“Me too. It would mean that Thane undid the exile.”
“I suppose he trusts you now, does he?” She glared in the vague direction of Thane and camp. Out of all of them, she hadn’t expected him to cave so easily. “Or did you just kill them all?”
He let out a heavy sigh. “You know I would never do anything to harm Thane.”
Reyna eyed him warily. “You’re right. You wouldn’t. You’d even give me up to save him.”
“Reyna, come on.” He stalked a step forward, his eyes flashing. “I thought we were past all that. How many times do we have to have that conversation for you to—”
Letting out a strangled cry of relief, she leapt into his arms. She pressed her nose against his skin, pulling in the comforting scent of leather, smoke, and steel. Not iron or blood. Steel. With a laugh, she hugged him tight and wound her legs around his hips.
“Reyna?” he grunted, surprised.
She grinned, her heart so large she swore it might burst. “It’s you, isn’t it? It’s really you. Everything you said just then, that’s you.”
“Ah.” She heard the smile in his voice. With a deep, satisfied sigh, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She buried her face in his neck. Her entire body relaxed. It felt as though the tension had finally been wrung out of her. All her fears and worries drifted away on the humid air.
She pulled back, searching his eyes for answers. “I need to know everything that happened. Did you see who attacked you? How did you get away?”
He let out a familiar chuckle that rumbled in his chest. Her heart swelled. She’d always loved that sound. It felt like home. “I should have known you’d batter me with a million questions. But I’m afraid my answers will disappoint you. I didn’t see who attacked me. They came from behind. One moment I was striding toward the meeting hall, and then the next I was waking up in some hidden chambers inside the tower.”
“Only cowards attack from behind.” She frowned. “And this was just before the coronation…or?”
A horrible thought twisted her gut. If it had been any earlier…she couldn’t bear to think it. She and Lorcan had spent the night together. He’d wrapped her up in his arms and made love to her with so many whispered promises spilling from his lips. If the pretender had been in control then…her heart pounded hard, shaking her to her very core. She would have known it wasn’t him, wouldn’t she have?
“Don’t worry,” he murmured, curling a long strand of her silver hair around his finger. “It was me before the coronation. The bastard didn’t attack me until the last moment. They waited, likely hoping no one would notice.”
Still, she frowned, stomach flipping. “So, the pretender was in the meeting hall that morning?”
“It must have been him,” he said with a grim smile. “I never made it.”
“Dammit.” She shook her head, shocked. “Nothing at all seemed amiss to me. I couldn’t tell it wasn’t you.”
“Don’t beat yourself up over this, Reyna. He—or she—was likely watching me for days. They would have picked up on my mannerisms and how you and I interact.”
“She?” Reyna arched a brow. “You think it could have been a female? Not a priest?”
Priests in Tir Na Nog typically weren’t female. Neither were Druids. Reyna hated it. If a female wanted to serve, she thought they should have every opportunity to do it. If she ever reached a place of power, it would be one of the first things she changed.
“A priest is just my best guess,” he said, frowning. “That’s what happened back in Findius, so it might have happened again here. They follow Unseelie. Enough power has been swirling around these past few months that they could have pulled it off.”
“But some of the wood fae served Unseelie. And still do, I’m guessing.”
He nodded. “And some shadow fae. Not everyone has been happy about my faith in the Dagda.”
Reyna let out a heavy sigh, leaning into him. “I really hoped all of this was over when Ulaid Molt died. Peace was on the horizon. It was a dawn of a new day in Tir Na Nog. But the night has come once more.”
He held her close, his warm breath mixing with hers. Reyna met his midnight eyes, and desire sparked in her gut. She’d thought him lost. A part of her had feared she’d never get him back again, no matter how hard she fought. Magic was returning to Tir Na Nog, but it was all the wrong kind. Darkness and death. Blood magic. Curses that bound souls to Unseelie forevermore. Reyna didn’t know how to fight against it. The Dryads might have answers, but…they might not.
“What do we do?” she whispered, wetting her lips. She wanted nothing more than to toss her clothes to the ground and feel him inside of her. But she also knew now was not the time. They needed to find a way to save the realms.
“I think we need to return to Murias at once and get that pretender off the throne. The five of us together should be able to manage it.” He cocked his head, chuckling. “I suppose I should say six, but if I remember correctly, your sister isn’t much of a fighter.”
“She might surprise you,” Reyna muttered. “But no, I don’t want her anywhere near this.”
“So, it’s the five of us then,” he said with nod. “You, me, Thane, Nollaig, and your friend.”
“Rhain,” she said. “I’ve mentioned him to you once before. He’s—”
