“It’s not the same, Mar, and you know it. No one ever comes out here. The Selkirks don’t like these woods, not like we did. They don’t understand it. They think it’s full of darkness and dread.”
But still, if someone had seen him, they would have realized he was more than a mere low fae, though she could not find it within her heart to argue with him. Her brother’s birds were alive and well and thriving from the looks of it. No doubt they preferred the canopy of green to the stone walls of the castle tower. They were free now, like Mariel and Mavis. But Mariel would not be free for long.
“You’ve been eating the sap?” she asked him. No one but Mariel’s family had ever known about the sap. It had left Mariel feeling young when every fae around her had begun to wither and die after the Fall.
“Of course. And you have, too. I can see the glimmer in your eyes.”
“You might have told me,” she scolded but only gently. “I’ve tried time and time again to bring some to you.”
He let out a heavy sigh. “You never asked, Mar. You’ve been so focused on vengeance and death that you didn’t think to ask me what I’ve been doing to stay sane all these years. Well, here you are. This is how.” He gestured up at the woods. There was yearning in his voice, in his gold-flecked eyes. He missed this place just as much as she did, and she’d never even realized.
“You said you liked the tavern life. That we had a good thing going on in the slums.”
“I cannot lie. Those words were truth. But it did not mean I don’t miss home.”
Squaring her shoulders, Mariel nodded. In his attempts to convince her to stop, he’d only added more fuel to the fire in her gut. She knew her brother wanted nothing more than for her to give up this plot and settle in at the tavern, where they would live out their lives without intrigue, and murder, and war. But the war would come for them, whether Mariel did a damn thing about it or not. So, she would make certain they were on the winning side.
“Call them down,” she said. “I’m ready.”
Mavis sighed and let out a low whistle. Two short bursts of high-pitched sound followed by a single low blow. Instantly, the birds pushed off their branches, wings flapping against the strong wind. A million golden feathers filled the air as the birds swooped toward the ground.
Several landed on her brother’s shoulders and out-stretched arms. Some settled by his feet. Not a single one had anything to do with Mariel. They did not even deem her interesting enough to blink in her direction.
She dug the scrolls from her pocket, tied together with golden string. “I need four of these delivered.”
Mavis sighed. “Where are they going?”
She flipped open her journal and pointed at a list. Four names, all underlined in red. Mavis sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes widening. When he glanced up at her in shock, she nodded. “Yes, those.”
“Alright,” he nodded, surprising her with the intensity of his tone. “I’ll agree to that.”
Mavis took the scrolls and pressed them into the curved talons of four of his golden birds. He murmured to them as he did, whispering instructions into their eager ears. It had been a very long time since they had followed their master’s orders.
One by one, the birds took flight, rushing up into the cloudless sky. Mariel watched and clutched the journal tight to her chest. Wings speared the sky, gleaming beneath the golden sunlight. Her hopes were carried away on the wind, hopes of a future that was finally theirs after so many years spent hiding in the shadows.
10
Reyna
“It’s time for you to make yourself useful,” Nollaig said as they stood clustered around a small table in a room just beyond the throne room. It was a small strategy room, lit by flickering candlelight. Bookshelves lined the walls where leather-bound tomes were packed tight. An oversized globe sat in one corner, the continent of Tir Na Nog stretched wide across the side that faced them. It reminded Reyna too much of her father’s study, where he spent hours pouring over battle plans.
Nollaig pointed at the map, where the grey border melted into green. “I’m taking a scouting team through one of our hidden gates. The goal is to establish what the Wood Court is planning, and to determine their numbers. You’ll be coming with us.”
Reyna frowned. “I thought my purpose was to fight, not to spy.”
“We’re not spying,” Nollaig said. “We just have no intention of being seen. We get in, we see what they’re doing, and then we get out.”
“Again, I thought the visions had something to do with me fighting.”
Reyna did not wish to leave the castle. Her sister was here, and she still hadn’t found her. This quest could take days, if not more. How far into the wood fae lands would they have to venture? If they intended to trek all the way to the capital of Murias…she could not abandon her sister with the shadow fae that long.
“As careful as we intend to be, there is always the chance we might be seen. If we are, we need strong and capable fighters.”
Reyna crossed her arms and lifted a brow. “And if I choose to stay here in case some Air Court ships appear in the Midnight Bay?”
“You don’t have that choice,” Lorcan said quietly from the corner. “My father has decided we’re going on this mission, and you must follow his command or die.”
Reyna’s head jerked up as her entire body locked tight. Horror churned through her, and she had to fight against her every urge to run. At some point, he had sneaked into the room, or he’d been hiding unseen in the shadows all this time. Heart roaring, she could do nothing more than stare at him for a good, long while. The rest of the room was quiet.
