11. Tavish

11

TAVISH

M y body coiled, and I glanced at Lira sleeping peacefully on her side. She needed her rest; I couldn't allow anyone to wake her. The Seelie queen was right. Lira wouldn't wait long before going after her sister, which meant I needed her to heal to reduce the risk of the dragon prince catching her.

"The—" Caelan started, and I lifted a hand, wordlessly telling him to stop.

I eased into the hallway and shut the door behind me.

Caelan's jaw dropped. "You're worried about waking her when I just informed you that we have a serious problem?"

My wings spasmed, but with the two other Unseelie guards here, I needed to maintain my calm. "Of course. Lira is injured, and her healing is a priority for me. The dragon will be back sooner rather than later, and I need her at full strength. Besides, two seconds won't make a drastic change with whatever you have to alert me of."

He scowled, clearly disliking the answer. But then he shook his head. "The cave. It was damaged in the attack."

Now I understood his concern. Our food supply was already limited, and the mushrooms from the cave were the one thing that provided us with what fae truly needed to survive. The fish only helped us feel fuller and held off the pangs of starvation. "How bad?"

Buidhean, the guard with dark-yellow hair, flinched, giving me the answer I didn't want. Caelan gulped at the question.

"How much of the food supply was impacted?" The walls seemed to close in on me, but I forced myself to remain upright without shaking. A king's fear or desperation had to stay hidden because if the people saw their leader reacting negatively, the situation would grow worse exponentially.

"The majority of it." Buidhean placed a hand on his sword as if his weapon would help solve the issue. "We have a two- or three-day food reserve, tops, with the number of Seelie here with us. After that, we're all going to starve."

Queen Sylphia gasped. "How is that possible? There have to be other places where mushrooms grow. Some of our guards can help you retrieve more if it's a difficult location."

I arched a brow. "The cave Caelan mentioned is the only place where the mushrooms grow, and it took twelve years to produce enough that we could eat two meals a day. For a long time, we ate one, which is why over half of my people perished. There's no getting them back unless your Earth Seelie are willing to regenerate the land."

"But how can that be?" The queen's brows furrowed. "We instructed our guards to ensure you had the means to grow them before they left you here. They should've become more abundant."

"They regenerated the land just enough for us to have half a meal each day." The memories of starvation and parents sacrificing their own needs for their children sprang into my head. So many had starved so that their children could survive. People had stolen from each other, blaming me for my role in how they wound up here. It had hardened my heart and turned my focus toward vengeance. Yet, here the Seelie were, encroaching on our land, and I was allowing it because of one woman.

Though I had no regrets about completing the bond with Lira, the part of me that blamed the Seelie for everything surged inside me again.

I pushed it away because if I did anything to the Seelie, Lira could be injured in the cross fire. Harming my mate was the one line I refused to cross ever again. "A lot of us died to make sure the survivors lived."

Sylphia grimaced and bit her bottom lip. "That wasn't the plan."

I lifted a brow, unsure whether to believe her or not. "If you'd ever come back to check on us, we would have told you."

She rocked back on her wooden heels. "You'd have fought us if we'd appeared in front of you. Even with my daughter in your midst, your people rose against us, ignoring your command to end the attack."

"You forced us to live on a ruined dragon island after you tore us from our home and the source of our magic!" Maybe they hadn't murdered my parents, but they'd still taken away everything that was mine, including Lira, and caused thousands of my people to die. "Would you expect us to welcome you here?" I wanted to say more, but I closed my mouth for Lira's sake. Even though she wasn't awake, she'd learn of the disagreement if it went too far.

Arguing wouldn't change anything. I turned to Caelan. "Cut everyone's meals back to one and a half." I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to keep my frustration and anger from becoming too intense.

"No need." The Seelie queen flapped her wings, rising into the air. "Let me locate Erdan—we will have a few of our guards replenish the health of the cave and grow what was lost and then some. None of us can afford to go without nourishment."

"It would be a blasting shame if you and your people were forced to starve like the Unseelie have for years." Caelan wrinkled his nose.

I understood the sentiment far too well.

The queen tossed her long, light-blonde hair over her shoulder. "We didn't have to come, and yet, here we are, assisting in protecting your land."

"Only because Lira freed Tavish and returned here with him," Caelan spat.

"Are you going to allow him to talk to me with such disdain?" Sylphia's wings beat the air choppily, conveying her frustration.

I wouldn't scold Caelan for speaking the truth, and right then, we had more important matters at hand. Unfortunately, the Seelie were the only ones who could assist with our immediate needs. "I agree there's no reason to argue, and we're wasting precious time. Please see if there are earth fae who can aid us in healing the cave, but let's not make this information common knowledge… not yet. I fear it would throw the entire kingdom into turmoil."

With Lira unwell, Finnian and Lorne severely injured, and me unable to tell which guards I could rely on, I couldn't stop a war. But if we didn't address the food problem, we might as well hand Lira over to the dragon prince because when the dragons returned, we wouldn't be able to withstand their attack.

"Fair point." Sylphia nodded and flew out the closest window into our village, leaving me alone with Caelan and the guards.

Wanting to return to Lira, I placed a hand on the door handle and said, "For now, take stock of the food inventory for the village. Pay careful attention that no one takes more than their allocated rations. If the Seelie don't agree to help replenish the land, there will be trouble when I address the need for the reduction in food."

Buidhean and the other guard turned and headed toward the castle kitchen.

Once the two were far enough away, I rejoined Lira in the bedroom. Right now, there wasn't a guard watching over our room since Finola and Struan were splitting their time watching Eldrin.

"Are you sure all of this is wise?" Caelan exhaled loudly. "You've handed the Seelie our village weapons and allowed the same king and queen who forced us to move here to stay under the roof of this castle. I worry that you aren't thinking clearly because of—"

My patience snapped. I spun around, grabbing his neck and slamming him into the wall. A little piece of stone fell onto his head.

"I've allowed you to question and disrespect my mate for far too long." I bared my teeth. "This ends now. I'm not sure how much clearer I can be, but I'll try one last time out of respect for our friendship."

His eyes widened, and I tightened my grip on his windpipe. I needed him to realize that nothing would ever change between Lira and me, no matter how desperately he wanted it to. "Lira is my fated mate, my future wife, and your future queen . You will respect our relationship and her place within our court, or you will be named a traitor."

A hand touched my shoulder, and a jolt shot down my arm and into my chest. That was when I noticed the love and concern floating from Lira to me.

I jerked my head to see her standing beside me with a sad smile on her face. She said, "I love that you want to protect me, but I also appreciate Caelan. Every concern he's ever had has come from a place of loyalty to you. It's okay for him to be hesitant about me. The Seelie did force this horrible situation on you, and at first, you resented me so much that you tried to fight our connection." She kissed my cheek and placed her free hand on my wrist. She then linked, Release him before you do something you'll regret.

My chest clenched as every fiber in my being wanted to continue to hold Caelan in my grip to ensure that he understood this was more than a threat… It was a promise. Yet, I found myself relieved when I released him and dropped my hand back to my side.

Lira swayed on her feet, her exhaustion still within her.

Caelan gasped. He wasn't used to me turning my wrath on him; I almost always targeted Finnian. Yet, ever since I'd kidnapped Lira, Finnian and I had grown closer because of his acceptance of her.

Lira moved between Caelan and me and faced him. "I do appreciate that you're trying to protect my mate from me, but let me be clear." She pressed her back to my chest, and the thrum of our connection hummed between us. "Tavish and I have completed our bond, and I only want what's best for him. Why would I have broken him out of the Seelie prison if I weren't loyal to him? If you don't accept our relationship, I can't promise I'll be around to stop Tavish next time. So please, accept me. I love him and will be by his side no matter what."

Unable to stop myself, especially after everything she'd just said, I slipped my arms around her waist, careful of the wounds in her wings. After my parents' deaths, I'd believed I'd never experience joy again, but Lira had changed that for me in just the small amount of time she'd been here.

As the food shortage problem pressed on me, terror seized my lungs. I couldn't imagine losing her, not now. If the Seelie refused to help, I wasn't sure how I would protect Lira from the dragon prince.

"You're right," Caelan croaked. He cleared his throat and rubbed the handprint I'd left behind. "I struggle because his instinct is to protect you over his people."

"And that won't blasting change," I growled. "She comes first, and then my people. My need to protect them hasn't vanished, and Lira protects them the same as I do." Even when I'd wanted to punish everyone for turning their wings on us, Lira had encouraged me to give them a second chance like she'd given me. "You need to accept that."

"Believe me." He coughed uncomfortably. "I do, and I won't continue to question it any longer. Your friendship and happiness are important to me."

The uncomfortable temperature of my blood eased, and I took a deep breath, inhaling Lira's moonlight-mist-and-rose scent.

"That doesn't change our need to rely on the Seelie to solve this problem." Caelan shook his head. "I'm not comfortable with that."

Lira's head tilted back. "How long have I been asleep?" She glanced out the window. "What have I missed?"

"You've been asleep for thirty minutes at most." Despite Caelan making the correct decision to locate me and inform me of the problem, I hated that, ultimately, it was me who had woken her up. Now that she was aware that there was a problem, there was no chance she'd fall back asleep. And if I didn't update her, she'd be upset with me. My shoulders sagged as I filled her in on what we'd learned and what her mother planned to do.

She turned so that she could see both Caelan and me. "How long until someone figures out what you've learned?"

"Not long." Caelan rolled his shoulders back and spread his wings. "The rocks that fell have been cleared. That was one reason it took us so long to assess the damage—the cave had almost completely collapsed."

Lira's worry merged with mine, making every limb feel heavy.

We need to find Father so we can talk with him as well. Lira's cobalt eyes glistened with unshed tears. He needs to hear this from you.

She was right, but there had been no chance I was going to leave Lira in our bedchamber alone and unguarded. I lifted her into my arms and moved toward the open window. "Lira and I are going to find the Seelie king. Please make sure things are handled."

Caelan nodded. "I'll head down with the others to ensure the rations are distributed appropriately."

Without another word, I flew out the window, enjoying the way Lira melted into my arms.

I know fae don't apologize, but don't you think you and Caelan need to discuss what just happened?

I smirked and kissed the top of her head. We said everything that needed to be said. We're fine now. In fact, it was Lira who'd made Caelan understand the issue. She had no clue how influential she was.

Men here make as much sense as the ones on Earth. It has to be due to testosterone.

I had no idea what she was referring to.

My gaze landed on the Seelie king and queen, Brenin, and Hestia, at the bottom of the castle stairs. I headed in their direction, and the four of them took flight our way.

We met halfway, and I could sense Lira's heart racing with mine.

The king's face tightened. "Can you take us to the cave?"

I hadn't expected that, but I nodded. The king had earth power, and he was the strongest of the fae. "Follow us."

I turned and led them the long way around the castle toward the cave, flying under the jagged mountain peak like the Unseelie who'd headed the attack yesterday. We flew behind the village to where the cave was built into the peak.

The cave had collapsed, and the stone had been piled up on one side. Mushrooms lay crushed or ripped into small pieces all over the ground. The cavern now had only about half the growing space it did before.

"Brenin and I should have enough magic to restore the cave," Erdan said and gestured for Brenin to follow him.

I landed at the opening and placed Lira gently on the rocky ground. The queen and Hestia landed beside us.

The king and Brenin raised their hands and spread them out wide. The cave took on a faint, sparkly brown glow, but nothing else happened.

"Something isn't right." Hestia wrung her hands as the two men continued to channel their magic.

"We aren't on Seelie land, so maybe their power isn't as strong." The queen placed her hands on her hips.

Lira took my hand and kept her focus on her father and dad.

More brown swirls filled the cave floor, and I noticed sweat beading both men's foreheads. The cave started to shake.

The king gripped his head and stumbled back just as the top of the cave crumbled.

"Father, no!" Lira shouted, flying toward him.