His jaw clenched. “That is Thane’s story to tell. Not mine.”
“No.” Determined, she took another step. “You were there, too. I need to know what happened. I need to know what he did. I need...” She closed her eyes. “I need to know what kind of king my sister will marry.”
“You want to know if he is a good male.” He let out a heavy sigh. “Tell me, princess. What have you seen with your own eyes? Is he terrible and cruel? Or is he trying to do the right thing by his people?”
Reyna’s heart clenched. She did not truly know Thane, but she had watched him all these days inside the castle. He had shown a great deal of care toward her younger sister. He had spent hours inside the library, searching for an answer to the Ruin. And he had put aside his own personal views on the wood fae in hope of saving her from certain death. He was not all bad. She knew it in her gut. But she still needed to know the truth about that night.
“Please just tell me.” She opened her eyes to stare up at Lorcan, her heart thumping. “Why did he slaughter all of those ice fae?”
“You won’t stop asking until I tell you, will you?” Lorcan turned away from her and strode over to the open window. It was midday, and the sun beamed down from a spring sky. “He wanted to stop at The Sapphire Axe to rest for the night. It had been a long journey. The ice fae...they didn’t want us there. Thane felt he couldn’t leave, for fear of showing weakness. A fight broke out. Several fae rushed him with blades. Thane was merely protecting himself, and then his guards, including me, were forced to jump into the fight to protect him, too. Both parties were at fault. It was a terrible thing to have happened, and Thane wished it never had.”
Reyna stared at him, her heart thumping. “You could be lying.”
He sighed and turned to face her. And there was conviction in his eyes. “I’m not lying, Reyna. I know what you want to believe. That Thane is terrible and brutal. That you need to save your sister from him. You’ve seen each other on the battlefield. You’ve considered him your enemy for so long that hatred toward him feels as natural as breathing. It’s easy to continue believing what you always have, even when challenged. It’s a hell of a lot harder to admit that you may have been wrong.”
Her eyes burned as frustrated tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. Fisting her hands, she turned away, trying to still the rapid beating of her heart. Lorcan was right, of course, and she hated him for it. Reyna did not want to let go of her vengeance. It had buried itself so deep inside her bones that it was part of her now. If she extracted it, she would lose a part of herself.
Who was she if she was not the enemy of the Air Court? What was her purpose if she no longer had that?
The wind whistled through the open window, and she breathed in the cool air. A small voice whispered in the back of her mind.
You do not need vengeance to protect your realm.
“Reyna,” Lorcan said, breaking through her thoughts. “There’s something else I ought to share with you. It’s not about Thane. It’s about me. But I—”
A trumpet blared and echoed through the stone corridors of the castle. Lorcan snapped his mouth shut, and gave her a tight smile. She twisted toward the sound, desperate to wind back time.
“What is it, Lorcan?” she asked, knowing his answer before he even spoke it. “What do you want to tell me?”
“We don’t want to be late to the coronation.” He motioned toward the door. “We will speak after.”
With a sigh, she nodded and pushed out into the corridor. To celebrate the occasion, every wall of the castle had been lined with flickering golden lights rather than the standard fire sconces. It cast a yellow haze across everything, filling up the gloomy tunnels with the glow of the Air Court’s brilliant, luminous color.
Lorcan closed her chamber door behind them and motioned her toward the stairwell. They fell into step as they made their way to the Great Hall, silent and tense. She ached to ask him what he’d been about to tell her, or to speak of the night they’d shared, but she couldn’t. Not with the walls around them, ever listening.
At long last, they pushed into the Great Hall. It was packed to the brim with tittering fae in rows of wooden seats. Every member of the court had come. Many from far beyond the walls of Tairngire. The lords and ladies of the court would want to witness the coronation of their new king, and enjoy the hearty feasting that came after. She spotted Lady Epona and Lady Arabella, dressed in full courtly garb. She recognized several other courtiers from her days spent gossiping in this very hall, but many more she had never seen.
With a warm hand on her elbow, Lorcan led her through the crowd and deposited her into a row just behind Imogen and her Grand Alderman, Aengus. She sat beside her sister, who smiled up at the empty throne. Eislyn had been decked out in even a grander gown than Reyna’s. The silky dress had been dyed a deep gold, the perfect match to the court’s own color. Her silver hair cascaded around her petite shoulders, and her eyes had been outlined by thick black kohl.
She looked the perfect portrait of a princess, and the elaborately embroidered gold gave her away as someone quite special indeed. Reyna wondered if her sister had even noticed.
Likely not. Otherwise, she doubted she would be beaming as she was.
In fact, why was she even beaming at all? EislynhatedPrince Thane.
High King Thane Selkirk, Reyna corrected herself. It would take some time to become accustomed to that.
“Isn’t this exciting?” Eislyn whispered as lilting harp music began to soar through the grand, lofted room. “I’ve never been to a coronation before.”
Reyna frowned. “I did not realize you were this interested in coronations.”
Eislyn flushed. “Yes, well. I suppose this one is different.”
“Different how?”
“Well, because it is Thane, of course.” She flushed further. “As you know, he’s been helping me with my research into the Ruin.”
At once, Reyna understood. Eislyn’s flushed cheeks, her smile. Thane’s insistence that they wed. Heart pounding, she turned her gaze toward the throne of vines where the Elder Druid waited for Thane to join him for the coronation. Thane had not lied, but he had obscured the truth. He had not changed his mind about Reynasolelybecause of her actions.
