13. Lira
13
LIRA
M y mouth dried as I straightened and spread out my wings. Then I soared through the doorway into the bedroom, ready to fight whoever had caught me, needing them to keep their mouth shut about what they’d seen. As I flew over the bed, moonlight filled the room, revealing the identity of my observer.
I couldn’t slow down my pace enough, and I slammed into a wide-eyed Eiric.
Her arms circled my waist, keeping me upright as her back hit the wall. I heard a sickening thwack , yet her arms still anchored me to her.
Sprite, what’s the matter? Tavish’s voice popped into my head.
Someone is in my room, but it’s just Eiric, I replied as my heart leaped into my throat. I pushed back, breaking from Eiric’s embrace, and rasped, “Dammit, E!”
“Don’t dammit me.” Eiric scowled and stood, rubbing the back of her head. “If anyone should be damned, it’s you .”
Fair, though I couldn’t hide my smile. “You want me to go to hell now?”
“Like you’ll ever die.” Eiric stuck her tongue out. “Even if you weren’t immortal, the amount of trouble you find yourself in will fuel you for eternity.”
I snorted and moved to inspect the back of her head. I touched the spot where it had hit the wall, making her flinch. There was a huge bump, but with fae, it wouldn’t result in a concussion. We weren’t frail like humans, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. “Eiric, I’m—”
“Don’t you dare say what I think you might.” Eiric glared at me. “You’re a princess and shouldn’t owe anyone , including me.”
My chest warmed. “You protected me on Earth, even before your memories came back.”
“I guess part of me always knew what my role was.” She gestured to the bathroom. “Something I hadn’t expected to be quite as difficult now that we’re in Gleann Solas and in the castle… yet here we are.”
She was fishing for answers, and I needed to be careful. The more she learned about the secret passages and my plan to leave with Tavish, the bigger the chance she’d catch hell for not informing anyone. “I was clearly in the bathroom.” I bit my lip, fighting the urge to heal her injury. If it had been worse, I would’ve. No questions asked.
“You were not , Lira.” Eiric pointed a finger in my face. “I went in there. Don’t you realize both doors were open? Don’t do this half-truth shit that they like doing around here. You said we were still sisters, so prove it.”
Wait. Both doors would need to be unlocked for her to get in here. “How did you get in? The doors were locked.” I scanned the room for answers. “Do you have a key?”
“I used my earth magic, manipulating the wood of the door to work around the lock.” She leaned back on her heels. “And, for your information, every guard on duty has keys to get in here in case you’re ever harmed.”
Blighted abyss. I hadn’t realized every guard had keys to my room. “Well, that’s not reassuring.” The risk I’d taken to go see Tavish was even greater than I’d realized.
“Where were you?” She crossed her arms, leveling her gaze at me.
I couldn’t lie to her, even if I was able to. We’d always been truthful with one another, and I didn’t want to taint the relationship. She was too damn important to me. I sighed, crossing my fingers that she’d humor me. “Can we just let this go and forget it happened?”
“No.” She lifted her chin. “If you don’t tell me what you were doing, I’ll be forced to inform Mom and Dad. Which, to be clear, doesn’t mean I won’t, depending on your answer.”
Something indignant rose inside me, making my blood boil. “If I command you not to say anything, you’d be betraying a royal.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I clamped my hands over it, wanting to take them back.
But the damage was done.
Her jaw dropped, and her arms hung at her sides. “I see. Is this how it’s going to be every time I say or do something you don’t like? Or if you want me to do something I don’t want to?”
Regret hung heavy on my shoulders, and I swallowed. “No. I don’t even know why I said that. I didn’t—” My words cut off, preventing me from lying.
“You didn’t what?” she asked sweetly, but her face twisted in pain.
Instead of making things better, I was digging myself into a hole. I was certain I didn’t need to even dig it. Eiric would bend the earth to do it for me just so it could happen faster. “I meant it in the moment, but not now.”
“Because that makes it better.” She shook her head and moved to the door. “I’m tired. I need to head to bed.”
I didn’t want her to leave this way. “E, wait.”
She opened the door, so I reached for her hand.
“Don’t go. Not like this.” I wished I could go back in time and change that moment. I’d been foolish to say that to her. She was my equal and family, not someone I ever wanted to order around.
“Don’t fret, Your Highness.” She removed her hand and curtseyed. “I’ll obey.” She then fluttered off down the hallway.
That hadn’t been what I meant, but she was already halfway down the hall, flying past Sorcha.
Sorcha tapped a finger to her lips. She was already suspicious of me, and Eiric leaving like that added more questions.
Lovely.
Chasing Eiric down and forcing her to talk when she didn’t want to was the worst thing I could do, but part of me wanted to do that. After all, she was a child of guards. Who was she to turn her back on me ?
I stepped back into my bedroom and shut the door, shaking my head. I needed to get these foreign thoughts out. Something strange was coming over me, and none of it was good. It was as if the memories of my fae childhood were rising inside me and creating two versions of myself that I had to reconcile, which sounded crazy.
I’d never hidden anything from Eiric before. I couldn’t let this former piece of myself change me… not like that. Everyone was worthy of respect unless they weren’t good people… like Eldrin.
Surely Caelan had found the wildling by now and placed him back in prison.
Is everything okay? Did Eiric see you come out of the secret passage? Tavish connected.
I’d give anything for the bond to warm like it did when he wasn’t in chains. I needed the extra comfort. She didn’t see how I got inside the bathroom, but she knew I wasn’t there before.
Is she going to tell anyone?
No. I threatened to command her not to. I hung my wings as I paced in front of my bed. She said she wouldn’t.
That’s good. Tavish’s relief wafted through the bond.
Of course he’d think that, and I couldn’t fault him. He didn’t know any better. I did. It’s not. I changed the dynamics of our relationship by doing that. The relationship you have with Finnian and Caelan is what I had with Eiric, if not closer. I grew up with her, and we shared parents on Earth. She’s not a guard to me. She’s my family. My heart panged as I realized how much I had hurt her. I’d never said anything like that to her in the past, and it would come out here in this realm.
I didn’t think of it like that. Caelan and Finnian are both high fae, which is one reason we formed a friendship before the Seelie attack. But you wouldn’t remember any of that information on Earth once your memories were lost. You care for her, and I was foolish not to see it before. You care for everyone, even your competitors in the gauntlet. That’s one of the things that makes you so different and why some of the Unseelie weren’t thrilled when you were severely injured.
The fact that he wasn’t chastising me like my biological parents proved he was my other half. He’d been raised the same way, had lost his kingdom and parents, and had been forced to become harder, yet he wanted to understand me. I really messed up.
Love, there’s no doubt that she loves you. Who wouldn’t? Everyone makes mistakes. Look at the unforgivable things I did to you, yet you forgave me. She must feel threatened by the change in your relationship. Imagine if you came back to another world and the person you viewed as your sister was a princess and you were a guard assigned to protect her.
I hadn’t thought about it like that, which made me feel worse. I hadn’t considered the struggles Eiric was going through because I’d been focused on Tavish and Finnian. I’d been a piss-poor friend, and I hated myself for it. You’re right. I should’ve realized that.
You both need time to adjust, especially you, sprite. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Things will work out. You’ll see. If you could want to be with me after all the things I did and allowed to be done to you, then I have no doubt you and Eiric can get past this.
Some of the heaviness lifted from my shoulders. Here Tavish was, injured and chained, with Finnian severely injured, yet he was comforting me. I’d never imagined that we would be like this together. And I wouldn’t change a thing—except for him being a prisoner. I love you, yet those words don’t come close to conveying what I feel for you.
You’re the water that nourishes me. Something I can’t and won’t live without.
A tear rolled down my cheek, and I smiled.
Get some sleep. The first opportunity we have to escape, we need to take it, especially now that the dragons know you’re back. We need to return to my people to ensure Eldrin has been caught and there isn’t an uprising. With my magic bound, they’ll believe that I died.
He was right. His magic was tamped down, and his people had seen him wounded. Even my parents’ guards had believed that Tavish had died and were surprised when he arrived here. I’ll figure out a way tomorrow. I just needed to make sure I spoke with Eiric first. I couldn’t leave with our relationship broken like this.
I crawled into bed, hating the way my body relaxed and sank into it. The fact that I lay comfortably in bed while Tavish and Finnian were chained to the floor and Eiric was hurt should have been a crime. Still, there wasn’t anything I could do about it tonight.
Turning toward the window, I noticed thick clouds in the sky. No wonder the room had been so dark. A cloud moved over the full moon, blocking its light.
At least Eiric hadn’t been able to determine the exact location I’d come from, though if my parents heard about it, they’d know without a doubt.
I could only hope that Eiric wouldn’t tell, as she’d vowed.
My eyes closed, and I sighed, fatigued from the day’s adventures. At least Eiric and I had spent time together before our falling out. I clung to my connection with Tavish as I slipped into darkness.
The next morning, I woke up not wanting to attend breakfast. I wasn’t up for another round of criticism from my parents. I wasn’t the little girl they remembered anymore.
Instead, I opted to fly around the castle and the land to get more familiar with the area through adult eyes and not the memories of a child. The castle was ginormous, even bigger than the Unseelie one, and about halfway around the castle, I stumbled upon a garden that opened up to the cliff overlooking a village below.
The garden itself was half the size of the castle, with the most gorgeous flowers. The grounds were covered in whisperweeds, which resembled grass back on Earth, with clusters of pink petals reminding me of the radiant pink of sunrise. The flowers ranged from dawnblossoms, to mystveil irises with deep-purple petals that seemed almost black, to the bright orange and yellow petals of the sunspark tulips, to the delicate, feather-like leaves of the fayleaves, which tinkled like tiny bells.
Between the flowers stood silathair trees that could easily pass for cherry blossom on Earth. The silvery bark and leaves of the starwood trees sparkled under the sun with their long, elegant branches. Deep, emerald-green leaves of the whispering willows swayed even without wind, and the tall, imposing trunks and branches of the ironbark sentinels, which appeared to be made of metal, with rich, rust-colored leaves.
The garden called to me. It was a place I’d enjoyed frequenting as a child, so I flew down and landed gently, settling underneath one of the silathair trees. I hadn’t noticed that the dress I wore matched the silver of the starwood trees, and even better, today, I hadn’t been forced to hide the fated-mate markings that connected me with Tavish.
I closed my eyes to center myself while hiding from my parents.
The scents of the gardens soothed my anxiety as the sun warmed my face. My wings stretched out behind me, allowing my back to sink more into the trunk, making me feel completely alone.
“They said I might find you here when you didn’t show up for breakfast.” Prince Pyralis’s voice came from right behind the tree.
My stomach clenched. He wasn’t supposed to be here. How had I not heard him arrive?
Eyes popping open, I saw the dragon prince step around the trunk. His gaze landed on me, and he froze midstep, his pupils slanting as he took in the fated-mate marks across my chest and down both arms.
He flushed, the ruddy color the same as a human’s blush, indicating his blood was red, but then faint scales patched over his skin. “Did you glamour those markings on you? They weren’t there yesterday.”
I might have allowed Gaelle to hide them yesterday to prevent the dragon prince from noticing, but I refused to deny that I had a fated mate and had completed the bond. After all, no one owned me, and I wanted to make my own damn choices. “The maid hid them from you yesterday. These aren’t glamoured. They’re real.”
Smoke trickled from his nose as he towered over me.
That didn’t sit well with me, so I fluttered my wings and stood, though he still had almost three feet on me.
“Another thing your parents failed to inform me about.” Prince Pyralis’s jaw clenched. He wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me flush against his chest.
Lira, are you in danger? Tavish linked.
My heart hammered, and I tried to push him away, unable to focus on answering my mate.
Pyralis lifted me up and slung me over his shoulder, throwing a heavy arm around my waist.
Oh hell no. This wasn’t happening.
Unsure what else I could do, I pressed my face into his back, ignoring the roughness of his golden shirt, opened my mouth wide, and bit into a chunk of his skin. He groaned and dragged me down his front, and I elbowed him in his ear. Hard.
He snarled, sounding more animal than man, and ripped me away from his body, holding me in front of him.
Blighted abyss. Are you okay? Tavish linked again.
All my years of training kicked in, and self-defense came naturally to me. I lifted both legs while flapping my wings, using the heels of my shoes to kick him hard in the chest.
The heels broke, and I flapped, ready to pull away.
But instead of his grasp relaxing, he held on tighter, refusing to let me go.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a sheath with a hilt. I needed to reach it. I’m fighting the dragon prince.
“Stop fighting me, princess,” he growled. “You’re annoying me more than anything.”
I gritted my teeth, his words pissing me off as terror filled the bond from Tavish. I didn’t need his emotions affecting me, so I used the one thing I could access.
I tapped into my magic.