Page 29 of The Court of Thorns and Wings

My breath caught. “You believe me?”

“You may be impulsive, but your intuition is like no one else’s I’ve ever known.” She leaned her head against my shoulder. “If you say he’s your mate, I believe you. That doesn’t make anything easier—in fact, it’s going to make all of this harder—but we’ll figure it out together.”

I smiled, though my chest ached with agony and longing. “Because that’s what sisters do.” I couldn’t fathom Eiric not being here beside me. I loved her so much.

“You might be a princess, and I might be the daughter of the two highest royal guards, but you aren’t getting rid of me.” She lifted her head, narrowing her eyes at me. “You still feel like as much of a sister here in Gleann Solas as you did on Earth, and I know my parents still think of you as their daughter.”

“I’d never want to get rid of you three. You’re my family too.”

I hugged her tightly, thankful she was safe and sound. I’d been so fearful that Eldrin had taken her and I’d never see her again.

Eldrin.

The bastard was here.

Hot rage spread throughout my body, causing my limbs to stiffen. I needed to see the pompous prick now that he was captive here. I didn’t want anyone else to have the privilege of killing him.

Determination flooded me, and I dropped my hands.

“What’s wrong?” Eiric tilted her head.

“If Eldrin is in the holding cell, I need to see him and confirm it with my own eyes.” I flapped my wings, heading toward the wooden double doors.

“As long as we don’t get in the way,” she replied, following me.

Opening the doors, I glanced back at my room. It hadn’t changed at all since I’d left. It looked like a shrine to the child they had given up. The walls were painted pink, and the lanterns danced with blue flames.

It represented a version of myself I barely remembered anymore.

Pushing the nostalgia from my mind, I found my door unguarded. I wasn’t a prisoner here… yet.

We flew down white hallways with flowers of every color growing along the walls. The floral scents soothed some of the anxiety inside me as we took the long hallways to the prison area. Unlike the layout of Tavish’s castle, Seelie prisoners were held at the opposite end of the castle, nowhere near my parents’ room or mine.

When the white walls morphed into the gray stone used for the prison cells, I heard the murmur of voices ahead.

“You’re sure the veil went back up after you brought them in?” Father asked. “We need to ensure they can’t enter and surprise us.”

“We’re sure, Your Majesty,” a male guard responded. “We used some of the reserved dead Unseelie royal blood to recover the break.”

“Then it’s time to wake the nightfiends up,” Father commanded.

The answering chuckles reminded me of the way the Unseelie had sounded when they were preparing to torture me. My skin crawled, but I tried to push past that trauma.

“Let me have the first kick,” a guard said.

My fated-mate connection with Tavish warmed.

Kicking noises began, and the fated-mate bond came to life. Pain flowed from Tavish into me, and a lump formed in my throat.

Tavish?I mind-melded, desperate to know what was happening.You’re alive?

Lira?Tavish replied, the warmth of his hope surging inside me.Stay in your room. I’ll find a way to reach you. Trust me.

“That’s not just an Unseelie.” Mother gasped. “I can feel his power. That has to be the Unseelie king.”

A guard inhaled sharply. “That’s impossible. Brielle said she killed him.”

“Yet here I stand,” Tavish growled. “Here to take back what you stole from me.”

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