26. Lira
26
LIRA
M y wings expanded behind me as I readied to push through both men and the guards. I wasn’t sure how I’d accomplish that, especially injured, but I’d flutter across that ocean when the time came.
Caelan shoved Finnian in the chest and growled, “Are you trying to get our people to turn against him?”
“Of course not.” Finnian gasped and placed a hand on his chest. “Why would you even suggest such a thing?”
“Because you allowed him to leave the room,” Caelan gritted through clenched teeth. His normally calm demeanor had vanished, and his face twisted into anger or annoyance … I wasn’t sure which. Not that it mattered.
“I did?” Finnian dropped his hands to his sides in shock, but the corners of his mouth tipped upward like he was struggling to hide a smile. “Why would I do that? Him attacking Lorne before the gauntlet is officially over would set things back for all of us horrendously.” He pointed in the direction Tavish had left. “You better hurry and get him before he reaches the prison. He’s drunk, and you know he doesn’t fly well that way. I’ll stay here and determine what happened with Lira.”
Caelan huffed. I waited for him to beat the hell out of Finnian, which he sort of deserved, but Caelan shook his head and said, “I’m not sure I should leave you with her, but I know you won’t stop him. You’re forcing my hand, and I don’t like it. The three of us will discuss this once I retrieve him.” He turned and flapped his wings then quickly disappeared from sight.
Some of my tension eased, and my wings responded by lowering into a more comfortable position. I waited for Finnian to turn around and comfort me, but he moved methodically like Tavish wasn’t in danger of doing something stupid.
“Make sure if anyone arrives, they knock on the door before entering. I need to have a private conversation with Lira.” Finnian took the time to glance at Torcall and Finola, making it clear he expected them to obey.
I tried to keep my hands steady as I took my glass and refilled it with water. I hadn’t processed what had happened between Tavish and me because so much had been said, and he’d acted like a different person … until he didn’t. I wished I’d allowed him to kiss me because I wanted to know what it’d feel like to have his lips on mine and how he’d devour me, but not like this. Besides, what sort of person was I for wanting the man who’d kidnapped me and planned to kill me? Yet I could see how he struggled with the decision and wished he could change his mind. Worse, I believed him.
The door shut, and Finnian’s face became uncharacteristically solemn.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “What happened, Lira? ”
“I … I don’t know .” Needing a moment to collect my thoughts, I chugged another glass of water, enjoying the refreshing sensation as it slid down my throat. Still, I worried that Tavish would get to Lorne and do something before Caelan could intervene. “Will he be okay?”
“Caelan?” Finnian’s brow arched. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
I glowered, wanting to smack him. “Him and Tavish.”
“Tonight isn’t what I’m worried about.” Finnian strolled to the table and plucked the glass from my hand. Before I could retaliate, he poured some spirits into my glass and took a sip.
“Please tell me you aren’t going to get drunk.” I was exhausted, and all I wanted to do was curl up in bed and rest. The gauntlet had taken everything out of me. “I don’t think I could handle it.”
“Intoxication isn’t my goal, but I suspect it wasn’t Tavish’s either.” He took another sip and sat down in one of the wooden chairs that had been painted like shadows to blend in with the room’s ambience. “Mind informing me what happened so I understand how I need to support Tavish?” He scanned me from head to toe. “I can see it’s not irreversible yet, which is surprising.”
He kept talking in riddles, but I didn’t have the energy to ask any more questions. With Tavish leaving like that and my body relaxed from the bath and water, fatigue settled into my bones. “I don’t know what you mean, but he was drunk when I finished my bath. I came out to find him acting strange and talkative.” The words Tavish had thrown out repeated in my mind. “But he mentioned he plans to drain me of my blood. Care to elaborate on that?”
“Blast.” Finnian took another sip. “He’s struggling. I’d hoped he’d come talk to me instead of this .” He put the glass on the table and hung his head.
Like Tavish, he pretended my question about draining me of blood wasn’t a big blazing deal, but it was. I crossed my arms, and my feet ached a little deeper, informing me I’d been on them too long. I sat on the bed, my muscles jarring and the soreness clenching more. “ He’s struggling? I’m the one fighting in a gauntlet, sprouting wings, and in pain. And no one will answer my question about draining my blood!"
“Lira, he won’t harm you.” Finnian lifted both hands. “I’ve told you not to worry. His getting intoxicated, especially during the day, informs me he’s coming to the realization on his own.”
“He still plans to kill me.” Even when he’d spoken about his regrets, he hadn’t said he wouldn’t do it, even if I survived the last game. “Nothing has changed. But the draining of my blood part was a surprise, and I’d love to hear more about that .” It sounded like my death would be excruciatingly slow and unkind. Panic expanded in my chest, and I couldn’t breathe.
Shoulders hunching, he sat beside me on the bed. “You’re of Seelie royal blood. In order for all of our people to get through the veil and back to Cuil Dorcha, we need all your blood to take down the barrier. Otherwise, more of our people will starve.”
“Starve?” Though they didn’t eat three meals a day here like on Earth, I’d thought that was cultural. “Why are your people starving?”
“This land was never ours. When the Seelie and the dragons attacked our kingdom, they killed our king and queen and kidnapped Tavish. Eldrin saved Tavish and hid him from the Seelie. The dragons and Seelie ran us from our home and forced us onto this island that the dragons had ruined.” He gestured out the window toward the desolate, jagged mountains. “Dragons slowly ruin the lands they live on, which is what they’d done here. The Seelie healed the ground enough so we could grow mushrooms. But most of our people remain hungry. We’ve lost over five thousand of our people in the past twelve years since we were exiled here.”
Dragons. For a moment, the image of a blond-haired man with eyes the color of embers flashed through my brain before disappearing, but the feeling of dread and obligation lingered. Yet another memory that seemed within my grasp, but I couldn’t fully hold on to it.
“So that’s why he keeps insisting he needs to kill me to save his people.” Even though I didn’t agree with it, at least he didn’t just want to kill me for vengeance. His thought process was misguided, but he felt like his wings were clipped and his people were dying. I could only imagine having that sort of responsibility cloaking you at all times. “Why not take everyone to Earth? He went there to get me.”
“Food on Earth isn’t safe for us, and we lose our memories and our magic if we stay too long. Look at what you’re going through. What’s compounding our problem here is that because we can’t bury our people in our own land, their magic can’t return to our roots. If this doesn’t get rectified, we will become weaker, especially our future generations.”
A bitter laugh built in my chest. “Yet you don’t think he’ll actually go through with killing me?” Everything he’d said proved that Tavish didn’t have a choice. “I believe you’re mistaken.”
“I’m not.” He shook his head. “Tavish losing control validates what I suspected all along. Don’t misunderstand—I like you, Lira—but if you make it through the next game and Tavish doesn’t kill you, the Unseelie won’t understand. So I hope we can count on you to stand beside Tavish and fight for us against your own kind … or the Unseelie will eventually perish.”
The idea of Tavish and me saving his people together sounded way more tempting than it should. For some reason, that sounded right … like that was how it should’ve been all along. “I don’t want your people suffering, so of course I’ll do whatever I can to make things right for you as long as my heart continues to beat.”
“That would be infinitely more reassuring if you’d said that with your memories and powers reinstated.”
“I don’t say things carelessly.” If aligning with people who’d been wronged and merely wanted their lands back helped them and saved my life, I wouldn’t be foolish enough to throw that chance away.
Finnian patted my arm. “I believe you, but when you remember your prior life, your parents, and your people, it may not be so straightforward. I hope your mind doesn’t change, or all of the Unseelie, including myself , will cease to exist.”
Discomfort edged through me, and Nightbane huffed, coming to sit at my feet. He glared at Finnian, his eyes glowing faintly, prepared to attack if the fae made one wrong move.
“This conversation is pointless. Nothing has changed. Tavish has been stressed, and he drank too much. That’s all.” I couldn’t get my hopes up. If I believed there was a chance I could live and that Tavish wouldn’t go through with killing me, the wall I’d constructed around my heart to prevent myself from feeling for him would crumble. “I need to focus on healing and resting. They could drag us back into the last game tonight if they wanted. ”
Nightbane crouched and snarled, reinforcing that Finnian needed to leave.
I wondered if the beast actually understood me. He seemed to sense my mood as soon as it changed.
“You’re right.” Finnian stood and placed his hands into the pockets of his leather pants. “Get some rest. I’ll go find Caelan and help him sober up Tavish.”
I kept my gaze on the landscape outside the window, taking in the rising moon that was a faint glow through the darkness. I could see all the way to the ocean and the barren land between here and there.
When the bedchamber door opened, I couldn’t stop myself. “Finnian, will he be okay? Are you sure he won’t have reached Lorne before Caelan intervened?” I struggled with the idea of Eldrin using another thing against him.
“He’ll be fine. I wouldn’t have let him out the door if there was a chance we couldn’t intervene. We’ll take good care of him.” The door shut, leaving me in absolute silence.
I lay down on the bed, my muscles twinging from soreness. Even when I’d worked out hard at the gym or after sparring with Dad, I’d never been this sore. Granted, I’d never before been burned to an overdone chicken nugget or injured so badly I couldn’t sit.
Still, my emotions churned. I couldn’t get Tavish off my mind. I wanted to rip into my chest and yank on the weird tugging sensation to reach him, and that couldn’t be natural.
Nightbane jumped onto the bed and settled next to me. I placed an arm around him, enjoying the warmth of his fur. He wasn’t Tavish, but he brought me peace.
Eventually, my eyes grew heavy as I clung to the one friend I had in this place.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d been asleep, but the door opening and shutting caused my eyes to flutter open. Nightbane was gone from his spot at the edge of the bed and standing in the middle of the room, glaring at the person who’d entered.
Tavish.
His hair was messier than normal, adding a sexier edge to him, and he had a plate of food in one hand and a glass of water in the other.
I sat up, my muscles protesting, but they’d improved in the short time I’d been asleep. “Are you okay?” I asked, my voice thick with sleep.
He winced. “I’m fine. Sorry about earlier.” He walked to the bed and sat on the edge of the mattress in front of me. He avoided my gaze and said, “I brought you something to eat.”
Fish and mushrooms.
At least their menu now made sense to me. That was all they had, and I hated how judgmental I’d been when I arrived.
Taking the plate, I took a bite of the fish. I chewed it and swallowed, wishing it were a pizza or something equally more delicious. “Where have you been?”
“Caelan and Finnian took me to my study and sobered me up. Then they forced me to attend dinner with blasting Eldrin for the sake of appearances.” His nose wrinkled, and he ran a free hand through his hair, pushing it out of his face. “Sprite, about earlier. I—”
“You don’t need to say anything.” Though Finnian thought Tavish and I would somehow work things out and be together, this wasn’t a fairy tale, and believing it could be would only set me up for disappointment and pain. “I understand why you think killing me is the only option and that what you said while you were drunk isn’t true. You don’t have to explain.”
“But I do.” He climbed to his feet and paced. “Lira, this was never meant to be our future. From the day you were born until I turned fourteen, I believed you would be my wife and we’d be leading our people together. But your parents changed that the day they allied with the dragons, attacked my people, killed my parents, and forced us to relocate here. They not only betrayed us but also promised you to the dragon prince when you were supposed to be mine .”
No longer hungry, I put the plate next to me on the bed. My stomach twisted into knots. “What do you mean they promised me to a dragon prince?” The image of the blond-haired man popped into my head again, this time with a smug smile and smoke trickling from one nostril.
He placed the glass on the table, and his wings sagged. “You are supposed to marry him in the next few years.”
The thought of marrying someone I didn’t know and not Tavish had my heart aching worse than ever before. “But I didn’t agree to that.”
“It doesn’t matter. Your parents gave their word.”
The irony of the whole thing stole my breath. “I guess it doesn’t matter. I’ll be dead soon after all.”
Tavish leaned toward me and took my hands. The usual buzz increased to a jolt that thrummed between us, partially filling a void inside me that I’d never noticed before.
“I meant everything I said when I was drunk.” His irises lightened to silver. “More than anything in this realm, I wish our future had never changed and we could be together. More, I regret finding you and bringing you here. I wish I had searched harder for another way to break through the veil because I’d give anything for you to have the life you deserve. If I could turn back time—”
My heart pounded, and that damn tug had me leaning forward. I could see how much he cared and that he felt cornered, trying to do what was best.
This time, I pressed my lips to his. We were opening up to each other, but the course had been set. Everything we said at this point was futile.
“Lira,” he whispered. The raspy cadence rolled off his tongue like a song, and he kissed me.
My little bit of self-restraint snapped, and with his mouth molding to mine, logic faded away. His tongue begged for entrance, and I responded happily. Our tongues collided, and his taste reminded me of winter frost and night air.
The jolt between us turned electric as I wrapped my arms around his neck and he tangled his fingers through my hair. A faint burning sensation heated the skin in the center of my chest, but the pressure wasn’t awful and thrummed with power. The spot in my chest where the cool, refreshing pulsing came from sparked to life, along with the warmth next to it, coursing through my body in tune with the burn.
Each stroke of his tongue and brush of his fingertips distracted me and had me yearning for more.
I slid my hands up his tunic, feeling the smooth curves of his muscles, and he shuddered at my touch.
He shifted his weight over me, and I gladly lay back, wanting his entire body over mine.
Groaning, he sucked on my tongue and cupped a hand over my breast. I gasped as my body arched; the sensation was overwhelming, and heat exploded throughout my body.
Needing more, I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling his body against mine. Now he gasped, thrusting against me, allowing me to feel how hard he was. His finger rolled across my nipple, and I pulled back a little to bite his bottom lip.
“Blighted abyss, sprite,” he murmured. “You’re blasting perfect. I love how you respond to me.”
His fingers slipped under the top of my gown, touching me without any barriers. A desperate ache formed between my thighs, and I rubbed against him again, needing the friction.
“Calm down because, if you don’t, I won’t be able to give you the night you deserve.” He chuckled and lifted his head.
His gaze slowly moved down my face toward my breasts, but they stopped when they reached my chest. The smile vanished, and the stony expression he usually wore around me slid back into place.