“Is something the matter?” she asked.
Why did everyone keep asking him that? Was it truly that odd that he would visit his betrothed?
“I’ve decided to challenge my mother for the throne. She will step aside and allow me to become the rightful king, or I will be forced to turn my warriors against her. We will marry soon after.”
“You’re going to do what?” Lorcan asked sharply.
“Take the throne, Lorcan. Just like I should have as soon as my father stepped down.”
Reyna stared at him, clearly shocked. She clutched at the bottom of her tunic, squeezing the material in her fist. Her eyes trailed over to Lorcan, and she shifted on her feet. “That…is surprising. I didn’t think you wanted to do that. Why have you had a change of heart?”
He clenched his hands. “I fear my mother has been poorly counselled. She has made some discouraging mistakes, particularly in regards to a male whose name I refuse to utter. Add in the strange business with the assassins, and I truly do not know what to think. The court will be far better off if I just take the throne myself.”
Twin pink dots appeared on Reyna’s cheeks. “You’re doing this because you believe she may have had a hand in the assassination attempts?”
“Partially.” He nodded. “I did not want to think so, but I’m beginning to realize that she would go to great lengths in order to get what she wants.”
Reyna pressed her lips together and turned back toward the window. Wingallock pushed up from the stone seat and flew to her side, settling onto her shoulder. Frowning, Thane stayed where he was, waiting for a reply. Reyna Darragh had been wildly unpredictable from the moment they’d met, but he thought she would be happy about this news.
This melancholy response was…confusing. Females often were.
“Is something the matter, Princess Reyna?” he asked after several moments passed in silence. “I thought you would be pleased. I know you’ve been concerned about the current atmosphere here.”
Reyna twisted toward him with a pinched smile. “Apologies. I just want what is best for both of our kingdoms. And for my sister’s safety.”
“Ah, I see. You’re worried my mother will make an attempt on Eislyn’s life, even if I take the throne. Retaliation, perhaps?” He frowned. “She never does anything without purpose. Harming your sister does not help her in the least.”
For a moment, Reyna’s eyes went sharp. “It might if she wanted to ensure that you couldn’t marry any Darragh sister at all. I believe you were considering another princess for a time. Etaine, from the Wood Court.”
Lorcan let out an awkward cough, and Thane paused for a moment. How had she learned about that old scheme? It hadn’t even been his. It had been his father’s. One of the courtiers must have mentioned it to her. Gossips, the lot of them.
“My mother never wanted me to marry Princess Etaine. My father did,” he admitted. “When I chose to ally our court with yours, he was none too pleased.”
Reyna gave him a frank look. She did not look the least bit surprised. “Why did you make a different choice?”
“I refuse to ally myself with that king.” He ground out the words, but then shook his head. “But none of that matters. It had nothing to do with my mother. You and your sister are both safe here.”
“I am not certain I agree with that,” she said softly. “I can take care of myself. But Eislyn…”
Thane frowned as the meaning of her words sank in. “You wish to send her away.”
He thought of the small silver-haired fae with her strangely haunting eyes and that laughter that sounded like music on the wind. He had visited her in the library as often as possible in the past days, pouring through books while she searched for a way to save her people. He knew that Eislyn was troubled, sad, and often scared, but she was kinder than anyone he had ever met. She was a pure soul.
A soul that he did not want to see corrupted by this wicked place.
Thane didn’t want to send her away. But he’d do whatever he had to in order to keep her safe.
“Very well,” he said, clenching his jaw. “If that is what you think is best, then we can have her returned home this week.”
Reyna let out an audible sigh of relief, smiling now, even as her eyes were glazed with tears. She truly must have been worried about her sister. All because his mother had wanted to send a sharp and brutal message.
Message received, Thane thought bitterly.
34
Reyna
Reyna paced. Her heart pounded, and her palms were slick with sweat. She didn’t understand why she was so on edge, as if she were standing on the crumbling rocks of a cliff with nothing to hold onto but an unravelling rope tied to a broken tree. This was everything she wanted. Thane would take over and sit on the throne. Eislyn would return home, far away from the danger of the Air Court.
