They’d both been opposed to all things Unseelie. What would they think now that their new High King had followed in the footsteps of his cruel, twisted father?
Cos Darragh stood at the foot of the dais. The sight of his familiar form almost brought her to her knees. His long gleaming hair swished against his waist, his head topped with a crown of silver branches. The cloak he always wore hung from his broad shoulders. She’d seen him look just like this a thousand times before. And now all she wanted to do was rush into his arms and place her cheek against her beating heart.
Thane stood next to him, along with Murdock Leaghan, the High King of the Sea Court. Every single one of them twisted toward her, their eyes wide with shock.
“Reyna?” Her father stepped forward and stared, his lined face full of shock. He looked like he’d seen a ghost. “You’re alive?”
Her heart raged in her chest. She glanced from his face to Thane’s and frowned. “Of course I’m alive.”
“But Lorcan said…” Thane shook his head, brows furrowed.
“He said I was dead?” Reyna pressed her lips together, swallowing down the hurt. Of course he’d said she was dead. He might have even thought she was. Without Seelie’s powers, she might not fare well against Nollaig’s attack. The shadow fae was a strong fighter. So was Reyna. But Nollaig was a friend. Reyna wouldn’t have wanted to fight her. Which was probably why Lorcan had sent her. “Sorry to burst your bubble, Lorcan, but I am very much alive.”
Thane’s entire face screwed up in confusion, causing the Hawthorne tree tattoo on his forehead to twist into battered ancient limbs. “I don’t understand what’s going on.” Slowly, he turned toward his old friend, as if a strange realization was sweeping through him. Out of everyone here, he was the most likely to sense something was wrong. The two of them were like brothers. They’d formed a bond so strong that not even magic had been able to break it down.
While the pieces slid into place, Reyna swept her gaze across the gathered courtiers, a flash of hope in her heart. Had Eislyn come? Would she finally get to see her sister once again? But no, only warriors surrounded her father. He might not have thought it safe for her here. After everything she’d been through, he’d want to keep her wrapped up tight at home.
Home.
Ice, snow, frost. She ached for it.
“Reyna,” Thane said quietly. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Suddenly, Lorcan stood, his eyes flashing with rage. “Guards, seize Princess Reyna at once. She is a traitor to this crown.”
“What is the damn meaning of this?” Cos Darragh barked, glaring up at the High King of the Wood and Shadow Courts. “How dare you raise a hand toward my daughter.”
“Your daughter is a traitor,” Lorcan hissed in a voice that was so unfamiliar that it made Reyna’s skin crawl. “She’s been plotting against me, working with others to overthrow my reign.”
“Careful,” Thane warned. “Let’s all just calm down now.”
“What the bloody hell is going on?” Cos snapped back. “For weeks, you’ve been telling me what a good male this fae is.”
“He’s been cursed,” Reyna said. “Molt did it. A parting gift at his death. Molt’s darkness and madness has filled Lorcan’s soul. It’s transforming him into something he never wanted to become. And now, that same madness is spreading throughout this realm.”
Cos drew his sword. The steel whistled through the air. “If you’re right about this, we’re all in danger.”
Reyna’s heart jolted as she gasped. “Put your sword away.”
Lorcan laughed and pointed at her father. “See? It’s the whole Darragh family. They want me dead.” He turned his glittering eyes her way. “Nollaig, take the book away from Reyna.”
“Not happening, Lorcan.”
“I agree with Cos,” the High King of the Sea Court said, drawing his own sword. “We owe no loyalty to this bastard king. If he’s cursed with madness, there’s nothing to it. We need to stop this before it spreads north.”
“No,” Reyna hissed, fear clenching her heart like an iron fist.
This, she hadn’t expected. All she’d wanted was to stop the signing of the treaty. Even then, it was only a temporary measure. Eventually, she’d undo the curse, Lorcan would become himself again, and then they could all move forward. In peace. As one allied continent instead of five kingdoms at war. Her eyes drifted toward Thane. Surely, he wouldn’t agree with this. Lorcan had put himself in danger time and time again to save the air king’s life. He would never abandon his friend to death.
“Thane?” She twisted toward him. His face was screwed up in pain. She’d seen him look that way once before, when his sea fae family had insisted on sailing north, to Tairngire, rather than sail to Lorcan’s aid.
“You’re sure about this curse, Reyna? It sounds…unlikely.” he asked quietly, forsaking titles and formalities. Reyna heard her father gasp, but she didn’t care. They were beyond all that now.
She nodded. “I read it myself. In this book Molt left behind. It’s something he planned a really long time, so that he could weaponize his death. If anyone crossed him, they would pay for it. He reigned with chaos and darkness, so chaos and darkness was what he left behind.”
“What does thatmean, Reyna?” her father hissed, stalking toward her.
Reyna glanced at Lorcan, whose eyes were pools of shadows. “It means you need to leave. All of you. Now. Without signing the treaty.”
