I try for my own ice spear but end up with a snow cloud.
Luckily no one mentions it.
At least the spears form during combat. For now.
“Jadeve and I decided not to tell you because—” She emphasizes the word. “What change would it make? Your path is one way. Mine is here. In the Dark Forest. In the Unseelie Court. I can’t take back the court from outside it.”
I grind my teeth.
Why does she always have to be so damn smart?
“Cullen has been building forces deeper in the forest,” Jadeve says.
“How deep is this fucking place?” Ash crosses her arms. Orion tugs her back against his front.
News is coming at me far too quickly to process.
“There’s more,” Jadeve continues, but turns to Tiana. “We know who is taking out the Wild Court encampments.”
“Who?” Orion demands.
“Wait.” I hush the big guy.
Jadeve is looking at Tiana. Then at Finnian, who’s just stepped into the grove.
“The Seelie Court,” I whisper. “Who?”
“As I said.” Orion’s voice rises. “Who?”
“That is for Tiana.” Jadeve’s gaze settles on Finnian. “And the Sword.”
The temperature in the clearing drops.
Not from me. From Finnian.
He goes absolutely still. The kind of still that precedes violence, not retreat. His amber eyes don’t widen. They sharpen and focus. The Crown must be screaming beneath his temples right now, feeding him every implication of what Jadeve just said.
Jadeve just told him the woman who claimed him over his parents’ ashes has been orchestrating genocide for decades. While Finnian stood in her court. Bound to her. Unable to stop what he didn’t know was happening. At least that is what he’s implying. While Finnian stood in her court. Bound to her. Unable to stop what he didn’t know was happening.
His jaw works. Once.
“How long.” The scruff on his cheeks twitches as he locks his jaw. “How long has she been doing this?”
“Decades.” Jadeve doesn’t soften the blow. “The settlements didn’t start disappearing yesterday.”
I don’t know what to say to him, to Orion. On one side Ash’s mate is Wild Court. And Orion’s own people are the ones the Seelie Court is slaughtering, Finnian’s people.
It’s a fucked up Fae paradox and one I’m not even surprised about. If Amarantha kills the wildlings, then no one knows who the gods are.
Ash takes a step toward Finnian, then stops. Her hand twitches, wanting to reach, not sure if she should.
“We’ll deal with her.” She says it quietly. A promise. “Together.”
He gives her a quick nod, breaking the silence of the grove.
“So many choices of where to go and who and whom.” Whispen buzzes around our heads. “Where to go, where to go.”
“I’m staying.” Tiana’s voice cuts through the chaos.
