“I see. Come. Walk with me.” Thane stepped back, gesturing at the corridor that would lead them to the walls that twisted around the castle.
With a sigh, he followed the prince through the corridors and out onto the top of the white stone wall. The sky was streaked with orange and red where the sun had dipped below the distant horizon. It made the golden city glow.
“There is something I need to speak with you about,” Thane said easily as they began the long walk between towers.
Lorcan’s heart pulsed. Had Thane somehow guessed the truth? Is that why he had not looked surprised to find Lorcan packing his bags to leave?
Thane stopped suddenly and gestured out at the gleaming city. “It is a beautiful city, is it not? With beautiful people who need a strong king who will do his best to lift them up, instead of tear them down. I may not be the High King yet, but I will one day. And I daresay that it will be sooner rather than later.”
The prince began to walk again, and Lorcan fell into step beside him. “What is this about, Thane?”
“I have a plan, and my hope is that it will save us all.”
Relief charged through Lorcan’s heart. So, this wasn’t about him at all. Thane hadn’t discovered what Lorcan was. Not yet.
Thane sucked in a deep breath. “I plan to make an alliance with the Ice Court.
“An alliance with the Ice Court?” Lorcan asked, shocked. His father would not like that. “Even after what happened during the Battle for the Shard?”
The battle. Lorcan cringed just speaking the name of it. There had been so much blood, so many bodies. So much needless death. And all because Lorcan had not been able to form the words to tell Thane who had really attacked Comharra.
“Especially because of that terrible battle,” Thane said as he strode along the ancient battlements. “Ever since, I have been thinking a lot about our war with the ice fae. So many lives were lost, on both sides. And to what end?”
“Vengeance, if I remember correctly.”
Thane tsked, stopping to gaze over the white stone crenels. “I said it then, and I’ll say it now. I made a mistake. There has been enough death for far too long. Tir Na Nog needs to find a path toward peace, or we will only end up destroying us all. There will be no fae left.”
Lorcan found it difficult to argue against that. “The ice fae might not forgive so easily. Are you certain this is a good idea?”
“I am.” Thane turned to Lorcan and smiled. He looked genuinely happy. Hopeful, even. “I’ve already made the arrangements, and Mother is being supportive.”
“You didn’t mention the king,” Lorcan pointed out.
“I certainly did not. I’m afraid he believes war is the better option. He imagines himself a future emperor, even though he can barely hold up his head at dinner. He isn’t thrilled by the alliance, but I managed to come up with an arrangement that suits everyone.
“I will wed the eldest, Glencora. She is a great beauty, and she has been primed for an arrangement like this since birth. Her father has ensured she’s had the proper education befitting a future High Queen. In return, we will cease the fighting, of course, and Cos Darragh will remain ruler of his realm. But to appease my father, Cos has agreed to demote his title from High King to merely king.” Thane paused. “We have the superior army. The Ice Court knows that if we continue with this war, their realm will end up in tatters. And that isn’t even considering their other pressing problem. The Ruin. I’ve agreed to help them with that as well.”
Lorcan frowned. He had heard of the Ruin but only from whispers in the taverns. It was a strange dark magic that fell like ash, killing everything it touched. “How do you hope to do that?”
“Perhaps our armies can fight it.”
“You still have enemies, Thane,” Lorcan said, giving the prince sincere advice. His mark throbbed dully, but he ignored the pain. “The Sea Court. The Wood Court. If you send too many warriors north, they’ll see their chance for an attack. Tairngire could fall, and with it, the rest of the realm.”
Without Tairngire, Thane had no hope of holding onto the air fae lands at all.
Thane let out a heavy sigh. “We will find a way. We always do.” He turned toward Lorcan then, and clapped him on the shoulder. “I leave in a fortnight to collect my future queen. As always, I would have you by my side. If you’d like.”
Thane always asked. He never ordered. Even now, after all these years, he never once gave Lorcan a command. He might be the prince’s warrior, his guard, but he knew he’d become far more than that.
An old friend.
He knew he should leave. Nothing had changed. If anything, Thane would be in even more danger than he had been before. Once Lorcan’s father discovered this alliance, he would be furious. He would want to stop it. And he would call upon Lorcan once again.
“Once we’ve made the alliance,” Thane suddenly continued, “our two armies combined will be strong enough to take on the Wood Court. Finally, after all these years, we’ll be able to put a stop to High King Ulaid Molt. His crimes against his own court have been going on for far too long.”
Lorcan turned to the prince in alarm. “The Wood Court? Then, you would control—”
“Most of Tir Na Nog?” Thane nodded. “I have no wish to form an empire. That is not what this is. It is merely a means to end the war between us all. Then, any enemy we face will be useless against us.”
