When they were dead on the ground, the wolf walked back to Aggie’s side, pushing into her with his body. She could hear again now that the danger had passed, so she nodded at him. “Thank you.”
He pushed her again. He was offering to escort her home, and she silently accepted. If for no other reason than how many times in her life would she be able to claim a god had walked her home?
With one last look at where her brother had stood and with a silent prayer that he would be safe, she headed home, the god by her side.
Chapter 33
“That conniving, evil, whore of a god!”
Éibhear heard a voice he hadn’t heard for five years but knew so wel . Annwyl’s voice. But when he turned to look at his brother’s mate, Celyn punched him in the face.
Snarling, he returned his focus to his cousin. Annwyl and why she was in these tunnels could wait.
A horn he knew was not a Southland horn sounded in the distance and Edana, who’d been trying, with Austel , to separate him and Celyn, abruptly stopped.
“Edana?” Breena asked, and Éibhear heard the warning in his cousin’s voice. The fear. That’s when the ground shuddered beneath them and Edana caught hold of Éibhear and Celyn by the neck of their breastplates, her tail whipping out and wrapping around one of the old cave rocks that jutted from the ground. Not even a second later, the ground opened up. So stunned by this, they al dropped. But Edana held him and Celyn. Breena caught Annwyl, and Nesta caught Breena, yanking both onto firm land. But no one, absolutely no one, caught Austel . And the drop was so short, even if he’d thought about it, his wings would have been of no use. Besides. It wasn’t the drop that kil ed him—it was the row after row of planted, sharpened steel stakes that did.
Éibhear only had a moment to realize his friend and many of his comrades were impaled on those stakes before Irons flew out of the opening that ran the entire length and width of the tunnel. Al these months while they’d been building the tunnel, the Irons had been building one right underneath. Waiting for this moment.
“Everyone out!” Edana screamed. “Out! Move!” She threw Celyn and Éibhear and the pair spread their wings, went up. But for Éibhear al he could stil see was Austel . The weight of his friend’s body dragging him down that stake, his wide-open eyes glazing over as he tried twice to breathe, then stopped trying altogether.
“Éibhear!” Celyn yel ed. “Come on!”
An Iron charged, ramming a steel spike at Éibhear. But Éibhear caught it and with one claw, bent the metal.
And that’s when a rage he’d never known took over.
Like it had a few hours ago, the ground beneath Gwenvael’s claws shook. He looked down, expecting to see the ground beneath him cracking or for something to explode, as the Irons had done to the Polycarp Mountains. But there was nothing. At least nothing around them. Then he heard one of his younger cousins screaming from the entrance to their cave.“The tunnels! They’re coming in from under the tunnels!”
Gwenvael looked at his brothers and they al thought the same thing at the same time. Éibhear.
But then the Irons they were fighting suddenly charged, pushing them al back.
Breena stil held the royal in her arms while her fel ow troops who’d been working on the tunnel—but hadn’t fal en into the death trap below—were pouring into the cavern. Their older sister Delen was trying to get everyone under control so they could assemble a counterattack. But they were young recruits. Mostly privates and unseasoned. For some it was their first real battle and they were panicking.
“Put me over there!” Annwyl ordered her. “On that boulder.”
Breena did as she was told and Annwyl with a bel ow that could shake the wal s cal ed out, “OY!” Every private and corporal, used to being yel ed at and ordered about by superiors, immediately came to attention.
“Calm down!” the monarch ordered. “Now. You don’t have time for al this. You—” She pointed her sword at Celyn and several of his siblings. “Get back in there and help Éibhear. He’s in there fighting alone.” When they only stood there, gawking at her, “Don’t just stand there, you twats! Move! ” They did.
“You—” She pointed at Delen. “Get your mother. Get Ghleanna. Get them al ! Tel them what happened. Tel them the Irons are coming in through the tunnels.”
“But—”
“They’l overwhelm you lot, break through, and destroy our army from the inside out. We can’t afford that, so move!” Edana stepped forward. “What do you need from us, Annwyl?”
“The Cadwaladr triplets.” She grinned. “You’re al coming with me.”
Fearghus dodged an Iron spear to the face and blocked a sword to the gut. One of his cousins came in from behind and shoved her broadsword into the back of one dragon while he took out the legs of the other.
“Fearghus!” Delen dropped next to them. “Where’s Mum? Ghleanna?”
He pointed with his sword. “A mile that way. Why?”
“The Irons.” Delen shook her head. “They tore open our tunnel, are pouring in through it now. Annwyl says—” Fearghus faced his cousin, ignoring the Iron at his feet trying to drag himself off without legs. “Annwyl? Annwyl’s here?”
“Aye. She went off with the triplets.” Delen shook her head. “We’re overrun in there, Fearghus.”