Page 72 of The Court of Thorns and Wings

But what did this mean?

Suddenly, Eiric screamed.

22

LIRA

Cold fear stabbed me in the chest, halting my wings. My body dropped an inch as I spun around to see Eiric straightening her body and fluttering in the same spot.

“I know our kingdom isn’t pretty or nice, but do we need the theatrics?” Finnian pursed his lips, cocking a brow at her.

Eiric glared. “Iraninto something and bounced off. It hadnothingto do with this awful place.”

Dread filled the mate bond, and between all my nerves and distractions, I noticed a faint cold tickle over my skin.Something is brushing my skin that wasn’t there before. Do you feel it?The sensation was similar to Tavish’s magic but held a distinctive edge that made my skin crawl, emphasizing that mine was only at half strength.

No, I don’t,he replied, pulling me to his side, his wings moving and blocking my view of my sister. He scanned the kingdom in front of us. “Stop speaking so loudly. We don’t need to reveal our presence—” He cut off abruptly as the castle doors creaked open.

I faced forward to see Eldrin flying out the front doors with guards flanking him and more behind him. His white hairblew back in the breeze, and his dark wings flapped furiously. He wore dark armor and a dark, thorny crown on his head, contrasting with his snowy skin.

“I hope you have a plan, Tavish.” Finnian’s face looked strained. “Because out of every possibility, I didn’t expect to return tothis.”

“Neither did I, buthe’s not the rightful king.Iam,” Tavish rasped, his wings flapping viciously. “Whatever he did doesn’t matter. I am of the rightful royal blood. Everyone must follow me. I hold the strongest magic.”

That wasn’t how thingshadto work, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to explain that to Tavish. In Earth’s history, a change in leadership occurred often, and part of the time, it was due to the people revolting and wanting a new leader. Surely, that wasn’t the case here; Tavish had sacrificed so much for his people… even if he’d been misguided, in my opinion.

“It’s kind of hard to fly and face him when Eiric can’t get in here.” Finnian exhaled. “Go on, and I’ll stay with her.”

“No need,” Eiric said and appeared at my side. “I got through.” She shrugged. “It was the oddest thing.”

Eldrin was only fifty yards away from us, and at least half the Unseelie people were standing in the stone streets, their eyes wide with surprise, while the remainder watched from their windows, gesturing at Tavish.

Eldrin puffed out his chest and spoke loudly, “We know the Seelie wildling is here even though we can’t see her, which means my traitor of a nephew is using darkness to hide her. The small veil I put up to alert me to her return could only be triggered by a Seelie.”

He was baiting Tavish. I connected with him just as I felt the chill of his magic leaving my body, exposing us to Eldrin.

Tavish, don’t.

But it was too late. Eldrin’s smirk turned into a beaming smile.

Eiric and Finnian inched closer to us, our wings moving in tandem as if we were one.

There is no reason to hide, Lira.Tavish squeezed my hand, making sure everyone saw the gesture. He pushed his calm toward me with certainty.These are my people, and the Unseelie always follow the heir of the late king. They must believe that I died, and Eldrin capitalized on that as my father’s nephew. It made him the logical next king, though the magic wouldn’t pass to him.

“Why are you wearing the Unseelie crown, Eldrin?” Tavish’s voice boomed, amplified by his magic so that everyone could hear.

I wished he hadn’t exposed us like this. I feared that, for the first time in fae history, things wouldn’t go according to expectation. Maybe I was letting my human knowledge affect me in a way that wasn’t relevant here. I had to bank on that.

“When I learned you were injured, despite you turning your wings against me for a Seelie, I came to assist in mending you back to health. To my surprise, I learned you weren’t anywhere in the castle and had abandoned us after two Seelies disguised themselves as our own. When your magic didn’t return to cover the land, I assumed you had died in your callous attempt to free the sunscorched, and thus, I had to become the Unseelie king.” Eldrin reached us and stopped as the guards lined up behind him. “I thought this would be rather clear.”

I’m going to enjoy killing him,Tavish linked, rage boiling within him.I’ll make sure he feels every bit of anger, hurt, betrayal, and vulnerability he made us feel.

Finnian tapped the top of his head. “The crown is too large for you. Maybe you should hand it back to Tavish before you lose it.”

The crown did look as if it might fall over his face at any second.

Knowing I needed to play the part of his dutiful fated mate, I laughed. “Anyone can wear a crown that doesn’t belong to them, and Finnian is right. It’s clear it wasn’t intended for you.” I smiled, noting the pale-blue-haired guard to his right.

Lorne.

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