“Your prince will want to see us. All you have to tell him is that we’re here,” his aunt said, her tone sinking into irritation.
They had been trying to get off the docks for at least an hour, but the shadow fae would not let them enter the city, regardless of what Thane told them about Lorcan and the letter they’d received. It had been an inquiry as to his safety, to ask if he’d gone home to his mother’s old court. Thane had considered penning a letter back but then thought better of it. His aunt wanted to make an alliance with the shadow fae, to strengthen their army against Aengus. So, they came for a visit, for a parley. And they’d stumbled upon a war.
At first, Thane had understood why the shadow fae would not let them leave the docks. The city was in the middle of a battle with an invading army of wood fae. There was no reason for these warriors to believe they had come in peace. Except that they had not come with a legion of ships, they were not attacking, and they were politely requesting to see an old friend.
But they were as stubborn as his old betrothed was.
“Aunt, I think you might want to take cover. Something is coming right at us,” Thane said grimly as the hurtling bird thundered through the skies. He ducked into the captain’s bridge, along with his aunt and uncle. They made it just as the bird fell with a loud thrack on the dock.
Thane’s throat tightened when he saw it was not a bird at all.
“Who is that?” his aunt asked, stumbling back with her palm at her throat.
Thane pulled in a sharp breath. He should have known. The silver, the whirlwind, the pure chaos of it all. “That is Reyna Darragh.”
His uncle gasped and jerked toward him. “That is the female you were to marry?”
She looked a mess, he thought fondly. Her hair was a wild tumble, all jumbled up in knots. Her clothes were ripped and bloodied, and the set of her jaw was a fierce one, even with her eyes shut tight against the world. He glanced at a very large pair of wings that had sprouted from her back. And the arrow sticking out of it, slick with blood.
“She’s hurt.” He whirled to the captain. “We need an alchemist and several strong males. And some bandages at once!”
“What are you doing, Thane?” his uncle asked as he hurried back onto the docks to kneel by Reyna’s side. “What is happening, where did she come from, and why does she have wings, for god’s sake?”
Thane gently pressed his hands to Reyna’s wing. It was impossibly strong, corded in powerful muscles that could pound a fae to death with very little effort. “I don’t know the answers to any of those questions. All I know is Reyna has fallen to our feet, and she’s hurt. Badly. If we don’t get this arrow out of her...wing, then she could die.”
“She won’t die,” his aunt said quietly from behind him.
Frowning, Thane glanced up, just for a moment, before turning his attention back on Reyna. “She’s unconscious, and she’s barely breathing.”
“Thane, if the girl has wings, then she’s far more powerful than you think she is. The Dagda has blessed her with magic. He’s undone the Fall. If she has wings, then she has the means to heal. It may take several days, but soon that wound will be a tiny scar and nothing more.”
“That’s impossible,” Thane muttered. No one had the magic of the Dagda, not anymore. But he could not deny her wings. They were monstrously large and glistening silver. Fae wings only came from one place. Magic.
“We need to get her onto the ship and return home,” his uncle said excitedly. “Think what we can accomplish with her on our side. No army will stand a chance.”
Thane’s frown deepened. “We came here to parley with my old friend, to make allies with the Shadow Court.”
“Look at the Shadow Court, Thane.” His uncle gestured at the ruin that stretched out before them. “If this city hasn’t fallen already, it will soon. If we’d brought our army with us, we could save them. But we didn’t, and it would be far too late by the time we returned.” His lips pressed firmly together. “In truth, Thane, it is dangerous for us to stay here much longer. You know what the wood king is like. He will slaughter us all.”
“I hate to agree with my brother, but for once I do,” his aunt said with a sigh. “I came here wanting to make an ally with the shadows, but I don’t see how we can now.”
“And leave Lorcan to face this alone?” Thane gestured wildly at the castle, his heart pounding thunder in his ears.
“You’re the High King of the Air Court, Thane, and you need to save your kingdom from your enemy. Go on into that city and get yourself killed, if you’d like, but it will only solidify Aengus’s rule at your court.”
Thane growled and punched the dock, the wood splintering. Sharp slivers dug into his flesh, but he didn’t care. He hated this. He hated all of it. Nothing was ever easy. It was always so damn hard.
“And you just want us to steal Reyna?” he shouted up at his uncle.
“Lorcan is the one who stole her. I see this as more of a rescue.”
Thane was not so certain his uncle was right. Reyna loved Lorcan. He’d seen it in her eyes. Would her love have survived his betrayal? He glanced down at her broken body, the wings. She’d been flying toward them when she’d been hit. Perhaps she’d seen him, and she was trying to get away.
They had come here for an ally, and they had found one. Just not the way they had expected.
He stood and turned toward the alchemist who was waiting for a command. Thane pointed at the princess, steadying his racing heart. “Bring her on board and make her as comfortable as you can.” He turned toward the captain. “Raise the anchor and prepare the crew. We’re sailing back to the seas.”
53
Lorcan
“We’re here to see the High King,” Segonax announced to the two guards stationed on either side of the midnight black throne room doors. The shadow fae sigil had long ago been carved deep into the wood. Twisting antlers stretching wide like wings. The symbol of Lorcan’s father. The symbol of him.
Lorcan had awoken only moments earlier, a whirlwind of anger. Segonax and Nollaig had teamed up against him. They’d knocked him out and dragged him to the castle, forcing him to face down his father. If they had been anyone else in the world, he would have sliced their heads clean off. But he couldn’t bring himself to kill two of his oldest friends.
The warriors they’d collected on the way were heavily armed. They weren’t letting him do anything but walk through that damn door. He would have fought them all, too, to get back to Reyna’s side, but the battle was long done. Reyna had fought the Ruin. She’d won. And she’d taken down the wood fae army, too. She was on her way to the castle now.
The guard on the left frowned. “The king said the prince died in an accident on the mountains.”
“And as you can see, he is fine,” Segonax said with a tight smile. “The king will be very pleased to see him indeed.”
The guard grunted but then nodded, stepping aside. “As you wish, Commander.”
The doors swung wide, and the trio strode tall into the throne room, flanked by two dozen warriors. They filled the small space beneath the dais, staring up at a king who was half-asleep, wine-stained lips puckered out, eyes half-lidded. He was drunk. Again. While his city burned down. A serving girl sat on his lap, stuck in place by stubby arms wrapped around her waist.