Last Wish (Highland Magic #4)(80)

I had no idea whether I still had the strength for this. If he would give me a minute I could see if I could use my stolen Gift to heal myself but I didn’t think that any delays would serve me well. Wasting no more time, I snatched and took a thread of his magic, drawing it into my own being.

He gasped, his hand reaching involuntarily to his chest. ‘I can feel it.’ He turned to his leader. ‘It’s gone. Not a lot, but I can feel that it’s lessened slightly. She took my magic from me. I might not have noticed if I hadn’t known what she was going to do.’

I tilted up my chin. ‘Think on this,’ I said in perfect Fomorian. ‘I could have stolen teleportation and taken myself far from here but I did not. You can trust me. I am here to negotiate, not to fight, not to challenge, not to steal. Neither am I here to destroy Alba.’ I met the leader’s eyes. ‘Deal with me.’

The watching crowed gasped. Unfortunately it barely registered with me because the energy it had taken to steal, not to mention how difficult it was to make my little speech, had almost done me in.

‘Stop!’ a female voice shouted. ‘Leave her alone!’

May strode out from the far gates with Byron, Fergus ? and presumably Bob ? in her wake. I was sure I was still having issues with my vision because May never walked with that kind of confidence. Neither did she speak with that kind of authority.

She walked up to us, glaring at the huge demon who was holding me up and then addressing the Fomori leaders. ‘She is not what you think she is.’

‘You can talk,’ someone burst out.

‘I have a tongue.’ May pointed at me. ‘Thanks to her.’

I looked past her. The expression on Byron’s face suggested that he didn’t know whether to attack every single Fomori in the place for even thinking about hurting me or whether he should run over and cradle me in his arms like a wounded child. I was hoping for the latter. Fergus, meanwhile, had his mouth flattened and his face masked. There was a glittering rage in his eyes as he watched May, which didn’t make sense.

‘She isn’t evil,’ May continued. ‘She isn’t planning our downfall. With this one we can really negotiate.’

A thought poked through the clouds of pain and confusion in my mind. ‘Wait,’ I said suddenly. I looked at the English-speaking leader. ‘Levitation. You said I could levitate. I only did that once though when—’ I looked at May. ‘You told them about that.’

She met my eyes. ‘Yes. That was before I knew what you could really do.’

‘So,’ the other demon said, ‘when you told us you only had one Gift and we knew you weren’t lying, we assumed it was something to do with manipulating the air. We had never seen such a thing before. But,’ he smiled slightly, ‘we have never seen anyone who could steal magic before either.’

My eyes drifted back to May then to Fergus whose jaw remained tight with tension. ‘May’s a spy,’ he spat, bitterness lacing every word. ‘She’s been working for the Fomori demons all along. She followed you across the Veil to watch you and report back. All along she’s been manipulating us. May is no victim.’

His words penetrated my skull and I wobbled, agony nibbling at my body. Byron cursed and marched over, glaring at the monster demon who shrugged and passed me over. Byron wrapped his arms round me so I could lean back into his chest. ‘You’re alright,’ he murmured into my ear. ‘We’re all still alright.’

And with that, I felt like I could let go. I’d been clinging to consciousness with every shred of my being; now Byron was at my back it was if my body decided of its own volition that I could relax. Voices continued but I closed my eyes and passed out. Later, my mind whispered. Later.





Chapter Nineteen


There was something on my nose. Even without opening my eyes, I was fairly sure as to what – or rather who – it was.

‘I know you’re awake, Uh Integrity,’ came Bob’s plaintive voice. ‘Just how many times have you had a fainting fit in the last week? Should I start stocking up on smelling salts?’

My eyelids fluttered open. He was perched on the tip of my nose, staring fixedly at me. I pretended not to notice his relief and frowned. ‘I have not had fainting fits,’ I said in mock irritation. ‘In fact, I think you’ll find I’ve been in full control of my faculties.’

He peered at me. ‘You have a concussion,’ he declared.

I sat up, brushing him off. ‘I’m fine.’

On the far side of the room, which didn’t look all that different from the prison cells I’d been in, a door opened. Byron, looking tired and harassed, saw that I was awake and strode over. ‘How are you?’ he demanded. ‘Where does it hurt?’ His emerald eyes roved over me. ‘What do you need?’

I smiled. ‘Which question would you like me to answer first?’

His shoulders relaxed slightly although the concern in his expression didn’t flicker. ‘You looked like you were half dead in that arena,’ he growled. ‘What they did to you…’

I dismissed his worry. ‘They had their reasons.’ To appease him as much to rid myself of the pain that throbbed through my body, I sought out more of Aifric’s Healing Gift. Unsure how it worked, I pulled it out and told it to heal me. My body tingled, my blood hummed and a pleasant warmth spread through me, right down to my toes.