Page 89 of The Court of Thorns and Wings

As Eiric, Caelan, and Finnian landed behind me, I pulled back the darkness so that the person who lived here could see us.

“Struan?” Lorne called. “It’s me. We need those—”

My chest seized, and I pulled Lira behind me. This was a trap, and we’d all made a big mistake in trusting Lorne. Struan wasone of Eldrin’s most loyal guards, and he’d wanted Lira to die in the gauntlet.

Struan appeared, his face flushed black and his eyes flashing. He said, “You shouldn’t have come here.”

27

LIRA

My wings fluttered, and a mild ache coursed through their base. Tavish pushed me behind him, startling me.

Refusing to cower behind my mate, I stepped to the side just as a man with a bruise-colored face came out of the hallway in front of us.

Stomach dropping, I remembered exactly who the man was and understood the tension and terror churning through our bond into me.

This was Struan, the guard who had gleefully placed the chains on my wings and wished me to fail in the gauntlet.

Why had Lorne taken ushere?

Struan’s eyes flashed. “You shouldn’t have come here.”

“Everyone, move back,” Tavish growled as his wings stretched outward to hide Eiric, Finnian, Caelan, and me from Struan’s view.

The swirl of Tavish’s magic had an inky sensation, which meant one thing—he’d called on his nightmare magic to use against them. “I should’ve known not to trust you.”

I batted past Tavish’s onyx wing to see Lorne’s face. I had a hard time believing he’d turn on us. If he’d continued to playme for a fool after I’d chosen to trust him again, I wasn’t sure I would ever trust another Unseelie beyond Tavish, Finnian, and Caelan.

Lorne dropped his sword and wrapped his arms around his body. “My King, no.” He took in a ragged breath. “I swear to you, it’s not what you think.”

Struan threaded his fingers into his pale-green hair and clutched his head, then sagged to his knees.

Small flutters of wings caught my attention as a little girl flew into the room. She couldn’t have been older than ten, and her crystal-blue eyes widened as she jerked back. Her face blanched, and she opened her mouth.

Adrenaline shot through me, and I flew over Lorne and Struan and reached the girl in time to cover her mouth. “Please, don’t,” I whispered, pulling her back to my chest. She bit down on my fingers, digging her teeth into my flesh, and I wanted to scream.

I hissed, and Nightbane appeared beside us. He snarled, drool dripping from his teeth as he took in the threat toward me.

The little girl’s jaw went slack, and I yanked my hand free from her mouth to see my honey-colored blood dripping down the front of the girl’s pale-pink nightgown.

She whimpered, and her small body shook.

A lump formed in my throat as my stomach churned. “Nightbane, calm down. She’s just scared.”

“I’m not scared of anyone.” She lifted her chin despite the way her body quivered. “Release my father from your illusions, or I’ll kill you all.”

Finnian squatted next to Lorne’s sagging body and swiped the guard’s sword from the floor. He pointed the edge of the blade at the young girl and beamed. “Aren’t you a little shadowflare? Your bite is ferocious for one so small.”

“Isla, go back to your room,” Struan said slowly from where he cowered on the floor. “They aren’t here to harm you.”

“But I can’t lose you, Father.” Her bottom lip stuck out.

My heart shattered. Tavish could not continue down this road.Tavish, we should leave.

They know we’re here,he replied, his irises turning the stormy gray that showed he was angry or out of control. In this moment, he felt both.

Eldrin already knows we’re nearby, so it’s not like being here will give Eldrin and the others an advantage.Memories of leaving my parents when I was around this little girl’s age slammed into me. The pain of feeling abandoned was forever seared into my soul, even though it hadn’t been the truth. No one deserved to go through that, especially not a young girl trying to protect her father from the strongest Unseelie alive.

---