“Well, if you’re going to stay in the Wood Court, then I am, too,” Glencora announced.
Reyna and Thane frowned simultaneously.
“Absolutely not,” Reyna said. “This could be dangerous, and I don’t want to risk you getting hurt.”
“It’s not up to you, dear sister,” Glencora said. “It’s my life. I can make my own decisions, and I’m coming with you.”
Reyna’s brows shot to the top of her forehead. “Well. You’ve certainly changed.”
Thane did not share Reyna’s amusement. “I don’t think it’s a good idea either, Glencora.”
“I’m coming with you two, and there’s nothing either of you can say to stop me.”
Reyna laid a hand on Thane’s arm. “Come on. It’s not worth the argument, and we have very little time. We need to find my father. If Lorcan finds out what we’re up to, we’ll have hell to pay.”
16
Reyna
In the silence of the moonless night, Reyna and Thane found Cos Darragh and convinced him to climb out of his bed and join them in the woods outside of Murias. Reyna hadn’t been entirely certain her father would agree without alerting the guards. He’d done little to stand up for her when Lorcan had thrown accusations into her face.
The leaves crunched under their boots as they clustered beneath the dense canopy, the twinkle of birdsong echoing in the distance. Cos frowned at her, the deep creases around his eyes emphasizing his disapproval. Reyna had always been a problem for him.
“I shouldn’t have agreed to this folly,” he said in a soft growl. “If you weren’t my daughter, you’d be bound in chains and tossed into the dungeon right about now. I’m guessing you aren’t free because High King Lorcan let you go.”
“That’s not important,” she said quickly, brushing aside his concerns. “What’s important is that you’ve made a mistake. And I can prove it.”
She knelt onto the ground and pulled a thick tome from a deep hole in the ground. Hefting it into her arms, she flipped open the cover and rustled through the parchment until she reached the page with Lorcan’s curse.
“This is the book everyone is losing their minds over,” she whispered. “It talks about the curse, what it’ll do to the fae who kills the creator of the curse.”
Cos peered down at the pages, frowned. “It’s in Fomorian, lass. I can’t read that.”
No, Reyna thought. Because Cos Darragh didn’t have Fomorian blood running through his veins. Her mother had.
“I know about Mother’s family,” she said, glancing at Glencora. This would be news to her as well.
“Mother?” Glencora asked, alarmed. “What does she have to do with any of this?”
“Try reading the book, Glencora. Tell me what you see.” Reyna held onto the book while Glencora gazed down at it with a frown. “You should be able to read it. Like Mother. Like me.”
“Reyna.” Her father took a step back, eyes narrowed. “What in the name of the Dagda is the meaning of this?”
“I know Mother was a Fomorian. That makes me one, too. At least partly. Which means I can read this book. So, I know exactly what it says about the curse.”
Cos’s face paled, and he shot a furtive glance in Thane’s direction. “Reyna, I’d stop what you’re saying right now. You may think you know what you speak of, but…”
“But what?” she asked frankly. “Are you going to tell me that I’m wrong? That Mother wasn’t Fomorian? Because that would be a lie, Father, and I’m fairly certain that’s impossible for you.”
“You shouldn’t speak of your mother like this,” he hissed, those deep groves around his eyes deepening like the slashes from a sword. “You shouldn’t say these things. It’s not right to her. To speak of her like this after her death.”
“Tell me I’m wrong, and I’ll never speak of it again.”
“Reyna.” Cos winced and turned away.
“You can’t, can you?” she demanded, her hands fisting. “Because I speak the truth. And you can’t lie about it.”
“You’ve made a mistake,” Cos whispered. “Speaking this out loud will come to haunt us all.”
