Page 71 of The Vanishing Throne

I surge forward and Kiaran pulls. As soon as I see a small beach nestled beneath the towering cliffs, determination forces me to move faster, to ignore the pain in my limbs, the exhaustion, everything.

Finally,finally, we make it to a beach covered in perfectly round rocks. I drop onto them and lie down. Thank god I’m not in the damn water any more.

Just over on the cliffs, I hear the pounding footsteps of themortairand I stiffen. I don’t think I can fight just yet. I can’t evenstand.

Kiaran hears it, too, but settles next to me on the rocks, resting his arms on his knees. ‘If Sorcha was telling the truth, she should be sending them back.’ He scans the cliffs as if to be sure. After a while, he seems to relax. ‘Aithinne must have gone to the inlet on the other side of the cliffs. We’ll wait here until she finds us.’

I sit up on the hard pebbles, wincing at how much effort even that takes. ‘Do you believe Sorcha?’

The fae can’t lie, but I’ve learned they have many ways to circumvent the truth. They’re masters at omission or statingatruth, leaving outthe most vital information to trick humans into trusting them.

Kiaran considers my question. ‘Truth can be told in fragments. If Lonnrach really has found a way to seize your power, she’ll be seeking that knowledge for herself.’ He leans back on his hands, seeming at ease despite the icy wind. ‘It seems her brother doesn’t entirely trust her, either.’

The waves crash around us, theirforce grinding rocks together over and over again. Despite the cold, Skye is peaceful. It’s quiet now that themortairhave gone.

Kiaran’s eyes are closed. Water drips from his hair onto where his shirt is open at the throat. I can’t help but think of his words as he pulled me through the waves.

I’ll be right here with you.

Kiaran eases an eye open. ‘You’re staring.’ He sounds like he doesn’t object.

I don’t look away. ‘I have to tell you something.’

‘That sounds vaguely ominous.’

‘Whatever Lonnrach is looking for,’ I say, ‘he – he knew to find it in Skye from me. From my memories.’ I speak quickly beforeKiaran can respond. ‘Derrick told me his home was here on the island, so I thought Lonnrach was searching for the city.’ I finally look away. ‘I didn’t realise it was something else until Sorcha told us.’

Whatever he requires to take your powers is on this island. That’s all I know.

Kiaran is quiet for a long time. Then he gently clasps my wrist to pull up my sleeve. His fingers run over the grooves of my bite marks.

I almost wish I could show him the memories for each one. There are so many of the two of us. Our hunts imprinted on my skin, a story of how we went from reluctant partners to … this. Whatever this is.

Focus.‘Do you think Derrick knows what it is?’ I ask him.

‘No,’ Kiaran says. ‘Something that can steal power would be ancient. Before his life.’ His fingers trail up to the next bite. ‘Pixies were once protectors of certain relics. They were the onlysìthicheanstrong enough to defend objects, but not to use them. Few knew where the pixies lived, and it was rumoured they buried their relics all over the island.’He lifts his gaze to mine.‘What Lonnrach seeks is the very reason I came here thousands of years ago. I destroyed your pixie’s home to find it.’

I jerk away from his touch. I can’t help my guilt over caring for someone who has done so much to hurt someone I love. Kiaran isn’t Kadamach any more. He’s not. But I can’t help but feel like caring for Kiaran means I’m betraying Derrick. Like I’m hurting him, too.

‘What is it, then?’My tone is even, brutally so.

I don’t miss how Kiaran’s expression goes cold, as if he senses that I’m distancing myself. Now he’s pulling away from me, too.

‘Among my kind,’ he says, almost mechanically, ‘there are stories of the firstsìthicheankingdom, one built before a different realm existed for us. It was a place of immense power, created by old magic that doesn’t exist any more except through the Cailleach.’

The Cailleach. The name makes me start as I remember what Lonnrach told me in the prison.

No one has seen the Cailleach for thousands of years.

Kiaran’s speaking again before I can think further. ‘Hostility between factions culminated in a war that destroyed the kingdom and led to the creation of a separate realm. They say a crystal from the palace is still here, hidden somewhere. Full of old magic.’

‘You never found it?’

He shakes his head. ‘But if Lonnrach discovers where it is, he’ll use it to take your powers and kill the Seelie and Unseelie monarchs.’

The heirs she left behind to rule were … unworthy. Without a monarch, the Sìth-bhrùth will wither. Someone must take her place.

I have to know. ‘Why were you searching for the crystal?’

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