Irritation bubbled up in Eislyn like a hot spring about to blow. “Can’t you, I don’t know, just do something nice for someone? People want me dead. If I stay here, they’re just going to kill me.”
“That’s not my problem, princess.” The fae turned back to her ship, readying the anchor.
“Just...tell me what you want, and I’ll give it to you, all right?” Eislyn’s voice cracked, desperation falling out of her mouth before she could stop it. The last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of this heartless fae, but this might be her only chance to escape, and she couldn’t let it pass her by. Not without trying her damnedest. She was done giving up when things got hard.
The smuggler sighed and turned back. “All right, listen. I’ll let you on board, but you can’t just float around all princess-like and expect us to dote on you. You’ve got to take care of yourself, and you’ve got to chip in with the work. And if there’s trouble, it’s every fae for himself. You know how to use that sword you’re hiding under that cloak of yours?”
“Actually, I do.”
She smiled. “Good. Now hurry and get on board before I change my mind or people start getting curious about you. And get rid of that damn cloak. No, stop. Don’t throw it away, for Dagda’s sake. Give it here. We can sell that for good coin.”
With a hopeful nod, Eislyn tossed the smuggler her hoarfrost cloak and climbed on board. Only moments later, they pushed off from the docks, and the ship turned north for the path up to Tuath Isle. Eislyn stood on the stern, watching Snowport vanish into a distant speck on the horizon.
Against all odds, she had survived. So far. But she still had a very long way to go. First stop, Tuath Isle. And then, on to the Empire of Fomor.
56
Reyna
Reyna had the vague notion that something in her world had just changed irrevocably. Light speared her eyes as she pushed sleep from her addled mind. The scent of brine clogged her nostrils, and the sound of crashing waves drew her thoughts away from the dull ache in her shoulder.
Suddenly, panic choked her throat. She sat up fast, blinking against the blinding light.
An alarming sense of deja vu rushed through her as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. The sound of the waves. The scent of brine. It was all too achingly familiar.
It was just as it had been on the ship when the poison had rushed through her veins. Back when Lorcan had taken her to the shadow lands. That could mean only one thing. She’d been taken captive. Again. Some new horror had rushed into her life, and she’d been taken against her will. Again. What would she have to endure to get out of this gilded cage?
But there was no scarlet light slanting through the open window with its gauzy turquoise curtains fluttering in the salty breeze. Shadows did not lurk in every corner. Instead, the room was blindingly bright. The silk bedsheets were pearly white, and a patchwork rug wound with blues and greens stretched across the grey stone floor. Turquoise stones dotted the walls.
She clutched at her neck. Her ice glass ring still clung to her throat, and she spotted her dagger on a table beside the bed. There was even an owl perch in the corner where Wingallock rested quietly, calmly. He seemed happy enough, which doused her worried heart with some measure of relief. That still did not explain where she was, however.
Suddenly, the door creaked open, and a familiar head of golden hair edged around the doorframe. A forehead came into view, one tattooed with the limbs of a hawthorn tree.
“I told you, she is not awake. Leave her be for now,” a soft voice said.
And then Thane Selkirk popped into the room. Reyna let out a shriek and dove beneath the covers, more from the shock of it all than anything else. Thane tensed. He held himself still in the doorframe, his familiar golden eyes darting around the room, and then he relaxed and strode inside.
Reyna peeked over the covers, heart hammering. “What in the name of the Dagda are you doing here?”
Not that she had any idea where here was. But it clearly wasn’t the Air Court. Or the Shadow Court. It especially wasn’t the Ice Court. There was a chill in the air, but it was still far too warm for that.
“It’s nice to see you, too, Reyna,” he said, grinning. “You haven’t changed at all.”
“Where am I, Thane? What’s going on?”
She dully remembered soaring through the skies above Findius, desperately trying to find Lorcan before being shot down by an arrow. She’d tumbled to the ground, and then...nothing. Everything was a blank slate after that.
“You’re in the Sea Court,” he said gently. “We found you half-dead on the docks of Findius, and we brought you back here so you could heal.”
Her heart thumped. Once, then twice, and then it froze. “I’m in the Sea Court?”
Thane nodded, warily taking a step back, clearly reading the danger in her eyes. “We were just trying to help you. You had an arrow sticking out of your, um, wing. And you’d lost a lot of blood.”
“Where’s Lorcan, Thane?” She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, a surge of power rushing through her veins.
He blanched.
“Where is Lorcan, Thane?” Every word was louder than the last.
“He’s in the Shadow Court. They’ve crowned him High King.”
A tormenting cascade of emotions crashed over her. Relief that he was alive. Pride that he had saved his kingdom and had risen so far. But there was also sadness there, and regret. Horrible, terrible regret. She curled her fists around the bedsheets and swallowed down a feral roar. Reyna had done this to them both. All of this was her fault. If she hadn’t taken the power of Seelie, they would be together even now.
Instead…she would likely never see his face again. Anguish pulled her down, holding her there for so long that she thought she might drown in it.
“Why am I here instead of there with him?” she asked, her voice breaking.
“When we found you, we thought the city had fallen, and Lorcan along with it.” His deep golden eyebrows slammed down. “It was not my intention to separate you two. I was just trying to save your life, Reyna.”
Thane could not lie, and she could hear the earnestness in his every word. With a sigh, she sagged back against the bed, head in her hands. “It’s all right. You didn’t know. Thank you, Thane. It means a lot that you would try.”
“You may not be my betrothed anymore, Reyna, but I do care for you.”
At that, Reyna’s head jerked up. “Eislyn, have you had word from her?”
A dark storm cloud rolled across his golden face. “No. Last I heard, she escaped Tairngire to return home, but that’s all I know. I’m having trouble finding out what is happening at court. No one is answering my letters.”
Relief shuddered through her. North. Home. Eislyn truly was safe, after all. “And Lorcan? Does he know I’m here?”
Thane winced. “He does, and I’ll daresay Reyna, I think he wants to chop off my head for taking you away.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh my gods, Thane. You have no idea what I thought when I woke up and found myself here. I thought I’d been taken captive again. You don’t know how glad I am that I’ve found myself amongst friends for once.” Sighing, she smiled. “I know it’s a lot to ask after everything you’ve done for me, but do you have a ship to spare? I need to return to the Shadow Court as soon as possible.”