“Yes. And what of it? I suppose you’re here to talk me out of it.” Bolg sighed dramatically. “My mind cannot be changed. My champion has visioned Reyna fighting for our side. Unseelie was clear. If Reyna makes the vow, the war is won. And if she doesn’t, then we all die, every one of us. Surely you do not wish all shadows to die, do you?”
His father had always been a superstitious male, one enamored with prophecies, visions, and gods. He did not doubt that Tarrah took advantage of that. She could get the king to do whatever she pleased, just so long as she said it was the command of their god.
“And what makes you think this Tarrah of yours is telling you the truth?” Lorcan tried. “Have you seen the visions yourself?”
“She has proven herself to me, son. Time and time again. Unlike you.”
As much as Lorcan hated the king, his dismissive words stung harsher than the mark. He had done everything his father had commanded. He’d even betrayed the one he loved. The one and only thing he had never done, the one command he had disobeyed, was killing Thane.
And it still had not saved him. Lorcan knew that when his father was done with him, Thane’s life would become forfeit. The High King of the Air Court was more valuable to Bolg alive, for now, but only so long as he could be used as ammunition. Once that was gone…
Lorcan steadied his breath and his anger. “Apologies, Father. I know I have disappointed you at times, but I worry about this stranger’s control over you. Her visions make little sense. Why would you be successful with an ice princess by your side? They are as different to us as fae can get.”
At that, Bolg Rothach finally opened his eyes but only just. They were two black slits on his pockmarked face. “And what would you have me do instead? Not listen to the girl and risk failing? Think about this, my bastard son. Say that I let your pretty princess run free because Tarrah could be lying to me. Very well then. Everyone is happy. But say that Tarrah is right. What then? The wood fae attack, and we all die. This entire realm? Gone forever. That is the price of being wrong. I’m not as dumb as I look. I know you have little love for me. But what of the rest of them? All those poor helpless souls trapped in their exiled realm, starving?” He sat up straight, leaned forward, and braced his arm on his leather-clad knee. “Who would you rather see win? Me or the wood king?”
Lorcan’s hands clenched. It was a terrible choice. His father had a twisted mind and was hell-bent on destroying every realm who had wronged the shadows. But that was nothing compared to what the wood king was. Bolg Rothach’s ire fell onto his enemies. Ulaid Molt’s wrath was felt by innocents. His mind was so far gone that he could no longer tell friend from foe. While Lorcan’s father suffered the consequences of worshipping a dark and vengeful god, the wood king embraced the darkness in a way that Bolg never had.
If Lorcan had to choose, he would be forced to side with his father.
But there were not a mere two realms, or two kings, in the upcoming game of war. Ice, and Air, and Sea would have something to say about it as well.
“I would never side with the Wood Court,” Lorcan said.
Bolg gave him a thin-lipped smile. “Your time at court truly has changed you, my bastard son. Such an expert at mincing words you’ve become.”
“Better mincing than outright lies. Something you’ll soon have to become accustomed to if you wish to return the shadow lands to their rightful place as part of the great continent of Tir Na Nog. If you are no longer exiled, you will be forced to tell the truth just like the rest of them.”
“Be that as it may,” Bolg said, sighing and shutting his eyes once more. “You now know why I cannot allow the Darragh sisters to leave this place. Reyna must make her vows to me. There is no other way.”
With a frustrated growl, Lorcan spun on his heels and left his father to his lonely perch on his beloved Seat of Power. There would be no convincing him now, not so long as Tarrah believed that Reyna was their savior.
But they did not know Reyna as he did. The ice princess would never be the savior of the shadow fae. If anything, she would be the end of them.
3
Eislyn
Afist pounded the door so hard that the wood rattled on its hinges. Eislyn’s heart shattered. The book slipped from her trembling fingers and fell with a loudthunkon the stone floor of her chambers. Bunching her silver gown into her hands, she scurried backward, trying to think around the terror spilling through her veins like venom.
The time had finally come, far sooner than she’d thought.
The door swung wide. In the corridor, a hooded figure shook with belabored breaths before rushing inside and kicking the door behind him. He dropped back his hood, his entire face lined in pain. Vreis Floinn was one of Thane’s closest guards and had taken it upon himself to look after Eislyn in the High King’s absence. With short-cropped light brown hair and mismatched eyes, he stood out among the gleaming golden air fae nobility. Still, they rarely paid him any mind.
His voice was rough when he spoke. “The Grand Alderman has had Imogen hanged. It’s time for you to leave this city, Eislyn. It is no longer safe for you here. Aengus will clearly do whatever it takes to hold onto his power. He will set his sights on you next. While I don’t believe he would kill you outright, he will use you in some way to prevent Thane from retaking his throne.”
Eislyn swallowed hard and nodded. Word had spread through the city. Everyone now knew Thane intended to marry Eislyn when he returned, making her the future High Queen of the realm. Which meant Aengus knew. And he would see her as a threat.
Vreis had first come to her soon after her sister’s disappearance from the castle. He had warned her this day would come. At the time, he had tried to convince her to leave straight away, but Reyna was not the only stubborn member of the Darragh family. Eislyn had stayed for as long as possible, to continue her research into the Ruin.
They had managed to hide Reyna’s disappearance from the Grand Alderman for a few weeks, but he had somehow found out the truth. If he learned that Eislyn had helped hide it from him...
“Come,” Vreis said. “Grab your things. We must go quickly while he is still in the square. All eyes are on the former High Queen. It is our best chance at an escape.”
Eislyn nodded and rushed into her bedchamber, trying not to think about what that meant. All eyes on the High Queen. All eyes on her death. A terrible fate even for a cruel fae. Eislyn had never liked the High Queen, but that did not mean she wished to see her dead. When Thane discovered this...
It would break his heart. And Aengus would face certain death.
She grabbed the leather satchel hidden beneath her bed and tossed it over her shoulder, hurrying back into the drawing room to join Vreis. Even with danger looming inside the castle, Eislyn ached to remain. She had wanted to be here when Thane returned, waiting for him. Now that she knew the truth about his feelings for her, she could not stop thinking about his face, his smile, his hands.
