She trusted in the ancient Hallow and sighed with relief that her trust had been well founded.
The beast shook and wailed one last time before its body twitched and stilled with death.
Royce held the Peckering tightly as she took a long gulp of air.
Chance and Trevor came running up to her, and Trevor said, “Red … you are covered in goo …”
She looked at herself and sighed, hoping she had enough magic to blink herself clean. She did.
The next thing she knew she was in Chance’s grip. He had both of his hands on her waist, and his voice was a mixture of anger and concern. “What did ye think ye were dooin, lass? Ye could have got yerself …” He didn’t finish the sentence as he frowned darkly and gave her a squeeze. “Doona do anything like that again!”
His accent was thick, and his blue eyes were bright and held such a possessive look in their depths that Royce felt her breath become suspended for a moment.
His voice was thick with emotion as he added, “Ye be mortal here, and ye coulda been killed, lass … and I coona bear that.”
A shiver scurried through Royce as she listened to him and looked into his deep blues. Did he care so much? Was it because he liked her? Was it because he felt responsible for her? Oh, and just what was happening to her, she wondered, but she had no time to contemplate that.
Not wanting to meet his intense gaze, she lowered her gaze to the ground. Even as her lashes brushed her cheek, she could feel a vibration emanate from inside her and slam into him before that vibration returned and rushed through her chest. She wanted to fall into his arms. He was so big, so strong and …
What the heck? She had to get control. He would take her to bed and leave her forever while he sauntered off to new conquests. She had to keep her distance.
She managed to answer, “As to what I was doing—well, it was the only thing that could be done.”
She waved her free hand in the direction of the dead rats and then the Dark monster she had managed to take down. “Voila—done deal.” She so loved human expressions.
Killing was not something she had ever wished to do, but she saw the entire picture now, and there were times when it was kill—or be killed. Simple.
Chance eyed her questioningly as she glanced at his face. She felt her lashes get lazy and her body flush with heat as he took up her chin and tilted it, forcing her to meet his penetrating blues. “What is it, lass—for I swear there is something else?”
“The Fallen Druid … there is no trace of the human in him any longer, and in this realm, he just might be too powerful to take on,” she answered, knowing he was asking something else all together.
“Are ye forgetting who we are? There is no other as powerful as a Milesian leader, flanked by Royal Fae.” He bent and dropped a light kiss on her lips.
She almost grabbed him for more.
She managed to control herself.
However, a sound escaped her, a sound that caught his attention, for he looked deep into her aqua-silver eyes and made a sound himself.
Trevor saved them from the moment. “We need to leave here. Chance, we are mortal in this dimension—we need to get out now.”
“Aye, time to go … but not sure how we do that,” Chance answered, looking around. “Will the Peckering take us out?”
“No, she can’t. The queen was concerned that the Fallen Druid might somehow be able to call the Peckering to his aid and use her to get out of this prison. So she spelled the place so that the Peckering’s power to shift out would be nullified.”
“But … things, even Fae can die here,” Chance mused out loud. “Queen Aaibhe must have allowed for some other contingency when she created this realm.”
“Yes, things die here—we could die here.” Trevor’s voice sounded anxious.
“Perhaps if we combine our magic?” Royce offered.
“There is one way,” the Peckering said sweetly, suddenly joining the conversation.
They all stared at the curved dagger Royce still held close to her body.
“Well?” Royce prompted.
“If you kill the Fallen Druid, then the spell will be broken and the prison will dissolve as though it had never been. You will be returned to where you were last before you entered the prison realm.”