Both Rhain and Nollaig were silent for so long that Reyna thought they might not have heard her words. Did they think her foolish? Did Nollaig now agree that she’d committed treason against her king? Would she forsake her now, drag her back to Murias, or slice open her neck?
But it was Rhain who spoke first. “There’s only one explanation then. We’re immune to this curse because we’re part Fomorian.”
Nollaig choked on her breath. She took a step back into the brush. Brows raised, Reyna turned to her. “If you’re part Fomorian, too, that explains a lot.”
A low whistle echoed out of Nollaig’s cloak. “Shieldmaiden, I’m warning you—”
“You have strength that is rare among the fallen fae. You know things others do not. And you don’t want anyone to see your face.” Reyna stepped closer. “You’re just like me and Rhain, aren’t you? You have Fomorian blood running through your veins.”
Nollaig’s shoulders slumped. “Well, there you’re wrong. I’m not justpartFomorian, Shieldmaiden. That’s all I am. So, now you know my big secret. Just keep it to yourself, alright?”
9
Lorcan
“Lorcan!” Thane appeared in the doorway of the Tower of Thorns, as golden as the dawn of a new day. Lorcan bit back his disgust, smiling as he stood from the throne. Thane stretched his arms wide and strode toward the dais, the dim light glinting off his gold-dyed leather armor.
Not much about Thane had changed, it seemed. He still wore smugness like the golden crown perched atop his head. His elaborate tattoo matched his superiority, and everything about him was crystal clean and unmarred.
He’d had the world tossed before his feet from the moment he was born. And he’d squandered it. Still, Lorcan smiled. He could not afford for Thane to know the true depths of his hatred for him.
“Thane.” Lorcan threw his arms wide and slammed into the air king, hugging him like he might hug a brother. As they thunked each other on the backs, Lorcan drew in a small sniff. Leather and salt, like the sea. Lorcan eyes drifted down the side of him. The air king carried a sword, but he wouldn’t anticipate an attack. Lorcan could kill him here and now if he truly wanted. He pulled back and grinned. “The crown suits you.”
Thank the gods I can lie.
“And that crown suits…ah, you wear it well, but I must admit, it’s not how I envisioned you.” He chuckled. “You, a dual king. Who would have ever guessed it?”
Annoyance flared in his gut, desperate to release itself in the form of a fist on Thane’s golden cheek. Lorcan had been born to rule. Not that idiot trapped in the back of his mind, the fae he’d once been.The Pathetic One. But the fae he was now.
“Is everything alright?” Thane asked, his tattooed forehead crinkling.
Lorcan grinned broadly. “Of course not. My oldest friend is here with me now. We’ll join our courts and put an end to this bloody war once and for all.”
Thane thunked him on the back once more. “It’s about damn time. It only took the both of us to put an end to it. And Reyna, of course.” His gaze drifted through the empty throne room. “Where is she?”
“Reyna,” Lorcan said, biting back the rage building in his chest. She was the biggest weakness for the fae he’d once been. And she had the book. If she figured out what had happened to him, she’d try to reverse it. The sooner she was dead, the better. “I’m not sure. She vanished a few days ago. I worry some wood fae got to her. Truth be told, Thane, she might be dead.”
“Dead?” Thane’s face blanched. “Are you certain?”
“I’ve sent out a search party,” he lied. “They’ve found no sign of her.”
A deep frown pulled down Thane’s lips. That was interesting. Neither of them had been particularly fond of each other back in Tairngire. Hell, Reyna had wanted to kill Thane at one point. And Thane had no idea.
Lorcan filed that memory away for later use.
“Let’s not mention this to Glencora just yet,” he murmured, glancing behind him at the open door. “She’s been through a lot. Eislyn is missing, too. I don’t want to scare her until we know what’s happened.”
“Glencora.” Lorcan’s brows shot up his forehead.
Thane flushed. “You won’t believe it, but I ended up marrying the girl. Her father wanted to secure our alliance. So, now she’s my wife. Can you believe it?”
“What about Eislyn?” Lorcan asked slowly, swallowing down the urge to punch the wall.Heneeded to be in control of every aspect of the alliances. It was his treaty. They would ally withhim, not with each other. He needed every court dependent on him. This would not do.
This would not do at all.
“No one knows where Eislyn is. Her father seems to think she’s dead.” Thane winced. “It’s possible Aengus got to her before she reached safety.”
“And you?”
