Page 47 of The Kingdom of Flames and Ash

“None of that. The Unseelie are here with my blessing, but not the dragons. Nonetheless, our group should stay on course.” Father flapped his brown wings harder, picking up our pace. “Head to Dunscaith as we originally planned. They can follow us there if they have a message to deliver from their royals.”

I expected some of the stress to ease from Tavish, but instead, his body coiled tighter. Our group flew over the trees in the direction of the Unseelie castle, located close to the center of the true Cuil Dorcha. We followed the river embankment, knowing it would lead directly there.

Sorcha flinched. “You’re taking them back to Cuil Dorcha, not to Gleann Solas as prisoners?” She glared in my direction, and I had no doubt she thought that I’d caused all these problems.

I hadn’t been the actual cause… just the catalyst for everything to come to fruition.

“Since Tavish needs to remain here with the Unseelie, should Finnian leave with Lira and take her someplace else?” Caelan’s jaw clenched as he kept glancing in the direction of the dragons.

A strangled gasp left Sorcha, and Caelan finally looked at the newcomer. They both gaped at one another.

I had no clue what was going on, but that didn’t matter. I moved to Tavish’s side, refusing to remain hidden behind him. The dragons would overtake us so they would eventually see me. Trying to hide would only make me look like a coward. “Eldrin would rat us out as soon as the dragons asked questions, so we need to get him away from them.” I had no doubt that Eldrin would do anything to gain favor with the dragons since our goodwill was exhausted.

“Rat us out?” Mother’s forehead wrinkled. “What is a rat?”

Dad pressed his lips together for a moment. “She means Eldrin would inform the dragons of what happened to Lira. It’s an Earth saying.”

“Another one.” Finnian tapped his forehead. “Locked and loaded.” He raised both hands, mimicking guns. “See! I’m learning.”

When Eiric and I escaped Caisteal Solais with Finnian and Tavish, Eiric had given Finnian a crash course in Earth vernacular and symbols, which he had clearly taken to heart. I smiled, but I could feel the frustration in Tavish.

“That’s not helping right now,” Tavish bit out, glaring at his friend. “But Lira is right. Eldrin won’t hesitate to inform the dragons that we’re hiding her from them.”

“And they’re already upset about me being hidden on Earth; the last thing we need to do is upset them more by hiding me in this realm.” I took Tavish’s hand and squeezed, needing him to see reason. “The best thing we can do is face them as a united fae front with me beside both my parents.”

Hurt snapped through our connection, and Tavish’s nostrils flared. “And me,” he rasped, making it clear he wasn’t happy with what I’d said.

Finnian rolled his eyes. “Yes, because Lira standing by her fated mate—the very man who threatens any who so much as touches her—would improve matters. We might as well invite Pyralis to stay with you two for a couple of days so he can see how you hover over each other.”

“She ismymate.” Tavish pounded his chest.

“We all are quite aware.” Caelan finally pulled his focus away from Sorcha and sighed. “But we don’t need to antagonize the dragons more than they already are.”

Father nodded. “Everyone here agrees, so that’s how it should be. If she is standing between her mother and me, rather than beside Tavish, it’ll help the dragons feel more comfortable with her remaining in Gleann Solas, which will permit all of us more time to get answers from the nightfiend who claims he has information that will void the vow. So that’s what we’re going to do.”

Hot anger and cold fear blended together in Tavish, and I flew closer to him, letting our wings brush.

Thorn, it has nothing to do with me not being proud of you. I just need to make sure we don’t make things worse, in case they take it out on E.I hated making him feel this way, but at the same time, I needed to protect my sister the best way I knew how.

He started.I know. I just despise how much influence these dragons have on our relationship. I want to kill the ashbreath, so this whole ruse can be done. I’m tired of someone else believing they have any sort of claim on you.

I feel the same way. Love isn’t enough to describe what I feel for you.In fact, I wasn’t sure what came close. Nothing seemed adequate.

The trees thickened on both sides of the river as we traveled deeper into Cuil Dorcha. Soon, we turned another bend, and in the distance, I could see the top of the Unseelie castle. The sun shone down on the land, and grass, trees, and flowers grew thick. This place was the opposite of the ruined dragon land.

The river ran toward the castle, curving around one side before vanishing. The castle wasn’t as dark as the one in the ruined land, but it looked gray from a distance. Murmurs from the Unseelie above and behind us grew louder, most probably unaware that dragons were approaching.

“Sorcha, return to Gleann Solas and retrieve more guards in case the dragons attempt to cause problems,” Mother commanded. I suspected that the directive came from her so that Father could deny that he called for reinforcements.

Finnian’s brows rose as if he were surprised by Mother’s sternness. “Now I see where Lira gets it.”

I smirked, enjoying the fact that so many people underestimated her. Mother ruled just as strongly as Father, but she had a quieter way and worked more behind the scenes. When called for, her fierceness showed without hesitation.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Sorcha bowed and stole one last glance at Caelan before turning and flying back toward the Seelie kingdom.

The Seelie guards in the front directed people toward the villages they used to live in while the group of prisoners, the guards monitoring them, and our group headed to the grassy fields between the river and Dunscaith. The others spread out, making room for us to land at the double wooden doors that led inside.

The eight of us turned—our backs to the castle—as Eldrin and the other prisoners landed in front of us. Eldrin released Nightbane, whose fur seemed to be more of a matted mess thanever, and he ran straight to my side, squeezing between me and Tavish.

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