Lightness Falling (Lightness Saga Book 2)

by Stacey Marie Brown

  I hoped I’d come to love Fionna with all of hers and she mine.

  I put my hand on hers. “Together.”

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  “How many can you control?” I mumbled. This was a question I never thought I would be asking, but our options were slim.

  “The most I’ve done was ten.” Fionna swallowed, her head locked on the scene before us. She tried to hide her dread, but I could feel it emanating off her.

  “Fuck.” The word rushed over my lips, unfiltered and raw.

  “Took the sentiment right from my mouth.”

  Just like in my vision, hundreds of fae stood before us outside the rundown factory, on the other side of the protective barrier, ready for battle. The sickle of the moon glinted off the variety of weapons each one held: blades, guns, arrows, metal spikes, clubs. They greeted us with a menacing gleam.

  Anxiety sank like a boat in my stomach as our group stepped past the spell boundary lines and faced the enemy. Fionna seemed to understand as I had the sacrifice would be tremendous, but this fight was necessary. Both our fates had been leading us to face Luuk once and for all.

  Fionna could control a handful, Kenya even fewer. Cali said she could only do one. I couldn’t do any, not on cue anyway. Even if we each did a dozen, the odds were against us at least three to one. In other words, we were screwed.

  I touched the handle of the gun strapped to my belt, for reassurance. My magic would be my weapon, but it made me feel better to know I had backup. Just in case.

  “I still want to know how they found us.” Franklin approached Fionna with Kenya next to him. The factory was guarded with spells. No one, including West, had been able to get close or find the true location of DLR.

  “Doesn’t matter. He has,” Lorcan replied next to me, his presence giving me even more strength.

  “Where’s West?” I peered behind us. We needed every capable fighter we could.

  “He’ll be here. Just doing a last-minute errand.” Lorcan kept his face forward. He wore only sweatpants, knowing he’d soon be in beast form, resilient to the freezing temperatures.

  “Errand?”

  “I’m here, darlin’.” West came to the other side of Lorcan. He was still wearing his jeans, boots, and sweater. It was clear he would not be shifting into a beast. West was a strong man, but I couldn’t imagine how excruciating that must be for him. Being a dark dweller was their entire identity. To take that away? I couldn’t even contemplate how Lorcan would react to that happening to him.

  The dwellers looked at each other, something passing between them. West’s head dipped, nodding at the unsaid question Lorcan asked.

  “Hope it’s in time,” Lorcan mumbled.

  “What?”

  “Nothing, darlin’.” West winked at me, then looked forward.

  Unfortunately being a mate didn’t give you access to their private link.

  Major, Mayhem, Cali, Wolf, Poppy, Fox, and Ophelia stood right behind us. The rest of the DLR and the few fae stood behind them. Humans and Druids were dressed and ready to fight back, scared and untrained in the true art of war against fae.

  From the shadows a man stepped forward, his colorless skin shining in the dark like a nightlight. His dark clothes gave him the ghostly appearance of a head and hands floating in the air.

  Oxygen sucked sharply in my lungs, burning with terror. In person, Luuk was even more unusual and eerie, like a marbled statue come to life. His tall, lean body stood proudly, his light blue eyes narrowed on me.

  “Queen,” Luuk snarled, jumping onto the hood of one of the vans. A couple of guards fortified the area around him.

  “Luuk.” I moved forward, not showing his physical dominance affected me. Fionna stepped with me, and I shot her a look, shaking my head. Her brow furrowed. I could see she did not like ceding control. But I was Queen. My authority surpassed hers, and she would simply weaken me.

  Lorcan grabbed for her arm, tugging her back. He understood more than anyone the importance of a leader showing strength and power. She wiggled against his hold but didn’t return to my side.

  “Aren’t you adorable in person?” Luuk’s slight Scandinavian accent filled the air, his gaze running over my black hair, tattooed neck, and nose ring. “Not exactly the girl playing dress up at your coronation, but still so lovely. Like a little doll.”

  “You keep telling people not to judge things that come in small sizes.” I lifted my hand, motioning to his lower half, the insult coming easily. Ember and Ryan would be so proud.

  Luuk’s jaw strained, his lids narrowing as he moved a foot closer. “You think it’s smart to insult me?” He lifted his arms, glancing to his sides. “Look around, we outnumber you by far. It will be a slaughter. Do you really want all their deaths on you, Queenie?”

  “Don’t underestimate us. Druids have magic you fae only dream of.” I rolled my wrists, like I was warming them up. “And do you think it is smart to challenge the Seelie Queen? To commit treason?”

  Luuk’s laugh filled the freezing air with a menacing cloud. “You should be looking closer to home for treasonous acts among those you trust. People in your own circle don’t even want you as their Queen.”

  My throat went dry as the desert.

  Luuk barked, his white lips spreading to show his pink gums.

  “How do you think it was so easy to find you, Majesty? I’ve been tracking you this whole time. Every moment I knew exactly where you were,” he taunted, rubbing his hands together. “Only a tiny token of affection, a symbol of love draped around your neck, was all it took to fool you.”

  My hand reached for my throat. I knew it wasn’t there anymore but stuffed inside my backpack below the earth we stood on.

  The necklace. The one Torin gave me.

  Like someone put my heart in a blender, the betrayal of someone I cared about ground my trust into dust. Pain punctured my entire body. My heart felt pierced by millions of tiny needles, like tiny holes behind my eyes and across my heart. I thought of him as a good friend. He was my friend. He said he wanted to be my lover. Someone who cared about me.

  All lies?

  My mind couldn’t absorb the idea Torin could so cruelly deceive me. It seemed to go against his character, and everything I thought I knew about him. I heard a growl behind me. I could feel Lorcan’s anger buzzing like bees trapped in a jar.

  “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but someone needed to tell you that even those in your castle do not respect you as their Queen. A Druid should serve royalty, like it used to be, not the other way around. It is disgusting. And I will not stand for it. Tonight, your short reign ends.”

  My spine snapped straight while the force of Lorcan’s fury exploded over me like fireworks, crackling at my nerves.

  “You don’t have the King to hide behind. It’s just you, Druid. Even being Queen, you are no match for me.”

  I felt the grip on my throat, my tongue taking over, my body going still. “What you seek will be the end and a beginning. Each side’s victory is their own defeat. Death is approaching.” I jolted from the hold, feeling the power of my statement, but not knowing whether it was good or bad for either side.

  Luuk stared at me, his bleached eyebrows drawing down, his eye glinting with hate. “Death happens in conflict. I will just make sure it is yours.” He held up an arm, dropping it down. “Attack!” He leaped off the car as his army barreled toward us, screaming into the night like harbingers of death.

  Terror ran in my veins, spilling adrenaline into my muscles. But this was what we wanted. We needed to fight. Roars reverberated behind me as Lorcan’s beast zoomed past me, and spikes cresting his back strobed in the moonlight. West wasn’t far behind him, a large dagger in one hand. Even in human form he was deadly. Both jumped for Luuk, but he slipped back behind his sentinels. The guards shifted into monsters, meeting Lorcan and West.

  Creatures I had never seen before formed from the first three of Luuk’s soldiers. Two seemed like a cross between a bear and a
lion, with teeth and claws bigger than my head. The other was a Pegasus-like creature but with the head of a giant rodent and daggered teeth.

  The dark dwellers, one beast, one human, collided into the other shifters, the sound of teeth crunching and nails tearing through flesh hinted at the edges of the sound of the Druids muttering spells behind me.

  Luuk’s warriors came running at us, weapons slicing into a few before spells could form in their mouths. Gunshots rang like cannons in the air, the humans advancing past the Druids, spilling their fae bullets into the other side.

  The second time Fionna moved to my side, I welcomed it. She searched for Luuk, words forming on her lips. I recognized it as a revealing spell. Magic swirled around her, whipping the ends of my ponytail in my face.

  The energy raced through the fighting beasts, parting them and exposing Luuk, his arm pointed at us. His gun was aimed right for Fionna.

  The firearm went off.

  “Fionna!” I screamed, my body ramming into hers, taking both of us down, the bullet whizzing past us.

  We had hit the frozen dirt with a thud, my body rolling off hers. I didn’t hesitate. My invocation shot for Luuk, bursting over him like fireworks, scattering a dozen fighters around him to the ground. The energy caused him to stumble back a step, but it didn’t pick him up and throw him like it had everyone else.

  What the hell?

  Fionna climbed to her feet and directed an invocation at him. The instant she spoke I could feel the darkness in her spell. My bones recognized the black magic. Like fog it slid around Luuk’s ankles, climbing up his legs.

  “Let’s see how long your fight lasts when their leader is my bitch.” Fionna smirked, watching the mist swirl over him. She chanted another Latin phrase, the vapor bursting away from the pale leader like someone blowing out a chain of smoke.

  Luuk stood there, his face expressionless. Was Fionna controlling him now? Would the fight be over? How come I saw so much death in my vision?

  “Come here, fae,” Fionna demanded. Luuk moved until he was only feet away from us then stopped. “You fight for us now. Drop the gun and tell your people to stop.”

  Luuk blinked, his pale eyes staring into Fionna. The gun stayed in his grip.

  My blood turned icy as I watched the corner of his mouth tug up, his gaze filling with menacing glee.

  “Someone didn’t study albinos.” He leaned toward Fionna, his voice going low. “We’re impervious to magic, Druid or fae. That’s why Aneira chose me as her commander in the fight against Druids. You can’t do shit to me.” He started to lift his weapon.

  My hand went straight for my belt, whipping the gun from the halter, pointing at his temple, bending down on the trigger.

  “Don’t move or this goblin bullet will find a new home in your brain.”

  His eyes shifted to me, a smile slowly curling his mouth.

  Crunch! With the force of a car, a creature slammed into my body, sailing me back into the wall of the factory, the side of my head cracking against the brick. Sliding down the side, I watched the rhinoceros-looking creature spin back for Fionna.

  “Fionna,” I grunted, trying to call out for her, my shoulder crashed back into the wall, my head spinning.

  Figures moved around me, blocking the view to my sister. Magic streaked the sky, weapons clanked in conflict, guns firing, screams of death echoed. Bodies already dotted the ground, ones I knew. Like dominoes, I could foresee our fall, our magic simply not strong enough to overpower the numbers of fae striking.

  So much death. All for nothing.

  A cry tugged my head to the side. Cali bent forward on her knees over a man, his side lined with deep gashes.

  Wolf.

  A pained roar from the depths of the fight pulled my neck the opposite way like a chain had been yanked at my neck.

  Lorcan.

  Hearing him, my mate, was like setting off a bomb inside me, exploding my fear and confusion into tiny bits, leaving only a blistering cloud of rage. Get up. Something from the depths of my soul pushed me to my feet. I moved forward, tripping over an object. I peered down, a cry breaking from my mouth. “No!” Falling to my knees, my fingers touched his face.

  Wizard’s empty eyes stared at the sky. A slash cut across his neck, and his intestines spilled through the gaping, gory wound in his gut. I felt no life from him, nothing I could use to heal or bring back.

  “I’m so sorry.” I cupped his face, feeling the memory of Jared return in burning bile.

  After losing Jared, I would have given up if it wasn’t for Ember, Ryan, and my family, the heartache breaking me. But recalling Jared’s face now invoked fury that snapped up my spine. I was so blinded by pain I could not see what I was capable of.

  Light must use the darkness to see again.

  I would fight for Jared. For Wizard. Their sacrifices.

  I kissed his forehead and stood up. A calmness descended over me as I stepped forward. I knew what slithered up my throat, swirling my backbone like a tornado.

  And I welcomed it.

  Stepping through the fighting groups, no one touched me, like I was in my own bubble, the black magic cascading off me. My tongue lashed phrases I didn’t recall knowing. I could feel my mother and the spells she spoke into her womb now passing out of me.

  Save my people.

  My family.

  My kingdom

  My heart.

  The words formed without my control, my ponytail whipping around as energy billowed up and out of me. I was overtaken by a sensation of slipping into another plane that was thicker, denser than this one, like diving into a pool of syrup.

  I couldn’t recognize any details, only the notion of moving forms. My spell moved over the ones closest to me, consuming them before rolling on to the next. Their bodies went rigid, weapons dropping to their sides. Five. Ten. The spell took over groups at a time. With each person it felt like nails being jabbed into my brain. Gritting my teeth, I shoved to the next individual.

  “Kennedy! Stop!” a man’s voice bellowed, turning my head to the side. “You’re killing yourself.” Lorcan’s naked body moved to me, his green eyes locking on mine. “Stop. Please.”

  “No.”

  “This is not an argument I’m losing, li’l bird.” Lorcan reached for my hand, but the magic circling me shoved it back. “I will not lose you to black magic. Not tonight. Not ever.”

  I turned my head back to the throng of fighters under my spell, only seeing my control over them. “You fight for me now…your Queen.” My voice rang clear and sharp, forcing my will on the fae.

  Some tried to fight, but none could break my hold, switching sides and attacking their comrades next to them, doing my bidding like puppets. Somewhere deep down I sensed the twist in my soul. I was doing the identical thing I vilified and condemned. I tried to push my magic further, pain drilling into my brain, bending me over.

  “Fuck!” Lorcan bellowed, throwing himself against the shield surrounding me. He roared in agony, but I felt claws wrap around my wrist, digging into my skin, snapping my gaze down.

  His hand was the beast’s. The stabbing of my magic against the intruder forced his body to defend itself. I glanced at his face, stitched with agony, but he didn’t let go. His green eyes drilled into me. I love you. Don’t leave me, li’l bird.

  With a burst, I slipped out of the shield of magic, crashing to the ground on my knees. Breath sucked back into my lungs, my bones feeling like gelatin as I twitched and shook. Throbbing in my head heightened every sound around me, flinching me lower. Blood oozed from my nose, hot tears leaking down my face. Pain stabbed at every nerve, exploding like a bomb in my brain.

  Arms drew me into a warm bare chest, Lorcan kissing the top of my head.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered against his skin.

  He gripped my cheeks, turning my face to his. My body still trembled and rocked under his embrace. His thumbs wiped at the liquid coming from my eyes, coming away crimson.

  Holy fractions.
My eyes were leaking blood.

  “Don’t ever scare me like that.”

  I nodded, inhaling deeply. My body was weak, but the fight was still going on around us. I had to keep fighting. Saving. Protecting.

  “Where is my sister?” I pulled away from Lorcan.

  “I don’t know.” Lorcan rose, pulling me with him, my legs wobbly.

  A man’s cry jerked Lorcan’s head to the side, his lips parting. I knew in my gut it came from West.

  “Go. Help him.” I shoved at him.

  “No fucking way I’m leaving you.” He shook his head.

  “I’ll be fine. Please. I need you out there fighting, not protecting me.”

  Lorcan tilted his head, his jaw working fiercely.

  “Now! Don’t force me to order you.” I moved away from him. “I need you to do what you do best. Be a dark dweller.”

  Our eyes connected. No words even crossed through our gazes, but I could feel it. His fear for me. His unbridled love.

  “I love you too,” I said before turning and running back into the fight, my gun ready, searching the faces for my sister. It only took me several steps before I saw her. She lay on the ground, Luuk straddling her body, his hands wrapped around her throat. Her life slipped away with each claw at his arm. Then her form went limp.

  “No!” I screamed, pulling at the trigger, again and again. He glanced up, the slugs sailing in the air heading for his face.

  He dropped down on Fionna, the bullets grazing the top of his head, one clipping his temple. He rolled off her and jumped to his feet.

  “Here’s the other Druid I want to kill.” He stalked toward me, ignoring the pistol pointed at him and the blood running down the side of his face.

  “You think I won’t shoot you?” I growled, aiming the barrel at his heart. “They’re fae bullets.”

  “No magic affects me. Not even goblin metal.” He used up the distance between us.

  “But bullets still hurt.” I pressed the trigger, a hollow clicking sound rolled around in the chamber.

  Empty.

  A smile split Luuk’s face. The blood smearing his face made him look like the Joker from Batman. I gulped, stumbling back out of his reach. Without a gun that worked, I was helpless against him, but I held on to it like a security blanket.