Page 103 of Bane of the Wild Hunt

“And you just happened to amass an army?”

“Oh, it was intentional,” Rian assured me with the hint of a cocky smirk. “As you no doubt know, blood feuding is a nasty habit to break for some of the old bloodlines. And in a time when our court needed unity, some remained intent on division that was costing precious fey lives. So I decided to move an army between the warring nations to discourage them,” Rian explained.

“Right. And then you started attacking the Vale.”

“I never attacked them. I wanted negotiation, but their queen would not receive an audience with… What was it she called us?” Rian asked, turning to Ciaran who leaned against a decorative table with his arms crossed.

“Vagrants and cutthroats,” the blond rider replied.

“Ah, yes,” Rian murmured with a shake of his head and a derisive snort. “But now you know just how dire the situation has become, and things are getting worse as the Rot continues to spread faster. Uniting Ahnnaòin was just the first step. The Four Courts must all be conciliated if we are to deal with the source of the pollution.”

Sage had said as much the day he first showed me the blight poisoning the autumn forest, but the concept of a war between the fey and the Vale still terrified me. I was less concerned with the impact for humans, but the griffins had provided a haven for our people when we desperately needed it long ago. I knew Sage felt they had done it for selfish reasons because they wanted access to the magic that fey inherently fostered through our elemental bodies. But I still believed that we needed to at least try and communicate with them about this.

“Fighting this war will cost fey lives,” I pointed out.

“A fact that is not lost on me. It is why I have not yet made a move in that direction,” said Rian. “It will always be my preference to use diplomacy, but when it becomes impossible, then I won’t hesitate to do what is necessary to prevent the courts from collapsing.”

I sat for a moment, staring down at the mouthpiece of the pipe that I’d nearly forgotten was in my hand while Rian told me of his endeavours to save his court. And I realized this was the moment that I’d been dreading when I needed to make a dangerous choice. A choice I feared to make in case I was too blinded by yearning for myanamwhile the lives of millions of fey and griffins hinged on what I was about to do.

But the Tithriall wanted me to save Amira and protect Riordan for a reason. I just had to believe that I was taken captive, forced to join the Wild Hunt, and then found myanamamong themfor a reason.

“What if… I could get the griffins to meet?” I asked Rian tentatively. And the words somehow felt like both a betrayal and a heavy burden was lifted.

I raised my eyes to the Autumn Prince to gauge his reaction and was surprised to find that he did not look shocked by my words. Instead, he seemed quite pleased as if I’d said exactly what he was waiting to hear.

“You owe me fiftyóir,” Darragh declared to Ciaran who rolled his eyes.

“I was hoping that you would say that,” Rian told me, ignoring his riders. “Seeing as you were the one who returned King Riordan to the Vale, I hoped you would have some sway with him.”

My eyes widened before I could conceal the reaction, and Rian smiled triumphantly, evidently pleased to have taken me off guard.

He knew! He knew, and he’d waited to see if he could trust me enough to be honest about my connection to the Griffin King. I didn’t know if that made me angry or… appreciative for the chance to prove myself to him.

“What is he talking about?” Sage asked, and I winced before glancing guiltily up at his concerned expression.

“Our Vale spies came home this afternoon to inform me that the Griffin King returned to Kórinthos the same day we took her,” Rian explained. “His curse is broken.”

“He was the one she was protecting,” Ciaran insisted to myanam. “I always knew she was a Vale spy.”

I growled and tensed, but Rian held up a hand as if to tell me to stand down while he turned to look at Ciaran.

“Her loyalty to her former king is admirable. She was prepared to lay down her life just to distract us from him. That is the kind of dedication we need as well.”

“But she is dedicated to the enemy!” Ciaran argued in exasperation.

“I suspect she knows perfectly well that he represents millions of lives. Am I right?” Rian asked, tilting his head back toward me with his brows raised expectantly.

“Of course,” I growled, my eyes narrowing on Ciaran who returned the glare tenfold.

“And her motivation to protect those lives has made her reveal her connection to the king now that she better understands our intentions. His personal interests are not her priority, the interests of all the lives he represents are. Honestly, Ciaran,” Rian sighed before he returned his attention to me again. “Is that why you passed between worlds so often in the last few months? You were helping the king break his curse and return home,” Rian guessed.

“No! I only met Riordan a few days before I met you. Obviously I knew who he was and was prepared to help get him home. But…”

I hesitated in uncertainty, trying to decide how much was safe to reveal about my precious friend.

“Secrets are a poison I will not tolerate among my riders, Ornella. We want the same things, and if we are to get them on mutually agreeable terms then we must purgeallthe secrets.Now,” Rian commanded, becoming truly firm with me for the first time since I had walked into his tent.

He was right, but it went against everything I knew. Everything that had kept me safe all these years. I wanted what he was offering, I wanted what Sage promised me, but what potential cost was I prepared to pay for it?

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