Instead…she would likely never see his face again. Anguish pulled her down, holding her there for so long that she thought she might drown in it.
“Why am Ihereinstead of there with him?” she asked, her voice breaking.
“When we found you, we thought the city had fallen, and Lorcan along with it.” His deep golden eyebrows slammed down. “It was not my intention to separate you two. I was just trying to save your life, Reyna.”
Thane could not lie, and she could hear the earnestness in his every word. With a sigh, she sagged back against the bed, head in her hands. “It’s all right. You didn’t know. Thank you, Thane. It means a lot that you would try.”
“You may not be my betrothed anymore, Reyna, but I do care for you.”
At that, Reyna’s head jerked up. “Eislyn, have you had word from her?”
A dark storm cloud rolled across his golden face. “No. Last I heard, she escaped Tairngire to return home, but that’s all I know. I’m having trouble finding out what is happening at court. No one is answering my letters.”
Relief shuddered through her. North. Home. Eislyn truly was safe, after all. “And Lorcan? Does he know I’m here?”
Thane winced. “He does, and I’ll daresay Reyna, I think he wants to chop off my head for taking you away.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh my gods, Thane. You have no idea what I thought when I woke up and found myself here. I thought I’d been taken captive again. You don’t know how glad I am that I’ve found myself amongst friends for once.” Sighing, she smiled. “I know it’s a lot to ask after everything you’ve done for me, but do you have a ship to spare? I need to return to the Shadow Court as soon as possible.”
Thane’s face was a mask of stone. His jaw slightly rippled, but that was it. The only indication that something was wrong.
Her heart twitched. “What is it, Thane? What aren’t you telling me?”
“You cannot return to the Shadow Court,” he said, turning away so that she could only see the long, sharp profile of his solemn face.
“Why?” She shoved up from the bed and stalked toward him. “So, youarekeeping me captive after all!”
“No, Reyna, I’m not. You’re free to go whenever you want,” he said through gritted teeth. “But you cannot return to the Shadow Court. You’d never make it. You can survive falls from the sky, apparently, but you would not survive that.”
Fear had a tight, choking hold on her heart when she whispered, “Why?”
“It might be best if you sit down. You’ve been through quite the ordeal, and the alchemists say it’ll be days yet before you’re fully back to normal. It’s a miracle you even survived.”
“What is wrong with Lorcan?” she thundered. Ice crackled as it shot from her open mouth, surging up to the ceiling and then shattering when it hit stone. Shards rained down all around them, a cascade of sharp and jagged pieces. A reflection of her heart. Reyna’s breath stilled in her throat.
Thane arched a perfectly-sculpted brow. “Another new trick of yours?”
“I swear to the Dagda, Thane, if you do not tell me what’s going on, I will—”
“The city is under siege. At least...we think it is.”
Confusion rippled through her. “Youthink? Are the reports inconsistent? Why not send Lorcan a bird, and he can tell you himself.”
Thane’s lips flatlined. “We’ve sent him birds. Every last one has been shot down. We were in contact with him when we were sailing back. We’d made it about halfway before his letter arrived. He demanded your return, and I was of the mind to turn our ship around and do exactly what he asked.”
“And then?” she prodded.
“We sent another message, to tell him our plan, and I saw the bird get shot down with my own two eyes. Only...I didn’t see a damn ship to shoot her down. There was nothing there, Reyna. Not even a tiny boat. The arrow appeared out of nowhere, punched through her gut, and she fell.”
Reyna swore, fisting her hands. “The wood king is using Unseelie magic to hide his ships. It’s an illusion.”
“And they turned one of those ships on us. The arrows came our way and kept on coming until we sailed further away from Findius.” Thane dragged a hand down his face, and suddenly, Reyna could see the vague hints of exhaustion on the golden prince. A slight tint of purple lined his eyes. Stubble dotted his chin. Two firm lines had deepened between his brow where he had furrowed them so often.
“And so you believe they’ve put Findius under siege,” she finished for him. “But you aren’t certain because you can’t get word to Lorcan and he can’t get word to you. And you can’t see an army either, I’m guessing?”
He shook his head. “No army that we can see, though there are signs of a camp on the northern side of the Findius city walls.”
“Well, then let’s go help him.” Reyna pushed away from the wall to stalk toward the open window. She gazed out at the seas below, watching the boats bob in the water. There were hundreds of them, all shiny and glistening and new. “You have the ships. And you have the warriors. This court hasn’t been involved in battles for years.”
