Reyna climbed to her feet, inwardly sighing as Wingallock’s comforting form settled onto her shoulder. She always felt better with him there. He brushed his feathers against her face, cooing.
Nollaig pushed up from the ground, brushing the dirt from her midnight cloak. “You’re welcome for saving your life.”
Reyna glared at her, refusing to turn her eyes toward Lorcan. He had helped save her, too, even after she’d admitted to her plot against Thane. Maybe it was instinctual. Or maybe he was just following orders, same as the rest of them. “You only saved me because your king believes I’m going to save your court from getting slaughtered in your war with the Wood Court. In any other situation, you would have let me fall.”
“Yes, because we’re bloodthirsty monsters who enjoy watching fae get swallowed up by pools of molten iron,” Nollaig said, her voice full of an eye roll.
“Well, I’m glad we’re in agreement,” Reyna said.
“The day we’re in agreement is the day it snows in Findius,” Lorcan snapped. He pushed his way past them. “Let’s stop stalling and get on with it. Reyna, watch your feet. Next time, I might not be in the mood to help you. These lot have orders to keep you alive.” He paused, and Reyna’s heart paused right along with him. She knew what he’d say next. Shewantedhim to say it, if only because it would prove that he was exactly everything she feared he was.Next time, I’ll let you die.But instead, he said, “My father knows I don’t need orders to keep you alive. But for the love of the Dadga, Reyna, I wish I did. Fuck, I wish I did.”
For once, Tarrah didn’t even correct his reference to the ‘wrong god’ as he strode gruffly down the rest of the path, reaching the lava cave exit and disappearing through the gap.
“You two have a very complicated relationship,” Nollaig remarked, clearly over the lack of a ‘thank you’ far sooner than Lorcan.
“I wouldn’t call mutual hatred a relationship,” Reyna said, staring into the shadows where Lorcan disappeared. She was pretty certain he had done his shadowy vanishing act, which did not bode well for the success of the mission. Not that she wanted him to be part of the mission. Tarrah had said he was important. That was the only reason she wanted him to stay.
Tarrah gave her a knowing smile. The color in her cheeks had returned. “Mutual hatred?”
“What else would you call it?”
Nollaig and Tarrah exchanged a look.
“L,” Tarrah said.
“O.”
“V.”
“Enough.” Reyna rolled her eyes and brushed off her trousers, flinging the dirt into the roiling molten lava below. “I just almost died because of falling into that iron sea, remember? We should get out of this cave before another one of us ends up encased in poison.”
Tarrah beamed. “You just said ‘another one of us’ as if you’d rather see us live than die. We’re making progress.”
“That’s right,” Nollaig replied.
Reyna scowled. “You two are reading far too much into my words.”
Tarrah cocked her head. “Isn’t that what we need to start doing? Soon enough, we’ll be surrounded by fae just like you, who mince their words and always hide meaning in every statement they make.”
Reyna had warned them of that. She hated that she was unintentionally training them to survive in the world they hoped to claim. So instead, she gave them a vicious smile. “Reading too much into words can be just as dangerous as not reading enough. I may be helping you now—because you’ve forced me to—but that does not change anything at all. I still want every one of you dead.”
14
Reyna
The sun was a glorious thing, all bright and yellow and free of the reddish haze that marred its brilliance in the shadow lands. When they pushed through the gate hidden in the folds of a small hill, Reyna breathed a sigh of relief. The landscape was a tapestry of green with towering, gnarled trees that twisted together, their limbs heavy with lush, oversized leaves. Rolling hills stretched toward the forest, carpeted in a luxuriant grass that looked soft enough for sleep. Unintentionally, Reyna felt herself smile.
“Careful, princess,” Nollaig warned, placing a finger against the side of her head, tapping the thick fabric that obscured her face. “This place might look like an oasis to you, but it is nothing of the kind. Here, there is not even a speck of ice.”
“There’s also no mist, thankfully,” she countered dryly. “Or iron lava.”
“Ah, but there are plenty of shadows,” Nollaig said with a smile in her voice.
It seemed to Reyna that there were shadows all throughout Tir Na Nog. Every court had them. They were inescapable. As long as there was light, shadows would not be far behind. She wished she could say the same for ice, but this far south, there was none to be seen.
The group clustered together just outside the gate, lurking behind a dense row of hedges. It hid them from the view of any wood fae who might be scouting along the forest’s edge. Reyna frowned and surveyed their surroundings. If there were any enemies hiding in wait, the hills would be the shadow fae’s undoing. They would need to cross them to reach the forest, and they would be out in plain sight.
“Where exactly are we?” Reyna hated to make them think she was interested in this godforsaken quest, but she could not hold back her curiosity. They’d travelled for hours underground, beneath the towering fortress walls that stood between the Shadow Court and the Wood Court. Through the twisting and tunnelling maze, she had not been able to keep track of their direction.
