Adrenaline raced through me but there was nothing physical I could do. I couldn’t fight this part for her. I couldn’t even try to rescue her; I had no idea if it was even possible. “Ash, please, try.” I whispered. She was stronger than me, fearless in everything she did. I hoped that it would be enough, that the strength of Ashling’s heart would help her fight off Chaos.
Nothing happened. There was no change in Chaos’ eye, no glimmer of the little sister I’d tried to protect at all costs. I’d hoped that Bres had been right, that there was some small piece of Ashling left, that we could help her be free of the evil that had taken over her body.
Chaos threw back her head and laughed, the sound ripping through the air with a force that caused me to stumble to one knee. “You think to call your little sister? Ha, she buckled under me in minutes. But go ahead, call her.” She winked at me. I shook my head. There was nothing I could do or say to bring Ashling back, and it killed me to admit that even to myself. I dug my hands into the mossy ground, the cold damp earth grounding me.
It is all you can do, Quinn. You must let her go. Her soul will move on, when she finally gives up fighting Chaos. Cora’s words didn’t exactly soothe me.
Chaos snorted and waved at us. “Kill them or die yourself. If you do not do as I ask, I will sink this island, just like the last place that defied me, Queen.” She snarled the last word.
Fianna drew herself up. “I do not believe that you will honour what you say you will do. So, I will stand by the one who was chosen to defeat you long ago.” Relief coursed through me. At least we hadn’t lost our one ally.
Fianna clapped her hands and the mirror began to shrink. Chaos flipped her head back and bared her teeth at us. “So be it.” She paused and her eyes narrowed, but it was me she stared down, not Fianna. “You will regret this moment; I will make you wish the Banshees had finished you off.”
In a blinding flash of light the mirror exploded, shards flying every which way. Bres tackled me to the ground, a Barrier springing up around us. The ringing of glass bouncing off the Barrier would have been almost pretty if it weren’t for the fact that it was interspersed with the cries of the Banshees around us.
I made a move to get up, but Bres held me to the ground. “Let the last of ta shards fall.”
My face was buried in his neck, his hair tickling my nose and I made a mistake of taking a deep breath. Our bodies were flush against each other, held down by the Barrier, but that deep breath pushed us even closer together. My eyes flew to his as the violet irises disappeared under the instant flush of heat, his pupils dilating with desire. I tried to focus on what Luke had told me. Bres had used his Charm on me, which was why I was feeling this way. Knowing that didn’t really help as much as I’d hoped.
“Off,” I said, scrambling to push him off. “Get off me.”All I succeeded in was tangling our limbs more as I rolled us so that I was on top. Nope, that was not better. “Bres, let the Barrier down!”
His Adams apple dipped, and he gave a nod. The Barrier dropped, and I leapt off him. Everywhere he’d touched me was as if I’d been scorched, my skin tingled, the intensity of that brief contact cutting straight through me.
“Damn it,” I muttered to myself.
Shake it off, Quinn. It was only a moment.
The last thing I need right now, Cora, is to have you make comments about awkward moments, I thought back at her.
That wasn’t awkward. That was unresolved passion.
My eyes popped open wide and I couldn’t stop the gasp that slipped out past my lips.
You can try to deny it, but it was there from the beginning. Luke loves you, of course, but...
“Shut up!” I shouted and the world around me went still. Fianna stared at me, her eyebrows lifted, a cut dripping blood down the side of her face. The rest of the Banshees froze and I didn’t dare turn to look at Bres.
“Quinn, do you be alright?” Bres asked, his brogue rolling over me, reminding me how good it felt to be up against his hard body.
I ignored him; it was the only thing I could do. To Cora I added, That was Charm, nothing else! I closed her out of my thoughts and turned back to the Queen. “Fianna, you were going to take us somewhere.”
Her eyebrows were still high, but she placed her hands together and gave me a nod. “Of course. It is deep in the forest; we will speak as we walk.”
Raising one elegant hand, she beckoned for us, Bres and I to follow her. I jogged to catch up to her, making sure to keep Bres out of my line of vision.
“Can we go faster?” I asked, thinking of Luke, lying there, his life slipping away from him.