“You knock me out and force me to come here, and now you speak in riddles?” Lorcan’s hands fisted. “What are you talking about, Segonax?”
“Nollaig and I...well, we were not as loyal to the former king as he thought. In the end, he seemed to realize that Nollaig was against him, but I daresay I got away with it right up until his dying breath. Otherwise, he never would have let me into the throne room today, especially not with the both of you.”
Lorcan clenched and unclenched his hands, staring in horrified awe. “It’s true then. You’ve been planning to kill the king for years.”
“Oh yes, but we needed a suitable replacement to take the throne in his stead. We were very lucky when we found a bastard who appeared to be a good male. Strong and steady, good with a sword. You’re a bit moody at times, but moody is better than mad.”
“Wait...youfound me? I thought my father sought me out.”
“Your mother was never your father’s favorite. That was another one of his lies. In fact, I’m not entirely convinced he ever knew who she was.” Segonax’s granite eyes flickered with remorse. “I am sorry about that, Your Majesty. It was not our intention to hurt you. Your father could be very cruel.”
“What are you saying?” Lorcan demanded.
“It was not Bolg Rothach’s idea to bring you to the Shadow Court.”
Segonax’s words hit Lorcan like an iron fist. He stumbled back, mouth dropped wide. All this time, and he had not once questioned why his father decided to send for him. Lorcan had believed the king just wanted another plaything, a toy.
ButSegonaxhad brought him to the Shadow Court. Lorcan did not know if that made it better or worse.
“And the mark?” Lorcan asked dangerously.
“That, unfortunately, was not our idea. Bolg was worried a bastard prince would someday try to kill him, and he wanted the mark to prevent you from doing him harm. It wasn’t until later that he decided to use it to make you spy on another court.”
Lorcan stared, trying—and failing—to grasp the full meaning of Segonax’s words. He had not been brought to this dreadful place because his father wanted to use him. Someone else had. Someone he had trusted.
Nollaig stepped forward. “We only did all this so that we might one day put a better ruler on his throne.”
He let out a bitter laugh. “And instead, you ended up with me. Someone with half his loyalty devoted to the Air Court. Someone in love with an ice princess.”
“We did worry that your father’s insistence on capturing your lover would prove to be the final nail in the coffin of our hopes. At first, you seemed very distracted by it all.” They exchanged a glance. “Of course, it also seems to have made you see just how much the realm needs a ruler like you. Instead of one like him.”
“I only see it that way because this entire time you’ve been plotting against me.”
“No, Lorcan,” Nollaig said with a ferocity in her voice. “We’ve been plottingforyou.”
He shook his head. “You should have told me.”
“We couldn’t. That mark in your skin. We feared it would somehow know, and then reveal the truth to your father.”
They were right to fear that. Lorcan had often feared it himself. He did not truly understand the extent of the power that had once lived inside his skin, but it had been terrible indeed. He didn’t think his father had ever been able to read his mind, not fully, but he’d known some things he never should have. Some things Unseelie must have whispered into his mind.
“What if I don’t want to sit on the damn throne?” Lorcan asked, hands hanging heavily by his sides. “Look at it. It’s a bloody terrible seat, and everyone who sits there dies.”
“Then, you’ll be an even better High King than we hoped.”
“Reyna,” he said, shaking his head. “I need to speak with Reyna.”
He knew what his kingdom needed from him, and he would not turn his back on them, even if outside plots had put him there. But he needed to see her, to ask her to stay with him. She’d defeated the Ruin. She did not have to go. He knew it would be tough. She would miss the ice and the snow, but they could journey north once it was safe. Once the kingdoms were settled. Once peace found them once again.
The war had lasted one hundred years. It would not last forever.
“Reyna has already gone,” Segonax said quietly.
Lorcan’s heart dropped into his boots. “What? You said she was on the way to the castle.”
“I didn’t want to tell you she was gone until after we’d confronted your father. I was afraid you’d rush after her and forget about the throne.” He pressed his lips into a thin, white line. “We sent a scout to find her, and the warriors on the ground said they saw her board a ship sailing north.”
A sharp pain sliced through his gut. He almost fell to his knees from the force of it. Everything ached. His soul, his heart, his body itself. One moment his arms had been around her, and then the next…he’d been here, in the shadow of his father’s blood, staring at a cursed throne he did not want. Alone. Even though he’d known she’d planned to leave, it still felt as though she’d shoved her ice blade deep into his heart and then wrenched it to the side, destroying him completely.
