Page 40 of The Dark Will Fall (Twilight Lake #5)

My eyes flicked to Tor’s. Did she hurt you?

Her soldiers got me outside of The Reeds, on the way to the village. Undine, though there aren’t many left from what I’ve seen. Tor blinked. She’s been bringing the townsfolk into the castle. They don’t leave without black eyes

How does she stop the bodies from turning to foam? I thought, more to myself than Tor.

Balor turned back to Arden. The Siren had not moved a muscle, his jaw locked and teeth bared. She waggled her finger in front of his nose. “My spies didn’t tell me about you, though.” Balor leaned her head to the side, eyelashes fluttering as she studied the siren.

“You don’t need to know who I am.” Arden kept his eyes fixed forward, staring at his mother. “Know this, I will kill you for what you have done.”

“Kill me?” Balor placed her hand to her chest, tittering a laugh. “Is that why you’re all here? To kill me?”

She cannot be killed in this form Tor’s eyes flicked to Nuada, confirming his source of information. She must take her giant form

Balor extended a hand, dragging a claw along Arden’s jaw. She crooned. “God-child.” She whispered reverently. “Though I have no need for Tuatha Dé Danann blood... Pity .”

Arden’s hand snapped out, gripping Balor’s throat. He lifted her until she was eye to eye with him. Her body swung with the current, as if her bones didn’t exist.

One moment she was there, the next, gone.

The faelight winked out, leaving us in darkness.

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness.

The foundations of the lake shook. A low guttural groan, and the metallic taste of blood filled the water.

Balor let out a laugh, curled over at the waist, clutching herself as if she’d heard the funniest joke ever.

I couldn’t protect my mates.

I couldn’t swim fast enough.

The lights flared to life.

Arden was gone. A puff of red water, quickly drifting away. Not even important enough to be a vessel for a fomorian.

Balor licked her fingers. Blood stained each long claw.

“You killed Arden?” Rainn Shallows, my Selkie, spoke first. His eyes were downcast, and his teeth locked.

No ! I wanted to scream. Not Rainn !

I gathered my magic to me, thickening the water into something else. Something as hard as my will to survive. A shield to protect him from Balor’s wrath.

Before Balor could turn her attention to Rainn, Nuada lifted her head. Her long black hair hid all but one eye, with unerring focus on the dark god and her mirth.

Nuada let out a low, garbled moan. The words were mush. Incomprehensible.

Pity flashed across Tor’s face, and I soon realized why.

Balor had taken her tongue.

Nuada lifted her head, dragging herself from her knees. Pieces of her flesh were missing, leaving muscle and bone open to the elements. Tiny bites from small fish rimmed the edges of her wounds. An iron shackle choked the Siren Queen, but her rage was too much to be contained.

“Was he yours?” Balor narrowed her eyes. “Queen of Air and Darkness? Hmm?”

Nuada stood, swaying as she struggled to maintain balance. She opened her mouth wide, revealing a stump where her tongue used to be as a response.

“Well! You wouldn’t do as I said!” Balor replied indignantly, stomping her foot like a child. “I asked for Sirens! Just the ones you didn’t want. I need bodies, Nuada.”

Nuada’s dark eyes flicked to where Arden had stood.

She moved so quickly, I didn’t see any part of it.

One moment, Nuada was by Tor’s side in front of the door; the next, her clawed hand swiped at Balor’s midsection, the iron chain around her throat snagged as a guard noticed her movement, but not before she scored the fabric of Balor’s dress.

I scrambled to my mates on the other side of the table, dragging Cormac with me. I hoped the table could offer a shield to whatever battle Balor and Nuada might fight, but that hope was dying.

“Let her go!” Balor crowed. “She’s been in the Aos Sí so long she’s forgotten to be a god!”

“So have you!” Nuada snapped back, through gritted teeth, but the garbled words came out as suh hab yoo . Her wings snapped out, but they were ragged stubs. Nuada pulled, and the shadows lurking in every corner of the room gained form. Reaching for Balor, as if they were substantial.

Balor hopped back, waving away the shadows, though her hands did not pass through them as she hoped.

Nuada exploded. The Queen of Air and Darkness had truly earned her name.

She would have been faster with her wings; there was no doubt about that, but she more than made up for the ravaged appendages.

Summoning shadowy limbs that clawed at Balor—finally, the Dark God dropped her amused smile.

Bubbles rose, as the water parted in several places, as if Nuada had brought the sky with her.

The light cast more shadows. Air and Darkness.

Balor skidded backward, grabbing one of the tendrils of her dress and wrapping it around her fist.

They danced, neither one willing to get close enough to touch. Grief painted Nuada’s face, and tearless sobs rocked her body as she summoned the energy to fight. Kicking, biting, and scratching at Balor. Blood turned the water pink, where the shadows parted enough to see.

Nuada stopped, grasping an invisible restraint. Balor had formed a rope from her dress, dropping the Siren Queen to her knees with the leash. Balor placed her foot between her broken wings.

“That was your ilk, was it?” Balor purred. “A fitting end, to die with your kin. Is it not?”

Arden was dead.

I’d forgotten the plan. Did we have a plan?

It felt like the world had dissolved under my feet.

“Let her go!” I stepped forward, holding out my hands.

Balor’s head snapped to the side, as if she had only just realized I was there. She blinked, as if waking up. She dropped Nuada, kicking her to the ground. Looking down her nose as the broken woman, as she gasped for breath.

“You’re right.” Balor brushed her hands down the front of her dress. “My quarrel isn’t such a defective being. Belisama is the one who deserves my rage. And when the Fomorians devour the Tuatha Dé Danann, and all the gods within, I will finally be vindicated.”

My eyes narrowed at her words. “You want revenge against my mother?” I echoed back.

“Amongst other things.” Balor held out her hands. “Nuada displeased me. I almost had everything I wanted before she came and stole you away, little Cruinn.”

But I was walking a tightrope. Balor needed to be in giant form if we had any hope of killing her. But the chances were higher of her killing my mates before that happened.

“So, you want me?” I stepped away from my mates.

I’d made an effort not to look at them. Not to draw attention to our bonds. It had hurt like hell, but I couldn’t risk them again. Balor knew who they were to me, but if she knew how much they meant to me, she could very well kill them just to hurt me.

Balor had sent them to the harem last time. Stating that all males were the same. She didn’t have a high opinion of our relationship. I could use that.

“Well, you have me.” I held my arms out, the gesture open as if I was on display. “But that wasn’t the bargain, was it?”

Balor regarded me as if seeing me for the first time. She stepped away from Nuada’s unconscious body. For every step she took, I took another, until we circled each other like sharks.

“The Kelpie for Dadga’s magic,” I stated.

Balor squinted, searching for the trick. “Yes. That was the bargain. Return the dadga’s magic to the throne, and the Kelpie is yours.”

He’s already mine ! “Return Dagda’s magic to the throne.” I echoed. Careful to get the words exactly right.

“Yes.” She purred suspiciously.

“Perhaps I could interest you in another bargain?”

“Maeve! No!” Rainn argued, before someone silenced him. Likely Shay Mac Eoin.

“What would you offer?” Balor asked gently. Neither of us allowed the other to get closer.

“Send Nuada away, and the others. The Mer, Selkie, Kelpie, and Nymph. Perhaps Liam Cruinn, as well. Let them leave the city, unscathed, and I will sit on the throne for you without argument.” I stated plainly, meeting her eyes.

“Let them for, and I will allow the throne to bleed me dry for whatever nefarious purpose you can dream up.”

Balor’s eyes sparkled. “But, it’s more fun when you fight me.” She flashed her pale white teeth. “It’s more fun when you scream.”

“I can scream if you like.” I offered earnestly.

Cormac groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“What if we make it more challenging?” Liam cleared his throat. “The Fomorians, versus the Princelings. If they get past the city limits without being eaten, they’ll be free to go.”

I told myself that Liam was trying to help, that he had seen Shay and Rainn fight the fomorians with ease, but it did little to soothe me.

Balor sucked her lips between her teeth. “Fomorians?” She scoffed. “Mindless beasts. No. Something more challenging. Something cunning.”

“I’m not sure—” Liam sat up, interrupting.

Balor snapped her fingers. “The Oilliphéist .”

“No.” I shook my head. “That’s not part of our deal. You’ll get the Dagda’s magic, but the Oilliphéist is—”

Shay Mac Eoin stepped forward. “We accept the challenge. If we can defeat the Oilliphéist and get out of the city limits, we’ll go free. Yes?”

Balor shot me a knowing look, smugness radiating from her every pore. “See, Maeve. They’d rather face the Oilliphéist to protect themselves than to risk anything for you. Mate bonds mean nothing. Otherwise, they wouldn’t dissolve upon death.”

Nuada tried to lift herself, but fell back on her face. Cormac stepped forward and pulled her over his shoulder. No one moved to stop him.

“Unless they don’t know what an Oilliphéist is?” Balor rounded her eyes. Her glamour flickered, revealing her face to be nothing but a mask. She was not Undine; instead, her skin was a thin membrane, like that of a jellyfish. Inside, writhing darkness.

My breath locked in my chest.

“Dragons of the water, the Oilliphéist .” Balor tittered.

“The Old Kings hunted them all to extinction. They used to farm the beasts, too. They eat Fae, younglings especially. Belisama condemned them from existence, but a collector amongst the Hags of Goren sold one for the price of a Siren’s wings. ”

Nuada’s wings . I realized. She’d used Nuada’s wings to buy a dragon serpent.

“You really hate the Tuatha Dé Danann. Don’t you?” I whispered.

Balor, who had seemed relatively self-satisfied until that moment, paused as if considering the question for the first time. “Well, of course I do. They take and take and take. They have the Aos Sí, they have the magic and the reverence of the Sídhe, and they still came to the Domhain to take it!”

Balor’s strange form snapped back into the genteel, delicate face of an Undine courtier. Her brow creased with irritation. “I don’t have all day!” She snapped. “I’ll accept your bargain.”

“I will sit on the throne, and in exchange, you will allow Shay Mac Eoin, Rainn Shallows, Cormac Illfinn, Tormalugh Shadowhock, Liam Cruinn, and Nuada to leave the city limits.” I reiterated, refusing to look away.

“Just so.” Balor nodded impatiently.

“May I say goodbye?” I dipped my head, trying to look suitably cowed.

Balor rolled her hand and turned back to the table, picking up her cup and draining the glass in one swallow. “If you must. Don’t take too long.” Balor flounced into the nearest seat. “Go on then.” She demanded, turning to her son. “I suppose you’re going to join them.”

“Would you care if I did?” Liam asked, genuine curiosity in his voice.

“You’re my son,” Balor stated. “You are my joy, and my blood.”

“I can’t tell if you believe that, or if you’re simply pretending to have emotions.” Liam cocked his head to the side.

“Why not both?” Balor chuckled.

I took her distraction as a sign and ushered my mates to the doorway.

Rainn crossed his arms over his chest. “If you think I’m leaving you here with that monster, think again.” He warned. Shay, who had seen my bloody body after my last interaction with the throne, agreed with an angry nod.

“Trust me.” I glanced back at Balor as Liam distracted her. “I know what I am going, and I trust that Shay remembers that story about the Oilliphéist. Besides, I need you as far away from the castle as possible. I plan to make Balor very, very angry.”

“You bargained with the Dagda’s magic.” Cormac snapped, his breath low.

I ignored him and leaned toward Shay, arms extended as I hugged him close to me. Shay reacted instinctively, pulling my body into his. I closed my eyes for only a moment, leaning close to whisper into the shell of his ear. My back to Balor, as I said my goodbyes.

I broke away from our embrace, lighter, and turned to Tormalugh. “You need to get the Undine out of the city as you run. I need you to use your magic, to make them feel such terror that they need to flee.”

Tor nodded staunchly, the silver bridle pulled the edges of his lips, wearing the skin of his cheeks.

I wanted to take it off, but before I could say another word, he reached for me, grabbing the back of my neck and pulling my lips to his.

The silver clinked against my teeth, but our lips met, and my blood fizzled with his touch.

“Be safe.” He told me, holding my gaze. “Don’t die. ”