“Father will drag you back inside the castle when he gets wind of this. In fact, I will go tell him right this instant.”
“I already asked Father. He agreed it was for the best.” Eislyn smiled at Reyna’s shock. “Do not worry. It won’t be forever. This is only to ensure the betrothal does not fall apart. I’ll return home as soon as you’re married.”
Her father had approved? Reyna should not be so surprised. He had been willing to send Eislyn into Thane’s arms before Reyna had agreed to marry him. Of course he would want Reyna to have a chaperone. They all knew she had no training in intrigue.
“Eislyn,” Reyna said, attempting a different tactic. “Part of the reason I agreed to the betrothal was to protect you from the Air Court.”
“Yes, I know. And thank you for that.” Eislyn reached out and squeezed Reyna’s hand. “But it isn’t as though I’m going to live there forever. You’ve saved me from a lifetime of unhappiness with the prince. And in exchange for that, I am going to help you.”
There was a spark of determination in Eislyn’s eyes that Reyna had not seen for quite some time. Her younger sister had spent so long being a hollow version of herself. Now, it seemed as though she’d found a purpose. And some hope. Not only for the end of the war but for an end to the Ruin.
The Air Court was not safe for Eislyn. Of that, Reyna was certain. Still, it wasn’t as though she would be alone. Reyna would be right by her side. The idea of her sister going with her still turned her stomach, but she saw no way of getting around it, not if Father wanted her to go.
She would just have to make certain that her sister was long gone when the time came for Reyna to kill Thane.
* * *
The Rowan Road cut between the western edge of the Hoarfrost Forest and the eastern edge of the Sea of Fomor. Along some patches of the road, the right side of the path fell into jagged, icy cliffs that backed onto the sea. A light wind swirled around them, every so often bringing with it a spray of salty water as the waves bashed against the base of the cliffs.
Thane rode silently beside her. It had been a solid week since they’d left the castle, and he had spoken very little. At night, when they camped, their parties naturally split. Reyna and Eislyn sat with their five guards while Thane sat with his four. They exchanged very little conversation. Reyna liked it that way just fine. Knowing what he had done to her people at the inn, she knew her words would have bite.
But the time had come to broach the subject.
“We should make it to The Sapphire Axe by nightfall,” Reyna said, watching Thane very carefully for a reaction. But it wasn’t he who flinched at her words. It was his head guard, Lorcan. Reyna still did not know what he had done when he’d disappeared from the feast. She’d kept a close eye on him during their journey, but he had not vanished into the forests to send any more letters.
“We passed that inn on the way here.” Thane held the reins loosely in his hands, his posture relaxed and unbothered. Even on a journey such as this, he still wore his gleaming golden armor as if to announce to the world his importance. “I assume you and your sister would prefer to stop there for the night rather than camping out in the cold.”
Reyna bit her tongue. She so badly wanted to ask him a direct question, but if she did, he would be on to her.
“Is it cold?” Reyna smiled. She had not minded the nights spent camping in the snowy forest. In fact, she had enjoyed it. They had not suffered bad weather. With the clear inky skies overhead, she had spread out her blanket on the soft ground and stared up at the glittering constellations, enjoying the feel of the frost on her skin. Thane still did not understand that the cold did not bother her in the least.
On Thane’s other side, Lorcan frowned. “Perhaps we should press on. We will make it to The Sapphire Axe within a few hours, but nightfall is several hours past that. If we keep going, we could cross the border tonight and make it to the city that much faster.”
“It is up to the princesses,” Thane said firmly.
Reyna understood what the prince was doing. He was feigning nonchalance and ignorance of what lay ahead of them. If he did not pretend that stopping at the inn was an option, then there would be questions he could not answer for fear of giving the truth away. He was more clever than she had realized. But he was not the only one who could play the game.
Reyna smiled and turned to Eislyn by her side. “Lyn, what would you prefer?”
Eislyn exhaled a long breath. “While I do not mind the cold, I am unlike my sister. I am not accustomed to the hard ground and the skittering of shadows in the nighttime forest. If it would not slow us down a great deal, I would enjoy a night inside an inn.” She perked up a little, straightening on the horse’s smooth back. “Perhaps we could have an ale or two and hear some singing from a bard?”
Thane’s eyes crinkled as he gave Reyna’s sister a smile. “I wager there isn’t a working inn in Tir Na Nog without a bard and some good ale.”
Reyna could not help but note Thane’s words. He was so clever in the way he spoke. None of what he had said was a lie, but the implication was there all the same.
Dread tripped through Reyna’s veins. She did not look forward to coming face-to-face with the destruction she knew awaited them on the path ahead. So many innocent souls had died that night. She hoped their bodies had been burned along with the walls. Their souls deserved far more than being left to rot.
“Then, it is settled then,” Reyna said, squeezing Enbarr’s reins with hands she forced to remain steady. “We will stop at The Sapphire Axe this night.”
Several hours of companionable silence passed without incident. The southern end of the Hoarfrost Forest drew ever closer, along with the tall, ice glass gate that led to the Shard. The Shard was the only thing that had prevented the Air Court from invading Reyna’s kingdom. It was a small strip of land that stretched between their kingdoms, almost like a bridge of sorts, fully made of ice. It took less than an hour to cross, but it was only wide enough for a handful of fae to stand side-by-side.
It was the only land that connected the Ice Court to the rest of Tir Na Nog. At many times over the past hundred years, the ice fae had considered destroying the Shard. Of course, there were other ways the Air Court could attack—and they had. By ship, by small bands of fighters that risked wading through the icy waters. Most of the battles between their realms had been nothing more than skirmishes, but those—along with the Battle for the Shard—had been enough to dwindle the ice fae’s numbers. The Air Court had always had the superior army. Ice fae were meant for peace.
Thane stiffened as the blackened husk of The Sapphire Axe came into view. Reyna started, sucking in a sharp breath, even though she had been expecting the sight ahead. Eyes burning, she pressed a hand to her heart. There was barely anything left of the infamous inn. A charred pit was the only thing that remained. Anyone who had been inside when the fire had started would not have survived. Fury boiled in her gut.
Eislyn let out a sharp gasp. “What happened?”
Reyna did not answer. She did not know how she could speak about this without revealing how much she knew.
