Page 71 of The Court of Thorns and Wings

Finally, Fate had blessed us. The first sign that maybe things would turn for the better.

We waited to leave until the moon was rising and the faint shadows of darkness shrouded the land, knowing the Seelie would expect us to make our move while the moon was higher in the sky. We flew over the water, and the strength of my magic slipped as we left our true kingdom behind.

Finnian and Eiric flanked Lira and me, with Finnian on my left and Eiric on Lira’s right. Our wings beat in a similar rhythm as we flew high in the sky. I kept the darkness close to us, not wanting to risk the dragons locating us with their keen eyesight.

Every so often, Eiric tugged at the long, dark-green dress she and Lira had found. She’d demanded to keep her sheath and sword, which I’d agreed with. Whether Eiric was in Seelie guard attire or not, she’d need to protect herself once we were back onland. Lira was competent with a sword as well, and I’d be giving her one too. She needed a sword to protect herself in case we got separated if Eldrin attacked us on our return to the ruined lands.

After an hour of flight with no danger, Eiric and Finnian began having the Earth conversation she’d offered to have. I learned a lot of pointless vocabulary that only Eiric, Lira, and her parents would ever know. I tried to focus on the conversation, seeing the way Lira enjoyed Finnian’s foolish questions and interpretations, but each moment we came closer to returning to my people, the problems I’d left behind reared in my head. I hoped Eldrin was still alive so I could kill him. After all his deceptions, I needed to be the one to use my sword and stab him in the heart.

Lira’s wings brushed mine as she reached for my hand. The jolt sparked between us, easing some of my turmoil and tiredness from the physical exertion.

Are you thinking about Eldrin?She squeezed my hand comfortingly.

Of course she’d know. She was the other half of my soul and could sense my feelings the same way I could hers.I hope Caelan found him and wasn’t forced to kill him.I hated that I’d hinted he had my permission if needed. That I’d wanted him dead but didn’t think I could do it myself without risking my magic over the debt I owed him.

Not anymore. I wouldn’t feel complete unless I was the one who punished him.

I won’t lie.Her gorgeous emerald eyes hardened.I’d love to see the wildling die at your hands, especially after what he’s done to us.Her disgust made our bond feel like grainy sand.

I didn’t have to know what she was remembering. Though the scar had faded from her healing magic, I remembered exactly how it had looked, especially on the night she’d received it and she’d refused to tell me what had happened.

Eldrin had threatened her Earth family if she told anyone he’d attacked her while she was bathing. The first thing I’d do to him was cut his eyes out for laying them on Lira like that. Then I’d chop off his hands for touching her before stabbing him in the heart. That would be the minimum, but based on whatever he said, I might draw out the torture in front of my people so they could see what happened to anyone who dared to hurt my mate in any way, even if it made her uncomfortable.

Don’t fret. If he’s alive, we’ll make sure he dies a fitting death for what he’s done to us,I replied. She would have a say in the ways he was punished if she desired.

The steep, jagged, ruined spikes of the land we’d been forced to relocate to broke through the skyline in the distance. Living here had been difficult for all of us, and after returning to the Unseelie land and feeling the strength it provided, the land before me didn’t feel remotely like home.

I didn’t notice before because I didn’t have my memories, but… why do you call the places on this island the same names as the ones back in your actual home?Lira connected.

My heart grew heavy, but with Lira by my side, there was no doubt I’d be fine. At that moment, I realized she was my actual home. It was her presence.When we relocated here, I wanted to make this place feel familiar. As a fourteen-year-old boy, I decided that using the same names would make things easier.I’d been so young and foolish, but I’d tried.

Did it?Lira tilted her head, a few wispy pieces of her blonde hair flying into her face.

Not really, but no one questioned me.I inhaled, smelling the brimstone of the dead land we were approaching.We were all looking for something to cling to.

You’re truly amazing.Awe swelled through the connection.I doubt I could’ve done half as well as you at fourteen.

I smirked, the tenderness of her affection and words nearly choking me.You didn’t have magic and wings, and you survived the gauntlet. I have no doubt that at ten, you would’ve been a better royal than me.

“This is the land you’ve been living on?” Eiric gasped.

“It’s amazingly awful, isn’t it?” Finnian chuckled. “But yes, this has been our living quarters since your people forced us to leave our true kingdom behind.”

The island was five hundred yards in front of us. The dark castle seemed to hover in the sky, and the village came into focus down below. Everywhere else was dirt and rock, proof that the dragons had killed the land before moving on.

“It’s something.” Eiric’s voice deepened with what sounded like pity. “I can’t believe this is where they sent you.”

Normally, that would have angered me, but instead, it endeared her to me a little more. She seemed to care, similar to Lira.

Concern swirled from Lira. “Tavish, when did you begin recloaking the island in shadows?”

I lifted my brows as something sank inside me. “I haven’t.” I was so used to it being hidden in darkness that it hadn’t hit me that I wasn’t the one doing it.

“Can Caelan do that?” Lira’s eyes widened.

We were upon the island, but my heart stopped beating. “No. Only members of the royal line can do that.”

Eldrin.

---