I twisted to find the man whose son I hadn’t been able to save pushing his way through a group of nattering women. Memories of what it had felt like to hold that small, lifeless body would haunt me for the rest of my days.
“I was wondering if I might speak with ye for a moment,” he said when he got closer.
After what had happened, the least I could do was hear him out. Schooling my features into stone, I gave him a brusque nod.
“I’ve been talking with a few of the other men here, and we were wondering if we might be of any help if ye decide to go against the Queen.” Five other men sidled up next to him, all of them with the same haunted look in their darkening eyes.
I gestured for them to follow me into the foyer. Once the final man came through the door I summoned a tost. “What makes you think we’re going after the Queen?” I asked. No one but the five of us knew the plan to draw the Queen from her castle. Tadhg and I would use our magic to hold her in place while Ruairi stabbed her. We would likely have to contend with her shadow guards before we got to that point, but I wasn’t exactly sure how these men thought they could help.
The man I’d failed answered. “My wife said those were the Queen’s guards who set the fire that stole our little lad.”
So someone else had recognized the cloaked attackers. Hopefully none of them decided to do something stupid and go after the Queen themselves. At least these men had come to me first. “No offense, but humans against an army of shadow guards are as good as a spoon in a sword fight.”
“I have military training,” said a man with his arms wrapped in white bandages.
“As do I,” said another with more wrinkles than a dried grape. And was that a wooden leg?
A couple of humans, Tadhg, me, and a heartless pooka. May as well commission a tapestry commemorating our victory straight away.
The door swung open, and Oscar stumbled through the gap. His mouth moved like he was speaking, but with the tost, I couldn’t hear a word of what he said. I withdrew my magic, dissolving the barrier. “What is it, Oscar?”
He waved a hairy hand toward the open door. “Yer needed in the courtyard.”
Not another feckin’ emergency. All I wanted was my wife and my pillow, in that order. The joys of being a prince in a time of turmoil. I followed him outside to where the crowd of humans had parted on either side of the gravel path. Beyond, I could see a horde of Danú waiting at the gates.
Tadhg appeared behind me. “What do they want?”
“Let’s find out.” Maybe we’d get to kill them and I could drain their magic to refill my empty well.
Our boots crunched the gravel as we stalked toward the gates. There had to be at least a hundred people. Pooka and witches. Grogochs and leprechauns. Abcans and clurichauns.
“We heard what the Queen did to the humans,” said the grogoch at the front. Hold on. Was he one of the bastards from the mob the night of the wedding?
“And how Princess Keelynn broke the curse,” another chimed in.
“We are willing to fight.”
“Feckin’ hell…” Tadhg murmured.
Our plan might work out after all.
51
TADHG
A final headcountproduced one hundred and eleven men and twenty-eight women willing to fight for our cause, the majority of them Danú. Even though the likelihood of surprising the Queen with our small force was slim, we chose not to train in the fields or courtyard. We’d broken our volunteers into groups of thirty to meet in the great hall at various times throughout the day.
“These people are pathetic,” Rían muttered. “The one over there brought an actual pitchfork. Not saying you can’t kill someone with a pitchfork, but it’s hardly ideal.”
Sure enough, Milton Brandford had a pitchfork with rusted tines clutched in his fist.
Unfortunately, these people were all we had. “We’ll do our best.” And pray it would be enough. We had plenty of weapons in the armory. Now to teach our “army” how to use them.
Rían’s narrowing gaze sent those at the front back a step. If they couldn’t face him, how did they hope to fight against the Queen?
“Most of them are grogochs,” he said. “What are they going to do? Weed the enemy to death?”
“All they have to do is hold off the guards long enough for you and me to end her. They’re little more than a distraction.” And a lot like moving targets.