Wrath of the Wild Hunt (Heart of the Tithriall #3)

PROLOGUE

Ornella

Two Days Ago

“Read it to me.”

His knuckles slowly glided down my cheek, his touch featherlight and achingly reverent as his fingertips swept under my jaw and along my neck.

Being touched like that, being looked at like that…

I didn’t think I could have denied him anything, and it was as terrifying as it was thrilling.

“If you insist,” I agreed playfully, trying to infuse my voice with exasperation. As if I had not already decided to share these heartfelt words with him.

He smiled as if he knew that and lowered his hands to my hips to support me when I repositioned myself on his lap with my legs still wrapped around him. I raised the diplomatic letter I had spent all morning writing to Amira and pressed it against his chest with mock seriousness.

“My dearest friend,” I began dramatically, and Sage began laughing immediately. His head tilted back with one of those big, beautiful smiles that made it impossible not to smile back at him. “You are laughing already!”

“Were you not intending to be funny?” he asked as he began to twirl his fingers around the end of my braid.

“My dearest friend,” I began again, flicking my eyes up to his smirking face before I continued.

“I am so sorry I could not get word to you sooner, but I am safe and well in Autumn Court with the Wild Hunt. You must also be informed that, in spite of our assumptions, the Wild Hunt are not our enemies.”

My eyes flicked up to Sage again as if to confirm this statement, and he snorted another laugh at me.

“I know Riordan must still perceive Rian as a villain, but the Autumn Prince has been acting in the interests of us all against a greater threat,” I continued.

“He attempted to seek alliances with the griffins, but the Steward Queen would not meet with him.

As a result, he has resorted to treating the griffins as an enemy, but it need not have ever been this way.

And I am certain that if Riordan would grant Rian an audience, then the king would understand.

What you need to know is that the magical barriers between worlds have been eroded by human pollution and are weakening in the Four Courts.

Should those barriers become too thin, it is likely realms could collide.

I know this might sound unbelievable to you, but I have seen where the veil is blackened with rot.

Rian has been taking fey from the Vale and returning them to their courts of origin in order to increase the flow of the Tithriall to the Four Courts.

This has proven to stall the erosion, but it is by no means a solution.

The humans cannot be allowed to continue to pollute their own world when it threatens to destroy our homes as well.

Thus far, the barriers in the Vale do not seem to have been affected by this decay due to the volume of fey living there.

But it is almost certainly an inevitable fate for your homes as well. ”

“That is very well summed,” Sage complimented me as he stroked his hand across my lower back.

“I won’t lie or mislead you,” I read on from my letter, wondering how he would like the next part.

“The more fey that are taken from the Vale, the more likely it is that Riordan’s kingdom will start to decay.

But this is the only way the Wild Hunt has been able to protect their people.

It is not the answer Rian would have chosen, but it is all that has been left to him without allies.

It is imperative we all meet to discuss an alternative solution that makes us allies in this situation rather than enemies. ”

I glanced up at Sage, but he was merely nodding.

“On that note, word has reached us that you seek to ally with King Balor of the Spring Court,” I continued, and he grunted softly in what I had to assume was his approval of this segue.

“It is very unlikely you will make contact with him before we meet, but should you happen to find him, then you need to be wary of his priorities. Rian suspects the old fey monarchs should have passed their power on to younger and stronger heirs long ago, just like griffins. The consequence has been a weakening of fey power that caused our power to erode. But rather than try to rectify the situation, the monarchs have gone into hiding just to keep their waning power. Rian believes he can take their magic and forcefully pass it to their heirs if they continue to refuse to do so, but it is preferable they do it by choice. His interference would undoubtedly cause them harm or even death.”

“Good. They may have heard the rumours that Balor likes to spread about Rian wanting to consume his power for himself,” Sage noted with a frown.

I nodded mutely, unable to meet his eyes as I stared down at the words I had written next. I had been eager to share them with him earlier, but now I grew nervous.

“Go on,” he encouraged gently, tilting his head with a soft smile as if he knew what would come next.

“And lastly, something personal I am eager to share with you is that I have met my mate in the Autumn Court. His name is Sage, he is one of the riders in the Hunt, and I know… you will adore him,” I continued, ignoring the tremor in my hands and the warmth in my cheeks.

“I do not think we discussed the concept of anam, but perhaps Riordan could explain it to you. Sage is… the other half of what humans might call my soul. He is the sanctuary that I have always needed without ever knowing such a haven could exist: the part of me that I’ve been missing and longing for all these centuries. ”

I hesitated as tears began to sting my eyes, and Sage brushed a gentle and reassuring caress down my arm.

“He is pure goodness and kindness: everything I could ever need, and far more than I ever deserved to call mine. Here with him, I can finally feel safe and so much happier than I thought was possible for me.”

I hesitated again, the tears stinging harder this time.

Sage leaned forward to kiss my cheek and jaw. I could not help leaning my forehead against the side of his face to soak him in and revel in a moment of gratitude.

“So fear not for me any longer,” I continued, my voice cracking a bit, but I pressed on in determination to get the words out.

“Send word back to me with the messenger to let us know when you would like to meet us so I may introduce you to Sage and Rian. So that we may come together to negotiate some mutually beneficial solutions. Your loving friend who misses you unbearably, Nell.”

I kept my eyes on the page until my tears had blurred the words completely, but I felt him looking at me.

“Rian will not approve this. It is too—”

“He will, Summer. It is perfect,” Sage promised as he leaned forward to kiss me softly.