Rafe raised an eyebrow. “Your fae prince doesn’t look like he needs any help.”
Just then, another growl sounded behind us.
My spine went rigid and I spun around. A whole pack of gorgoths had started to emerge from the trees behind us.
Rafe lifted his brows. “Friends of yours?”
“We’ve met before.” I shot a dark look at him as I readied myself to meet them, my heart beating erratically. I wished I had my fae senses, strength, and magic that could take down a bunch of gorgoths in one blow. But I didn’t. I was no longer a match for them, and whoever sent them knew that.
I remembered how the last bunch of gorgoths had managed to defeat Tristan and my palms started to sweat.
“Go for the wings,” I shouted to Rafe as I raised my sword. The gorgoths attacked. “Once they are down, cut off their heads—it’s the only way to kill them.”
“Good to know,” Rafe muttered, slashing his sword and injuring one gorgoth as another flew at him from the trees.
I gathered my magic and blasted the gorgoth with everything I had. The blast managed to push away the gorgoth from Rafe. I raised my sword and slashed at it, tightening my grip on Dawn as I ran forward, slashing through another gorgoth’s wing and making my way closer to Rafe.
The gorgoths now turned their attention on Rafe and me. They were advancing on us from all sides. Without my fae powers I could not kill them; mage magic could not kill gorgoths like fae magic.
“Aurora!” Kalen shouted, finally noticing us.
He pushed himself up and ran toward the gorgoths. Among all the confusion I noticed something was different about him—he moved faster than I had ever seen him move before. Kalen’s violet eyes flashed silver, and dark shadows started to form in his hands as he ran, snaking out from his fingertips. I stifled a gasp as he reached out his hand and one of the shadows uncoiled like a snake, wrapping itself like a noose around the closest gorgoth’s neck. It sank to the ground, struggling and thrashing in its deathly bonds.
Searing pain slashed across my back as a gorgoth took advantage of my distracted state. I screamed as I fell to the ground, and the gorgoth pounced on me. There was a time when my magic could have killed all of them, but now I couldn’t even get one gorgoth off me.
“Aurora!” Rafe shouted, and slashed the gorgoth’s wing with his sword, kicking it away from me.
It sank to the ground, its eyes glazed over.
I pushed myself to my knees and looked at his sword; it was glowing with a faint silvery sheen. Dwarven-made, I thought, just like my own sword, Dawn, that Rafe had given me what felt like a lifetime ago.
A gorgoth loomed behind Rafe. Without thinking, I pulled out the dagger from my boot and flung it straight at the creature. It buried itself in its chest, and the monster staggered back. Rafe turned swiftly, raising his sword and severing the gorgoth’s head from its body.
He held out his hand to pull me to my feet. “Your sword and dagger skills have improved considerably,” he said unexpectedly, glancing over at Tristan. “I suspect a certain fae prince might have had something to do with that.”
I couldn’t help but smile and nod. My attention turned to Tristan, who stood with a pile of severed gorgoth heads at his feet. His twin swords blazed with silver fire in his hands, and his dark hair framed his face as his stormy midnight-blue eyes glittered with silver sparks. He looked like an avenging angel, like when I first saw him in Brandor when he saved me from the Drakaar. And in that moment, even with Rafe standing beside me, a part of me was proud to be Tristan’s betrothed.
“I guess the legends about him are not so far-fetched after all,” Rafe said, and I could see admiration in his beautiful gray eyes.
There were still many gorgoths surrounding us, but they had stopped advancing. To my astonishment, it wasn’t Tristan they seemed afraid of. It was Kalen, who was standing in front of them, his hands outstretched as tendrils of darkness moved menacingly around the closest gorgoth, smothering it completely until the creature was nothing but a pile of dust.
The remaining gorgoths, recognizing Kalen’s power, bowed their heads and moved back into the shadows of the trees, disappearing into the darkness of the misty night.
Kalen collapsed at Tristan’s feet.
Return to Pixie Bush
Tristan carried Kalen back to the castle. He was still unconscious and lay limp in his brother’s arms.
Penelope was waiting for us at the entrance, wringing her hands. “What happened?”
“Gorgoths,” Rafe answered quickly, as he helped me walk with his arm around my waist. The gash on my back had soaked my tunic with blood, and the pain made me feel lightheaded. I really missed my fae powers.
“They must have been tracking us,” Penelope confirmed. “Those gorgoths were waiting for you.” She gave me a quick glance. “We must leave at the crack of dawn and get through the portal before anyone realizes we have left. They will be waiting for us in the mountains, but we will be long gone.”
We took Kalen to his room, and Penelope proceeded to check him while Tristan explained to her how his powers had manifested in the forest, causing him to collapse after using them.
“Will he be all right?” I asked, sitting down on the bed beside him.
Penelope nodded. “He just needs to rest. Using his powers for the first time has taken a toll. He will slowly adjust to having them.”
“I told you something like this could
