9. Lira

9

LIRA

A t Mom's strange reaction, I startled back a step while Tavish's wings tensed as if he was prepared to fight her.

Mom flew back out of Tavish's reach, and the hand that held the sword shook.

"Hestia," Dad exclaimed, raising both eyebrows. "Is something wrong?"

Caelan unsheathed his sword, preparing to intervene, while my heart galloped.

I loved Mom, but if she were to attack Tavish, I had no doubt where my loyalty would lie. I'd feel no true guilt either because Tavish hadn't done anything wrong. Even though it hadn't truly been my biological parents' place, they'd still given Mom their blessing to return Tavish's sword. There was no reason for her to deny him.

"I…" Mom chewed on her bottom lip and took a ragged breath. "I don't know. A strange sensation came over me, like I shouldn't give it back to him." She cleared her throat and moved forward, handing the sword to Tavish. "But of course, it's his, especially since the royals agreed upon it."

Something still didn't seem normal with her, but when Tavish took hold of the sword once more, air filled my lungs more easily.

Shock filtered through our fated-mate bond as Tavish lowered the sword to his side. The hilt was made of smooth dark stone, and the edges of the blade were white as if they'd been dipped in snow.

Does it feel strange having the sword back? I connected.

I didn't expect it to, but I believe so. He lifted the sword slightly, examining it once more. "I'd like my sheath as well." He nodded to the extra belt Mom had around her waist.

As Mom removed the belt, Tavish followed suit and handed the sword he'd been carrying to me.

I froze. Normally, I didn't carry a weapon. Before, I'd been a prisoner, so the option had never been provided outside of the gauntlet. Then, back in Seelie, we'd had guards. I'd never considered asking for one.

After our discussion this morning, I planned on finding you a weapon, but this is easier now that I have my father's sword back. Since we agreed that you'll be by my side, no matter the threat, you need to always be prepared to protect yourself. You should know living here isn't nearly as safe as Gleann Solas, even for me. He tilted his head, watching to see my reaction.

He was right. I needed to be armed, and even in Gleann Solas, it wouldn't have been a horrible decision to carry a weapon. Since coming back to Ardanos, I'd learned that enemies could be anywhere, even in the guise of your closest family member.

I took the sword in its sheath, realizing how silly it'd appear over my gown, but I didn't care. This was about survival, not vanity. Tavish and I both fastened our weapons around ourselves.

"Lira, don't worry about your safety. We can provide guards to protect you if he can't." Father placed a hand on his chest, his forehead lined with concern. "There's no need for you to carry a weapon, and the fact that the night—"

"If you're about to hurl an insult at my fated mate, I'd advise you not to." Tavish's guilt pulsed through the bond, so I had to shut my father up. "Not only is he the person who means the most to me, but you're the one who forced him and his people to these ruined land. The fact that you stole their homeland is bad enough, but to come here and speak ill of Tavish after all the Unseelie pain and suffering at your hands is more than an insult. It's repulsive and vile."

Nostrils flaring, Father fisted his hands at his sides. Mother laid a hand on his shoulder once again like she constantly needed to provide him comfort.

Warmth spread through our bond as Tavish connected, You're blasting sexy, especially right now.

Don't distract me. You can show me how attractive I am later. I didn't want to seem like I crumbled under Father's glare.

"Tavish isn't thrilled with giving me this weapon, believe me. I can feel his trepidation, but unlike you, he respects my wishes and knows that I'm more than capable of protecting myself and wielding a sword." I lifted my chin, wanting Father to truly feel my defiance.

"She's right, dear." Mother turned toward him and continued, "Nothing is lost by her carrying a weapon, or even me for that matter. Besides, she was trained with a sword until she went to Earth."

"And on Earth, we trained for self-defense even when we didn't remember our fae lives." Dad smiled. "She and Eiric were both naturals at it. That's the one thing saving me from going insane while thinking about Eiric with the dragons."

E .

My eyes burned from the threat of tears. We needed to unearth a way to break the contract between Prince Pyralis and me and get my sister back.

It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since we lost her, but it felt like months. Each second that passed made me even more anxious about her remaining with the dragons. "And the dragons already made it clear they feel as if the Seelie insulted them twice. Eiric's trick of glamouring herself as me will make them that much angrier." I would give anything, even my own freedom, for Eiric to be here.

Father stretched out his fingers and wings as if he was trying to release his anger. He took in a steady breath. "We need to get your cousin to tell us how to break the contract so we don't risk Lira."

"Fate, yes." Caelan placed his sword back at his side and rubbed his temples. "Because I suspect I know what the demand will be when the time comes, and if we can't prevent it, my king will lose all sense of rationale like he does anytime it comes to her ." He glanced at me, but instead of the twisted expression of disgust he usually threw my way, he hung his head as if he'd given up on fighting my place here.

"We have to make Eldrin suffer. Right now, he thinks he's in control," Tavish spat. "He already gloated this morning. We need to break his confidence."

I stretched out my wings, the pain where the woman had shot me still twinging. It was odd. Even when I'd been near death after the gauntlet, my magic had healed me quickly. Now it seemed to be hindered somehow. My magic thrummed a little, but not nearly as strong as normal.

Still, I needed to see Finnian and Lorne and try to heal them both enough to make a difference. "We could pull one of Father's tricks and not feed him or allow him water."

"Tricks?" Father rocked back on his heels. "Withholding food and water isn't a trick at all. It's about making the other person weak. It's common knowledge."

Mom snickered, sounding a little more like herself.

There went my smart-ass comment. It clearly hadn't hit the mark with anyone besides her and Dad.

"I'm all for allowing the thornling to starve." Caelan frowned. "Our food supply is already strained, especially with all the extra mouths to feed, and I haven't heard back from the village fae I sent out to assess the damage to the cave."

I'd forgotten about the blast behind the village. Worse, he was right. The three thousand Unseelie here could eat only twice a day. With the Seelie who joined us doubling our numbers, we would be reduced to once a day, and that was if the cave wasn't damaged.

"Get an update on that and inform the guards Eldrin is to receive no sustenance." Tavish took my hand and tugged me toward the hallway as he continued, "Lira and I are going to check on Finnian and Lorne. We can all reconvene here in two hours to provide updates if that works for the Seelie king and queen?" His eyes narrowed, but that was the only sign that he'd forced himself to be respectful of my parents.

"We're agreeable to that." Father puffed out his chest. "Hestia and Brenin will watch over the Seelie weapons and make sure the counts haven't changed."

Now that our tasks had been decided, Tavish and I walked down the hallway in the opposite direction of our bedchamber. As we strolled into the area, the walls seemed to darken, and the floor grew uneven.

We reached a door to the left, and Tavish led me inside. As soon as I entered, my feet dragged like weights were wrapped around my ankles. Finnian lay shirtless in the middle of a king-sized bed, his face, chest, and arms still charred. Frost-blue blankets, almost the shade of his eyes, covered him from the waist down. His chest rose slowly as if his breathing was labored.

I thought he'd be more healed than this. I'd expected him to not be in great condition but at least sitting up and making a jab as soon as we entered.

Dragon fire is hard to heal, so it takes more time. Tavish scowled. And the dragon prince knew it. It's easy for fae to lose their lives when engulfed by it.

Dragon magic was different from that of the faes', and before I'd left for Earth, my parents had avoided the dragons and rarely spoken of them. Clearly, that had changed after the alliance.

Entering the room, I noticed it was about half the size of Tavish's, with two large windows that looked out the back side of the village. The room screamed untidy ; I had to step around various tunics and pants on the floor. That seemed particularly like Finnian, who enjoyed getting lost in the moment.

When I reached his bedside, I sat gently on the mattress, not wanting to cause him more discomfort. I touched the top of his shoulder.

Displeasure spun through the bond as Tavish huffed.

I paused, glancing over my shoulder at him. What's the matter?

You're sitting on another man's bed and touching him while he's shirtless. Tavish's expression turned stony. This isn't easy for me.

Smirking, I winked. But you're the only one who gets the pleasure of seeing me naked.

That may be so, but the memory of walking in and finding you with the bottom of your gown around your waist and Finnian leaning over you on the bed remains in my head, and not making this moment any easier.

Unable to help it, I laughed. It'd been innocent and had happened while I was a prisoner here. Finnian had walked in just after I'd tried to put on a gown over my wet body, and it had gotten stuck. He was trying to help me pull it down, and by the time Tavish got there, we almost had the issue resolved, but it had looked like a compromising position. So much so that Tavish had tried to harm Finnian, and Finnian had used Tavish's chessboard to protect himself. That looked way worse than it truly was.

A faint groan came from Finnian, and then he opened his eyes a bit. They focused on me, and he croaked, "What does a man need to do in order to get some rest around here?" As he spoke, his charred skin cracked a little more, deepening his wounds.

The laughter vanished, and my stomach churned. Finnian wanted to lighten the situation even when it caused him more pain.

My magic pulsed, both the healing and the water, though it wasn't nearly as much as I wanted. Still, a little bit had to be better than nothing.

"I want to try to help you if that's okay," I whispered.

He nodded faintly, but that was enough.

I tugged at the magic inside me, the tingles of the healing magic swirling from the center of my chest near where the fated-mate bond sat, and funneled it toward my hand.

Feet shuffled behind me, and Tavish positioned himself at my side. His frustration vanished, and I could feel the worry he had for his closest friend.

As magic pushed inside him, the lines on Finnian's face smoothed. The chill of his magic mixed with mine, but it wasn't comforting like it was with Tavish. Ignoring the strange sensation, I tried to clear my head so my magic would do what needed to be done.

Finnian's breathing eased, and I wondered if Lorne was also this bad off. I needed to save enough to help him as well. Neither of them deserved this misery.

When my magic dwindled enough that I needed to stop to save some for Lorne, I opened my eyes and saw that Finnian's face was no longer charred, and scabs were healing all over it. I withdrew my magic from him. "I need to help Lorne as well, or I'd do more."

Finnian's eyes opened a little bit wider. "Of course. I'm overjoyed that the sharp, throbbing torment is gone. I still feel raw but a whole lot better."

"I'm glad. I'll try to do more tomorrow."

"Don't overextend yourself." He winked. "Even if your touch is the best thing I've experienced in my whole lifetime."

"That's it." Tavish moved to the side and placed his hands on his sword. "I'm going to end you."

I dropped my hand and rolled my eyes. "He's goading you. You should know better." I stood and wrapped my arms around Tavish's waist but leveled my gaze at Finnian. "And you should know better than to pester him when you can't even get out of bed. It's like you have a death wish, which is not okay with me after I used so much magic on you."

"Oh." He tilted his head slightly. "So next time, tell you that before you use your healing touch?"

Tavish scoffed while I snorted. "Yes. That's exactly what I mean."

The twinkle Finnian's eyes normally held wasn't there, which told me he was putting on a brave face. He didn't like appearing weak, just like the rest of us, and he used humor to deflect.

He needed rest, and I needed to determine what was preventing me from recharging as quickly as I had before so I could help them better.

"Get some rest. We'll come back tomorrow."

Tavish and I left Finnian's room and then went down another two doors to see Lorne. His room was even smaller than Finnian's, with two queen-size beds inside. Lorne lay on the one closest to the door.

A small cloth doll sat in the middle of the other bed, which was close to the window, and I tilted my head. Is Lorne married?

No, I believe Struan and Isla are staying with him since Struan is watching over the guards here. Tavish scanned the room.

Odd slashes marred the walls as if they'd been damaged, and I didn't want to imagine how.

Unlike Finnian, Lorne was wearing a shirt. And though his face and neck were burned, he didn't seem as bad off as Finnian. Still, his charred skin appeared painful.

This time, not wanting to aggravate Tavish, I didn't sit on the bed. Tavish didn't feel nearly as loyal to Lorne as he did his close friend.

I leaned down and touched his shoulder, pushing my magic inside him. Just like Finnian, mixing my magic with Lorne's felt strange, but I powered through it the best I could. When my magic became significantly low, I stopped.

This time, when I straightened, the walls spun around me. I'd pushed my magical limits once again.

Tavish's arm slid around my waist, anchoring me to him. The buzz of our connection sprang to life. I laid my head on his chest and listened to the beating of his heart, which matched my own.

"You did too much, didn't you?" Tavish sighed, not even bothering to scold me.

"You don't seem surprised." I lifted my head and stared into those light-gray eyes that shone like silver.

He kissed my forehead. I figured you would and want to lecture you, but I know it won't do any good. You're the most stubborn person I know and will do all it takes to help other people, especially the ones you feel loyalty toward.

I smiled. Sounds like someone else I know.

I'm not nearly as good as you, sprite. At the end of the day, if I had to burn the realm down for you, I'd do it without hesitation. There's nothing more important in this realm than you, not even my people.

I should've chastised him for saying that, but it would do as much good as him asking me not to drain myself while helping our friends. We were who we were, and I loved that he cherished me as I was.

And I'll do the same thing for you if it ever comes to that. I cupped his cheek. We need them healed so we can retrieve Eiric. We need the people we trust on our team, and that list is short.

Struan's voice came from outside the door. "Go check on Finola and ensure that she doesn't need anything. I'll keep watch tonight, and I'm going to rest until then."

"Yes, sir," a female responded as the door opened. "I'll let her know."

The door opened, and Struan huffed. As he entered the room, his gaze landed on us, and his mouth dropped open. "Your Majesty." His wide-eyed gaze landed on me as he said, "I didn't want to do it, but I was given no choice."

Suspicion and rage slammed into Tavish, and he tucked me into his side as he drew his sword.