And someone needed to warn him. If he strode back inside this castle, unaware...
Vreis must have seen the doubt on her face, because he gently took her hands in his. “I understand this is difficult for you, Princess. It is difficult for me as well. I have served the Selkirks for so long that I scarcely remember a time in my life before them. Thane, in particular. He is out there somewhere. Missing. A pretender has stolen his throne and murdered his mother.”
Eislyn nodded, her heart aching.
Vreis continued. “There is little I can do. Aengus is surrounded by guards who appear loyal to him. So, if I cannot remove him from the throne, I will do the one thing I know Thane would request. He would want me to ensure that you are safe.”
“I know,” she whispered, tears burning her eyes. “But what will happen to him when he returns? Will Aengus try to—?” Her voice cut off. She could not bear to speak it.
Vreis’s mismatched eyes hardened, one a deep brown, one golden. “Aengus should try if he likes. He will not get very far. Thane is the High King of this realm. As much as Aengus wishes otherwise, that is something he cannot change. If he attempts to kill our Thane, this entire city will rip him to shreds. And then he truly will be cursed for eternity.”
Eislyn shivered, both exhilarated and terrified by Vreis’s words. She did not want to see a male ripped to shreds, even one as terrible as Aengus. And yet…she yearned for justice in a way she never had before. It was not right what Aengus had done. He’d stolen the throne, he’d had the queen killed. And now, there was nothing standing in his way. True power was in his grasp.
If Thane died, the Seat of Power would transfer straight to his greedy little hands.
“Come,” Vreis said. “We cannot waste any more time. The boat is waiting.”
Nodding, Eislyn followed Vreis into the dimly-lit corridor outside of her chambers. Two stone walls rose high on either side of the narrow tunnel that twisted through the castle’s many towers. There were six of them in total—connected by looming white-stone walls. When Eislyn had first arrived in Tairngire, the expansive, maze-like corridors had put the fear of the Dagda into her soul. She had rarely left her rooms, so long as she could weave together an acceptable excuse. Without lying, of course.
But Eislyn had grown accustomed to these strange and twisting halls. She had sneaked through them with the prince, that fateful night when they had escaped into the city for a night of mead, bards, and dance. Until that night, Thane had always worn his cloak as if it weighed five hundred pounds, the weight of an entire realm pulling him deep into the dirt. Away from court, he had come alive in a way she had never expected.
And now he was gone.
She followed Vreis through the corridors, her feet moving quickly along the white stone floors. Down they went, rushing through stairwells that led them into the very guts of the castle. Soon, they reached the hidden tunnel and then rushed out into twilight.
To their right, the Witchlight Woods rose high into the scarlet sky, the thick limbs of the yew trees whispering in the soft wind. Even though the sun had only begun to set, the woods were dark and ominous. Thankfully, Eislyn knew that their journey would lead to their left, where the Bay of Wind rippled, boats and ships bobbing in the water, the blue turned scarlet beneath the sky.
“Which boat is ours?” Eislyn asked, frowning. There were none anchored by the shore this night.
“Apologies, Princess, but that way would only lead to death,” Vreis said quietly before motioning toward the dirt-packed path that cut through the tall grass and into the forest of shadows. “We must cut through the woods and head to the eastern shore. There, our ship will be waiting for us.”
Fear staked Eislyn’s heart. She swallowed hard. “Surely there must be some other way.”
“I’m afraid not. There are many eyes and ears in the Bay of Wind. We could not leave that way without being seen. Perhaps those eyes would belong to someone who would be sympathetic. Or…”
“Or they might belong to someone loyal to the Grand Alderman,” she finished for him, her lips trembling as she pressed them tightly together. “Are there really that many fae in Tairngire who are loyal to that vicious male? He stole the throne.”
“Some might say that he stole the throne, but others might also say that he is defending the throne for when their true High King returns. And others might even hope that Thane is gone for good. The realm has always been torn in their opinion of the Selkirks. You know the story of how they came into power, yes?”
Eislyn nodded. It was a story full of betrayal and death. Thane had not been alive then. He’d had nothing to do with his father’s lust for power. But there were many out there who would blame him all the same.
She swallowed hard and took in the path before her. Eislyn had never been courageous, not like her sister. Hersisters, really. Glencora was just as brave as Reyna, only in different ways. She had not once complained about her fate. She would have walked into the Air Court and taken her seat beside Thane graciously. But the Ruin had gotten to her first.
The very thought of the horrible magic filled her head with noise. It was loud, loud, loud. Screaming filled her ears, and visions swarmed across her vision, blocking out the dreadful Witchlight Woods. Bodies fell to the ground, and then spasmed. Black fingers of dust singed their skin. Their eyes turned black; their lips went white. Her mother reached out…
“Princess?” Vreis’s calm, strong voice cut through her dark thoughts. She sucked in a sharp breath, and shook the madness away. Eislyn did not remember much from that fateful day, nor the days after. But those horrible images flashed before her every now and again, reminding her that it was her fault that her mother was dead.
Eislyn was the reason her mother had even been in the village that day. And as her sisters had dragged her to safety…
“Very well then. Let’s go,” she whispered, brushing aside the hot tears that splashed onto her cheeks.
As they rushed quickly through the thick forest, Eislyn’s fear began to thaw. Up close, the trees were nothing but trees rather than the looming sentries that she had seen from a distance. The canopy’s cover felt like a blanket, hiding them from the ever watchful gaze of courtiers, spies, and gossipers. In fact, Eislyn could not help but think this was the safest she had been in weeks.
The path wound through thickets of yew trees, past lazy brooks burbling down gently sloping hills, and over fallen logs cast down across the path. Victims of the realm’s insistent wind. Wind that grew in strength with every step they made closer to the shore.
They reached the eastern edge of Tir Na Nog long after twilight had deepened into full dark. The twin moons, Brigantu and Danu, were high in the sky, their full glow splashing silver onto the sea that stretched out before them. Under their brilliant light, Eislyn spotted a ship waiting in the distance.
It was a merchant ship formed from great timber beams, its mast bearing the sigil of the Sea Court: twin teal waves bursting forth from an unseen sea, the frothy crests pushing away from each other. A small wooden boat had been pulled onto the shore, cutting a line through the waterlogged sand. Beside it stood a sea fae.
