“I am the High Queen of the Air Court,” she said sternly, all the lighthearted mirth vanishing from her eyes. “And I’m your older sister, by the way. You act as though you’re the leader of our group and that you can command me to do as you say, but that’s far from the truth.”
“Yikes,” Nollaig muttered, shying away. “I think I need to…eat some grass. Or something.”
“No, Nollaig. You’ll stay here. I want you to guard my sister while I go into the tower and destroy the curse.”
“Very well, Shieldmaiden.”
Glencora scowled. “Reyna, I don’t like this. There are two of us with powers now. At least let me guard your back.”
Her brows arched. “Alright. Fine. We need to patrol the perimeter of the city. Keep an eye out for any cursed fae. Once they swarm this place, hundreds will fall. Maybe thousands.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
“It’s an important job, Glencora.”
“Not as important as destroying the curse.”
“How about this.” She took her sister’s hands and squeezed tight. “You keep an eye out for cursed fae. If you see anything, fly to the tower and find me. Together, we’ll fight them.”
She glanced down at their joined hands. “Together?”
“Together.”
Reyna turned to go, but Glencora called out after her. “You know, Reyna, I always thought I was the outsider of the family. Father loved you more than me, even if you broke his heart by joining the Shieldmaidens. And Eislyn, she was his little ghost, someone to protect and shield. Not to mention the bond that you and Eislyn have with each other. It’s like there’s this invisible string, stretching across the whole world, tying you two together.”
Reyna’s heart pounded in her ears as she slowly turned back to her sister. Glencora’s face was blank, devoid of all emotion. “Why would you say such things?”
“And why wouldn’t you deny them straight away?” Glencora laughed, but it was hollow. “Because you don’t want to lie to me, even when you can. It’s alright. It might have made me angry once, but not anymore. Now I see that you and I have our own bond, unique to all the others.”
Reyna gave her a tense smile. “Good. I’m glad you can see that now. But we’ll have to talk more about this later. Father is only days away from attacking. I need to destroy the curse while we still can.”
“Go on then, dear sister. I’ll see you on the other side.”
Shaking her head, Reyna pushed off the ground with Wingallock by her side. Glencora still suffered from her battle with Unseelie. Reyna could remember Eislyn getting that same look on her face, all those years ago, as if a distant voice whispered in the back of her mind. When all of this was over, Reyna would pull Thane aside and demand he listen to her worries. Glencora needed rest. No more of this running through forests, battling enemies. She needed to tuck herself up in her chambers and read some engrossing books beside the fire.
Reyna would even build the fire herself if it would help heal her sister.
Sighing, she shook those thoughts out of her mind. A problem for another day. First, she needed to destroy this curse, bring Lorcan back from the brink of madness, and stop her father from slaughtering the kingdom.
Simple, right?
She soared overhead, her eyes locked on the looming tower that rose above the city. It spiralled up from the rocky cliff like the hilt of an ancient sword. Limbs of the tree it was built around clawed through the walls and ceiling. She gazed longingly at the top room, aching to fly inside and stride up to the bed where Lorcan slept. He would open his eyes and smile, and the curse would a long-forgotten thing.
Every obstacle in their path would vanish like ash into the wind.
Her mouth set into a grim line. It would happen, and soon. But first, she had to get rid of that damn curse.
Still, she swept past the wide windows to catch sight of him. The wind rustled her wings as paused in the air. The bed was empty. The room dark and silent, like a tomb. Frowning, she spun around the entirety of the tower, peeking into every window she could reach.
Lorcan was nowhere to be seen.
That was odd.
Was he still out searching the forests for her? Had he tracked her through the woods? Her heart pounded as she gazed back at the wall where her friends and her sister awaited her return.
If he was out there, she needed to warn them. He could close in fast. The flash of white wings dragged her gaze away from the wall. In the distance, she spotted her sister sweeping above the trees, patrolling the woods for any sign of danger.
Glencora had asked Reyna to trust her with an important task. She would only be gone for a few moments, just long enough to cast the curse. With Lorcan nowhere to be found, she wouldn’t have to fear him stumbling in on her.
