“How did you recognize him then?”
“I didn’t.” His arms held her steady despite the oss’s lurching gallop. “I saw through the spell he’d placed on his ice griffin. He’s the only person who’s ever managed to tame one, he’s famous for it. Otherwise I would never have known.”
She risked a glance back. Past Aodhan’s broad shoulder, she caught a glimpse of two winged forms battling in the sky, swooping round each other while their riders traded blows. The oss had already carried them so far away that it was hard to tell the unseelie and the seelie fae apart.
“Do you think Ferghal can stop him?” she asked Aodhan.
“Let’s pray to all the goddesses he does,” Aodhan said, in tones that indicated it would indeed take a miracle. “At least Morcant didn’t get more than a few steps past the boundary. If Ferghal can just push him back far enough to reinstate the wards—”
Even as he spoke, a distant shriek split the air. Cathy instinctively turned her head, but Aodhan blocked her view. He flung a glance back himself, swore, and pulled her closer.
“Ferghal’s down,” he said in a tight voice.
Up until five minutes ago, Cathy would have happily strangled the knight with her own two hands. Now her stomach knotted. “Dead?”
“I don’t think so. Looks like Eislyn’s trying to heal him.” He huddled around her, shielding her body with his own. “Either way, they’re out of the fight. We have to get to Kevin.”
Kevin. Cathy felt as though Morcant had reached out and closed his armored fist around her heart. The oss’s pounding strides suddenly seemed far too slow; Ferghal’s manor house, as distant as the moon.
Aodhan cursed again, yanking at the oss’s neck. Cathy barely kept her balance as the construct swerved, leaping to one side. An icy blast shot through the space where they’d just been, passing so close that she felt its chill against her skin.
Aodhan yelled something, throwing up a hand, and the air around them glittered. An instant later, a second blast shattered against the shield, breaking apart into a storm of hailstones.
“I can’t hold this for long!” Aodhan shouted, even as another frozen thunderbolt slammed into them. She could feel him shaking, every muscle in his body straining as though struggling to support an impossible weight. “Can’t this damn tree go any faster?”
Sorcery is a matter of desire,Aodhan had told her, what seemed like a lifetime ago. Cathy had never tried to do magic without his guidance, but he was too busy holding off Morcant’s attacks to assist her now.
She pressed her palms flat against her oss’s neck, imagining all her desperation pouring into it. They had to get to Kevin before Morcant, they had to—
Emerald light gathered around her hands, flowing down into the construct. It blazed within the latticework body, shining out between every twisted branch and twig.
The oss shot forward as though propelled by a rocket. Aodhan let out a wordless sound of startled approval, his arms tightening around her. Blasts rained down behind them—but each one impacted further and further back.
“He’s falling behind.” Aodhan twisted round, guarding her back as the oss hurtled for the distant manor house. “Whatever you’re doing, for Herne’s sake, don’t stop!”
Cathy bit her lip, concentrating on pouring strength into their steed. By the time the oss pulled up outside the house, Cathy felt as though she’d been running flat out. She was gasping for breath as she slid off the construct’s back. In a heartbeat, Aodhan was at her side, supporting her.
The oss had evidently had quite enough of the whole business. The moment they were both free of its back, it took to its heels, heading for the horizon.
“No!” Cathy cried out, reaching after the construct in a futile attempt to call it back. “Wait!”
“Let it go. We can’t outpace Morcant on the ground anyway.” Aodhan wrapped an arm under her shoulders, half-dragging her up the stairs. He hit the front door like a battering ram, slamming it back on its hinges. “Everyone get out! Get out now!”
“I beg your pardon,” the butler started, swelling like a bullfrog with indignation—and then his face went stark white. Cathy guessed he’d sensed what was bearing down on the house like a hurricane. “What—what’s happening?”
“Morcant is happening,” Aodhan snapped, shouldering the other fae aside. “But he’s here for us, not you. Tell everyone to get as far away as they can. We’ll draw him off. If you don’t want to meet the Morrigan today, move!”
The butler bolted. Cathy was already heading up the main stairs as fast as her wobbly legs could carry her—which wasn’t nearly fast enough. It felt like running in a nightmare; her body swimming through treacle, the corridors between her and her son stretching to infinity.
Without a word, Aodhan scooped her up. Cathy clung gratefully to his neck as he took the stairs three at a time.
“Kevin,” she managed to get out, though her lungs still burned in her chest. “Where-?”
“I sent him to your chamber earlier.” Aodhan never paused, his legs devouring the distance in long strides. “Herne, let him be there.”
Miracle of miracles, for once her son had actually obeyed an instruction. Admittedly, when they burst through the door they found Kevin halfway out the window, craning his neck to try to see what was going on—but at least he was still mostly in the room.
“Aodhan!” Kevin exclaimed, spinning round. He caught sight of Cathy and stiffened. “Oh. And you.”