Page 82 of The Forever Queen

“She is a spoilt child given a powerful gift and nothing more,” Starn bit, almost jealously.

“I do not fear her strength or her anger,” Nemed countered. “I fear the look in her eyes when I tear my life’s—and the life of every mortal king before me—labor from her chest. It is my duty, my obligation, and my destiny for mankind. Yet, I fear no sorceress, no fae, no warrior. I fear the little girl that might look back at me. And I fear I’ll look back at her and remember.”

The fire hand cleared his throat, clasping his bloody hands together before him. The dark sap and blood pulled at his skin, but he hardly noticed, staring a hole into the floor of the room.

“We are but a few moons from finding her. We are breaths full away from hunting the gateway, from laying siege, from conquering what is rightfully ours,” Starn said, his voice deep and clipped with anger.

“And we will show no mercy,” Nemed replied. “We will not wait.”

“You hesitate even now,” Starn argued. “The softness of your heart makes it easier to strike.”

“She is my weakest child, my most useless girl, and my greatest disappointment,” Nemed explained, seemingly enjoying speaking lifelong thoughts aloud. And even here—in this realm in between—Aisling felt the blow of her suspicions come alive by her father’s voice.

“Because I am human,” Nemed continued. “Do not forget your humanity, Starn, lest you find yourself more fae than man.”

“I could never forget?—”

“I hope so,” Nemed said, cutting Starn short. “Regardless, the eve of victory is the best moment to reflect. Soon our plane, the Other, and the Sidhe world will bend the knee to me and to you, son. Our harpoons will sink into the gateway, our fiery blades will drive into their chests, and my hand will steal the curse breaker from my daughter’s chest.”

Starn nodded his head.

“And then?” the crown prince asked.

“And then we take everything. We avenge all those she burned at Lofgren’s Rise, every village she let be devoured by beasts after her coronation, every soldier killed in pursuit of our vengeance. We take everything.”

“Soon?” Starn asked, his voice rising.

“Soon,” Nemed agreed.

“Give me a day,” Starn pushed. “Let every day closer renew our efforts, our spirits, our morale.”

The fire hand lifted his head, meeting his eldest son’s eyes. Violet, they shone brightly, lit with the thought of violence and vengeance alike. The look of a father who enjoyed punishing his children.

“On the last moon of the storm season, we strike,” Nemed said.

“Promise it,” Starn said.

Nemed sucked in a breath, his chest rattling after decades of inhaling forest smoke.

“I promise it.”

CHAPTER XXIX

“Niamh is coming to fetch her,” Lir said, sensing the Seelie queen’s approach.

“The time is nigh,” Peitho said, pushing the owls aside to wrap Aisling in a tight embrace. She kissed her on each cheek, cupping her face between her hands. “Be strong,terra.”

Terra. Rún for sister.

“Be brave, Ash,” Gilrel said, tying her braids to finish.

Aisling couldn’t open her eyes, her body limp with exhaustion.

“Rest and regain strength, Aisling,” Fionn said, kissing her coolly on the cheek.

“Be patient,mo Lúra,” Galad said, pressing a kiss to Aisling’s knuckles in knightly devotion.

“Be wise,” Filverel said with a somber nod of his head, arms crossed as he stood over her bed.

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