A Court of Shadows and Fire

Part 3

Beast was thrown across the clearing seconds later. Shadow daggers flew after him. He was smashed against a tree, which shed leaves and an entire branch in protest. Beast did not scream as the dark shards slammed into his hide.

Celaena grumbled something that Fleetfoot could not make out as she lunged forward into a protective stance in front of them. At the same time, Red-Kitten swore, "Cauldron boil and fuck me."

"What the fuck kind of horseshit does that mean?" Celaena shouted as she threw a ring of fire onto the grass around Dark Mother.

"You can bitch later," Huntress shouted as she ran towards Beast, now free of Celaena's hold. Red-Kitten jogged after her, holding Fleetfoot over his shoulder like a human baby.

"What kind of asshole did you come from?" Red-Kitten called back to Celaena.

"A cultured one, you shit bastard!" Fleetfoot watched Celaena turn and run after them.

"You call that cultured? I'd hate to see the rest of you cockroaches."

"At least I'm not a birdbrained assface!"

Celaena tried to take Fleetfoot away from Red-Kitten, but he tightened his grip on the dog and said, "I don't know how things work among you buffoon-fuckers, but here, men are chivalrous."

"If by chivalrous you mean bitch-shits, I can definitely see that," Celaena spat back.

They caught up to Beast and Huntress-or Fleetfoot thought so at least since they stopped moving. He couldn't see what they were doing, however.

Celaena's fire around Dark Mother died, and Celaena must have sensed it because she turned around and summoned more flames before Fleetfoot managed to tell her.

"Are you all right?" Huntress asked.

"Stop whining, Tam," Red-Kitten ordered. "Now is not the time to try and win sympathy from women."

Beast growled.

"I'm sorry," Celaena said sweetly. "Who did you say you were?"

"Lucien of the Autumn Court, Your Magnificent Holy-Hellness. That's Tamlin, High Lord of the Spring Court. And that's Feyre. I don't really know what she is."

"Now is not the time to be a sarcastic little bitch, Lucien," Huntress said.

Fleetfoot kept his eyes carefully trained on Dark Mother, who was trying to battle Celaena's fire with clouds of shadows.

A new voice-Beast, Fleetfoot could tell, but Fae somehow-said, "I'm afraid that that is all he knows how to be."

"Right," Celaena interrupted. "Well, that thing over there that's trying to kill our asses came from this world. So one of you better know what it is and how to fight it."

"Yeah," Red-Kitten snapped. "Like I've met every creature that's walked the earth and asked them about all of their weaknesses. Prythian alone has thousands of your worst nightmares."