Page 80 of The King of Frost and Shadows

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’dhoped he’d come talk to me instead ofthis.” 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’sstruggling? 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 aboutthat.” 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 dragonshad 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 gameand 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 soundedright… 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, includingmyself, 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’tsure 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.

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