from his nearness, and I stood a little straighter. “I would tell you I adore you too, but it might seem fake considering you just saved my life. Again.”
“I don’t care about the reason. I only want your affections.”
Hekla was feeding Oliver something from her pocket. His eyes were as round as cereal bowls. He watched her like she was the most fascinating thing he’d ever seen. Maybe she was? I mean, how often had he come across a regular old human. Not that those with mage blood looked different from humans. I swallowed a bitter taste on the back of my tongue. I still wasn’t wild about thinking of myself as a non-human.
“We have to get back. How about Kaippa and Hekla keep a good watch on Oliver here while Lucus and I return to the feast? I can tell the Binder everything. Keep Oliver in that room where you changed, Hekla. Okay? It’s as safe as anywhere.”
Kaippa’s eyebrows lifted. “Which is to say nowhere is safe.”
“Correct.”
Lucus walked to a stream that ran behind a stand of sycamores. He washed the blood off himself as we all tidied ourselves up as best we could.
Lucus and I left first,
