22. Tavish

22

TAVISH

T he feral glint in Lira's eye startled me despite the determination that powered through our connection. Her hand darted to my side and removed my sword from its sheath. She jerked it behind her and arched a brow. "I'm taking this."

My brows furrowed, and I shrugged. "Anything of mine is yours. You know this."

"No. I mean permanently." She lifted the sword, the weapon too large for her small stature. She shook a little as she held it. "I can sense the magic now, but it's so faint I never would've noticed if I hadn't been searching for it. It has the chill of frost and darkness magic."

"This is my father's sword… the last thing he wielded." Then my bones grew heavy, and my head jerked toward Hestia. I grated, "Is that the weapon Father used to kill Mother and himself?" Each word hurt my throat worse than the last.

Hestia nodded. The walls seemed to close in on me.

The stench of Eldrin's blood added to the nausea that settled hard in my stomach. For the last twelve years, I'd been carrying that dragon-born sword around like a prize. And even now, the thought of replacing the weapon with another sword had anger bubbling inside me.

"Which is an even better reason for you not to carry it any longer." Lira's expression softened. "If this will drive you mad—" She cut off the rest.

Her concern swirled through my chest, helping ease the ache and the irrational anger. If taking the sword away would keep her safe, I'd give it up. Nothing was more important to me than Lira… not even my people. "I understand and agree, but can I hold it one last time? After learning that it contains dragon magic, I need to sense it at least once more."

Her eyes darkened, searching deep within me for something. After a second, she nodded and handed it back to me.

"It's very faint, so I'm not quite sure how it holds the dragon magic." She bit her bottom lip, watching me.

The sword somehow felt different in my hand. More like a threat, and the solace of it being my father's sword didn't comfort me anymore. It felt heavier than before, but the weight hadn't increased. It was the burden it now represented.

Concentrating on the hilt, I searched for any hint of magic to confirm Eldrin's words. With the weapon once again on me, I wanted to bring Eldrin back to life so I could kill the wildling myself. The bloodthirsty desire slammed into me and stole my breath.

If the sword caused such intense feelings, no wonder Hestia hadn't wanted to relinquish it to me.

I inhaled, pushing the urge away, and focused on the magic pulsing from the weapon.

At first, all I could feel was the strong essence of Unseelie magic. The frigidness of the frost, the chill of the shadows, and the sluggish feeling of the illusion magic that permeated our land. The magic twined around me, taking my focus away, until I homed in on a faint magical pulse full of volatility… like the volcano of the ruined island.

"How is that possible?" I whispered, narrowing my eyes. None of the porous rocks we'd found on the former dragon land felt anything like this hilt.

Lira tilted her head, examining the stone. "I never paid attention until now since I assumed the sword was made of Unseelie materials, but this looks like the obsidian rock back on Earth. It's made by rapidly cooling lava, which would be a water source. The quick cooling has to be what kept residual dragon magic within the rock, allowing it to be used as such a weapon. Think about the lava rocks and how they killed the mushrooms in the cave. The rocks were formed by the dragon's magic."

"How in Ardanos do you know this?" The queen's eyes widened. "We don't have any volcanoes in our land."

Brenin smiled. "On Earth, Lira was in her senior year at college, majoring in geology. She knows more about Earth rocks than any normal person does."

"As I mentioned before, many humans believe that rocks and gemstones can hold different energies… things that we would call magic here. It's not nearly on the same scale on Earth as here, but this is further proof that humans aren't as daft as some fae would like to believe. Anyway, the idea has merit here. The obsidian is made from lava… the very thing that would ruin the land, like where the Unseelie were living. And if lava is a product of their power source, then it makes sense that their dragon flames are so potent." Lira's attention landed back on me. "There's no telling what this has been doing to you. We need to destroy it."

Anger rippled through me once again, but I gritted my teeth. The emotion didn't make sense, especially since I didn't want to carry this weapon anymore. "I agree. And the extra boost of power was how Father managed to cloak the realm in darkness. Now that feat makes more sense. His power couldn't have been strengthened that much by fae magic."

"Maybe we shouldn't be so rash." Caelan lifted a hand. "If this sword contains dragon magic, then it might be helpful for when we attack the dragons to retrieve Eiric."

The thought of getting close to the dragons, knowing how desperate they were to get Lira to breed with Pyralis, made me clench my free hand. My chest thudded. "But then we'd risk Lira."

Lira lifted her chin, the skin around her eyes tightening. "I love you, but I need to be clear. I refuse to allow my sister to die. She put herself in that situation to protect me, and I won't be able to live with myself if I allow her to die."

I gritted my teeth, trying to contain the crazed emotions taking over. "The thought of you in danger doesn't sit well with me. I can't risk you. You're too important."

"So is Eiric." She gestured to her father and mother. "She's important to me , and I refuse to allow her to die because she loves me."

Lira's parents cringed and glanced at each other, and Hestia and Brenin's expressions became strained.

My shoulders relaxed. The Seelie royals agreed with me.

"Sprout, Eiric is important to all of us, but—" the king started.

"With no disrespect," Finnian interrupted, bowing slightly with a wink at my mate.

The eye he left open would be the one I'd remove in a moment. I could leave it behind with Eldrin's body so the guards could clean it up with my cousin's remains.

"Not going to retrieve Eiric won't accomplish what we desire." Finnian steepled his hands in a grand gesture. "If the dragons are that desperate for Lira, then they'll come straight here to fight us as soon as they realize that Lira won't be handing herself over."

In my haze to protect her, I hadn't thought beyond the deadline. Unfortunately, Finnian was right, so maybe I wouldn't remove the eye completely. Just damage it enough that he'd spend the rest of his life with some sort of patch.

Lira placed a hand on my shoulder, and the jolt of our connection eased more of my discomfort. "And we'd be fighting on Seelie and Unseelie lands, which they won't hesitate to destroy. It's best to take our fight to them, especially if we can catch them off guard."

I didn't like the sound of that.

At all.

If I didn't settle my emotions, I feared my wings would get in a bind and make Lira more resolute. As much as I loved how she thought for herself, at times like this, I wished she'd be more pliable to my way of thinking.

We could still have a betrayer among us, and I refused to risk Lira more than necessary. "Why don't we head inside the castle to discuss this instead of talking in the prison cell?"

"Agreed." King Erdan took a few steps back, giving us an opening. "It's best if we discuss things in private, away from prying ears. Not taking a stance may be something we should consider." He scanned the room coyly, indicating that we should join his ruse.

My wings tensed. I'd assumed Eldrin had been the only one discussing such things with the dragons, but we didn't know who was loyal to Eldrin and might want to take his place. They'd want to prove their worth to the dragons. "Clearly, that's what I would prefer to do. And if all the royals are for it, then we should set up precautions if we allow the dragons to even come into our land. I agree; let's take this conversation elsewhere."

Lira's nostrils flared, but she nodded. I'm remaining quiet but not out of agreement. I just don't want anyone who shouldn't to overhear my ideas and plans.

I closed my eyes. Sprite, you've made your stance clear. This is all a performance in case there's still a traitor among us.

"I'll head out first to ensure nothing has been set in motion by Eldrin's death." Brenin flew out with King Erdan and Queen Sylphia strolling after him, giving him time to scout the area.

Lira reached across my body, placing her hand right above mine on the sword's hilt. Her voice popped into my head. I worry about you carrying it on you at all times after learning what it did to your father. However, we need to put the sword away in case we do need it. She didn't yank at the sword; she was merely making the request.

Hestia placed her hand on her own weapon, watching the exchange. She was another who'd gained my favor for the way she protected and loved Lira.

The fact that Lira gave me a choice made removing my hand and allowing her to carry the sword easier.

Our bond expanded, indicating that she'd been worried, and I hated that I'd put her through undue stress. I'd caused her enough grief.

Dropping her hand from the weapon, Hestia rolled her shoulders while Lira held the sword at her side, blasting stunning with Eldrin's blood spattered across her gown, her face flushed still from the adrenaline that coursed through her, and with the sword at her hip, she was the epitome of royal, swordsfae, and perfection. Add in the way she loved those close to her, the concern she had for others, her fierce personality, and she had to be the most perfect being in Ardanos.

Some of the anger receded, and I took her hand and led her back outside. I commanded, "Lorne, get someone to clean all this up and relieve you down here. Now that Eldrin is eliminated, I'm not as worried about someone doing something foolish." I needed to pretend we didn't have anything else to worry about. I hoped that we didn't, but with everything that had transpired, there was no way to be certain.

When we stepped back outside, the sun shone faintly through the dark clouds I allowed to hover. The Unseelie preferred darkness, but now that we had returned home, some light helped aid nature with growth and, most importantly, Lira needed it. Seelie fae weren't made to be without the light.

Flying back toward the front of the castle to enter through the window, I looked at Lira and asked, A geologist? You went somewhere to learn about that?

She smiled sadly, causing my breath to catch and our bond to constrict slightly. On Earth, children attend school to learn, and once they master the basics, some continue their education in a subject that interests them. Water and earth always spoke to me in a way that didn't make sense to humans. It made me want to learn more about the planet so I could understand why the elements brought me such peace. It wasn't until I returned here and remembered my heritage and my royal blood that I finally knew why.

I couldn't imagine what it was like growing up as a human with no recollection of fae life. It must have been confusing, something I hadn't considered… until she had an explanation as to how the rocks made of dragon lava could hamper the land even after they left. Though the explosive lava rocks didn't contain dragon magic but rather the poison that affected the land.

Soon, the eight of us returned to the dining area, where our food remained as it had been when we'd rushed out, fearing Lira was in danger. Lira placed the sword against the wall in the corner of the room while the Seelie king took the seat across from me once more, the queen next to him and across from Lira.

"Despite what was said in the prison, I'm assuming we're retrieving Eiric from the ashbreath?" Finnian asked, sitting next to Lira.

I hated to consider going to war, but I'd do anything to ensure the dragons never touched Lira again. "You're right. They would come here to fight for Lira, which is unacceptable. However, we have to plan this perfectly."

"If they come here, they'll want to make us weak, which would require destroying our land as much as possible." The king took a bite of his bread and honey. "We need to take the fight to them."

"Your Majesty, I do like the thought of the fight not happening on our land." Hestia stood at the end of the table, pacing in front of the window. "But we know nothing about the land there or how they're organized."

Lira leaned into my side and said, "And won't their magic be strongest on their own land?"

"The dragons' magic is internal and manifests through their flames, which affect the air and ground around them, making it harsh and barren and creating the lava that produces the volcanoes where it spills out." The queen took a sip of water. "That's why they're able to move locations—their magic travels with them, unlike ours, which flows through the land we live on."

Another reason that dragons were so untrustworthy. Their magic killed nature, the very thing the fae respected and clung to. The image of the ruined land and the suffering that my people had to endure crashed over me once more. Living like that had been horrific.

"Didn't the fae visit the island the dragons relocated to and document the area?" Caelan propped himself on the seat of one of the windows, stretching out his leg. "Shouldn't the information be in the Seelie library somewhere?"

Sighing, Brenin stretched out his wings. "Yes, the four of us stayed up late, researching dragons, and we had details about the island, but they've lived there for over fifty years now, and it will have already started to react to their magic."

"And we have no idea how the dragons populated the place. Where they placed their castle, where their villages are, nothing," Hestia added.

The more we discussed, the more I realized we were still at a major disadvantage. Yes, we'd learned the dragons had manipulated us into the contract, which made it void, but that didn't extinguish the real threat. The dragons wanted Lira, and they'd do whatever it took to take her from me. The idea of losing her had my mind racing and desperation sinking its claws into my chest.

Lira fidgeted. "Didn't you get any information when you promised my hand to the dragon prince? Shouldn't you at least have answers to some of those questions?"

King Erdan hung his head. "Our land was dying, and we thought we had a common enemy that needed to be contained fast. The dragons pushed for the agreement before they'd aid us, so no. We didn't obtain any information or even think to ask many questions at the time. We believed we'd learn it when the time came."

She laughed bitterly. "Well, that's worked out well for us, hasn't it?"

I placed my hand on her thigh, trying to provide comfort. "We'll do the best that we can."

"We can do better than that." Lira lifted her chin in defiance, her one tell when she knew whatever she said was going to upset someone. "I'll hand myself over, see the dragon land, and relay all that information to Tavish. Eiric will be safe, and you'll know exactly where I am."

My vision turned black, and I jumped to my feet, spreading out my wings behind me. "The blast you will!"