4. Lira

4

LIRA

I jumped forward, my heart lurching into my throat, trying to stop Nightbane in time.

Sprite, Tavish connected, his concern slamming into me just as Mother exclaimed, "Lira, don't!"

My arms caught Nightbane's waist, his momentum jerking my body. The injury in my wings spread misery through my back as I tangled my fingers into his fur. "Nightbane, stop," I gritted out, tugging back but trying not to do it hard enough to hurt him.

I wished that I could tap into my healing magic since that seemed to calm him, but it hadn't yet sparked back inside me.

Thankfully, he stopped a few feet shy of my parents, but his snarls became more vicious, and his body shook with anger.

I'm beginning to suspect that you're trying to test whether I'm truly immortal. Tavish scowled as he landed in front of Nightbane, blocking my parents. My heart has never beat so frantically as it has since you came back into my life.

If I wasn't suffering, I probably would've smiled, but not now; holding the tears back so I didn't look weak was the priority. Father would be a huge pain in the ass about the beast if he hurt Mother. We don't need anything else working against us.

"Put that dangerous animal away." Father's voice boomed and echoed against the dark walls of the barren room. "And save my daughter before it attacks her."

I grunted, unable to keep the noise contained as I went to my knees on the ground, the tattered ends of my gray dress protecting my skin from the chill of the floor. I straightened but made sure to keep my hand on Nightbane. "He won't harm me."

As I shifted my attention back to them, I saw Mom flanking Father and Dad protecting Mother. The two guards on their outsides had their swords in hand, waiting for Nightbane to attack again.

Father's normally tamed chestnut-brown hair was disheveled from travel, and it was a tad disconcerting to stare into cobalt eyes that appeared nearly identical to mine. "But he tried to attack us, and you're Seelie."

He always came back to the divide between the two magics, not seeing anything beyond the type that flowed in our blood.

"He'll attack anyone he believes is a threat to Lira." Tavish lifted his chin. "Lira, it would be better if the command came from you instead of me."

Once again, Tavish was giving me the opportunity to prove myself, not only to my parents but to his people. The only guard I truly had on my side was Lorne. Struan and the others served the king, which included the relationships he had with other people.

Running a hand over Nightbane's fur, I noticed Mother's flush gilding her normally fair skin and freckles, and her sparkly blue wings fluttered, causing her light-blonde waves to lift haphazardly over her shoulders.

My parents usually presented themselves as very put together, but in this moment, both royals looked untidy and clearly didn't feel comfortable, especially with Nightbane's presence.

Turning my back to them, I slid between Tavish and Nightbane. I had to squat because the cù-sìth remained crouched. I cupped his face and pressed my forehead to his. I needed him to see that I didn't feel threatened by my parents' presence. "Don't attack them. Please ."

Nightbane was displeased, but his snarls eased into impatient huffs.

Like Tavish, the more time I spent with the animal, the more he endeared himself to me.

Knowing we had a blast ton of information we needed to discuss with both sets of my parents, I rose to stand next to Tavish. Nightbane eased forward, guarding my other side, and pressed against me. The heat he emitted kept a shiver from running down my spine.

"Isn't that a rare Unseelie animal?" Father's forehead creased, and his sun-kissed complexion turned several shades lighter. "Why would it be so partial to Lira?"

"I'm not sure how you haven't noticed, but your daughter is quite exceptional." Tavish's face was filled with adoration as he kissed me on my forehead. "Even some of the Unseelie fae are partial to her and not me."

My face burned, but I refused to hide because I wasn't ashamed. Just uncomfortable with the attention. "As much as I'd love to beat around the bush, we should get straight to business."

"Beat around the bush?" Father scanned the room. "We said we wouldn't fight unless forced to, and I don't see a bush nearby. And what is this ‘business'? Is that some location on this horrid island?"

"Your Majesty." Mom lowered her sword but kept it at her side. "She is speaking as humans do on Earth. She wants to discuss the matters at hand, like her freeing the nightfiends and having Eiric go along with the plan. Speaking of which, where is my daughter?"

I tightened my fingers in Nightbane's fur, trying not to mouth off. Even though she and Dad had been great parents on Earth, whenever Eiric had gotten into trouble, Mom had always blamed me. Granted, most of the time, I'd deserved it.

The realization that Eiric was gone damn near ripped me in half again. I needed them all to know where she was. "She's—"

"I'm good with having a direct conversation, especially when my daughter is standing here injured ." Father's face grew haggard. "This is why we wanted to keep you away from him. The Unseelie are nothing but trouble."

Disgust oozed into our bond as Tavish's hand clenched mine tighter. He said, "If you hadn't kidnapped your daughter and imprisoned me, then what happened here would have been avoided. Because of your meddling, my cousin tried to overthrow me."

" Kidnapped my daughter? How is that possible when she's Seelie? And if you were truly a strong leader, you would have nothing to prove to your people, and your cousin wouldn't have dared risk betraying you." Father wrinkled his nose like Tavish was beneath him.

"Whoa." I lifted my hands, needing to stop this pissing match between two kings. I should've known this would happen. "Everyone, take a deep breath. Tossing insults at each other isn't going to make things better." I placed my hands on my hips, trying to ignore the way my back muscles protested. I wanted to hunch over. "Father, the only reason Eldrin even believed he had a chance of stealing the crown was due to the horrible conditions forced upon the Unseelie fae."

"Because of what his father did to the realm." Mother placed a hand on her chest. "You make it sound like we are the villains. We did what needed to be done to ensure that the Seelie magic remained strong. Our magic requires both the sun and the moon. It cannot work cloaked in complete darkness."

"Forgive me if I believe that coming onto our land, killing my parents, taking me while I was injured and unable to protect myself, and throwing me into a holding cell makes you the villains in my mind." The heartbreak that haunted Tavish daily came back to the forefront.

I couldn't imagine waking up to find my parents murdered.

Father sucked in a breath, his brown wings tensing. "Why would you accuse us of killing your parents? You know better. You were there when it all happened."

My mouth dried, and the walls closed in on me. I couldn't believe that my father would try to wordsmith and dance around the fact that our people had killed them. "Father, this isn't something to be political about. Tavish woke up with the Seelie guards standing over him."

"One of the guards was me, Lira." Mom ran a hand over her outfit. "No Seelie killed them. Our orders were to take the king alive."

Tavish shook his head. "I don't understand how you can say that. That's a lie. I was there, and you were standing over them with blood on your sword."

"Unseelie guards attacked us, and we fought them off. That's where the blood came from." Mom blinked and then winced, recalling the memory. "We had to fight our way into the royal chambers. You must have been knocked unconscious during the scuffle. Our intent was to capture both your mother and father, not for them to die. One of our guards captured Queen Morven, and we tried to use her to capture King Dunach without more bloodshed. Your father only pretended he was going to surrender. Then, when he got close to us, he stabbed the queen in the heart before shoving the blade through his stomach, ending both their lives. It was chaotic, and the Unseelie retaliated with a vengeance.

"When you regained consciousness, you screamed, and I noticed a pool of blood underneath you. I knew I needed to get you away from the battle, so I carried you back to Seelie. We couldn't risk the true heir dying and the magic becoming unbalanced."

A strange emotion I couldn't read crashed through the bond to me. Tavish's shoulders sagged as if his understanding of his entire world had just crumbled. He spun around, addressing his guards. "How did we not know this?"

A guard with mustard-colored hair cleared his throat. "Your Majesty, as you know, we locked all four of the royals in the king's chambers. The Seelie weren't able to come through the windows since they were sealed, so they fought their way to you. Torcall and Lorne stayed behind to guard the door, but when the Seelie breached the bedchambers, they were both injured in the battle."

"Four?" My lungs seized. I suspected I knew who the fourth person was, but I needed confirmation.

"The king, the queen, Prince Tavish, and Eldrin. The four remaining members of the royal family. The king had taken Eldrin in when he was a small boy and raised him like his own until Tavish came along, but even then, they remained close. Tavish's father demanded that Eldrin be included in the family's protection," the guard explained.

Understanding slammed into me. Eldrin felt that he was the firstborn and entitled to lead. My stomach revolted. "Was he injured?"

Tavish shook his head. "He hid under the bed. Dad tried to get me to do the same, but I didn't want to look weak. I stayed out there beside them."

My brows furrowed. "Why didn't the three of you hide too?" I didn't mention his hidden bunker because I already knew why they couldn't reach it. Especially since we might need to use it again one day if we couldn't determine a way to break the contract my parents had made with the dragons and I might have to turn myself over to Pyralis to save my sister.

Tavish pinched the bridge of his nose. "The Seelie wouldn't leave until we'd been located, and Father refused to be a coward."

That one day had set Tavish's and my lives on a whole different course than we'd expected. He wound up alone, trying to rule and trusting his one remaining family member, who tried to take the throne from him. Whereas I'd been promised to a dragon and sent to Earth to live with no memories of my childhood. It was a mess, and now my sister was the one paying the price. She hadn't done a damn thing wrong and was an innocent.

"A coward cloaks the sky in darkness while remaining in his castle in his kingdom," Father spat. "And forces us to ally with dragons in order to survive."

Tavish braced, but I'd had enough. We were dwelling on facts that couldn't be changed, and at least now, we understood that the Seelie hadn't killed his parents.

"We need to deal with the past, but right now, there's a more important threat." I karate chopped the air, needing them to focus on me. "Prince Pyralis came here and killed some Unseelie before attempting to kidnap me." I was beginning to see a theme.

"Thank Fate he didn't get you." Mother's wings lowered.

"Only because of Eiric." I licked my lips, preparing for my next words. I wasn't sure how they'd react to the news, but we needed their help to get her back.

Dad grinned proudly. "That's my girl. Where is she?"

I swallowed, and Tavish stepped closer to me, our arms brushing. Our proximity eased his turmoil but emphasized that my emotions were a strangled mess. Because of that, I understood something I hadn't realized 'til now.

I didn't want to see their disappointment and anger at me when they found out it was my fault Eiric was taken. I should've done better. "When Prince Pyralis appeared, she glamoured us both. I didn't realize she had. The dragon prince took her instead of me." A tear trickled down my cheek, but I couldn't stop talking. "Tavish, Finnian, and Lorne went after the dragon, but they all got hurt. Tavish was hit by the dragon's tail, and Finnian and Lorne…they're charred from the flames."

"Blighted abyss." Mom's chest heaved.

"He took her?" Dad's voice cracked.

Father ran a hand down his face. "How did the dragon even know you were here?"

Good question. One that I hadn't fully considered since we hadn't had a moment to collect our thoughts.

"We didn't inform the dragons you left for Unseelie territory." Mother bit her bottom lip.

The moment stretched taut between us until Tavish's emotions narrowed to one.

Rage.

It pulsed from him, increasing the temperature of my own blood in response.

"I believe I know how." Tavish grimaced. "My blasted cousin. He spoke to the dragon like he was annoyed that he'd come here, but he didn't seem surprised."

His words were a kick in my gut. Eldrin had told Pyralis that he needed more time, and then the dragon prince had burned seven Unseelie guards to death just moments before he'd taken Eiric. "We should visit him now ."

Tavish nodded. "I need to talk with Caelan anyway."

"I want to speak with Eldrin as well." Dad was seething.

A scream came from outside the castle. The sound was raw, full of anger, and followed by an explosion.

The walls shook as the floor rolled underneath our feet.

"No! Guards, to the prison. Immediately ." Tavish took flight, rushing off in the direction of the prison. He'd better not be attempting to escape again. Caelan is too injured to fight alone.

With my injured wings, I couldn't keep up, but I took off at a steady run. Each step jolted my wings, but I pushed through the pain, desperate to fight alongside Tavish.

"Lira, stay here with us," Father shouted. "Brenin and Hestia can go with them. The Unseelie could try to kill us at any time."

"I'm going with Tavish." I pumped my arms, moving as fast as I could, when Dad swooped down and picked me up.

"You don't need to make your injuries worse," he said, and I allowed him to carry me. "Besides, we need you to give us directions."

I didn't like feeling weak, but this would get me to Tavish more quickly and make sure Eldrin didn't escape. I led them through the turns, and just as we flew by the night chambers, I sensed Tavish's confusion as another explosion came from outside.

What's going on? It didn't feel as if someone was trying to get into the castle.

Eldrin is locked up and not at risk of escaping, Tavish replied.

I heard beating wings that had to be him and Struan coming back in this direction.

Dad passed by a window, and I said, "Wait."

He obliged. Mom landed beside us, and the three of us looked outside.

Immediately, I wished the commotion had been caused by Eldrin trying to escape. That would be far better than what I saw happening out there.