Page 36 of The Kingdom of Flames and Ash

“Where the king is and what he decides is none of your concern.” Caelan flapped his wings, rising over their heads. “All of you should turn around and focus on your jobs.”

My parents flew next to us as more Unseelie poured from their homes, joining the protest.

“We deserve to know how he plans to provide for us and when these sunscorched will go home, seeing as they’re eating our few remaining resources.”

More people joined in, voicing their agreement.

Tavish turned toward Dad, and I knew immediately what his plan was.

If you’re going down there, you better be taking me.I arched a brow, holding on to his shoulders tighter.If you want them to ever see me as their queen, I need to be right by your side.

The corner of his mouth tipped upward for a second, but then he nodded.Fine, but don’t go rushing into the crowd to fight. Sometimes, you’re unpredictable.He began the descent, heading straight toward Caelan and the guards at the open door.

I snorted.I’ve been told being impulsive isn’t necessarily a good attribute, but I’m not sure I agree. I like keeping you with your wings prepared to fly.

“There he is,” a woman shouted from below. “And he’s withher.”

People grumbled underneath us, and a few threw sneers my way.

Once Tavish landed between Struan and Caelan, he placed me next to the guard. He glared and said, “Iwill carry her if things go awry.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.” Struan swallowed and placed his hand on the pommel of his sword.

Standing tall, Tavish took a step forward, extending his wings as far as they could go.

My body warmed at the breadth, an indication of the size of another of his body parts that I loved. I tore my gaze away from him and looked toward my parents, who’d remained behind. Mother and Father engaged in conversation as if there weren’t a threat right before us.

“I learned of the shortage not too long ago. Lira and I just came from the cave because we were assessing the damage. It is true that our food supply was impacted, and we’ll be forced to make hard decisions to ensure our survival.”

A man with yellow eyes wrinkled his nose. “It’s because of the Seelie. They should’ve never been allowed to stay.”

Of course the people wouldn’t take responsibility.

Something inside me snapped. I stepped forward, leveling my gaze on the nightfiend. My body swayed a little as fatigue tried to hit, but I refused to show additional weakness in front of them. “The Seelie weren’t the ones throwing the explosive rocks that caused the cave to crumble.”

Tavish’s wings stiffened.Don’t make yourself a target.

I’ve never stopped being one, thorn. That’s part of the problem.Ever since I came to the island, everyone had hated me. Their hatred had bred more hatred, but at some point, it had to end. They’d blame everything on the Seelie if we let this sort of malice consume our hearts.“Yes, the Seelie were wrong to banish you here, but this latest disaster was due to the actions of your own people. Don’t let fear make you lose logic and cast blame where it isn’t warranted. If you’re to be mad at anyone, then it should be the ones who attacked the Seelie without regard for your safety.”

“This is the issue,” the pale man spat out. “The king is weak due to his connection with the Seelie princess. Eldrin was right. He’ll allow us to starve as long as she’s alive and messing with his mind. He doesn’t care about us, and now more of us will die.”

More people joined the chanting, adding to the mob mentality.

I was chilled to the bone, and it had nothing to do with the snow around us. We needed to kill Eldrin for the mere fact that he continued to divide the Unseelie by still breathing.

For every person out here, there was an Unseelie back in their house, watching from the windows with a frown on their face.

The crowd surged forward, mobbing the door, and Struan grabbed my hand and dragged me back into the castle.

“Get Lira out of here,” Tavish shouted as he raised his father’s sword. “They won’t risk killing me, or they’ll lose even more magic.”

Blast that. I wasn’t going anywhere.

I yanked my hand from Struan’s and clutched my own sword. Maybe I’d be forced to leave Tavish soon, but right now, I was here, and I’d damn well fight by his side. I wouldn’t run and leave him to face this alone.

A pale man flapped his cream wings, barreling right toward me. He soared past Tavish just as my mate swung his blade clean through the man’s wings. Blood splashed all over me as the man continued his forward motion despite wailing in pain.

I jabbed my sword forward, the blade stabbing the man straight in the heart. His black eyes widened, and his body shook from the impact.

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