Mariel gave her a fierce look. “I would not reveal this type of information unless I knew with absolute certainty it were true.”
Reyna nodded, gazing out the open window at the dark waters below. She could not see the city from this side of the castle, but she could imagine it in her mind’s eye. Miles of buildings lit up from inside, smoke puffing up from stonework chimneys. So many lives.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. “You say you saw her go to the Wood Court. How did you manage that? The border is weeks away.”
Mariel pressed her lips together into a thin line. “I can’t be sure, but it sounds as if there is a small contingent of them hiding out in the hills just south of the Witchlight Woods. I do not know how many. I didn’t risk being seen.”
Alarmed, Reyna paced to the window and stared out, steeling herself as the wind blasted her face. “How would a group of wood fae avoid being spotted by the patrol? Though...the king controlled those, I believe. Did those warriors stop patrolling after he abdicated?”
“I have told you all I know.”
She pushed away from the window, turning to face Mariel once again. “All right. Thank you for this. You have given me much to think about.”
“What will you do?” Mariel asked, taking a step toward her, eyes hard. “They will not give up, you know. Your sister is in danger, too.”
Reyna’s hands fisted. “I know. They will need to be certain no Darragh will marry Thane. It’s the only way they can ensure their princess will end up as his bride. I do not know what I will do, but I must stop them.”
Mariel nodded, moved toward the window, but then hesitated. “May I make just one request, Your Highness?”
Reyna nodded. “Of course.”
“Please make your choices carefully. We have been at war for a century. These people need peace.” And, with that, Mariel hopped onto the ledge and disappeared into the night. Reyna watched her go, her mind whirling from the information she had just learned.
But before she could gather her thoughts, a click sounded from her drawing room. Footsteps thudded on the floor. And then a dark form filled her open bedchamber door.
“One might wonder about your sanity,” Lorcan said, hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He leaned against the doorframe, sizing her up. Her cheeks flushed. She wore only her thin, white linen nightclothes beneath her cloak. They were fairly see-through, and the wind was cool, blasting into her bedroom through the open window.
She swallowed hard, memories of his hands and lips rushing through her like churning waves, threatening to pull her under. Their moments together had been nothing more than illusion, like dark magic. But she had felt something from his touch. She couldn’t deny it, even if she tried. Her skin had come alive beneath his breath, his hands, his lips.
Of course, the last thing she wanted was for Lorcan to know how he’d made her feel.
Reyna glared at him. “Don’t you ever sleep? No, don’t answer that. I can tell you don’t. Some might say you look dreadful.”
But Reyna didn’t think he looked dreadful at all. As always, he exuded power and strength, his well-muscled chest enhanced by his fitted leather armor.
“Rarely. And do you often have conversations with yourself?” His dark eyes flicked across her body, noting her cloak, and then lingered a moment on her peaked nipples clearly visible through her whisper-thin garments.
“I often have conversations with my owl.”
He glanced at the open window. “Why are you out of bed and wearing a cloak? Going somewhere?”
“Are you asking me these questions because you hope to get me alone in the woods again? That was just a trap, Lorcan. It was nothing real.”
A wicked smile curled his lips. “Interesting that your mind would go there.”
“Do your guard duties now include harassing me in the middle of the night?”
“They do if I hear you speaking to someone.”
“Go away.”
“Tell me why you’re awake, and I will.” He smirked and crossed his arms. Rolling her eyes, she let out a frustrated sigh. Clearly, he wasn’t going away until she gave him something.
“I’m having trouble sleeping.”
An honest remark. Reyna had been fitfully flailing in her bed before Mariel’s sudden arrival through the window. She could not get her mind to calm down, which meant her body was wound as tightly as a coiled dragon. Ula’s escape had rubbed her nerves raw. She’d been so close to answers, and they had fallen through her fingers like shifting sand.
In the end, she had been right. Just not in the way she had expected.
