She didn’t know how long she ran before she stopped. The forest was a maze of twisting pathways and thorns. Chest heaving with belabored breaths, she stumbled to a stop and grabbed her knees, letting all the emotions pour out of her. The horror was an iron fist around her heart.
Lorcan was here. Or he wasn’t.
The worst part was she couldn’t tell at all.
It looked like him. It sounded like him. Hell, it evenfeltlike him. But this was not like before, when she’d seen a pretender halfway across a room with his head bowed. This time, Lorcan had looked her in the eyes and pleaded with her to believe him.
It had felt like a knife in the gut, twisting to the side for maximum impact. If this was the result of the curse, he was doing his damnedest to hit her where it hurt the most.
A crack sounded behind her. Reyna whirled on her feet, her heart hammering. Glencora whispered through the woods, her big eyes gazing at Reyna in a way that reminded her all too well of Eislyn. Whatever the Ruin had done to her, she hadn’t come out of it truly unharmed.
“What are you doing here?” Reyna asked her. “Has something happened? Did Lorcan attack?”
“No, dear sister.” Glencora strode forward and took Reyna’s hands in hers, holding them tight to her chest. The scent of ice swirled around them, as deep and potent as the longest winter’s day. She gazed into Reyna’s eyes, brushing a strand of hair behind the curved tip of her ear. “I need you to listen to me and listen to me well. You need to stop seeing enemies where there are none, or you are going to drive yourself to paranoid solitude.”
Reyna drew back, sucking a sharp breath. Glencora’s words were daggers of fire, and they burned all the way down. “How could you say something like to me? You’ve been with us this entire time. You know about the curse and what it could do to this realm.”
“And I also know what the Ruin can do to minds,” she said with a sad smile. “It’s left us both with scars. Mine are beginning to fade, but yours are as fresh as the day the Ruin made them. The longer you refuse to see that, the longer it will take for you to heal. If you ever do.”
Reyna ripped her hands away. The dense forest closed in tight around them, suffocating her. “That isn’t what this is about. You didn’t face down Ulaid Molt. You have no idea what he was like.”
“You’re right.” She sighed. “I don’t. But I do know one thing. That fae back there, the male who searched these woods far and wide to find you, isn’t Ulaid Molt. I doubt a cruel, wicked, evil king would ask for our help. What if he truly is your Lorcan, and you turn him away? Or worse. What then?”
A heavy rock slammed into the depths of Reyna’s soul. She hadn’t really thought about it that way. She’d been too focused on who he might be, and she hadn’t considered any alternative.
“Then he would probably return to the castle alone and try to kill the ‘pretender’ by himself,” she whispered.
“Acursedpretender,” Glencora added. “One who would have an advantage over him.”
Reyna swore. “But what about the curse? If we return to Murias with him now, we won’t reach the Dryads. We still need to end the curse, regardless of whether Lorcan is who he says he is or not.”
“Perhaps we could split up,” Glencora said with a shrug. “Thane and I could go to the Dryads. You and the others could go with Lorcan. You’re the strongest fighters. I’d offer to seek out the magic by myself, but I know you’d never let me go alone.”
Reyna cocked her head, smiling. “Honestly, Glencora. You say the Ruin hasn’t changed you, but it has. You were never this fond of adventure before.”
“I just want to live,” she said in a soft whisper. “I’ve learned not to take life for granted. I want to see as much of our world as I can before I die. And I want to help. I no longer want to sit inside a castle and stare out a window, watching the world go by without me.”
“Oh, sister.” Reyna pulled Glencora toward her in a tight hug.
“Reyna.”
Her head jerked up toward the sound of her name on his lips. Lorcan stood in the trees just behind Glencora, watching them both with pain etched into every feature. His brows were pinched. His mouth was set into a grim line. Even the curve of his jaw looked tight and tense, as if he had to clamp his teeth together to get through the moment. Her heart flopped over, batting her ribcage with the force of it.
“Ah.” Glencora pulled out of her embrace. “I think I’ll leave you two alone.”
“Traitor,” Reyna hissed at her, but she didn’t mean it. Her sister was only trying to help. And she was far wiser than Reyna wanted to admit.
After Glencora crunched back onto the path that led to camp, Lorcan edged a little closer, careful to keep his distance. Reyna crossed her arms and glared at him. Despite what her sister had said, she was still wary as hell. Wingallock was, too. He settled onto her shoulder and hooted angrily at him.
Tension stretched between them, as unbreakable as a newly-forged blade.
“Well, this has gone a lot differently than the last time we reunited,” he finally said.
She snorted. “What did you think would happen? I’d leap into your arms after you tried to have me killed?”
His eyes widened. “Wait. Please tell me you didn’t just say what I thought you said.”
She shifted on her feet. “I wish you couldn’t bloody lie.”
