Sunrise

Paul couldn't fall asleep. Even though he knew he should be beyond tired right now after the day they had and how late they stayed up, he couldn't seem to get his brain to shut down for the night, which had him switching positions for probably the 50th time. He stopped, seeing Roisin on her side, watching him with a small smile.

"Can't sleep either?" she asked.

"Sorry. I'm keeping you up," he replied, feeling a bit guilty. Roisin just chuckled, reaching out to run her fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp. Finally, Paul felt himself begin to calm down.

"Feeling better?" she asked. He nodded.

"Do you feel it too?" he asked, suddenly realizing he hadn't really had a chance to ask her. Roisin furrowed her brow. "After we… it's like… I feel you. I knew you were frustrated and worried when we were talking earlier even though your face was calm. And right now… You're still anxious."

Roisin didn't reply at first, but a look of understanding came over her features.

"So that's what I'm feeling right now. You," she said. "I guess I didn't notice it earlier with… everything. But yea, I'm still pretty worried about this plan, but behind that there's a bit of calm. From you, I think. Is that a normal imprint thing?"

"Not really. I mean, we've always been able to sense when they're in danger or something. But I don't think anyone else has shared emotions like this," he said. "The only person I know who can do that is a le-vampire."

Roisin laughed softly.

"Just another factor that makes us weird," she said lightly. Paul nodded.

"So are you going to finally tell me what the hell Jacob said to get you on board with the plan?" Paul asked. Roisin smiled and rolled onto her back, looking up at the ceiling.

"We made a truce," she said. "And well… he said some things that made me think that maybe this plan wasn't completely stupid." Paul rolled his eyes as he chuckled. She looked over at him again. "He called me brave, too."

"Because you are brave," Paul said with a snort. "You went up against Cathal."

"Partly because I was pissed off and itching for a fight," Roisin replied ruefully. "Which is actually kind of stupid and not very brave."

"But you also knew it was the best way to get Tara back without having to hand yourself or Sean over outright," Paul countered.

"If I won," she added.

"Which we both know you would have if I hadn't interrupted," Paul continued.

"Maybe we should learn how to coordinate our fighting styles," Roisin suggested. Paul couldn't help but smile at that thought.

The two of them fighting together. Kicking ass and taking names. He liked that idea.

She then rolled over towards him and Paul automatically reached out for her.

"You really think this will work? That everyone will come?" she asked, her voice dropping to a whisper. "That we'll get them all back and he won't kill Sean? That no one will die?"

"Honestly, I don't know. But I certainly hope that it will," he replied, finding it was better to match her honesty even if he had a choice to lie and make her feel better. "And I know I'm going to fight as hard as I can." Roisin nodded and looked deep into his eyes.

"We should really be getting some sleep. We don't know when Cathal is going to show up," she said.

"Yea, wish I could get that message to my brain," Paul said wryly. Roisin chuckled and then pressed a lingering kiss to his lips.

"You know… I have this really fun way to tire ourselves out," she said smoothly in a way that had Paul immediately aroused. "Guaranteed to make you pass out in exhaustion." A sly smile appeared as he quickly rolled over on top of her.

"I think I know what you're talking about," he said, just as seductively before he bent down and began kissing her neck.

"Goddess…"

OOOO

Roisin nearly jumped when she walked into the kitchen the next morning to start the coffee and found Sean standing in front of the windows, looking out over the yard. Though he was still, she could see the tension in his back and his shadows once again caressing him in such a way it looked as though they were attempting to comfort him.

Glancing around, she could tell everyone else was still asleep or not there since the house was so quiet, so she walked over to him. With all that was going on last night, she hadn't had the chance to talk to him about all of this. And well, he had spent pretty much the whole time in his room. Cara had gone in after some time and then left to deliver the message to Cathal.

"Cara back yet?" she asked as she reached his side and looked over at him.

"She got back early this morning," he replied. He lifted his hand, holding a piece of paper. "Found this taped to the back door when I woke up."

Roisin took it, opening it up.

Deal. Today. Sunset.

She took a deep breath. At least they had a bit more time to prepare. She still hadn't heard from Jacob about the Cullens or Brendan about the other fae. He, Caoimhe and Niamh had set out last night as well and she wasn't sure if they had gotten back yet.

"What did you say to him?" she asked, looking back up at him.

"Me for Mae and Tara - alive. We do the exchange here. I won't fight him," Sean said. He then looked over at her finally. "So, really counting on you to jump in there for me."

"I've always got your back," she said. He nodded and looked back at the yard.

"I know," he said simply. "But be careful."

"If you're about to start lecturing me-"

Sean turned to her suddenly, cutting her off as she took in the deep worry and fear in his eyes. But she knew it wasn't fear for himself or what Cathal would do to him. It was fear that Cathal could somehow hurt Roisin or steal her away to the Shadow Court. Roisin gulped, feeling the heaviness in the air.

"We're going to win this," she said softly. "We're going to beat Cathal and make sure he doesn't hurt you or anyone. And then we're going to run off and get as far away from him and my family and Winter as we possibly can."

Sean stared at her a moment before he nodded and turned back to the window, the heaviness dissipating slightly.

"Thinking maybe Mae wasn't halfway wrong about a deserted island," Sean said. "Not really deserted, but… got a place in mind where we can lay low for a few months until we can work out something more permanent. Or well, more solid."

"Sounds good. Sure Paul will like that," Roisin said, now imagining spending her days laying out on a beach with him. Swimming. Snorkeling. It was better to get lost in the daydream than to worry about what was going to happen that night.

"It'll be a good chance to teach him everything as well," Sean said with a sigh. "If he's with us, he's going to need to know everything about us."

"He's handled everything really well so far," Roisin replied. "I'm sure we won't have any problems." Sean smirked slightly.

"Yea, but he's also never had to go through a summer solstice with you," he commented.

"I… oh shit," she replied, glancing off towards her bedroom. "Yea, we should warn him about that… and take precautions. It… could get out of hand..." Sean chuckled.

Paul knew that it was their most sacred day in the Summer Court, but she hadn't exactly told him what went down. In the court, it was a week of debauchery, shenanigans and well, a whole lot of pleasure. And for the entire week, every Summer fae - whether in the Fae world or here - felt it. Pretty strongly. Other fae took part even if they weren't Summer, mostly because of all the stories. And well, they were all affected by the solstices in some way, it was just stronger in Summer fae during the summer solstice.

"Definitely should give him some warning before a ton of fae show up and start stripping," he replied with a smirk. "Or start trying to seduce him.

"Definitely," she said with a sigh. "But this imprint thing - it's definitely a monogamous thing… I'm honestly surprised how well I'm taking to it, considering..."

Sean raised an eyebrow at her, seeming curious.

"You mean if I offered to do that thing you like, you would turn me down?" he asked, a half-smile on his face. Roisin thought about it half a second and then nodded.

Even though Sean was talented in his own right, she honestly didn't want to mess around with him anymore. Granted, it wasn't like there had been romantic feelings there the times they had hooked up over the century. It was just fulfilling needs.

"And well, he gets jealous. You saw how he was with Cathal," she said.

"He's not going to like hearing about past solstices," Sean then said.

Roisin rolled her eyes and turned, walking back into the main part of the kitchen to start up the coffee pot.

"I'll explain everything. He'll get it," she said. "We can't help it… Especially on the solstice."

"What about all the other times when it wasn't the solstice? You're sure he's going to understand that?" Sean asked. "That he'll be okay with that side of you?"

"I told you, things have changed. I can't even imagine being with anyone else. I don't want to. Romantically or otherwise. Just him," she said, pulling the coffee grounds out of the cabinet. "This imprint thing is strong, I will tell you that."

There was silence a few seconds.

"Just wanted to make sure. And… so… what about Naked Wednesdays…" Sean started. Roisin frowned. What the hell was Sean talking about?

"What the hell is Naked Wednesday?"

Roisin jumped and spun around, seeing Paul standing in the kitchen in pajama pants without a shirt, a look on his face that was somewhere between worried and confused. She then glared at Sean, who was now laughing and had probably known all along that Paul was about to walk into the kitchen.

Well then, looked like the impending battle hadn't dampened his sense of humor. Or his desire to screw around with people.

"Oh my goddess. Sean is messing with you. We never had a thing called Naked Wednesday," Roisin said, turning back to the coffee pot. She heard Paul breathe a sigh of relief.

"I wouldn't mind starting it up, though," Sean said.

"Enough, Sean. It's too early in the morning for you to be fucking with him," Roisin said as she started dumping coffee grounds into the machine, glancing over her shoulder.

Paul looked a bit perturbed, though Sean was openly appreciating his body. She couldn't fault him. Paul had an amazing body and she now had personal experience that he knew exactly what to do with it. But he was all hers.

"Suppose you already took care of that this morning, didn't you?" Sean asked, glancing at her. Good grief. "At least consider it… Naked Wednesdays."

He then winked at Paul as he turned and left the kitchen.

"He was joking, right?" Paul asked. "I mean, I'm not… but we... Naked Wednesdays?"

Roisin couldn't help but chuckle at the perplexed expression on Paul's face. Okay, so Sean had a point. There was still a lot that she was going to have to explain to him. And well, she supposed Sean's humor was at times not for everyone, though she was grateful to see it this morning. It was better than him brooding, which he was sure to start doing as the day wore on.

"Yes, he's joking. There's no Naked Wednesday. And he's not going to seduce you," she said as she turned to finish up the coffee.

"Well, he can't. Even without the imprint, I'm not into guys," Paul said with a scoff. Roisin glanced at him as she made her way over to the fridge to get stuff to make breakfast. "Though… I wouldn't mind Naked Wednesdays as long as it was just you and me."

Roisin looked over at him, her eyebrows raised as she saw the sexy smirk on his face. That was a turnaround. She then noticed Cara walking towards the kitchen in her pajamas, rolling her eyes as she turned right back around and walked away.

"GET A ROOM!" she shouted as she walked away, holding her middle finger up in the air, causing Paul's cheeks to color slightly as he looked over to the archway.

"IF YOU WANT!" came Sean's addition. "I WOULDN'T MIND- OW! GODDAMMIT, CARA!"

"Pretty sure she punched him," Roisin said with a smile as she got back to work on breakfast. "And you'll get used to it… to them."

"What exactly are they?" Paul asked. Roisin laughed again.

"Yea, I don't think there's a word for it," she replied, starting on some scrambled eggs. "They're… Sean and Cara…"

"Right… so what was this about the summer solstice you guys were talking about?" Paul asked.

Roisin looked over, seeing that he was attempting to keep an innocent expression, but he had clearly overheard more than she thought. Roisin rolled her eyes as she turned back to the eggs. Damn wolf hearing.

"Oh my goddess… it's like you men have one thing on the brain this morning..."

OOOO

What had started out as a strange, but funny morning quickly changed. After breakfast, the fae started showing up with fierce expressions, reading to fight. Then the packs. And finally Jacob showed up with the Cullens. Paul wasn't sure what he said to get them on board with this, but they were there and for once, he was truly grateful for the vampire family.

"So, what's the plan?" Emmett asked, smiling. Of course, he would be eager for a fight. "And anything else you can tell us about fighting them?"

Everyone looked at the group of about 13 fae that had gathered. Paul was impressed that they managed to get more than they had promised. All of them had been staring at Roisin as soon as they arrived, whispering to each other. It had her on edge. He could both feel it and see it.

She glanced at them and then turned to the vampires.

"These are Shadow fae. They will try to use your own fears against you," she said. She then looked to Sean, who had his arms crossed in front of him and a stern look on his face.

"They love fighting. Revel in blood and gore. They won't be merciful," he said. "And they're good at it. Fighting. Killing. But they are arrogant and they aren't indestructible. While they have speed and strength like vampires, they are flesh and blood. They'll bleed. And they can die."

The wolves and vampires seemed to accept this, all of them nodding.

"Sean and I will approach Cathal. Everyone else will wait in the woods until we give the sign," Roisin said. "We don't want to chance him finding out too soon and calling in reinforcements."

She then looked towards the windows, seeing the sun was getting lower in the sky. It was time for them to get out there. Paul felt a nervous energy settle in his bones. They all turned to the doors and stepped out. The fae, vampires and wolves started into the trees. Paul stopped and turned to Roisin, her own worry combining with his. There was a streak of determination in there as well.

He knew that she didn't want anyone on their side to die today. And by god, they were all going to do what they could to make sure that wouldn't happen.

Paul reached out for her, pulling her close and kissing her. He then stared down into her eyes.

"We can do this. You can do this," he said softly, but firmly. Roisin just nodded in response. He then turned and started jogging into the woods, joining the rest of his pack.

They quickly undressed, shifted and started to fan out, their eyes fixed on the couple standing in the middle of the field, their eyes fixed on the far side.

God, he hoped they could do this.

OOOO

Roisin took a deep breath, trying to keep her jumping nerves calm. She felt Sean reach out and take her hand. She looked over at him and swallowed.

"I'm not going to let him take you," she said solemnly. A brief smile flashed across his face.

"Usually I'm the one saying that," he replied.

"Yea, well, I mean it just as much as you do," she said. Sean stared at her a moment and then pulled her to him, kissing her forehead.

"I'm counting on you to seriously kick my brother's ass," he said. "I talked a big game, but I really don't want to die today."

"I know."

He then let go of her and the two looking around the trees, waiting. They had more time before Cathal was supposed to arrive, but she wanted to make sure that everyone was well hidden before the exchange. Even if the Shadow king knew there would be an ambush, she didn't want to chance him hurting anyone before he even got to them.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Roisin's dread began to grow.

"He's here," Sean said dully.

They both waited and watched as shadows glided out of the trees, slithering across the ground before they swirled together and Cathal appeared, an amused smile on his face.

"I was hoping you'd be here," he said to Roisin.

"Where's Tara and Mae?" she replied. Cathal sighed.

"You are far too serious, Summer princess," he said, sounding disappointed, as he lifted his hand and motioned to someone.

In an instant, another fae appeared, gripping an angry Mae by the arm with one hand, and propping up a bruised and disoriented Tara with the other arm. She was still in her wetsuit. At first, relief coursed through Roisin, but then it was quickly followed by worry when she saw the state her friend was in. The highschooler looked around until her eyes finally locked on Roisin.

"Ro?" she said, tears filling her eyes. "Oh my god, Ro!"

She tried to get out of the fae's arm, but nearly collapsed.

"We said unharmed," Roisin said, turning her eyes to Cathal, seething.

"And I told you that I didn't do anything to hurt the little mortal," he replied. "But I couldn't attest to what was done before I found her…"

"Let's get this over with," Sean said. Cathal's eyes flicked over to him.

"So eager to die, are we?" he asked with a chuckle.

"No, just eager to be done with you," Sean retorted.

"Fine. Hand them over. And remember, you said you wouldn't fight," Cathal said, leveling a scowl at his older brother. Sean didn't reply, only started walking towards him.

"Cara!" Roisin shouted. In an instant, the Shadow fae appeared, taking Mae and Tara.

"Close your eyes," she ordered Tara. The human girl looked confused but did as she was told, then the three were gone, safely inside the house.

"Well, now that they're out of the way," Cathal said, a cruel smile spreading across his handsome face.

Roisin didn't even have time to say or do anything before she and Sean were suddenly surrounded by a ring of Shadow fae. Quickly, Sean ran to her side, trying to position himself in between her and the others, but it was difficult.

"What is this?!" Sean demanded, the ground shaking slightly under his feet.

"Please, like I was going to pass up the chance to get you both. Go ahead, call out your little warriors that you probably have hiding out around here," Cathal said, waving his hand in the air. "Let's get this over with. I've got dinner plans that I don't want to be late for."

Roisin looked at Sean and he nodded once. Turning back to back in the ring, she let out a loud, shrill whistle as she stared down the Shadow fae surrounding them. They had been right in that Cathal likely underestimated them - there were only about 20. But at the same time, these were trained fighters. And a large majority of their side had never fought a fae before.

But still, Roisin was liking the odds.

"Ah, it's your guard dog," Cathal said, watching as Paul stalked out of the trees. Roisin looked over at him. Cathal was laughing, though that quickly stopped when the rest of the packs began emerging from the trees, their hackles raised and bodies taunt, ready to strike. "Holy…"

He turned to look at Roisin, anger starting to creep into his eyes. She was sure he thought they were werewolves, which would probably help them out.

"You honestly thought we wouldn't be prepared? Sean may have promised not to fight you, but I made no such promise," Roisin replied.

In the next instant, the fae and vampires had joined the wolves, the group now forming a large, loose ring about the Shadow fae. Cathal scanned the group, a scowl on his face and calculating look in his eyes. While she hoped that he would get scared off, he was the Shadow king. He didn't scare that easily.

And it seemed his soldiers didn't either, the entire group tense as they waited to see who would attack first.

"Vampires, wolves and fae," Cathal said, looking back at Roisin. "I am impressed…"

A predatory smile spread across his face as he walked towards the ring, standing just outside of it. Roisin heard Paul growling loudly, though neither she nor Cathal looked in his direction.

"All of this for my traitorous brother, a foolish Summer fae and an insignificant mortal. I'm curious to see what you do when something bigger is on the line," he said.

Even though everything inside her was jumping to attack, Roisin waited and remained calm as she stared the Shadow king down, praying that he would cut his losses and just go.

"You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?" Cathal asked. Roisin shook her head. "Very well."

Three things happened all at once. Cathal snapped his fingers, disappeared, and then hell broke loose.

OOOO

Paul charged at the ring of Shadow fae as soon as he saw them lunge towards Roisin and Sean but found himself being cut off. He roared and tried to sink his teeth in to toss the fae out his way, but it was suddenly at his side, landing a kick that had him flying through the air, much farther away than he wanted to be.

Paul! To your left! Jared shouted.

Paul turned his attention away from the others just in time to see another fae rushing at him. He spun around and prepared to lunge forward when Jared flew through the air, tackling the fae to the ground and taking a large chunk out of its shoulder, causing it to shriek in pain. Paul growled as he looked back over, seeing Roisin and Sean still surrounded by about five fae, the two of them fighting back to back.

Quickly, he began to fight his way over, every so often catching a glimpse of them. They moved in a way that almost looked choreographed, the two fae easily moving with each other, one ducking or dodging while the other punched or kicked. Sometimes giving the other a literal hand. Sean's shadows swirled around them, often pushing fae back or knocking them off their feet, while Roisin would punch one and then send another sprawling just by raising her hand at it.

Her hair flowed around her, flames licking at the ends and flaring up every so often, while Sean's face looked absolutely terrifying. As though he was a nightmare incarnate.

So far, it looked like their side was winning. But yet, Cathal hadn't shown up again. Just where was he?

Paul didn't have time to wonder about it too long, dodging another fae as he helped Jared take down another, the two easily falling into their usual routine. Finally he worked his way over to Sean and Roisin, managing to sink his teeth into a fae that had been just about to launch onto her.

For a moment, she looked at him with wide eyes, but then she grinned and nodded. The three of them began working together then - Sean paralyzing the fae and then Paul attacking. Or doing the same for Roisin. They easily and quickly fell into sync together in such a way that it actually surprised Paul. But then again with the imprint, it probably shouldn't have.

He only hoped this would all be over with soon.

OOOO

"Ro, you do know your hair is on fire, right?" Sean called out. Roisin grunted as she ducked and then flew up in the air, landing a kick to the fae's chest that shot it across the field and into a tree trunk. "And your wings."

"Yea," she said, slightly breathless. "New thing."

Sean glared at one of the fae, causing it to shriek in agony as its eyes glazed over. He then jumped out of the way as Paul took care of the rest.

"Since when?" he asked.

"Uh… since Paul and I-" Roisin stopped speaking as she sent a wave of heat at two approaching fae, sending them flying back. Wait… were there more Shadow fae? She swore they hadn't been outnumbered before this all started and it felt like more just kept pouring out of the trees.

She then turned and blasted off two fae that had been trying to sneak up on Paul, then ducked down as he leaped over her to take out another.

"Since you what?"

"Slept together. First time. I kinda set both of us on fire. Literally," she said, not sure why they were having this conversation now. She was trying to save his ass from his homicidal brother.

Roisin looked around, not seeing Cathal anywhere. What the hell? Was he seriously about to let his pawns do all his dirty work?

"Get your fucking ass out here, Cathal! Unless you're scared!" she shouted, taunting him.

"For fuck's sake, Ro!"

Suddenly, Roisin was cut off from Sean, Paul and everyone as a wall of shadows appeared, twisting around her. She spun around, finding Cathal standing there with a smirk on his face and his hands in his pockets, his shadows creating an enclosure around them.

"Let me guess… rematch?" he asked, tilting his head to the side as he smiled at her. He then took in the flames in her hair and wings. "Like the new look…"

Roisin didn't reply as she narrowed her eyes, clenching her hands into fists at her sides. As Cathal continued to grin at her, she could feel her anger start to grow. This had started out as a fight to get her friends back, but now as she remembered how broken Tara had looked, it only increased her rage. One of Cathal's fae had taken Tara and hurt her. And he had exploited that and Mae's foolish decision to his advantage.

He was just one more fae who wanted to control her. Use her. And he wanted to hurt Sean. Kill him. She wasn't about to let him hurt anyone else that she loved.

Roisin started towards him, breathing heavily as she felt her power well up in her like hot lava, starting to pool in her hands. If he was nervous, Cathal hid it well, striking a casual pose as he waited for her to draw nearer. But just as she was about to strike out, some of the shadows peeled off, slamming into her chest and tossing her back. Quickly, she got back on her feet and charged for him again, this time managing to dodge the shadows while sending a blast of heat at him that had Cathal incensed. Rather than taunt her, he solely focused on the fight.

The two moved around each other in rapid fashion. A kick here. A punch there. Roisin gritted her teeth together, frustrated at how fast he was, how difficult it was to evade him in the small space. But she wasn't about to give up.

She had just begun to lunge for him again when she came to an abrupt stop, no longer in the circle of his shadows but rather in a large open field with Rian standing in front of her. His cold blue eyes were fixed on her, as a small smile appeared on his face.

Cold began to slither through her veins even though he didn't move towards her.

"I know what you want," Cathal's voice came from somewhere behind her. Suddenly, he was behind Rian, a long, ugly dagger in his hand, light glinting off its jagged edge.

Roisin couldn't look away, transfixed as Cathal slowly lifted the blade.

"I'd do it for you. Or we could do it together," Cathal continued.

With a quick jerk, the dagger was then back at his side as Rian's mouth dropped open and blood began to pour from his neck.

Relief flooded through Roisin as she watched him fall to his knees and then faceplant on the ground, blood staining the grass around him. It was then followed by a feeling of satisfaction. She looked back up, meeting Cathal's eyes.

"Join me… and we can kill him together," Cathal crooned. "No one could touch us. We'll start with Winter and one by one we can take over all the other courts." He continued slowly walking towards her, his voice growing more and more seductive. "You want to do this…"

"I…" Roisin started.

It would be easy to say yes. Then she could stop running. Without Rian alive, there would be no marriage. No more fear. He would never hurt anyone ever again. And Cathal was strong. Stronger than her. If she agreed, they could kill Rian together. They would be unstoppable. Her fire and his shadows.

She then stopped. No. She didn't want this. Well, yes, she wouldn't mind if Rian died, but she didn't want to make a deal with Cathal to kill him. Didn't want to be with him. She didn't want to take over all the fae courts. And the Shadow king always wanted something - she would give up too much.

Both Cathal and Rian needed to pay for what they had done, and someday they would. For trying to kill Sean. For hurting Tara. For hurting herself. But not like this.

Closing her eyes, Riosin took a deep breath and reached inside her, grabbing onto her power and embracing it. She needed to break out of Cathal's control of her.

When she opened her eyes, Cathal jumped back slightly, but Roisin didn't give him a chance to get away, lunging for him. She grabbed him by the neck, lifting him from the ground and then slamming him down into it. Cathal quickly jumped back to his feet, the shadow enclosure around them starting to flicker slightly. With a shout, they both launched at each other. Despite the fact she wasn't even sure how long she had been fighting, Roisin found herself strangely energized. She had gotten out of Cathal's enthrallment a second time now - the first being when he attempted to use her own fear against her and just now when he tried to use her darkest desire to tempt her.

It was rare that someone could break free of his entanglements like that.

And the longer they fought, the more frustrated Cathal appeared. He couldn't seem to get his hands on her, which only pushed Roisin faster and harder. Finally, they broke through the wall of Shadows as Cathal landed hard on his back with Roisin on top of him, her hand blazing like a branding iron on his neck as the Shadow king shouted in pain.

"You will never hurt anyone that I love again," she hissed, bending down so that he was looking directly into her eyes.

"Ro!"

She looked up, seeing that while she had been caught up with Cathal, the fight had ended outside. Sean ran up to her with a now transformed Paul just behind him. Sean came to a stop, breathing heavily as he looked down at them with wide eyes, covered in cuts and bruises, but looking otherwise fine.

Roisin looked down at Cathal and then back up at Sean. She got up and dragged Cathal with her, a large severe burn in the shape of her hand on his neck that would likely scar. Good.

She then shoved him down on his knees, roughly holding his arms behind him as she shoved her knee into his back and then met Sean's eyes. For some reason, he stared at her slightly in shock as she grinned at him.

"You want to do the honors or should I?" she asked him.

"What are you doing?" Paul asked, a slightly horrified look on his face. Roisin laughed.

"We're going to kill him, of course."

OOOO

Getting closer to the end! And sorry if the pacing feels a bit off with this chapter. I knew the fight would happen at the end and didn't intend to have so much before it, but then… got to writing and couldn't stop. Then couldn't bring myself to cut too much stuff out (though I did end up cutting out A LOT). You know how it is… Hard to kill babies and all…

And I really wanted to show more of the others fighting with Shadow, but I wanted the main focus to be on Roisin, Sean and Paul fighting together and then Roisin facing off with Cathal. Once I did that, I realized I had a lot going on, and adding more in would make things a bit too convoluted, I think. Yea, best to keep it focused. And sorry to end on another cliffhanger, but the good news is that I'm making good progress and should be able to post the next chapter tomorrow. I'm about a third of the way into Chapter 31, then it's just one more chapter to write after that.

I kind of feel that the deeper I got into this story, the more chaotic it got (or maybe it's just me?) but, suppose it goes with the characters. The fae are pretty chaotic… And knowing me, there's always the chance I'll go back and do some editing/rewriting later on to try and streamline things a bit, but for now, I'm happy with how things are going.

Marianka – Thanks so much! Yes, Jacob can be nice, haha. And well, there's a lot more to come. Even though this battle is over, there's another bigger one to come…

Thanks everyone for reading and following! Let me know what you think!