Where the hell is Glencora?
Reyna pressed her face against the window and frowned up at the lightening sky. She’d spent so long searching for her sister that she’d lost track of time. There was only an hour left before dawn, and the chance to catch Lorcan unaware was slipping away into the shadows.
If she didn’t go to him now, she’d have to try again the next night, and she only had a day left before the month was gone. This was her last chance to undo the curse. She blew out a hot breath, pushing aside her worry. Once all of this was over, it wouldn’t matter where Lorcan had hidden Glencora. He’d be his old self. He would tell her willingly.
If she repeated the words enough times, maybe she’d even believe them.
Reyna opened the window and leapt out into the crisp air. The scent of morning swirled around her like a warning. Without risking any more time, she soared to the ledge once again and landed with quiet footsteps.
Lungs aching from the effort, she slowly slid into Lorcan’s chamber. He hadn’t moved an inch since she’d spied on him earlier in the night. Dark, wavy hair still framed his angular face. The shadows curling around his jaw pulsed in time with the beating of his heart.
Her hands shook as she pulled the dagger from her sheathe. The dying moonlight danced across the blade, highlighting the sharp tip she’d have to dig into his skin. She closed her eyes, wondering if she could truly bring herself to do this. But she needed his blood. Just a little bit. All she had to do was spill one drop onto the blade, and the curse would be done.
She hoped.
She tiptoed closer. Her breath fogged like frost against glass. Staring down at him, she could almost pretend this was another time and another place. They were back in Tairngire, far before their worlds had been so brutally changed for the worst. His wicked grin would wash over her as he caught her in the bath. He’d toss her over his shoulder, laughing, when she tried to chase down assassins in the night.
Things had been so simple then. At the time, it hadn’t felt like it. She’d been plotting the murder of a king and a way to track down her sister’s attacker. But that was nothing compared to where they were now, with Reyna looming over his sleeping form, a dagger flashing toward his skin.
She had to stop thinking about the past. If she didn’t, there would be no future to even speak of. Steadily, she forced herself to walk up to the bed. This was it. She tightened her grip on the dagger as it slipped against her damp palm. Heart racing, she slowly stretched the dagger toward him, only to find that she could not reach the middle of the bed.
Cursing inwardly, she grimaced as she edged onto the mattress. Her heart knocked against her ribs as the bed bowed. She clutched the dagger, inching slowly toward him. When she finally reached him, she gently placed the blade against his arm. He would wake the second she cut him. And she had no idea how long it would take for the curse to fully subside.
She needed to pin him to the bed.
As slowly and gently as possible, Reyna lifted her leg to the other side of him. Just to be sure, she drew some rope out of her satchel and bound his wrists to the wooden bedposts. She sat on his chest, gazing down at him with the dagger pressed to his throat. She would just need to nick his skin. Just a little blood.
Only a drop.
With a deep breath, she pierced his skin.
42
Lorcan
Verdant fields rippled beneath the steady sun. Reyna laughed, dancing around him. Her silver hair cascaded behind her like a cloak in the wind. He’d never seen her look so happy.
With a wicked grin, he captured her hips and pulled her toward him. She palmed his chest, and the icy chill of her hands shuddered through him. The distant scent of burnt trees sprayed toward them on a sudden burst of wind.
Clouds rippled in Reyna’s eyes as she pulled away from him and stared past the fields to the distant fires. They raged across an ancient battlefield, illuminating the sky with its deep orange glow. A boom shook the air as another explosion shot molten lava toward the sky.
“It can’t reach us,” he said, turning away from it. “It will never cross the sea.”
“You’re wrong,” she whispered with tears in her eyes. “The seas grow hotter by the day.”
“Water douses flames, Reyna. Everyone knows that. No matter how large those fires grow, they’ll never find us here. We’re safe.”
She gazed up at him with that stubbornness he’d always loved, and he knew he’d hate every word she was about to say. “You’re wrong. It will find a way to reach us. We cannot stay here in our perfect fields and pretend the threat doesn’t exist. Look at how much it’s destroyed already.”
His heart ached. “I just want us to live out our lives. Side by side. Happy.”
“And I want that, too, but fate has other things in mind.” She brushed away her tears and turned back to the flames. “Seelie’s bargain. We cannot run from it forever.”
She pressed up onto her toes and gave him one last kiss. Her lips lingered on his for a long, excruciating moment. Lorcan felt as though his heart might shatter beneath the weight of it.
“It’s time,” she whispered.
She turned to go and walked toward the island of fire, her bare feet whispering across the grass. Her silver gown flowed behind her, and the wind whipped her hair. Sunlight shone through her, transforming her into a translucent ghost of who she’d one been.
