Reyna glanced up at Lorcan. He had moved from her side to stride purposefully toward Thane, his hand firm against the hilt of his sword. Her heart shaking in her chest, she gripped the rough edge of the wooden table. Lorcan was behind this? No, he couldn’t be. HelovedThane.
“Guards!” he shouted in the air. “To me! Protect your High King!”
She audibly sighed. Of course it wasn’t Lorcan. But then...who could it be?
Suddenly, a figure dropped down into the middle of the feast, falling from the rafters above. A dark cloak flapped around her, hiding her face from view. But Reyna recognized her in an instant. A long braid of golden hair poked out from beneath the hood. It shielded her copper eyes, but not enough. They glowed from the shadowy folds of the cloak, flickering as she landed on the floor in a deep crouch.
It was the spy. The Bloody Dagger. But why was she here to kill the High King?
Should Reyna...stop her? Certainly, she had wanted Thane dead before but not like this.
Imogen threw herself toward Thane and splayed a hand across his chest just as Lorcan reached the king’s side. Mariel tossed back her cloak to reveal a bow, arrow ready to be nocked. With a slight smile on her lips, she drew back the bow and aimed.
Reyna pushed to her feet. She followed the line of the arrow. It was aimed right at Lorcan’s chest.
“No!” Reyna cried out and shoved her chair aside, throwing herself toward Lorcan.
Mariel frowned as she stared down the aim at the head table. She shifted sideways, away from Lorcan. With a guttural growl, she loosed the arrow. The entire court held a collective breath as it whistled through the air. The end thunked into the center of Kelwyn’s chest. The spymaster’s eyes went wide in shock as blood bloomed around his golden shirt.
And then he slumped over, dead.
The Banquet Hall erupted into chaos.
The two servants that served the boar yanked daggers from the folds of their clothes. Several more servants whisked out weapons, dozens now armed and charging toward the High King. Heart hammering, Reyna ripped off her gown’s arms to find her dagger hidden in the folds of the material. Then, she ripped off her skirts, revealing the hidden pair of trousers she wore underneath. She would not make the mistake of fighting in a gown ever again.
Screams filled the air.
Thane stood from his chair and backed up toward the stone dais. His face had blanched, and his lips had parted in shock. Lorcan stood by his side, swinging steel, but dozens of attackers quickly surrounded them both. Guards rushed from their own table, hurrying toward their High King, but they might not make it in time.
Reyna hesitated just the slightest of seconds. And then she shook her head and charged. She came up behind an attacker and stabbed him in the neck, ice dagger sinking deep into flesh. Yanking the dagger out, she carried on. She sliced through the back of the next. He fell with a roar, blood spilling onto the white stone floor.
She reached Thane quickly and elbowed her way to stand before him, protecting him from the rush of attackers. Another fae charged up to her. His eyes were a bright green, and his hair was silky white. There was a tall, lithe quality about him that suggested he was a wood fae. Of course he was.
That was what this was all about.
He raised his sword high, bringing it down onto her head. She darted to the side, grinning when his unmet blow caught him off guard. He stumbled forward. She shoved her blade into his heart. Eyes wide, he fell to his knees.
“Lorcan,” she shouted to the warrior beside her. “Get the High King out of here!”
Lorcan caught her gaze, growling.
“I’ll be fine,” she whispered.
Still growling, he gave a nod and grabbed Thane’s arm.
She whirled back toward the fight, her ice dagger stained red. No more attackers rushed toward the dais. Instead, the castle guards had begun to surround them in the center of the Banquet Hall around the broken pieces of the sotiltees. The crown sculpture had fallen, smashed into unrecognizable bits.
Movement caught the corner of her eye. She glanced back at the table where she and Eislyn had been feasting. Her sister’s chair was empty. Terror filled her heart, rattling her very core.
“Where’s Eislyn?” Reyna screamed. “Where is my sister?”
47
Eislyn
Terror consumed her as she watched the chaos unfold. Only hours earlier, the entire court had been filled with hope. Thane had taken his Seat of Power, and the Dagda had blessed him as Eislyn knew he would. She had felt the power radiating from the throne. Thane was the true High King. And he would lead the realm to a better future.
But then everything had gone wrong.
