“And no one did.”

But he did have a point. I glanced down at the picture again. Presuming Eljin was into women rather than men, and that there was the necessary spark that happened when potential lovers first met, why not test the possibilities out anyone else could?

“Fine,” I muttered. “I’ll pick the man up. But you’ll have to lend me your car.”

He laughed and glanced over his shoulder. “I knew you’d never be able to resist a pretty face.”

He’d barely finished that comment when the knives came to life, the heat of them so fierce it burned through my jeans and scalded my skin.

But before I could warn him, there was a blast of light and a loud whoomph. A heartbeat later, we were hit by a wind so fierce it swept us up and sent us flying.

Chapter Nine

I hit the ground with a pain-filled grunt and slid down the hill for several yards before spotting the looming thicket of brambles. I grabbed desperately at nearby tree roots, breaking several before I found one sturdy enough to hold my weight and stop the slide.

I drew in a shuddering breath and winced as pain slithered down my left side. It wasn’t bad enough to suggest I’d broken anything, but I’d undoubtedly have a colorful array of bruises tomorrow, given the ground was as rough as old boots. Fragmented spell threads rained all around me, evidence to the strength of the spell Lugh had somehow triggered...

Lugh.

I sat up and looked around, my heart somewhere in my mouth. After a moment, I spotted his crumpled figure half wrapped around a moss-covered rock.

And he wasn’t moving.

I scrambled over, dropped onto my knees behind him, and tentatively reached out to feel for a pulse.

He had one, which was a relief. It didn’t do a whole lot to ease the overall fear pulsing through me, though, as having a pulse didn’t mean he wasn’t seriously injured.

“Lugh?” I said in a slightly quivery voice. “You need to speak to me. Now.”

His eyelids flickered but didn’t open. The fear ramped up a notch. Aside from the fact he’d undoubtedly hit the rock with some force, he’d been far closer to the spell than me and would have caught the explosion’s full force. While I couldn’t see any obvious injuries, I couldn’t discount internal ones.

I grabbed my phone to check for reception. The signal wasn’t great, but it did at least exist. I could call an ambulance, but I’d probably have to go meet them, and I didn’t want to leave him here unconscious and alone. If he did have internal injuries, it was possible he could suffer some sort of medical event while I was gone. But more worrying was the fact that I had no idea if tripping the spell would bring whoever had set it here to investigate. Them finding him defenseless and alone probably wouldn’t be in his best interests.