“Alright.” Eislyn grabbed her cloak from the wall and threw it over her shoulders. “I’ll go to her at once.”
“No, not that sister.” Thane cleared his throat. “It’s about Glencora. She’s not missing.”
“Oh.” Eislyn let the cloak ripple to the floor where it pooled around her feet. “Yes, I know that.”
“She’s, ah…well, I’ve just had a visitor, and she ran into Glencora.” He huffed, rubbing his hand against the back of his neck. “Honestly, Eislyn, I’m struggling to find the words for this. Glencora is…”
“The Namhaid,” she finished for him. “I know. I figured it out the other day.”
“Wait.” Lir pushed up from the sofa. “You believe your oldest sister is the Namhaid? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Yes, Eislyn,” Thane snapped. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
She pressed her lips together, fighting the urge to shout at the both of them. “Because I don’t know what to do about it, alright? Lest you forget,she is my sister.”
Lir clamped his mouth shut. So did Thane.
“Who else knows about this?” she asked Thane.
“Other than us, Mariel,” he said quietly. “But we can’t keep this to ourselves. Not if she’s going to destroy the world.”
“No.” She sighed and closed her eyes, hating her next words before she even spoke them. Reyna needed a respite. Peace and calm. And time. But she couldn’t have any of that. Not yet. “We must go tell Reyna.”
“I agree,” he said. “And there’s something else you need to know. It seems the Namhaid isn’t the only threat to Tir Na Nog. Humans are coming, too.”
55
Reyna
Reyna sat on the throne and watched new flowers blooming on the vines. Yellow daises had joined the purple peonies, and it looked as though several orange dragon lilies would be on their way next. She sighed and leaned back in the seat, enjoying the peaceful solitude. Court had been quiet in the days following the coronation.
She knew it wouldn’t last.
Everyone had been giving her a wide berth out of respect, so that she might deal with her grief in peace. But soon, she would need to dive straight into the business of ruling a kingdom.Twokingdoms, she reminded herself. There was a lot of work to be done to bring the fae together.
Suddenly, the door creaked open. Eislyn and Thane strode into the throne room, both decked out in courtly finery and newly-weaved cloaks dyed the combined colors of the southern kingdoms, emerald green and black.
Reyna sat up a little straighter and smiled at her sister. “Eislyn. I’m glad you’ve come.”
“You won’t be glad when you hear what I have to say,” she said crisply, slowing to a stop at the base of the dais. “We’re bringing you your first order of queenly business.”
“Oh gods.” Reyna straightened her crown and stood. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“We have two problems. An…individual problem. And a collective problem.” She glanced at Thane, who nodded grimly. The scar on his face was a grim reminder that her peaceful solitude would only last so long. Just like his, the scars on these lands were fresh, and healing would take a long time.
“Tell me the collective problem first.”
“Thane?” Eislyn said. “Would you like to lead this one?”
He blew out a hot breath. “Humans warships were spotted off the coast of the Air Court. It seems they’re intent on invading the kingdoms. We have an ally there who is doing her best to hold them back, but it’s only a temporary measure.”
“What ally?” she asked with a frown. “Who else is there?”
“That’s not important. What’s important is that humans have sailed across the Mag Mell Sea, planning to take our kingdoms away from us.”
Reyna nodded and gripped the hilt of the dagger at her waist, to steady herself. “Wonderful. Fortunately, my father and your grandfather are still here. I’ll gather them for a meeting. We’ll find a way to stop them. I’m guessing the singular threat isn’t as much of a problem as this?”
Thane turned to Reyna’s sister. “Your turn.”
