Tears filled her eyes, but she blinked them back. “I want to find the books myself.”
“That’s not going to happen,” he said, dragging her toward the door.
She tried to resist by digging her heels into the wooden floor, but they just scraped along as if she were a cart being dragged along by a horse. He kept it up the entire walk back to her quarters where he then practically tossed her inside the room. The barn owl hooted at her sternly, which only added to her frustration. She knew he couldn’t be her familiar, but couldn’t he at least take her side?
For a moment, Emperor Lir stood in the doorframe glaring at her. He looked as though he had something to say, but all he did was stare.
“What?” she shot, fisting her hands. “You thinking of doing the same damn thing your friend wanted to do to me?”
He blinked, his lip curling. “I wouldn’t debase myself by touching a fae.”
And then he was gone.
18
Reyna
Reyna edged closer to the tent, pulling her dagger from her waistband. She inched around to the side, out of sight of the guard who stood watch for enemies. Voices drifted through the flap.
“The air fae have reneged on our alliance,” the violet-eyed warrior said. “They’re attacking our army.”
“How very interesting,” the wood king replied. “I didn’t think they had the balls.”
Reyna darted from the shadows and slammed her dagger into the warrior’s neck. He grunted, eyes widening, and she slammed her hand against his mouth. As he fell, she caught his weight and slowly lowered him to the ground. Grunting, she pulled him away from the tent’s flap, sweating from the sheer effort.
When she was done, she wiped her dagger against the ground and inched back to the opening. Reyna pressed her back against the linen tent and peeked around the edge of the flap. The gap in the material was only big enough for her one eye to peer inside, but it was enough to give her a view of the king and his advisors. There were four of them in total.
“What would you have me do, Your Highness?” the warrior asked stiffly.
The High King drummed his fingers on the war table where a map stretched out, edges of the parchment curling in the heat. “I suppose you ought to put a stop to it, don’t you think?”
The guard’s face blanched. “Of course, Your Highness, but how? Their numbers match ours.”
“Where’s that Aengus creature?” the king asked with a frown. “He has no guts about him. He should be easy enough to capture. Threaten his death if the air fae don’t comply.”
The guard shifted uneasily on his feet. “It seems there is no love lost between the air fae and their Grand Alderman. They’ve killed him, and put his head on a pike. One of them is running through the camp with it.”
“Ha!” Molt grinned. His chin wobbled as he laughed. “Good riddance!”
“My liege.” A priest in midnight robes gently cut in, his face hidden by the folds of his hood. “I know the Grand Alderman’s death is of no concern to you, but we really cannot allow those air fae to slaughter our warriors.”
Molt waved his hand dismissively. “Our fae have feasted on blood this night. They will not lose.”
Unease twisted like a snake around Reyna’s heart. She’d not considered that. If the wood fae gained power from blood, they would be high on it now. The air fae didn’t understand what they were up against. Reyna glanced at the flickering orange light of the bonfire against the sky, torn. She needed to stay by this tent so that she could kill the king. But she needed to warn the air fae, too.
“And then once we win this ridiculous battle, we will walk right into Findius,” Molt said, snapping Reyna out of her thoughts. “The Shadow Court’s king is opening the gates as we speak.”
She gasped and stepped back.
What?!
Reyna’s heart thudded painfully in her chest. Lorcan had opened the gates to Findius? For the wood king? He couldn’t.He wouldn’t. He’d seen exactly what kind of monster Ulaid Molt was. It was impossible to fathom he would lay down arms, open his gates, and welcome him inside.
Aengus’s words rose up in her memory like a powerful wave, rushing toward the shore to drag her under.He’ll surrender.
But Lorcan wouldn’t surrender. He just wouldn’t.
Her heart pulsed against her ribs. Would he?
