“I’m saying the war has lasted a hundred years, and many of your fae lost their lives to the Air Court. It will take a very long time for those wounds to mend, if they ever do.” He pushed a long strand of hair out of her face. “Some will be glad of the alliance. Others will not. I wish it weren’t so, and I hate that it feels as ifI’mwoundingyounow by telling you this, but sometimes harsh truths must be faced.”
“You don’t seem as if you hate it at all,” she whispered fiercely, blinking back the tears. “You’ve been throwing harsh truths into my face since the moment we left that damn city.”
“Only because I am trying my damnedest to help you survive.” He leaned in, voice tense with emotion. “You’ve spent your entire life shielded from the world. By your father, by your sisters, by Thane. That shield is gone, Eislyn. I’m just trying to make you see it’s not there and what now lies beyond its shadow.”
“And I’m shielded by you,” she said, tears now pouring from her eyes, because he was right. He was so right that it hurt. She had long known deep inside her heart that there was something wrong with her, that she could not survive, not on her own. She had been protected, so protected that others had died so she might live. And that wasn’t fair. That wasn’t fair at all. Her mother should be here now. She would have never needed so many shields.
“See, there you’re wrong.” He brushed his thumb against her cheek, wiping away the tears. “I am not trying to shield you at all.”
“I am not strong enough,” she whispered harshly. “I am not Reyna. I’m not even Glencora.”
They were both strong in their own way. Even now, Glencora survived something that had killed so many. And Reyna.Oh, Reyna.Eislyn did not know what had happened to her sister, but she knew she would be alive. It would take a lot to destroy a Darragh sister.
Every Darragh sister except for Eislyn, of course. She was nothing like her sisters, and she never would be.
“This is what I am trying to tell you.” He grasped her shoulders, leaned down, and stared deeply into her eyes. “Look deep down inside of yourself. You are Princess Eislyn Darragh. You do not need anyone to save you. No one but yourself.Be your own shield.”
Be your own shield.
The thought sparked like a flicker in the darkest dungeon. She gasped at the wave of exhilaration that went through her, but it was quickly pushed away by a tsunami of reality. Eislyn could not be her own shield. Vreis meant well. He truly did. But he didn’t understand how useless she was. He didn’t understand how terrible the terrors in her mind truly were.
“It’s a nice thought,” she said with a sad smile. “But not everyone is fit for battle.”
Vreis sighed as she pushed away from him. “Eislyn.”
She brushed the tears from her face and began to jog. Vreis was wrong about her. She couldn’t take care of herself, evidenced by the fact he himself had been the one to break her out of the castle.Hehad set up the ship.Hehad told her to go to Margaidh. He had done it all, and she’d done nothing!
If she had been left to her own devices, she’d be in a grave next to Imogen Selkirk right now.
He let her go, almost as though he sensed her need for a moment to herself. She hated that she’d let him see her this way, raw and broken, staring her helplessness right in the face. How did he see through her so well and yet manage to get it all wrong anyway?
When her tears were finally frozen on her cheeks, she reached the gates leading out of the market and into the city proper. She slowed to a stop and glanced behind her, ready to face Vreis once again and his all-knowing eyes. But Vreis was not there amidst the crowd, not that she could see. His amber hair should have stood out in a sea of silver and white, but there was not a splash of brown at all.
He left me, she thought desperately to herself.He got sick and tired of being my shield, so he’s gone.
But that could not be right. Vreis had done too much to abandon her now. Something else must have happened. Had he stopped at a stall? Perhaps she’d raced too fast through the crowd, and he’d lost sight of her.
Frowning, Eislyn retraced her steps through the market, heart squeezing tight. With every step, the worry cinched tighter.
“Hello there, princess. How strange it is to find you here in these parts. We thought you were an air fae now.” The voice that rang behind her was rough and cruel and terrifyingly deep. Eislyn swallowed hard and turned.
The silver-haired male was a tall warrior, clad in the light armor of the Ice Court. He wore a glistening hoarfrost cloak around broad, muscular shoulders. His grin was wicked. His dagger was sharp. Several more fae fanned out behind him. Murder glinted in eyes that should have been safe, familiar, and kind.
“What do you want?” she whispered, stumbling back.
“I think you know what we want,” he growled.
She flew through the market, her feet pounding hard on the dirt-packed street, her hair flying behind her like a dozen silver wings. The males followed close behind. No matter how fast she ran, she could hear them on her heels, their breath ragged, their own feet heavy and loud on the dirt.
“Better give it up and stop now, princess,” one of them shouted. “You can’t outrun us all.”
Eislyn let out a cry of terror, but she did not dare slow her feet. They were right. There were too many of them. She would never outrun them all. Her only hope was to run long enough to catch Vreis’s attention, wherever he’d gone. He would help her. He would know what to do.
She raced back through the stalls, searching wildly for any sign of Vreis. There was none. Every head she saw was silver or white, eyes lit like crystal shards. Fear formed a lump in her throat. They’d seen her with Vreis. They knew he was there, protecting her. Had they taken him out first?
Had they killed him?
Tears sprung into her eyes. She wanted to continue her search for Vreis, but the warriors were hot on her trail. Several jumped into the path ahead. With a frustrated cry, Eislyn whirled on her feet and charged through the canopy that surrounded the market.
