“Because teleportation isn’t only useful when you’re trapped. For instance, you could use it to potentially move objects, like weapons, from one place to another.”
Golden eyes lock onto mine, holding my gaze with a level of intensity he normally doesn’t use. “You could also transport yourself away from danger. I know you’re a fierce warrior, and you’re even more powerful as a Mystic. But nobody is infallible, and I need you to keep yourself safe. My heart doesn’t beat without yours, solnyshko.”
The torrent of my emotions eases somewhat. I understand where he’s coming from, so I’ll practice teleportation. Not for my own sake, like he wants. But so that I can move him, Dmitri, and my other loved ones out of harm’s way if needed. I wasn’t able to do it in that cavern. But by gods I’m going to be able to do it in the future.
“Okay, you’re right,” I say. “But maybe I should practice on inanimate objects before I start on trying to move myself through space and time.”
“Excellent idea,” he says with a relieved smile. “How about that small boulder over there? See if you can move it even a few feet away from where it is now.”
“As the boys would say, ‘copy that.’”
I try and try, but can’t get the thing to even vibrate, much less disappear and reappear. Deciding it probably takes more power, we switch to getting my percentage up higher. Accessing 50% of my magic without setting the nearby trees on fire took us several more hours. We even took a break so he could undo the original chest harness and construct a more tightly woven one for a stronger feeling of security.
By the time dawn is approaching, I’m wiped out but I want to give it one more shot before giving up. Summoning all the magic I dare, I hold my arms out and focus on the boulder and what I want it to do. My hands tremble, the violet streams of energy swirling and sparking. Growling through clenched teeth, I give one last shove of power, and the boulder vanishes.
“Holy—”
It reappears several feet away and explodes into a thousand small chunks of rock that rain over the far side of the valley.
“—shit,” I finish appropriately, eyes wide.
Finn crosses one arm across his body and braces his other elbow on it as he attempts to hide his amusement behind his closed fist. “Well…that’s not exactly ideal.”
I look at him with eyes widened. “You think?”
“It’ll be fine. You’ve been at this all night, and you’re exhausted. You’ll do better after you’ve had some rest.” Opening his arms wide, he says, “But, hey, you fucking moved it. That’s a start, right?”
My eyebrows shoot high on my forehead. “It’s definitely something,” I say doubtfully. “You’re right, though. I’m cashed.”
“I’ve never been prouder of anyone in my entire life, Taryn. You were amazing.” Unused to hearing the expressive compliments that Finn lavishes me with so easily, my only response is to blush. Scooping me into his arms, he says, “Come on, rockstar, let’s get you to bed.”
“I can walk, you know,” I protest on a yawn before resting my head on his shoulder and letting my eyes drift closed.
The rumble of his soft chuckle soaks into my pliant body. “I know you can, solnyshko. Doesn’t mean you always have to. Now go to sleep and let me take care of you.”
I doze in his arms the whole way back, letting the rhythm of his long strides rock me as the sun creeps over the horizon. By the time I sense us entering the palace, I’m in the pleasant haze between awake and asleep, teetering on the edge of dreamland.
Finn stops to talk to someone, their voices low and muffled. I’m too exhausted to rouse myself enough to participate in the conversation or take much of it in. But as Finn starts to move up the wide staircase that leads to our guest suite, part of what was said makes it through the fog.
Edevane is coming.
THIRTY-SEVENTARYN
I’d heard right. Edevane is on his way with his army of five hundred Light Warriors.
Luckily, Aine was able to shut down the region portals in time, so they’ve been forced to travel across Faerie on foot. It gives us more time to prepare, and hopefully they’ll be fatigued from the trip.
Connor and Conall have been doing daily scouting missions in wolf form to track the army’s progress. It’s already been a week since they were first spotted. At the rate they’ve been covering ground, we estimate they’ll be in Tír Tairngire in a matter of days.
Finn and I have been working on strengthening my control over my Mystic powers relentlessly since that first night. His training sessions have been grueling, yet undeniably effective. He pushes me past my fear to reach new milestones. Now I can teleport objects with precision—I eventually stopped making them explode—and can even manipulate large amounts of water with newfound confidence.
When we’re not practicing my magic, we’ve been working with Cathal—the commanding general of the Néit who used to train me and Dev all those years ago. Cathal’s rigorous combat training sessions with his warriors are getting my rusty sword skills back up to par, preparing me for any close encounters where magic is too dangerous to use.
For the past several hours, our main group has been in the war room, discussing battle strategy and working out which tactics are our best bet. There’s been a lot of back and forth and coming up with a plan only to find a weakness and start from scratch. But I think we’ve finally narrowed it down to the best one.
The holographic model of the battlefield shimmers before us, a detailed representation of where we chose to make our stand. It’s an uninhabited grassy area with few trees, hills on either side and a nearby lake. It’s our arena, and every inch of it must be exploited to our advantage.
Connor and Conall stand to my left, their expressions as fierce and determined as ever. Dmitri and Cathal flank Finn on the other side of the table, their eyes locked onto the holographic map.
“All right, let’s go over it one last time. Setting the stage,” Finn says, his voice cutting through the tension. “Any traps or obstacles have to be ready as soon as possible. Taryn, we’ll have our training sessions for your powers here from now on, using your teleportation skills to move obstacles into key positions. Large rocks, logs, anything that can create barriers or bottlenecks in the miles before they reach us. This will disrupt their formations and slow their advance.”
“Got it,” I reply, my mind racing with possibilities.
“Cathal,” Finn says, turning to the commander, “on the day of the battle, you’ll position your warriors on the hills. The high ground will give us a tactical advantage, allowing you to whittle their ranks down as they move farther into the valley.”
Cathal nods, his gaze steely. “We will be ready, Your Highness.”
Finn’s focus shifts to the main assault. “Dmitri, Connor, Conall, and I don’t have offensive magic, so we’ll lead the frontal attack with a small contingency of warriors to engage the Lights directly.”
Connor crosses his arms and scowls. “Your brothers would kill us if they knew we were allowing you to go into battle. If I had any way of communicating with them, I’d be honor-bound to inform them.”
“Then I guess it’s lucky for me that cell phones don’t work here.” Seeing how much his friend is bothered, Finn sighs. “Look, man, I appreciate your concern, but I’m a part of this.”
Conall helpfully adds, “Yeah, he’s Dark Jesus, remember?”
I press a closed fist over my mouth to prevent the bubble of laughter from escaping, because Finn doesn’t find it near as amusing as the rest of us.
He shoots a quelling look at his jokester friend. “Regardless of Moira’s hyperbole and the fact that she had visions of me helping prevent the worst from happening, I would still fight with the Fire Fae because it’s the right fucking thing to do. I might be royal, but I am not a king, so don’t try to protect me like I am. Fight with me as equals, brother, just as we always have.”
