‘The army,’ I whispered.

The group who’d come with Aifric stared at the spot where he’d disappeared then turned and ran, disappearing through the door through which they’d entered. They wouldn’t get far but that might not matter. Any Sidhe Farsensers would have already realised that Aifric was dead. ‘We have to do something,’ I gasped.

Asbar snapped out brusque orders, telling the others to muster their forces and meet the Sidhe face on. ‘No, no, no,’ I whispered. ‘No.’

Over my head, I heard Fergus shout. With Byron’s help, I struggled up. ‘I need to see,’ I said. ‘What’s going on?’

He pointed. ‘There,’ he said quietly. ‘There they are.’

He was right, they were all there. The Sidhe were amassing and, even though I couldn’t see any expressions from this distance, I knew they were ready for the fight. Fomori demons came spilling out from the castle gates below and from Arthur’s Seat to the side. It wouldn’t matter who won, this would be a massacre on both sides.

‘Relax,’ Fergus said.

‘How can I relax? Hundreds, thousands are going to die and I can’t do anything to st—’ I paused. ‘What’s that?’ A cloud of dust was approaching the Sidhe army at a tremendous speed. I gaped.

‘I told you we had a plan,’ Speck said. He wagged his finger at me. ‘You should have more faith, Chieftain.’

‘Are those trolls?’ Asbar asked, blinking out in shock. Everyone around me beamed and nodded. ‘Are they being led by a very large man and a woman in a strange white dress?’

Lexie gave Taylor a high-five. I shook my head. ‘But won’t the Sidhe…’

‘Wait,’ Byron cautioned.

I blinked and stared. The trolls weren’t alone; the MacQuarries were behind them. So much for their promise to stay within the safety of their Lands. Next to them stood a towering group that couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than Wild Men.

‘Candy came through,’ Brochan said. He raised his eyebrows at Speck. ‘And so did your lot.’

My mouth was dry. Hundreds and hundreds of warlocks were encircling the group.

‘The Foinse is free,’ Speck said simply. ‘Now we have more magic than the Sidhe. The Clan-Less aren’t powerless any more.’

‘We stand with Clan Adair!’ they screamed, their combined voices as loud as if they were standing next to us.

Tipsania raised her hand. Whether reluctantly or not, the entire Scrymgeour Clan pulled away, crossing the divide and joining her. There was a pause and then, when she dropped her arm, they all bellowed, ‘We stand with Clan Adair!’

Byron smiled grimly. ‘You’re not the only one who’s been working hard to make things better.’

A smaller figure appeared from the middle of the Sidhe. The army of trolls came to a halt and Tipsania walked forward, her head held high and with the confident deportment of a Chieftain, and met the other figure halfway. I squinted. ‘Is that…?’

‘Kirsty Kincaid.’ Byron grinned. ‘She must have done what she promised.’