Thane’s face was a mask of stone. His jaw slightly rippled, but that was it. The only indication that something was wrong.
Her heart twitched. “What is it, Thane? What aren’t you telling me?”
“You cannot return to the Shadow Court,” he said, turning away so that she could only see the long, sharp profile of his solemn face.
“Why?” She shoved up from the bed and stalked toward him. “So, you are keeping me captive after all!”
“No, Reyna, I’m not. You’re free to go whenever you want,” he said through gritted teeth. “But you cannot return to the Shadow Court. You’d never make it. You can survive falls from the sky, apparently, but you would not survive that.”
Fear had a tight, choking hold on her heart when she whispered, “Why?”
“It might be best if you sit down. You’ve been through quite the ordeal, and the alchemists say it’ll be days yet before you’re fully back to normal. It’s a miracle you even survived.”
“What is wrong with Lorcan?” she thundered. Ice crackled as it shot from her open mouth, surging up to the ceiling and then shattering when it hit stone. Shards rained down all around them, a cascade of sharp and jagged pieces. A reflection of her heart. Reyna’s breath stilled in her throat.
Thane arched a perfectly-sculpted brow. “Another new trick of yours?”
“I swear to the Dagda, Thane, if you do not tell me what’s going on, I will—”
“The city is under siege. At least...we think it is.”
Confusion rippled through her. “You think? Are the reports inconsistent? Why not send Lorcan a bird, and he can tell you himself.”
Thane’s lips flatlined. “We’ve sent him birds. Every last one has been shot down. We were in contact with him when we were sailing back. We’d made it about halfway before his letter arrived. He demanded your return, and I was of the mind to turn our ship around and do exactly what he asked.”
“And then?” she prodded.
“We sent another message, to tell him our plan, and I saw the bird get shot down with my own two eyes. Only...I didn’t see a damn ship to shoot her down. There was nothing there, Reyna. Not even a tiny boat. The arrow appeared out of nowhere, punched through her gut, and she fell.”
Reyna swore, fisting her hands. “The wood king is using Unseelie magic to hide his ships. It’s an illusion.”
“And they turned one of those ships on us. The arrows came our way and kept on coming until we sailed further away from Findius.” Thane dragged a hand down his face, and suddenly, Reyna could see the vague hints of exhaustion on the golden prince. A slight tint of purple lined his eyes. Stubble dotted his chin. Two firm lines had deepened between his brow where he had furrowed them so often.
“And so you believe they’ve put Findius under siege,” she finished for him. “But you aren’t certain because you can’t get word to Lorcan and he can’t get word to you. And you can’t see an army either, I’m guessing?”
He shook his head. “No army that we can see, though there are signs of a camp on the northern side of the Findius city walls.”
“Well, then let’s go help him.” Reyna pushed away from the wall to stalk toward the open window. She gazed out at the seas below, watching the boats bob in the water. There were hundreds of them, all shiny and glistening and new. “You have the ships. And you have the warriors. This court hasn’t been involved in battles for years.”
“I don’t have a thing, Reyna,” he said quietly.
She whirled on him, gesturing out the window. “You have far more here than any other court!”
“This is not my court.” He pointed at the turquoise stones that made up the walls, and then raised his finger toward the glittering sea. “Those are not my ships.”
Her heart sank as the meaning of his words were made clear. “But this is your mother’s court. Her family. That makes them your family, too.”
Thane shook his head, a bitter laugh bubbling up in his throat. “You have no idea how right you are, Reyna. Aengus had my mother killed. My aunt and uncle refuse to sail to Lorcan’s aide not because he’s a shadow fae. That doesn’t seem to concern them at all. They even wanted to ally with him before all this.”
Thane had been right. Reyna needed to sit down. Instead, she held on tight to the window ledge, trying to understand how it had come down to this. Lorcan was surrounded by enemies, and there was nothing she could do.
He continued. “I’ve sent letters to all the lords who have been loyal to the Selkirks, but they have ignored my pleas. Aengus must have found loyalty in them instead. I have no doubt he plans to fight against my return.”
Reyna could only stare, open-mouthed.
“I’d have half a mind to let him have it all. The kingdom, the crown, that horrible bloody throne. I don’t want to see my city fall, and after everything that has happened, I’m not even certain I want to rule. But...my mother’s family does not feel quite so generous.” He laughed bitterly and shook his head.
“They’re sailing for Tairngire. They plan to sack my city. And they’ve asked your father to join them. Ice and Sea will join together to end Air once and for all.”
Epilogue
Glencora
A pair of unseen fingers snapped, and Glencora awoke at once. Sucking in great lungfuls of air, she threw herself up from the bed and launched across the room, clutching her nightdress in terror.
She remembered every moment of the attack. The fear. The pain. The ruin of it all. It flashed through her as fresh as the day it had occurred. Every emotion was heightened, real, and raw. It was as if she was reliving it all over again.
Gasping, she stumbled toward the door and wrenched it open. A guard stood just outside, bathed in the silver light of the orbs that hung along the castle walls. He let out a curse when he saw her, and then took off down the corridor at once.
She waited, sagging in the doorway, her back facing the bed where she’d laid for so very long. It had been months, she knew. Perhaps even a year. The time had stretched on tortuously. She’d been aware of every moment, every whisper, every hush of the door opening and closing. She’d heard the fear in her sisters’ voices.
All that time, she’d been unable to do anything but lie there prone and still. Sometimes, great tremors had stormed through her, lighting up her body with pain. But mostly, she’d been forced to remain still.
Every moment that passed had felt like her last.
And yet she had lived on. She never should have survived.
Footsteps thundered down the hallway, and her father suddenly appeared before her. He looked older than the last time she’d seen him. Ragged. Tired. Worn. The glistening silver crown perched atop his white hair, and his ever-present armor gleamed still. But the past year had taken its toll on him. She could not blame him. It had taken a toll on them all.
“Glencora,” he shouted, rushing toward her and wrapping his strong arms around her. She sighed and closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of snow and pine. It had been so long since she had felt someone’s touch. For awhile, her father had come to see her daily. But soon, those daily visits had turned to weekly. And then longer. By her count, he had not come to see her in well over a month.