She snapped her mouth shut. Everything within her wanted to believe that it was Lorcan who stood before her now, but her mind warned her not to trust him fully just yet. Maybe she should keep some things to herself for now. At least until they returned to Murias and proved that he hadn’t been lying.
That this really was Lorcan.
That he’d been tricked and conned and attacked.
His words were smooth like velvet, without any jagged edges to prick her skin, but…better to be careful.
“He’s what?” Lorcan asked.
“Someone I found on the road,” she announced. “He seems good with a sword, so I asked him if he wanted to come along.”
“Looks like you made a good choice.”
“I just have one worry,” she said, changing the subject. “If we return to Murias, what happens with the curse? Shouldn’t we try to find a way to stop it? If we do nothing, it will spread throughout the realm, and then beyond it.”
She didn’t elaborate her question. He didn’t need to know they’d found a lead in the pages of the book.
“I’ve been thinking about that curse,” he said, nodding. “Before the coronation, I found another book in Molt’s study, one that looked like a twin to the one you found beside his throne. Perhaps it holds the answer. It could detail a cure for the curse. Or did the book you find say anything about it?”
Reyna pressed her lips together. “No.”
“Ah.” Disappointment flickered across his face. “Hopefully, the other book does, then.”
“Hopefully,” she said tightly. “I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.”
Light dawned in his eyes. “So, you believe me. We’ll return to to Murias then? Together?”
She nodded. “Let’s go get that pretender off the throne.”
26
Reyna
“Wait.” Rhain frowned. “You want to go back?”
“It’s the best choice for now,” she said quietly, refusing to meet his gaze. Guilt pounded against her skull. She’d been the one to drag Rhain away from his calm solitude and halfway across the realm. All for nothing. Now, she was asking him to turn back. “There’s a false king on the throne. No telling what he plans to do. We need to stop him.”
Thane didn’t look any more convinced than the wood fae. “Shouldn’t we first go—”
She coughed into her fisted hand, and then cleared her throat. Hopefully, he’d get the hint. Now was not the time to talk about the book or their quest. “Stop the curse? Lorcan thinks there’s a book back in Molt’s study that will have the answer.”
“I see,” Nollaig said in a dangerously-calm voice. “That’s certainly lucky.”
None of them seemed pleased by the situation. She couldn’t blame them. Thane might have let Lorcan enter their camp, but doubt still swirled in his golden eyes.
“If there’s a pretender on the throne, we need to stop him.” Reyna scanned her gathered friends. “And if Lorcan is lying about it, we’ll soon find out.”
“It could be some sort of trap,” Nollaig snapped.
“Nollaig,” Lorcan said.
“Oh, don’t give me a hard time over this,” the shadow fae said, drawing herself up to her full height. “If this were the other way around, you’d be skeptical, too.”
“You’re right. I would be. Which is why I’m not angry. But I really wish you’d look into my eyes and see me for who I am. Could someone else truly imitate me this well?”
“Hmph.” Nollaig jerked away, turning her cloaked back onto Lorcan. “I don’t like this, Shieldmaiden, but if it’s what you want to do, I’ll support you. With a little complaining along the way. You owe me double potatoes.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything else,” Reyna said with a slight smile before turning to Thane. “What do you think?”
