by A. C. James
“Nathan, you think one of those bitches got free?”
“No,” a third voice said—this one was timid, with a slightly more upper-class accent. “I don’t think Cyn would do that, she’s already—”
“Shut it, you idiot,” the second voice said. “We’ve got to go down there.”
There was a rapid sound of footfalls. Sage’s palms began to sweat when one of the men darted out of the kitchen. He was small, reedy, and Sage could take him down in an instant. But the smaller man lurched toward a cabinet and yanked the doors open wide, and Sage went cold as the man pulled out a gun.
“Master, here’s the gun,” the man said.
A bigger, burlier man walked into the room and ripped the gun from the skinny man’s hands. Fuck. There was no way to surprise them now. It’d put them at risk if he launched himself at those bastards. He couldn’t start shooting or launch a grenade if there was a chance his mate was in the line of fire.
“I’m going to give those bitches a piece of my mind. Maybe give them something else, too,” the Master said, laughing at his own joke.
The men turned back toward the kitchen, and Sage groaned inwardly.
“Nathan, you’re coming with us,” the Master said sharply. “You get to knock that cunt back into line if she’s done anything, you hear me?”
Nathan stammered a protest, but the Master punched him hard. Sage heard the man cry out. Sage and Fallon remained silent. There were more footsteps, the sound of a door being yanked open, and then the men thundering down a flight of steps.
“Let’s go,” Sage hissed in a low voice.
He darted down the stairs quickly and quietly. His stomach twisted into a knot when he heard a familiar scream from the basement.
“What was that?” Fallon asked.
Sage ran across the floor, no longer caring how much noise he made. As he wrenched open the door, the sound of gunfire punctuated the air in loud bursts. Sage ran down the stairs. There was a loud sob from Cyn.
“How could you?” Sage heard her yelling at one of the men. “Nathan, how could you do this?”
“I didn’t know he was going to bloody shoot her,” Nathan cried incredulously. He turned toward the bigger man, the Master. “How could you do that? Why did you have to shoot her?”
The Master was standing with the gun pointed at Maelíosa and Cyn. Sage cried out when he realised that Maelíosa was cradled in Cyn’s arms, bleeding.
“Hurry,” Sage yelled over his shoulder.
FALLON’S STALLION REARED in anger, and his blood ran cold at the sound of his mate screaming. She was sitting on the floor with Maelíosa cradled in her arms. Fallon could smell the blood in the air. He didn’t know which one of them was hurt—it was unthinkable to choose which would hurt the most. He sprang forward.
The burly man was holding the gun and pointing it toward Cyn and Maelíosa. Fallon ran forward and stepped in front of them both.
“Put the gun down,” he said, raising his voice to the full volume of a chieftain. “Stop what you’re doing now, and you won’t be hurt.”
The Master opened his lips and spat at Fallon instead. Fallon rushed forward, wrapped his hands around the man’s neck and shoved him out of the way. The Master didn’t drop the gun, and Fallon grabbed it as he tried to pull him away. He could tell that he’d caught the man off-guard, but he was stronger than he appeared. As they tussled over the gun, Fallon sneered into his face.
“You mess with my mate, you mess with me,” Fallon grunted. “Now give me the fucking gun!”
Nathan was behind him, trying to haul the Master away and help Fallon. He felt a mixture of anger and pity when he made eye contact with Nathan, who was helping them—at least for the moment.
“Get out of the way!” Fallon shouted.
He closed his eyes, quieted his mind, and shifted into a stallion. Fallon emerged on his hind legs, pawing the air. His hard, magnificent hooves churned through the air and made contact with the Master’s soft, fleshy head. The Master sank to the ground, the gun clattering out of his grasp. Fallon’s stallion eyed Nathan. His nostrils flared and he pawed the air again, for extra emphasis. –Don’t try anything. – Fallon sent the telepathic thought boring into Nathan, who simply looked more scared than anything else. Fallon wasn’t about to take any chances.
“Let’s just go,” Nathan said to the other OH lackey.
The skinnier OH guy looked like he might lunge at Fallon, but instead he eyed the stallion warily and followed Nathan, who was already beating a hasty retreat. Tomas, Kieran, and Niall burst in just then, and Niall moved to stop Nathan.
–Let them go. – Fallon hated them, but Nathan had tried to help and sided with them in the end. He’d let him keep his life. They’d taken out the mastermind behind OH and he’d be merciful toward the other weakling too. It’d be awfully hard for Only Human to regroup now that their leader was dead.
SAGE RAN OVER TO THE two women. Cyn’s arms were wrapped around Maelíosa, and at first he couldn’t tell where she’d been injured. As soon as Cyn pulled her hands away, Sage saw a great, gaping red wound in her abdomen. Pain sliced through his heart, and he scooped his mate up in his arms, holding her securely.
“Can you walk?” Sage asked Cyn.
She scrambled to her feet and wiped her hands. “I think so.”
Across the room, Fallon was back in human form and tugging his leggings and tunic on rapidly.
“Good,” Sage said.
He jerked his head toward Fallon and the two men took off for the stairs, with Cyn stumbling behind. When he thought of the explosives he’d planted by the exit, a wry grin stretched across his face. If someone decided to pick up where the Master left off, they’d need a new place to launch their hate campaigns from.
Maelíosa was fading in and out of consciousness. She was bleeding heavily, but not critically, and her face was white and damp with sweat. Her eyes were closed. I can’t lose her. Don’t give up, baby. Fear filled his body. He gripped her even more tightly as he bounded up the stairs, two at a time.
Sage turned to Fallon and handed Maelíosa to him when the group made it outside. The chieftain scooped up his oldest daughter, cradling her in his arms. Even though she was statuesque, she was tiny in comparison to his large and intimidating frame. Sage couldn’t help but think of how frail she looked...and all that blood.
Fallon carried Maelíosa away from the headquarters, toward a clump of trees. Sage pulled a timer out of his pocket and set it for twenty seconds. Cyn scurried across the lawn and joined her mate behind the trees. The others weren’t too far behind her. Sage counted down in his head.
From inside the house there was a large explosion. The doorway filled with acrid smoke and fire—the bomb had hit its target. Sage licked his lips and turned to face Fallon, Maelíosa, and Cyn.
Chapter Four
Maelíosa struggled to open her eyes. Where am I? There was a floating sensation of being carried and moving upward, then outside into blessedly cool air. Her stomach hurt fiercely, like it was on fire. She struggled to stay awake. Sage’s arms were strong and secure, but it was only after he’d handed her to Fallon that her mare settled down.
She heard a loud explosion, followed by screams, and knew that everything was going to be okay. It’s over. It’s really over. They’d reduced the OH headquarters to rubble, and they were all safe. That was all that really mattered. Maelíosa closed her eyes and surrendered to the inky black that was overwhelming her. She was losing consciousness, but she didn’t care. Then the darkness enveloping her somehow turned to light...
“Ma! Ma!” Maelíosa ran up the stairs with her arms outstretched. Her mother, Aileen, was sitting by the window with some knitting in her lap. “Ma, I want to tell you something!”
“Stop running around,” Aileen shook her head and clucked her tongue. “What is it, my love?”
“I’m excited about the new wee one.” Maelíosa pointed toward Aileen’s swelling stomach. “And I’m sorry I was cross with you and Da earlier.”
Aileen smiled. She set the knitting aside and patted her lap. “Come here, lass. You’re not too big to sit on your mother’s lap.”
Maelíosa pouted. She was too old—that was the whole reason she’d been upset. When they’d told her about the new baby, she thought they were replacing her with something new. She was old news, and it hurt to feel replaced. Deep down she’d known her parents loved her, but that didn’t make the thought of losing her place sting any less.
“I am too old,” Maelíosa said, crossing her thin arms over her chest. “Ma, that’s what I wanted to tell you. I’m excited about the wee one because Da told me that I’m growing into a young lady.”
Aileen smiled. “Aye, you are, my love.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I want to be an adult, but I don’t really want to be a lady. There’s nothing fun about it.”
Bowing respectfully and all that stuffiness didn’t interest her in the slightest. She’d rather gallop through the forest, wild and free.
Aileen laughed. “Maelíosa, darling, that’s exactly what you’re going to be. Now, you might not be the kind of lady who cares for fancy gowns, but you’re going to be a lady all the same. Is Da still showing you how to hunt?”
Maelíosa nodded. “He says I’m good. I mean, not to brag.”
She blushed and glanced down at her feet. She’d had new clogs for only a couple of weeks, and she’d noticed just that morning that her feet were already growing out of them. “How much bigger am I going to get?”
Aileen chuckled. “Not much. But you take after your da, and you know he’s a great man.” Her eyes took on a faraway, dreamy look. “And you’re going to be a great lass. Now come here.”
“I’m too big for laps,” Maelíosa said. “Da says so.”
“Is that so?” Aileen frowned. She stood up, and with surprising grace and strength scooped Maelíosa into her arms. “Now, I don’t think that’s true. You fit perfectly.”
Maelíosa wrinkled her nose. She knew she was bigger boned than the other girls in the clan.
Aileen sat back down in the chair with her daughter cradled in her arms. “And your da doesn’t have to know. This can be our secret.”
Maelíosa buried her face in her mother’s neck and inhaled the scent of powder and lavender. “Ma, sometimes I’m scared,” she whispered. “Sometimes I’m scared that you and Da will die and I’ll be all alone.”
Aileen pulled back and gently brushed the tangle of brown hair off her daughter’s forehead. “Maelíosa, you’re never going to be alone. You’ll always have your family. There’s your brother Niall, and the baby, too, who you’re going to love. I just know you will. Whether it’s a girl or a boy, you’ll love the new baby.”
Maelíosa frowned. “What if...what if everything’s different when the baby is born? What if everything changes? I shan’t like that.”
“Some things will change,” Aileen cooed. “But you’ll always be my first girl, don’t you know that? And I’m going to need your help.”
Maelíosa groaned, and her eyes fluttered. She was vaguely aware of voices talking in hushed tones around her. The pain was coming back, and every time she took a breath it squeezed her stomach. Sage was pressing down on her belly, which only made it worse.
“Hurts...” Maelíosa said. “Stop. Why...”
Sage spoke to someone standing behind him, but she didn’t hear what he was mumbling. Her head was thick, and the pain was excruciating.
“I have to put pressure on your stomach. I know it hurts, baby, and I’m sorry, but you’re gonna be all better soon. Everything’s going to be okay,” Sage said.
“She’s fading...” Cyn’s voice said in a worried, desperate tone. “She did all of this for me, and for the baby. She jumped right in front of me before that arsehole could shoot!”
“Shhh,” Sage said. “She’s going to be all right. Look, her pulse is holding steady and she’s breathing evenly.”
I’m right here! Maelíosa wanted to say. But try as she might, the words wouldn’t come. Instead, she couldn’t stop groaning and whimpering as Sage pressed down on the wound.
“Craig, how much longer?”
“About an hour,” Craig said briskly. “I’m going as fast as I can, but this airspace is tightly regulated.”
“Keep going,” Sage said in a low voice. “Baby, everyone’s here with you and we’re all going to take care of you, okay?”
The pain pulsing in her body was too strong, and blackness threatened to pull her under again.
“I’m right here.” Cyn scooped up Maelíosa’s head and cradled it in her lap.
Maelíosa was flooded with the scent of her perfume and something like salt water and sea. It reminded her of home. Home... I’m going to die before I get there. I’m never going to see my home again. They’d never make it to Ariel in time. Despite establishing The Stables, the alliance with the humans was a shaky one. Not all of them accepted the púca, and they couldn’t risk taking her to a hospital in London. Getting her back to the Realm where Ariel could heal her was her only hope. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her mare panicked—they were running out of time.
“She’s breathing too fast,” Cyn cried. “We’ve got to do something!”
“Stay calm. We have to stay calm so she doesn’t freak out,” Sage said. “Baby, hold on, okay? Keep holding on. We’re right here and you’re not going anywhere.”
The last part sounded like an order, but she was dreamy, floating again. Her body had never been so light. She thought again of her mother. Somehow she sensed her, almost like she was there with them, looking down at her mangled body. Maybe that was crazy, even though it felt real in her fuzzy head.
When Aileen’s time had come, Maelíosa wasn’t allowed in the healer’s hut. She and Niall paced outside, both of them nervous.
“What was it like before?”
“I don’t know, eejit, we’re twins,” Niall said. “But Da said it wasn’t bad. She wasn’t even expecting more than one babby. And here we are.”
Maelíosa stuck her tongue out at her brother. Then there was a loud noise coming from inside of the healer’s hut. She jumped off the bench outside Ariel’s hut.
“Calm down,” Niall said, his tone kinder. He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, wanna race?”
Maelíosa’s stomach churned. She was going to throw up, even though she’d been too nervous to eat breakfast. “We shouldn’t be playing around right now. Da might come out, and I want to see our mum.”
“He’s not going to let us in. Remember? He said that we could meet the new babby after Ma recovers.” He rolled his eyes. “And he said that could take days. So I doubt we’ll be seeing her anytime soon.”
Maelíosa glanced up at the sky. The day had started off sunny but the sky was rapidly darkening. Clouds were swarming across the horizon, and the wind had picked up. Maelíosa wrapped her thin arms around her frame and hugged herself. Her filly was skittish; she couldn’t explain why, but she had a feeling that something was wrong.
“Hey, what’s the matter? Are you scared?”
“No,” she lied. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “I mean, maybe. A little. D’you think Ariel could take care of Ma if something went wrong?”
“Like what?”
Maelíosa couldn’t wrap the uncanny foreboding into an explanation. Her filly was scared, and she’d learned to trust the beast’s instincts. She was tempted to tell her brother to leave her alone, but she’d feel even worse without Niall’s comforting presence.
“Hey, look, there’s Tomas,” Niall said.
He galloped off toward the castle and Maelíosa followed him. Tomas was walking with an odd stiffness. When Maelíosa and Niall approached, Tomas didn’t smile or greet them as he always had before.
“Tomas! Tomas!” Niall called. “Where are you going? What’s wrong?”
Tomas sighed. “I need to speak with your father. There’s some kind of urgent business, back at the castle.
”
“Let me go get him,” Maelíosa said. “You shouldn’t go into the healer’s hut. Ariel said immediate family only, and you’re not family...”
She stood defensively in front of Tomas and her brother, half expecting to be told no. Instead, Tomas nodded.
“Be quick about it, lass,” Tomas said.
Maelíosa nodded. She whirled around and ran back toward Ariel’s cottage, her heart stuck in her throat. Her skin felt hot, and she was dizzy, yet feeling oddly powerful. Without knocking on the door, she pushed through until she was standing in the centre of the first room.
Maelíosa wrinkled her nose. The acrid, sour smell of herbs and smoke rose through the air. She had a hard time not coughing. The door to the healer’s inner chamber was securely closed, but Maelíosa could hear panting, whimpering, and finally a bone-chilling scream that made her want to run. It was her mother who had screamed.
“Ma!” Maelíosa yelled, pounding her tiny fists against the door. “Da! I need to talk to you!”
The wooden door swung open an inch and Fallon’s flushed and sweaty face appeared on the other side. She winced. Her father looked afraid.
“What is it? What’s the matter?”
“Tomas says he needs you, Da. He says it’s some kind of urgent business and he needs to talk to you now.”
“Now isn’t a good time, Maelíosa,” Fallon said. “I can’t leave your mother. Tell Tomas I’ll speak to him as soon as the birth is over.”
Maelíosa cringed as another scream pierced her eardrums. She shuddered, and tears welled up in her eyes. “Da, I’m so scared. What if something happens to Ma? What if something—”
“I need to go, lass,” Fallon said. “You tell Tomas what I said.”
He closed the door to the inner chamber before Maelíosa could say another word. For a moment she stood there, dumbstruck. Tears dripped down her cheeks and she sniffled, more frightened and alone than she’d ever been in her life. Then Niall and Tomas burst through the door to Ariel’s hut.
“Where is Fallon?” Tomas sounded urgent. “Maelíosa, did you find your father?”
