Page 88 of Sidhe (The Incubus Saga #3)

Nathan had been free of Malak for all of fifteen minutes.

He was caught somewhere between being so ecstatic that his plan had actually worked that he was literally on cloud nine, and being so torn up inside from the aftermath of it all that it felt like Malak had been a double-edged sword wrenched brutally from his body.

He tried to focus on the ecstatic part, smiling despite his fatigue from the whole ordeal so that he wouldn’t worry the others, but it wasn’t easy.

It was a cavernous absence to be without Malak after being one with him, like nothing Nathan had ever felt, likened only to the loss of his parents—and Jim.

And Sasha. Nathan didn’t want to admit that he missed what Malak made of him, but it wasn’t something he could completely deny either.

It had felt amazing—being one with Malak.

The security of knowing that the only thing that could ever hurt the people he loved again was him, along with the belief, of course, that he would never hurt them himself.

He had honestly enjoyed being able to show Jim and Sasha what he wanted for the world, filling them with power and assurance, all that he thought he wanted while Malak was poisoning him from within.

Part of him thought it would be easier to simply call Malak back to him.

That thought caught in Nathan’s throat like tar, and he forced a smile when he felt Jim take his wrist and squeeze.

Sasha was on Nathan’s other side, fingers lacing with his and holding firm.

This was what Nathan wanted, his ideal—Jim and Sasha beside him, with him, purely as themselves.

He didn’t need Malak. He was better than Malak. They were going to win, god damn it.

“So, seeing as how no one’s moved to strike me down yet,” Nathan said as he came to stand before Oberon and Gwen at the center of the hodgepodge encampment around the Gatehouse, “I guess that means the troops know what happened. I’m still supposed to lead this mess?”

Oberon looked very different now, wearing some kind of armor, light and thin, well-worn, too, like this was not the first battle it had seen. It was also a bit skimpy considering the armor was really all Oberon was covered with, aside from a small bit of cloth.

Gwen looked different as well in that she was thankfully much more refreshed than she had seemed that night when she appeared on the Gatehouse roof to steal Nathan’s wine.

Her hair was down, a mass of gorgeous red curls, though she was wearing layers of near see-through fabric again, all violet and green and gold.

“The burden is not yours alone, Nathan,” Oberon said. “Lead your troops. We will lead ours.”

Everyone had taken note of Nathan and the others’ arrival by now— everyone —meaning dozens upon dozens of eyes were watching Nathan with fierce attention.

It amazed Nathan that so many beings could exist together in what he thought weren’t that large of fields, but then the land wasn’t completely normal anymore.

There were no great drop-offs or cliffs like before, meaning Malak’s army was not yet back through the Veil. But there was vast space, as if the Gatehouse was the only non-natural thing for miles and miles.

The fae were colorful and easily spotted, and the interspersed human seals no longer seemed at all bothered to be amongst them.

Nathan saw the incubi and succubae as well, saw Sasha’s friends and how they clearly wanted to rush up to him but stopped short.

Aloysha and the rest of the Council had followed through and brought more soldiers as well.

All of the differing groups together made a truly magnificent army.

“That was a bold move on your part with Malak,” Gwen said.

“Very bold. Lucky for you, it worked. He’s regrouping, no doubt, but we’re here for you now.

We’ll hold the lines. You lead as you deem fit.

We’ll handle our individual groups. I’m sure Aloysha would shudder to think of someone other than him ordering around his soldiers.

He and the rest of the Council aren’t particularly fond of us, you know, but they still came willingly. ”

She inclined her head to Aloysha, who stood at the forefront of his people with a cold expression, green wings and markings like Lindsey on display since he was proudly still in his true form.

“From what I heard, the light fae forced Sasha’s kind to find their own lands, so it’s no wonder…” Nathan said.

Oberon held up a hand. “That was not our doing, I assure you. We do not always have sway over our people. Many of them rebelled against the idea of sharing space with what they considered abominations. We tried to keep order, but when we couldn’t, we…

suggested that finding their own place might be better.

We hope that what is happening here, now, might put an end to the rift between our people. ”

Nathan nodded with a glance at Sasha to see the hopeful gleam in his lover’s eyes. “Here’s hoping.”

As Nathan turned out to face the crowd around him, he felt the weight of all those eyes boring into him even more than before, waiting on him, it seemed, to make some kind of speech.

He understood what he needed to do for the upcoming battle, more or less, but even though Oberon and Gwen would help lead the fae, and Aloysha the incubi and succubae, Nathan was still looked at as overall leader, savior, Messiah .

Fuck , that thought made Nathan nauseous.

On either side, Jim and Sasha tightened their holds on him, and Nathan turned to look at the others behind them, supporting him just as loyally.

There was Walter right at his back, Alex close beside Jim, and Ula standing with Serileth and Kaley.

He realized Puck had disappeared again, and wasn’t even sure if he remembered the trickster exiting the Gatehouse with them.

Beyond Nathan’s close companions was a vast crowd. He honestly didn’t know what he was supposed to say to them all, but with how they were all watching him, no matter how far away, he knew that whatever he said would be heard.

“I…” his voice was too small when he started, pulling reluctantly from Jim and Sasha, but as he spoke he felt his confidence and his voice grow as his belief in his words grew too. “I know I had a lot of you worried. I’m sorry I had to scare you like that. I’m sorry I took such a crazy risk.”

He passed his gaze to Jim and Sasha, to Walter and Alex, before looking out again at the whole of the crowd. He was elevated just slightly being up by Oberon and Gwen, able to see the vastness of his army at its fullest, listening to him earnestly.

“But I don’t regret the choice I made,” Nathan said.

“I had to make sure we had every chance possible to pull this off, and we…we weren’t going to get that.

The bastards on the other side were trying to take chance away from us.

Well, they failed. This is a fair fight now.

Not even fair, because we know we’re stronger.

Just look around. I never thought I’d live to see seals working alongside fae.

This…this is how it should be. All of us together.

We can do this. Malak is not going to win. ”

Nathan swallowed, his throat painfully dry. He was no leader, not used to being one, but then maybe he was. Maybe he could do this. He already had several ideas for how to best split off into…what? Battalions ? He almost snickered at the thought.

“Oberon,” Nathan turned to him with a softer voice, “how much time do we have? Do we even know? Is it minutes or do we have days again?”

Oberon’s head tilted slightly as he thought about that. “It is hard to gauge. But I would guess we have at least twenty-four hours. It will take Malak that long to organize.”

“Then let’s rest,” Nathan said, calling out more loudly again, “everyone. Take a break. Sleep if you need to. We need to be at our best. Later tonight, you,” his voice lowered again as he looked at Oberon and Gwen, “me, and Aloysha are going to get together to talk strategy. Sound good?”

Aloysha was close enough to have heard this request, and though he looked put-out at the thought of taking Nathan’s orders, he nodded. Oberon and Gwen nodded as well, both smiling.

“Good.” Nathan slapped his hands together, then a thought occurred to him and he looked at Oberon again worriedly. “Uhh…how are we supposed to feed everyone? I mean…I can’t even count all the people here.”

A giggle escaped Gwen that sounded so unlike Malak’s female version that Nathan knew he would never have to worry about confusing the two. “We’ll handle all that, Nathan, dear. Quite an easy task for creatures like us, you know.”

“Then I’ll leave you to it. I need some rest too. We all do.” Right now Nathan sort of wanted a nap. A long nap, preferably curled snugly around Sasha.

They didn’t make it back to the Gatehouse right away, but found themselves continuously sidetracked as they made their way through the crowd.

Shiarra was first to break the lines, throwing herself at Sasha and Nathan, saying how pleased she was that everything had worked out.

Apparently, she was willing to forgive Puck for stealing her form and sending her away since everything had turned out okay, but if it hadn’t there would have been Hell to pay.

Maybe that was why the elusive light sidhe had disappeared.

Sasha’s friends followed them, the twins cooing, Cam looking like he hadn’t breathed since they’d been gone, Charis beaming as she hung onto her husband, and Lindsey giving a meager nod to Nathan like approval of the insane plan that had somehow worked out without any bloodshed.

Nathan tried his damndest to lead his small crew back to the Gatehouse doors quickly, needing that rest just as much as he had preached, and hoping that those outside took his advice.