Page 54 of The Kingdom of Flames and Ash

But three days was a blink in Seelie time. It took me twelveyearsto learn that Eldrin had been plotting against me.

When we stepped outside, I took a deep breath, enjoying the dark sky, the snow falling once more, and the scent of mist and vanilla that I hadn’t experienced since I was a child. But even that didn’t bring peace to my restless heart.

As soon as we shut the doors that led into the dungeon, King Erdan cleared his throat. “What is this gauntlet Eldrin referred to?”

“Nothing we need to discuss,” Lira answered, placing her head on my shoulder. “It doesn’t help us with our current problem.”

“If we’re trying to mend the relationship between us and the Unseelie, then we need to be honest with each other.” Queen Sylphia pushed a piece of hair behind her shoulder. “Clearly, this trial isn’t something you want us to learn of, which makes me hesitant to work with the Unseelie.”

Even though I suspected it would cause more problems between her parents and me, I understood. If I were in their place, I’d want to know the same thing. The more Lira tried to evade the question, the more determined the four of them would be to learn the answer. “As you’re aware, I kidnapped Lira from Earth. My intention was to bring her to the Seelie veil and kill her once her magic returned, allowing the Unseelie to returnto our land. I was resolved to fight our bond at first because how could I ever accept a fated mate from the people who’d murdered my parents, kept me prisoner, and then cast us from our homelands into a dragon-ruined kingdom to perish?”

The queen placed a hand over her heart while the king scowled. Hestia’s and Brenin’s faces were twisted in anger, probably as they decided how I should die.

“But it clearly didn’t happen.” Lira stepped closer.Are you trying to get them to hate you again?

They’ve been suspicious of us and doubted my intentions almost the entire time. The only way we’re going to move forward is by being honest with each other, especially since Eldrin is going to continue to pit us against one another.I was willing to do any blasting thing if it helped keep Lira by my side. Even be completely up front with the Seelie.

“That’s the only reason the Unseelie king still has his wings attached right now.” Hestia’s body remained rigid. “But I still want to know about the gauntlet.”

“Hestia,” Brenin warned.

The two guards were better than Lira and Eiric at hiding their time on Earth, but Hestia speaking out of turn was one of the sure signs she’d lived elsewhere for a while.

I opened my mouth to continue, but Lira interjected, “One night, I had the opportunity to escape, but some of the villagers found me. They tried to detain me, and I fought to get away. Since I was technically a prisoner and I’d tried to escape, I precipitated something that had been created to keep the Unseelie in line—the gauntlet. A competition in which every prisoner has a chance to survive three days of trials.”

“It was something I instituted to stop my people from rising against me.” I didn’t want them to believe I’d created it just because of Lira. “I didn’t want Lira to take part, but my wings were tied.”

“You put the Seelie princess into battle with Unseelie prisoners?” The king’s eyes narrowed.

“He protected me.” Lira moved between her family and me. “I would’ve died if it hadn’t been for Tavish intervening, which allowed Eldrin to convince more of the Unseelie to turn away from him. He made mistakes the same way you did by betrothing me to an ashbreath.”

King Erdan’s nostrils flared. “We did what we thought was right at the time.”

“So did he.” She spread her wings, blocking me from her parents.

Once again, Lira was ready to fight to protect me. My heart warmed toward her even more. I couldn’t lose her. I’d come too close so many times already, and I refused for it to happen again.

I needed to kill the dragon prince.

“She’s right, Your Majesties.” Brenin pivoted so he could see both sides of the group. “We don’t need to argue over these things—we need to focus on finding a way to retrieve Eiric and keep Lira from being forced to go to Tìr na Dràgon.”

Lira’s wings lowered slightly, allowing me to see the king and queen exchange a look while Hestia closed her eyes.

“We need to find something that will hurt Eldrin.” Hestia looked skyward like she was searching for answers.

I groaned. “That might be impossible. He only cares about himself.”

“It’s getting late, and we haven’t rested or eaten.” Lira moved between Nightbane and me again and continued, “We should take a moment to clear our heads, and Tavish and I need to settle in here. How about we reconvene first thing in the morning?”

I agreed. Rest would help us think clearer, and we did need to survey the castle. It had been unoccupied for too long.

“That’s a good plan. I can return to the study and review all the information on dragons we have on hand.” King Erdansighed. “And catch up with our people. We’ll come back with fresh breakfast for everyone in the morning.”

Eating food from home sounded too good to be true, but I’d give it all up if that would guarantee Lira would be with me for the rest of eternity.

She hugged both sets of her parents and then turned to me as the royals flew off.

Having her in my childhood home like I’d imagined as a little boy let a smile break through my worry. “Let me find some clothes to change into, and then we’ll check in with Caelan and Finnian.”

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