The wood fae tossed a small bundle of green his way. Lorcan caught it, held it up, and frowned. “I appreciate it, but this looks a bit small.”
Duff chuckled. “That’s because you shadow fae are so damn big.”
Lorcan bristled, but he didn’t bother to correct him. He might have inherited his father’s court, but he’d never considered himself a true shadow fae. He belonged to his mother’s court. The Air Court. Even though he’d betrayed them, he would have the heart of an air fae until the day he died.
A knock sounded on the door, and then Meredith bustled inside without waiting for an answer. Duff and his friends gave Lorcan a quick goodbye, and then backed out of the room while Meredith fussed at Reyna’s wound, wrapping a new bandage and wiping away the fresh blood. Before covering it back up, she spread an ointment across the wound. A healing salve meant to speed up the process, though it would never replace the powers the fae had once had.
If only the Fall had never happened, Reyna would already be fully healed by now.
And the kingdoms would not be at war.
“How is she doing?” Lorcan asked as Meredith finished up with the bandage.
“Much better. She is a strong one, this Reyna.”
Lorcan audibly sighed. “Good. We will leave first thing on the morrow.”
Meredith frowned. “I said she’s better, but she is not fully healed. The poor thing needs to rest, to gather her strength back.”
His heart pulsed. The wood fae knew they were somewhere in the area. It would not take them long to realize where they’d gone. If the shadow fae knew Oxgrove was a welcome place for strangers, the wood king would know it, too.
“How much longer?”
“A few more days.” With a gentle smile, she patted his shoulder. “And then she will be good to go.”
“A few more days,” he echoed.
A few more days, and the wood fae would be here. That or they would cut off their return path to Findius. If they did, Lorcan and his party would never be able to cross beneath the wall. The wood fae would spot the hidden tunnels if they used them. And they couldn’t risk the enemy discovering the only path across the border.
“And there is no way to speed up her healing?”
She swatted at his arm. “No. You’re lucky she’s even alive. Now why don’t you go join the lads and leave her be? The more she rests, the faster she’ll heal.”
Lorcan merely crossed his arms over his chest and kept his feet firmly rooted to the timber floor. With a roll of her eyes, she gave Reyna one last glance and left. As she departed, another visitor announced her arrival with a rustle of her cloak against the floor.
“Your Highness,” Nollaig said, bowing slightly. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I heard what the wood fae said. It appears our fate has finally caught up with us.”
Lorcan twisted to face her with a frown.
Nollaig continued. “We will fight our best, of course, but the wood king will send far more warriors than we have here, even including the many villagers of Oxgrove who know how to wield a weapon. I suppose it is a matter of how soon we will fall, not if.”
“You would stay here with me and fight?”
“Well, yes, of course,” she said with confusion in her voice. “What ever else would I do?”
“Return to the court,” he said. “Abandon this fool-hardy quest. Save yourselves.”
Nollaig stiffened. “I am not leaving your side. You are my prince, my liege. Whatever you might think of me, you must know I would not leave you behind to fight the wood fae alone.”
He noted that she didn’t ask whether he would leave Reyna in Oxgrove so that they might return safely to Findius. She already knew the answer to that. He would stay and protect her healing body with his dying breath if he must.
“I appreciate your loyalty, Nollaig,” he said quietly. “More than you’ll ever know. But here is not where I need you. There’s something else I need you to do.”
“And what is that?” she asked crisply, clearly unhappy that Lorcan did not wish for her to stay and throw herself into a fight against an army too large to even contemplate.
“I need you to go ahead and return to Findius. Warn the court of what’s happening.”
“I just told you I’m not leaving your side,” she growled. “And even if I wanted to, the king would have my head.”
