Page 138 of Avalon Tower

“Nia, stay close to me,” Raphael says, raising his sword.

I stand with my back to Raphael, facing the three Fey coming from the direction of the city. My mind screams as they rush at us. I loose my arrow, and it pierces the throat of one of them, but the twins and their lackeys are bearing down on us from the other side. Raphael moves in a blur of speed, his blade whooshing through the air. He cuts down one Fey soldier, then kills the next with a sweep of his blade. He locks swords with the third.

Two Fey soldiers charge at me, and I unsheathe my knife. I can hear Viviane berating me in my mind, Who brings a knife to a sword fight?

I duck as the first swings his sword, then pivot and touch his hand. Channeling my powers, I use the absolute terror I feel as fuel, pushing my fear into his mind. There is no time to process the strange thoughts that assail me. Instead, I crash against his senses, confusing him, making him mistake friend for foe. He turns and runs his blade through his Fey ally. I jerk my mind free as the Fey stares at the soldier he just killed.

“Einion!” he cries in anguish.

His confusion gives me an opening, and I lunge at him, thrusting my knife into his throat. His mouth gapes in shock and pain, and then he topples off the pier and into the foamy sea, disappearing beneath the waves.

Breathing hard, I turn around. Three dead Fey lay at Raphael’s feet. He’s fighting with Vidal, their swords clanging loudly as they duel. The woman, Maertisa, is gone, probably swallowed by the waves like the last Fey soldier I killed. I crouch in a battle stance, gauging the distance to Raphael and his opponent. The huge Fey is maybe a dozen yards from me. As I prepare to attack, someone grips my hand and twists it.

I yell in pain and drop my knife. A blade is pressed against my throat, and I reach for the knife hidden in my boot.

“I wouldn’t,” Maertisa whispers in my ear, pain flaring in my neck as she digs the blade deeper into my skin.

On the dock in front of me, I watch as Raphael parries a powerful stroke by Vidal, then twists his sword, sending his opponent’s blade spinning into the sea. Vidal grapples for Raphael’s sword, but Raphael smashes the pommel into the man’s face. Vidal falls to his knees, and Raphael raises his blade to finish him off.

“Raphael Launcelot!” Maertisa shouts, her blade tightening against my skin. “Your reputation precedes you.”

Raphael glances back. Seeing my predicament, he grabs her brother and places his bloody sword against Vidal’s neck. “Harm her, and you will be a single twin,” he says coldly.

We stand frozen on the dock, the sea wind shrieking around us. Blood drips down my neck and into my collar. I dare not even swallow.

“Well, this is interesting,” Maertisa says, almost as if she’s enjoying herself.

“Finish her, Maertisa,” Vidal snarls.

Raphael presses the sword closer to the other man’s neck. “Quiet,” he says, “or you lose an ear.”

“Now, then, none of that,” Maertisa says silkily. “We’re not human barbarians, after all. Let’s talk.”

“We have nothing to talk about,” Raphael says. “You let go of the woman, and we go to my boat. When we reach the boat, I will release your brother, and we will leave.”

“I don’t think so.” Maertisa laughs coldly. “Release my brother first, and then I’ll let my new friend go.”

“Not happening.”

“Then we stand here until my soldiers arrive to see what’s keeping their captains,” Maertisa says.

“If they even come close,” Raphael snarls, “I’ll kill your brother.”

“Ugh. What’s with all the killing, Launcelot?” Maertisa sighs. “I’ve heard tales, but I had no idea you were so bloodthirsty. Fine. I’ll tell you what. We go to the boat together. Once there, we release our hostages at the same time and call it a draw.”

Raphael considers this. “Okay.”

I channel my telepathic powers through the fingers tightened around my arm. Almost instantly, I’m in Maertisa’s mind. It’s like reading the mind of an ancient, cunning spider. Her past is littered with dead Fey who’ve crossed her path, and she’s planning to do the same to us.

“Raphael, it’s a trap,” I blurt. “As soon as we sail away, she’ll send a sea serpent after us. They obey her commands.”

“Well,” Maertisa laughs, amused. “She’s a telepath. That’s so much fun! I have to admit she’s right. But who knows? You might manage to outrun a sea serpent in that boat.”

I’ve had enough. I tug at both my powers and pour myself into her mind. I will make her drop her knife and—

None of that, now, she thinks, and slaps my mind away.

I gasp, the connection broken.