22. Lira
22
LIRA
C old fear stabbed me in the chest, halting my wings. My body dropped an inch as I spun around to see Eiric straightening her body and fluttering in the same spot.
“I know our kingdom isn’t pretty or nice, but do we need the theatrics?” Finnian pursed his lips, cocking a brow at her.
Eiric glared. “I ran into something and bounced off. It had nothing to do with this awful place.”
Dread filled the mate bond, and between all my nerves and distractions, I noticed a faint cold tickle over my skin. Something is brushing my skin that wasn’t there before. Do you feel it? The sensation was similar to Tavish’s magic but held a distinctive edge that made my skin crawl, emphasizing that mine was only at half strength.
No, I don’t, he replied, pulling me to his side, his wings moving and blocking my view of my sister. He scanned the kingdom in front of us. “Stop speaking so loudly. We don’t need to reveal our presence—” He cut off abruptly as the castle doors creaked open.
I faced forward to see Eldrin flying out the front doors with guards flanking him and more behind him. His white hair blew back in the breeze, and his dark wings flapped furiously. He wore dark armor and a dark, thorny crown on his head, contrasting with his snowy skin.
“I hope you have a plan, Tavish.” Finnian’s face looked strained. “Because out of every possibility, I didn’t expect to return to this .”
“Neither did I, but he ’s not the rightful king. I am , ” Tavish rasped, his wings flapping viciously. “Whatever he did doesn’t matter. I am of the rightful royal blood. Everyone must follow me. I hold the strongest magic.”
That wasn’t how things had to work, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to explain that to Tavish. In Earth’s history, a change in leadership occurred often, and part of the time, it was due to the people revolting and wanting a new leader. Surely, that wasn’t the case here; Tavish had sacrificed so much for his people… even if he’d been misguided, in my opinion.
“It’s kind of hard to fly and face him when Eiric can’t get in here.” Finnian exhaled. “Go on, and I’ll stay with her.”
“No need,” Eiric said and appeared at my side. “I got through.” She shrugged. “It was the oddest thing.”
Eldrin was only fifty yards away from us, and at least half the Unseelie people were standing in the stone streets, their eyes wide with surprise, while the remainder watched from their windows, gesturing at Tavish.
Eldrin puffed out his chest and spoke loudly, “We know the Seelie wildling is here even though we can’t see her, which means my traitor of a nephew is using darkness to hide her. The small veil I put up to alert me to her return could only be triggered by a Seelie.”
He was baiting Tavish. I connected with him just as I felt the chill of his magic leaving my body, exposing us to Eldrin.
Tavish, don’t.
But it was too late. Eldrin’s smirk turned into a beaming smile.
Eiric and Finnian inched closer to us, our wings moving in tandem as if we were one.
There is no reason to hide, Lira. Tavish squeezed my hand, making sure everyone saw the gesture. He pushed his calm toward me with certainty. These are my people, and the Unseelie always follow the heir of the late king. They must believe that I died, and Eldrin capitalized on that as my father’s nephew. It made him the logical next king, though the magic wouldn’t pass to him.
“Why are you wearing the Unseelie crown, Eldrin?” Tavish’s voice boomed, amplified by his magic so that everyone could hear.
I wished he hadn’t exposed us like this. I feared that, for the first time in fae history, things wouldn’t go according to expectation. Maybe I was letting my human knowledge affect me in a way that wasn’t relevant here. I had to bank on that.
“When I learned you were injured, despite you turning your wings against me for a Seelie, I came to assist in mending you back to health. To my surprise, I learned you weren’t anywhere in the castle and had abandoned us after two Seelies disguised themselves as our own. When your magic didn’t return to cover the land, I assumed you had died in your callous attempt to free the sunscorched, and thus, I had to become the Unseelie king.” Eldrin reached us and stopped as the guards lined up behind him. “I thought this would be rather clear.”
I’m going to enjoy killing him, Tavish linked, rage boiling within him. I’ll make sure he feels every bit of anger, hurt, betrayal, and vulnerability he made us feel.
Finnian tapped the top of his head. “The crown is too large for you. Maybe you should hand it back to Tavish before you lose it.”
The crown did look as if it might fall over his face at any second.
Knowing I needed to play the part of his dutiful fated mate, I laughed. “Anyone can wear a crown that doesn’t belong to them, and Finnian is right. It’s clear it wasn’t intended for you.” I smiled, noting the pale-blue-haired guard to his right.
Lorne.
The fae I’d saved and had been paired with during the gauntlet and who’d assisted in saving my life a couple of times. I thought we’d worked out some mutual respect between us, but clearly, I’d been wrong.
A sour taste filled my mouth. His loyalty to Eldrin stung like betrayal.
“You should’ve never come back.” Eldrin bared his teeth. “And Tavish should’ve allowed you to die in the gauntlet.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Eiric’s brows furrow. She had questions, but she knew better than to ask now.
“I should’ve never allowed her to enter into it in the first place.” Tavish tensed even more. “Lira is my fated mate, and subjecting her to any sort of mistreatment, especially the gauntlet, was the biggest mistake of all time.”
A few Unseelie gasped like they hadn’t expected to hear Tavish say that. A lump formed in my throat, so large I couldn’t swallow. Eldrin was leading the conversation to get Tavish to say everything he needed the Unseelie to hear.
I love you for everything you’re saying and doing, but your people need to know what you’ve done for them. Not what you wish you would’ve done for me.
My people need to know how important you are to me; otherwise, they’ll continue to despise you. They need to see that I won’t tolerate any negative or harmful actions toward you. He lifted his chin, ready to fight everyone on my behalf.
The stark change in circumstances from coming back to Unseelie territory with him this time versus last time would have been inconceivable if I hadn’t been involved both times. He was the same person, but his actions were the exact opposite toward me. Thorn, trust me. The Unseelie need to view me differently through my actions and words, not through your threats of violence.
I could feel his turmoil. He wanted to respect my wishes like the caring mate he was, but his possessive and protective side wanted to bulldoze anyone who threatened me. I loved both sides equally, but if I wanted the Unseelies’ true respect, I had to earn it.
I was my own person.
“The people saw Tavish receive a fatal blow from Seelie glamoured to look like us.” Eldrin flicked his wrist. “This could be another Seelie trick to confuse our people.”
Dread sat heavy in my stomach. Eldrin had allowed people to believe that Tavish was dead. No wonder they hadn’t fought against him stepping into power, and he was using that to manipulate them now. Not surprising, but I could easily turn that back around on him. “That alone is telling.”
Eldrin’s neck corded. “What do you mean?”
“Tavish felt my Seelie power when it came back, and my father immediately identified Tavish upon his arrival in Gleann Solas. Yet, you can’t confirm this is your cousin. I find it interesting. Is your power so much weaker than theirs, or are you lying?” I batted my eyelashes to come off innocent.
Finnian laughed freely. “I hadn’t considered that, but you’re correct. Which one is it, Eldrin? Though I suspect the real answer is both.”
Frowning, Eldrin took in a ragged breath.
“Allow me to ease everyone’s minds.” Tavish held out his hands. The sky darkened to the color it’d been before the Seelie attack. Dark clouds gathered and snow fell, landing on the dry, dark ground.
“It is King Tavish!” a female exclaimed from below. “He’s not dead after all.”
“That changes nothing ,” Eldrin spat. “He will ruin all of us if you continue to follow him. Remember the reason for the gauntlet. She escaped and had the cù-sìth assist her in killing some of your own people.” Eldrin’s mouth dropped in fake horror, and he clutched his chest. “Those actions led all the prisoners into the gauntlet, and now our resources are more scarce because the prisoners we lost were working the lands to keep up our food resources.”
When Eldrin’s malicious gaze landed on me, a shiver ran down my spine, and the horror of him attacking me while I was naked in the tub flashed through my memory. I hated how weak and vulnerable he’d made me feel and, worse, how it still affected me.
Tavish edged in front of me, blocking part of me from Eldrin’s view, and I knew he was sensing the emotions that raged through me. His own fury spiked.
“That may be true, but I know Lira, and she would never attack anyone unprovoked.” Finnian straightened his shoulders, showing not only his support for Tavish but for me as well. “If anyone attacked her, she deserved to defend herself, the same as anyone here.”
My chest expanded uncomfortably. Even though Finnian liked to give people hell, he’d be receiving a hug from me later.
“And you orchestrated the games and the rules this time.” Tavish karate-chopped the air. “I didn’t interfere. At your request.”
Eldrin laughed bitterly. “But you did interfere multiple times, even ending the last game before she died.”
“Even though I understand you’d never favor me in any situation because I’m Seelie, there is a more prominent reason that you wanted to ensure I died as quickly as possible.” Not wanting to be seen as a coward, I flew around and hovered beside Tavish. “Something both Tavish and I might have found rather interesting if I’d regained my memories before I perished.”
His face blanched, and I clenched my hands to prevent myself from raising my fist upward in celebration.
“Guards, capture them and take them to the prison cell.” Eldrin gestured at Tavish and me, making sure the guards understood exactly who he meant. “Do not kill any of them. We need fresh prisoners to man the lands since all the others died during the gauntlet.”
When none of the guards moved, some of the cold tendrils of fear loosened within me. I’d expected them to obey Eldrin, but their inaction validated what Tavish knew: the Unseelie would follow him. My doubt had been unwarranted.
Silence blanketed the entire kingdom, and Eiric placed her right hand on the hilt of her sword, preparing for an attack.
Face flushing gray, Eldrin snarled, “ Now! And if anyone doesn’t move, they’ll be locked in the prison alongside them.”
Lorne moved first, flying toward us, with the next handful of guards following his lead.
Some of my hope died, and each breath felt like a struggle. This was what I’d feared.
“Do not obey him. I am the rightful king and heir. He’s committing treason.” Tavish’s irises turned the stormy gray that warned anyone of his temper who rose against him. “If you go against me, I will be forced to kill each one of you for your betrayal. You won’t get a chance to sit in a prison cell.”
The guards paused, glancing back and forth between the two of them.
“Are you listening to him when he is protecting a Seelie royal over his own people? If my father hadn’t died when he had, there would be no questioning my order.” Eldrin glared at each guard and then glanced down at the rest of the Unseelie.
My chest tightened. He was pleading with the masses. Tavish, end this before it goes too far.
“He killed two guards on the first day she arrived before ever claiming her as his fated mate.” Eldrin held out his hands. “He allowed you to believe he had died when, clearly, he’s alive and standing before you now. And why did he allow you to believe he perished? So he could abandon you without consequences while retrieving the Seelie princess. By going there and bringing her back with him, he’s declared war with the Seelie. A war we cannot win in our current state. The safest thing to do—until we can rise again—is to lock him up and give the princess back when the Seelie king comes for her. Tavish ruined our chance of taking our rightful lands back.”
“Do not listen to him.” Tavish had the snow falling harder, and the temperature had dropped fifty degrees within the last minute. “He’s been conspiring against me and us since my father died. He claims he saved my life, but he didn’t. Lira is the one who tended to my wounds and kept me alive. All Eldrin did was retrieve me from the holding cell. Nothing more than that.”
The way the guards’ heads went back and forth between Eldrin and Tavish reminded me of watching a Ping-Pong game. They still hadn’t come to detain us, which counted for something.
“I did save your life and our people.” Eldrin clenched his hands. “What sort of life would we have with our ruler captured and under the Seelie’s control? None. We’d have wound up working for them and doing everything at their will. By rescuing you from the castle, I ensured we had the royal power back.”
“That is not the life obligation you had me believe.” Tavish’s face twisted in anger and betrayal, the sting overwhelming me through our bond. “And maybe we could have bridged the divide between us and the Seelie if I’d remained with them after I healed for a short while. Maybe they wouldn’t have exiled all of our people in this awful land, afraid of my thirst for revenge, and we’d still have direct access to our Unseelie magic.”
“I did what I believed was right.” Eldrin clenched his hands. “Which I’ve continued to do every day since coming here. I’ve advised you and always put our people first while you threw everything away for a sunscorched princess.”
“Long live King Eldrin,” a few Unseelie chanted from below, making my heart stop.
Shock pulsed from Tavish, followed by a crushing sense of anguish.
More and more chimed in while Eldrin’s grin stretched into a gigantic smile.
Even though numerous fae didn’t chant and instead frowned, they remained quiet as the majority showed support for Eldrin.
“We need to leave before we’re imprisoned,” Eiric growled from beside me.
I hated that she was right.
“No. They can’t turn on me.” Tavish breathed raggedly. “I’m their king.”
“Tav, she’s right,” Finnian agreed.
I understood his issue—leaving would make him look weak. We leave and regroup. Then we’ll come back and kill Eldrin. If we get caught, it’ll be harder—
“Seize them!” Eldrin shouted again.
This time, the guards obeyed, yielding to the masses.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Tavish seethed as fury shot through him and into our bond.
A moment later, magic pulsed through our connection from him , which had never happened before. His magic felt sludgy and heavy, resembling the nightmares I used to have when he would watch me through my dreams.
Eldrin grunted, and the smile dropped from his face, his expression changing into one of discontent that eventually crumpled his features into pure terror.
People on the street screamed, and I understood what Tavish was doing.
He was using his illusion magic.
A few guards jerked back as if something they feared stood right before them.
“Thank god we’re on his side,” Eiric muttered, watching the chaos unfold in front of us.
Tavish released my hand and removed a dagger from his sheath, his sights on Eldrin.
He had to die, and I wouldn’t stop Tavish… not after this.
“Death to the sunscorched wildling!” a woman a few feet below shouted near the edge of the houses closest to us.
A whistling noise filled the air, and something sharp pierced my wing and lodged into the other. Agony coursed through me, stealing my breath. Worse, my wings stopped moving correctly, like air was flying through them, and I dropped.
Lira, Tavish linked, his magic leaving our bond and terror replacing his wrath. He followed me, swooping below me to gather me in his arms. When he caught me and moved forward, two guards appeared at his sides and threw chains around his arms, cutting off his magic. They gripped his biceps, the chains biting through his skin and drawing blood. The pressure forced him to release me.
No! Tavish shouted as my body rushed toward the water again.
Unfortunately, my magic struggled to come through, and I couldn’t make the water yield to my power. Like something blocked it. My wings tried catching the air, but they weren’t working well, merely stopping my fall. The wound where the weapon had lodged into my wing burned and pulsed, and I bit my tongue to stop from crying out.
The sounds of blades clashing had me glancing up. Eiric was fighting three Unseelie guards and Finnian was fighting five. Each set had chains to capture them, but I didn’t have time to focus on that. I had to watch the woman below as she readied to shoot at me again.
Pale blue flashed, and strong arms wrapped around me. It wasn’t Tavish but Lorne. He didn’t hurt me, though he flew back upward toward Eldrin.
“Don’t hurt the Seelie anymore.” Eldrin rolled his eyes, though he gave the command too late. “Due to Tavish’s poor decisions, we will have to use them to keep the Seelie from obliterating us. It’s a means to survival.”
When I glanced up, Tavish had a dagger held to his neck by a third guard as two guards held his arms back. Eiric and Finnian had been detained too, and Eldrin’s eyes twinkled with glee.
Acid burned my throat over seeing my mate like that. The snow no longer came down, emphasizing his power was completely bound.
Lira, I’m so sorry, he linked, sounding broken.
It’s not your fault. I didn’t need him to fall apart. Stay strong. We’ll find a way through this.
“Take all of them to the prison cells.” Eldrin crossed his arms as he sneered at us. “We may have to use them as leverage over the Seelie, but they’ll live a prisoner’s life here.”
Lorne nodded. “As you wish,” he said gruffly, and his arms tightened painfully around me.
The guards dragged us toward the castle with Tavish, Finnian, and Eiric bound by chains, suppressing their magic.
We flew in through one of the sizable windows near the back by the prison cells. The dark tile and stone that had once felt like home now felt like a trap.
The guards took us through the hallways’ twists and turns, and soon the cells came into view, accompanied by the scents of piss and feces.
And my gaze landed on something that made me sicker. Something that had my heart shattering into smaller pieces than I ever could have expected.