“Ah.” Maddox shifted on his feet and glanced at Tristin. Neither one looked particularly happy about Lorcan’s proposal. “Problem is, we don’t want to send our subjects to their slaughter.”
Irritation flickered in Lorcan’s gut. “Lord Maddox, I am not asking to send them to slaughter.”
“Forgive me, Your Highness,” Lord Tristin cut in with an uneasy clearing of his throat. “With all due respect, I don’t believe you understand the full gravity of the situation. How many warriors does the wood king have?”
Lorcan glanced at Nollaig. “We can’t be certain. He’s using illusions to hide some of them.”
“Then, he likely has far more than you realize.” Lord Tristin grimaced. “Your advisors are right. We do have an army here, but we do not have enough to win a war against Ulaid Molt.”
It took all of Lorcan’s strength not to sag beneath the weight of his deflated hope. They’d come all the way here to get this army. It was his only move forward. If he did not have that, he did not know what else he could do. Either the fae of Findius would die of starvation. Or he would have to surrender them all to the Wood Court.
Both options made him feel as though his heart had been wrung through a meat grinder.
Thiswas their only hope. As the High King, he could force the issue if he wanted to. And then lose any hope of a peaceful alliance with these coastal lords.
“However,” Maddox cut in, snatching Lorcan’s attention away from his dark thoughts. “There is one thing we can offer you. Bring your fae here. Flee Findius. We have room, and we can build extra homes if need be.”
“And we have fresh fish,” Tristin added. “There will be no great feasting, not like we had a hundred years ago. But it will be enough for them to live.”
Lorcan’s lips settled into a grim line as the reality of his situation squatted on his shoulders like a hulking mass of darkness. He let out a long shudder, realizing that there really was no other way forward. Not one that would end well.
“What do we do when Ulaid Molt turns his gaze south?” Lorcan asked.
Maddox and Tristin exchanged a weighted glance before the former spoke. “We’ll decide that when it comes. We may be able to defend the city against him. If not, we have ships. We don’t want to leave Tir Na Nog, but we will if that’s what it takes to save our people.”
Leave Tir Na Nog.He couldn’t bear the thought of it. Not as long as Reyna Darragh walked these lands.
“There must be some other way,” he said gruffly.
“Perhaps there is,” Lord Tristin said with a grim smile. “But right now, this is all we have.”
* * *
He and Nollaig left for their return journey when dawn broke through the misty skies. He had no desire to wait around and talk politics with the lords. If his people were going to survive, he needed to get them out of Findius as quickly as possible. Only three days stretched between the two cities, but it would be a hard journey for the low fae. They’d scarcely eaten a thing in weeks. Their bodies would struggle to find the energy.
“I know you don’t like this, Your Highness,” Nollaig spoke up from beside him. “But I truly believe you’re doing the right thing.”
He grunted. “Then, why does it feel so wrong?”
“Because sometimes doing the right thing feels like shit.”
A strangled laugh choked his throat. Shaking his head, he could not help but smile at his old friend. “Only you could make me smile at a time like this.”
“That’s not true,” she replied dryly. “Reyna Darragh could.”
His smile dropped. “I doubt it. She would likely be driving me absolutely mad. She’d get some wild idea in her stubborn head, one that would likely get her killed. And then she’d do it no matter what I said to try and convince her otherwise.”
“Hmm. A little bird told me you wish to marry her.”
His heart skipped a beat. He’d never spoken that out loud to a single soul. “What bird? Holas?”
“I think you should, you know.” She reached up and rustled her familiar’s feathers. “Marry the Shieldmaiden.”
Lorcan ground his teeth and gazed across the empty fields of ash. “That’s impossible. She’s cursed me to never set eyes on her again.”
“How odd,” Nollaig said, her voice transforming into a hush.
“I thought you knew about that,” he said with a frown. “You were there when she agreed to Seelie’s deal.”
