“Lavina hasn’t been buried yet?” I question.
“We don’t bury our dead,” Raiden frowns at me. “But no. The former queen and a few others are yet to be sent off, including Rayna.”
This is all so much to take in and I understand none of it. A thought flashes through my mind.
“I want to see Nolan,” I blurt, my voice cracking slightly.
Valric’s grin falters, and even Raiden’s usually impassive expression shows a flicker of anger.
“Why?” he demands.
“We need him. And he doesn’t deserve to miss Lavina’s funeral. If Valric is allowed to roam the castle, and Kian, after everything that was done, then Nolan does, too,” I argue.
“He tried to get rid of you,” Raiden argues slowly.
I sigh, rubbing my temples. “It’s not like he wanted me dead.”
“He got people killed trying to get you away from Maxon,” Raiden snaps.
“By him!” I yell, pointing at Valric. “His people–”
“Your people,” Valric cuts in, earning a glare from me.
“–did the killing,” I continue. “Nolan only gave them the information.”
Raiden’s wings snap out as his anger flares. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“Look, we need all hands on deck here. Nolan has knowledge we may need. He helped raise Maxon, he surely would want his king back.”
Raiden growls, running a hand over his head. “I don’t like this.”
“You don’t have to. But we need him. Stick a guard on him if you have to, but we need his input. Whether we want it or not.”
Raiden grunts. “Fine, but you’re not going down to the dungeons. I will go myself and get things settled.”
“Thank you.”
Valric stands, his chair scraping across the floor. “Well, I will leave you to it. I will return tomorrow at dawn for the funerals. Then we train.”
Turning on his heels, he slips from the room.
Chapter nine
The Shadoweaver
Iwas so close.
So damn close to having that cursed druid in my grasp for the second time. The thought of her slipping through my fingers sends a violent surge of anger coursing through me, a darkness that pulses beneath my skin like venom.
How did she manage to mate in such a short amount of time? It should’ve been impossible.
I felt her the moment she crossed back into Faerie. Her presence was like a crack in the wall of reality, a ripple of pure, natural power. I sent Yumekui immediately to collect her, but like all my beasts and monsters, she thrives in the darkness, her strength born from shadows and the nightmares that lurk there. By the time she tracked her down, she had been safely hidden in that tree. But the daylight, damn it all, had sent Yumekui into her own hiding.
I watched, of course, as I sent a deadling after her. I saw her run, breath ragged, fear evident in the air around her as the deadling gave chase. She was foolish to believe she could outrun him. He would’ve done his job, injured her just enough to leave her vulnerable—just enough so that when night fell, Yumekui would swoop in, a savior of sorts, and drag her here, where she belongs.
But no, of course it never goes as planned, does it? The fucking water spirits felt her presence, too. Those meddlesome creatures are always dipping their noses where they don’t belong. They drowned my deadling before he could get to her.
My fingers curl inward at the memory—at how close we came to her after all these years waiting.
