The Court of Thorns and Wings (Fated To Darkness #2)

1. Tavish

1

TAVISH

I n a matter of seconds, my entire world had shattered. My heart had been obliterated with no hope of salvaging it because of one simple fact.

Everything had vanished in the blink of an eye.

Tears streamed down my face, and I hunched over, agony piercing my chest and running throughout my body.

I’d made a horrible mistake. One I couldn’t fix or take back, even as the king.

Death… that was permanent, even for me.

The only thing that could perhaps get me through the rest of eternity was having someone force Lira into my dreams.

My chest heaved, and I curled my fingers into my hair and tugged. If living every day without her in this world was going to feel like this, I wanted to die.

“Tavish,” Caelan said softly, his voice thick with worry.

He’d used that tone only one other time in my entire life, twelve years ago when Eldrin saved me after the Seelie had killed my parents and imprisoned me. I’d been severely injured during the castle attack and woke up to find both my parents dead at the feet of Seelie warriors. Eldrin had rescued me and saved my life and my father’s sword for me.

While healing after my rescue, Caelan had become like a big brother to me, tending to me and caring for me when my people rebelled against my reign.

His tone now made my misery worse, reminding me of that time so long ago.

I lowered my hands and rolled up my sleeves slightly to see that the incomplete, magical fated-mate tattoo of delicate vines and leaves interconnected with thorns had spread across Lira’s body and mine when we’d come close to cementing our bond. The tattoo cut off abruptly at my wrists, waiting for the consummation of our bond.

Something I’d stopped because I’d believed Lira had to die for me to save my people. I couldn’t risk completing the bond. Now I wanted to go back in time and change that moment.

I’d lost so much time with her, pushed her away too often, and exhausted myself with the constant battle of not intervening whenever she was in danger.

And look where it had gotten me.

Would my tattoo fade over time? Because that was the last thing I wanted. Her soul had branded mine, and though it had been for only a short while, I never wanted to forget.

I shouldn’t have declared the gauntlet, and I should’ve saved her instead of watching as she fought for her life. It had taken her getting stabbed in the final battle of the gauntlet to make my sorry wildling self realize how wrong I’d been.

Can someone die of heartbreak? This was a question I would’ve laughed at had anyone else asked it a mere month ago, but today, this was the question I posed to myself.

“Sunscorched,” Finnian hissed as my mattress dipped in front of my head. “You can’t die. You’re fearless.”

My breath caught, and I stood, prepared to drag him away from Lira’s body. He had to be careful. She was injured! He didn’t need to hurt her more.

He straddled her half-naked body where they’d ripped off part of her shirt so they could tie the towels around her waist to stop the bleeding.

His navy wings were closed tightly behind him, and his light ice-blue eyes glistened. “Lira, wake up. You can’t leave us like this. Not now . Not when Tavish needs you more than ever.” The ash-blond tips of his hair hit midforehead as he bent over her, begging her to come back to life.

But she didn’t.

She couldn’t hear his plea.

My stomach churned, and something weird and painful inched up my throat like it was trying to come out.

My eyes stayed locked on her, and I could’ve sworn the shimmer of her sun-kissed complexion had returned. Illusions that I wanted to see, like she was waking and returning to me.

My tattoo pulsed faintly, but I ignored the sensation. It had to be a figment of my imagination. I should probably make arrangements to take her back to the Seelie territory. Her body needed to be buried there so her magic could return to her lands… the way it should be. She deserved that.

I sniffled. “We need to settle things with our people so I can take Lira home.”

“What?” Caelan asked, stepping up beside me. He tilted his head, a piece of his dark-blond hair falling from the bun on top of his head. “You can’t be serious. If you take her back dead, they’ll believe we’re attacking. Remember, that was the plan not too long ago.”

His words cut deep, and I clenched my teeth, fighting the urge to punch him. I straightened my shoulders and pulled darkness around me, emphasizing my height and magic to him. I gritted out, “You don’t dictate what I do. I’m your king, and I’m blasting clear on what my original plan was and will carry that guilt for the rest of my existence. I don’t need you reminding me. But Lira will be returned to her homeland and family because that’s what she deserves. We won’t taint her death worse than we already have, and we’ll do the right thing… for her.”

He flinched. “I don’t understand why things changed so suddenly. You two knew each other before she was hidden on Earth, so why didn’t you feel this way from the start?”

“It took finding her again to realize what she is to me.” This was something only Finnian, Lira, and I knew. Finnian only because he’d suspected it all along, which had irritated me. Maybe if I’d understood sooner that Lira and I were fated, I could’ve wrapped my head around it and changed this outcome.

I guessed we’d never know.

I pulled up my sleeve, revealing the tattoos on my arms.

Caelan arched a brow. “When did you get that?”

Then I noticed the light pulsing again… as though Lira’s heart had somehow started beating again.

I took a few steps toward the bed and shoved Finnian off her, placing myself between him and Finola. If Lira was coming back to life, he didn’t need to be sitting on her.

“What the—” Finnian started as I lowered my ear to her chest, ignoring the way the dried blood from the gauntlet stuck to my ear.

“Hush,” I snapped… and then I heard the most beautiful sound in my entire existence.

Her heart was beating. Barely. I jerked upright and moved to her left side, where Bran had impaled her with the sword. I lifted her shirt and saw that the gaping hole had closed a little, though blood still trickled from the wound.

“Get the silk thread. We need to mend her wound!” I didn’t care if someone was creating an illusion. I’d take whatever they offered as long as I got to spend time with her again.

“Tav, we can, but I’m not sure that will make a diff…” Finnian trailed off like he was searching for how to finish that thought without upsetting me further.

Finola gasped. “No, look. Her fingers are moving.” She spun around, her fine, straight black hair blowing back, and hurried to the wooden table I’d once used to play chess with Eldrin. There lay the kit with the gray silk and curved needle to close her wound.

Laughing, Finnian sat beside Lira and shook his head. “I swear, she defies all odds.”

Lira did have a tenacity, the likes of which I’d never seen before, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t die again. “She’s still bleeding. We need to stop it if we want her to keep breathing,” I bit out.

After placing the mending kit on the side of the bed, Finola narrowed her deep-set eyes and threaded the needle. Then she placed a hand at the base of Lira’s wound, not flinching at the gold blood that continued to trickle from it.

Lira had made an impression on more people than Finnian and me. If she woke, it would be interesting to see how many people thought well of her despite her being our enemy’s heir.

Finola’s light-tan complexion seemed pale compared to Lira’s, proving this wasn’t a figment of our imagination.

As the needle pierced Lira’s skin, she groaned faintly. My heartbeat quickened, and the fated-mate markings pulsed harder. I reached out and took her hand in mine.

A jolt crashed between us, one that hadn’t been there minutes before.

“Lira, you’re in our bedchamber and safe.” I wanted her to know she was no longer in the arena. “I need you to keep fighting. I can’t lose you just when my foolish eyes have finally opened.” My voice cracked, and my vision blurred as I remembered how awful the silence had been when I believed I’d lost her. I couldn’t lose her again. I wouldn’t survive.

“Put pressure on her other wounds,” Finola said and nodded toward Lira’s stomach and side. She’d been slashed in the stomach, and though the cut wasn’t deep, it still bled. Someone had also taken a chunk of skin from her other side, though that injury wasn’t as bad as the one Finola was mending.

I released Lira’s hand, though every cell in my body protested, but her blood loss was the priority.

“I’ll do it.” Finnian set his hands on the towel on Lira’s side. “Put pressure on her stomach with your free hand. Keep holding her hand—both of you need it.”

He didn’t have to tell me twice. My touching her alone had made her face soften. Black blood covered her long, wavy blonde hair, and somehow, seeing her bathed in the blood of her enemies did something to me that wasn’t very appropriate, especially with her injured and unconscious.

Caelan paced behind us, not saying a word, and I focused on my beautiful mate. I’d give anything for her to open her cobalt eyes and say something to me… even if it was to tell me to get off her.

Biting her bottom lip, Finola continued to work diligently, and my shoulders slumped.

What if she didn’t want to be with me? I’d made multiple unforgivable mistakes. My chest tightened, but not as it had been when her heart stopped. It ached and made my insides feel vacant, but even if she didn’t want to be with me, at least she’d be alive.

Her eyelids fluttered, and my lungs seized. Come on, sprite. Open those huge, beautiful eyes. I needed proof that she was coming back to me more than anything.

She flinched, and her expression twisted in agony.

“Almost done,” Finola whispered. “Hold on.”

Lira nodded slightly, and my chest expanded with so much hope.

The jolt between us grew stronger, and I wanted to bundle her into my arms and never let her go. No one would ever harm her again, even if she didn’t choose to be with me. I wouldn’t force her to remain here any longer.

Sweat beaded on her face, and I leaned over, brushing my hand against her skin.

“This might hurt a little, but I need to tie it off,” Finola warned. She leaned down and bit through the silk thread.

After a quick whimper, Lira went still again.

Cold tendrils of fear squeezed my heart. “What’s wrong?” I leaned down, her heartbeat the only thing grounding me.

“She passed out.” Finola grabbed the kit and headed around the bed to Lira’s other side. “I don’t know how she came back, but she’s in a lot of pain. She needs rest more than anything.”

Someone knocked on the door frantically. “Your Majesty,” Faelan called. “May I come in?”

I didn’t want to handle whatever frivolous crisis was going on, but Caelan and Finnian were here with me, and Eldrin was in prison where he belonged. I had no choice but to handle this, if only to put it off longer. “Come in.”

The door opened, and the dark-blue-haired guard hurried in. His gaze went immediately to my bed, and he wrinkled his nose. He wasn’t hiding his disapproval of the Seelie princess getting tended to in my bed.

“Do you have a problem with what’s going on here?” I released Lira’s hand and turned to face the guard head-on. My blood boiled. Since I couldn’t kill Eldrin because of my life debt to him, it would be nice to take out my anger and frustration on someone else. “Is that why you came here, to see if my vow during the gauntlet was true?”

“Of course not.” Faelan wisely kept his attention on me. He rubbed a hand over his dark armored guard uniform, and his blue wings fluttered gently behind him.

He was nervous about informing me of something, and I didn’t have the patience for it.

“If the people want me to talk to them about my decision, that’s fine.” I didn’t like answering to them, but this would be an exception to the rule… anything for Lira. I didn’t want to burden her conscience by killing everyone who spoke out against us. She’d blame herself for that. For her, I’d give my people one chance, but that was it. Anyone who continued to show dissent would meet the sharp tip of my blade.

“That’s not it.” Faelan huffed and glanced out the door as several guards flew past, hurrying toward the prison. “We have a pressing situation, and we need your assistance.”

My stomach hardened. The guards wouldn’t be rushing like that unless something had gone horribly wrong… like when Lira had escaped. “What is it?”

“Eldrin.” He exhaled. “Eldrin has escaped.”

Out of every possibility, I hadn’t expected that. “That’s impossible. Torcall took him to the holding cell.” Torcall was one of the best guards we had.

“Eldrin stabbed Torcall in the throat with a poisoned dagger.” Faelan scratched his neck. “It was a paralytic toxin, which is why Torcall couldn’t scream. Two of the other prison guards stumbled upon Torcall, but he died. With his last breath, Torcall managed to communicate in slurred whispers that Eldrin had gotten away. We immediately began searching but so far have come up empty-handed. We believe he made it out of the castle since no one but Torcall was aware of his escape.”

“Then let’s find him,” I snapped. My blasted cousin had betrayed me once again and, in doing so, had killed one of my most skilled and favored guards. I couldn’t kill him, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t hunt him down and punish him. I had to make a point to show my people what happened when someone rose against me… like I had to do when I was fifteen.

I turned around, knowing that Lira was in good hands with the three of them. I trusted them, even Caelen, though he wasn’t happy with my latest decisions. “Keep watch over Lira. I’ll help find Eldrin and make sure my people see that even my blood gets punished. If anything changes—” My words cut off.

“We’ll let you know.” Finnian placed a hand over his heart.

“I’ll send Nightbane here.” That beast loved Lira and would protect her with his life.

I pivoted on my heels to leave, but something stopped me in my tracks.