Page 74 of The Kingdom of Flames and Ash

Of course, she’d be the one behind the attempt on my life. It was probably why she’d wanted to enter first.

Are you in danger?Tavish’s fear strangled our bond.I knew I shouldn’t have left you!

Sorcha stopped directly over my attacker with her sword at the back of his neck. “Why are you here, Greason? You know you’ve been banished from the castle.”

Exhaling, I leaned over Nightbane, checking his breathing. I tried to slow my racing heart, but I struggled. The last time I’d seen Greason, I’d given him sunberry tarts, distracting him so I could steal the key that would allow me to free Tavish and Finnian from their chains. My actions had cost this man his job, so there was clearly resentment.I’m not in danger anymore. An ally guard is here, but Tavish, the man who attacked me, is the guard who must have been blamed for your escape.

At least I know what he looks like so I can kill him upon my return.His hatred pulsed through our bond.What did he do to you?

Nothing.I didn’t want to answer that for so many reasons.I stopped him before he could even get his hands on me.He’s laid out on the floor.

I rubbed Nightbane’s fur, and my hand hit some sort of narrow object. I yanked it from his skin and saw that it was a dart. He must have been drugged with something similar to what the Seelie guards had used on me when they’d taken me back to Gleann Solas right after Tavish and I had completed our fated-mate bond.

Sorcha moved the edge of her blade under Greason’s chin, forcing him to lift his head.

He wore a tattered dark tunic and holey pants, a sharp contrast to the golden armor he’d donned as a guard.

“Answer me,” she growled. “How did you even know she was here?”

That was the real question, but I suspected the answer to that was clear. “Gaelle was in my room when Nightbane and I first arrived. She could have informed others.” It wasn’t that we were purposely trying to keep my presence here a secret, but thefewer people who were aware, the less hysteria it would cause while Tavish and the others were away. Even though I hoped no one here would betray us, some Seelie might feel loyalty to the dragons since the details of what had truly happened hadn’t been circulated yet. We had to be careful and hide our plans until Eiric got back here safely.

She glanced over her shoulder at me before refocusing on the enemy. She lifted the sword higher, and I noted honey-colored blood welling from where his skin must have gotten cut.

“You’re already in enough trouble; don’t make it worse. What were you doing here?”

“Getting vengeance for what the princess did to me,” he answered and sneered at me like I didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as him. “If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have been shamed and forced to work the fields.”

“Nightbane hadn’t done anything to you, yet you hurt him.” I lifted the dart so both he and Sorcha could see. “And Tavish and Finnian being imprisoned was foolish. They deserved to be free, and we didn’t harm you when we could have.”

“You didn’tharmme?” He scoffed and stumbled to his feet. “I got demoted from high fae. Generations of my heritage and loyalty to the king gone because ofyourblazing loyalty to the worst of the nightfiends. Seeing how easily he managed to manipulate you, it’s best if we rid the realm of your existence. You’re a threat to my king and queen. Eliminating you will prove my worth to them once more.”

My head jerked back, and I swallowed a laugh. He believed every word he spoke and didn’t realize that none of it made sense.

Sorcha shook her head and yelled, “Someone call the king and queen and bring them to the princess’s room. Quickly!”

Even though most of the fae would be retiring for the night, guards were positioned throughout the castle, and someone would hear Sorcha’s message.

Greason shook his head. “Sorcha, don’t do this. Just let me go. You must agree that she’s a threat to our kingdom and survival. If she continues to choose the Unseelie nightfiend over her own people, the dragons will attack us, and we could lose our magic!”

That made more sense. Losing one’s magic was essentially the same as losing one’s wings. Both of those things defined who we were, how strong we were, and what our position among our people would be. “You aren’t at risk of losing your magic.” I understood that I couldn’t tell him how or why, but he did deserve that. After all, I had tricked him in order to free the two prisoners under his watch.

His brows furrowed. “So you’re marrying the dragon prince?” His red eyes lightened, reminding me of flames. He doubtless had fire magic.

“He’s not a guard or part of the royals’ inner circle,” Sorcha warned, placing the heel of her boot against his chest and shoving. “He’s not allowed to know anything.”

Greason slammed against the wall. The back of his head hit the stone surface, and blood rolled down his neck into the collar of his tunic.

Several sets of wings flapped from the direction of my parents’ room. Their chambers weren’t far from mine, and as expected, a guard had managed to reach them quickly.

Nightbane whimpered, and I turned my attention back to him. My knees weakened in relief. If I hadn’t already been touching Nightbane, I would’ve fallen over, but instead, I gripped him tighter.

My healing magic pulsed faintly, but it was mainly in vain. Nightbane hadn’t been wounded but rather medicated, which meant my magic didn’t have anything to latch on to and heal.

Father barreled into the room, his gaze landing on me first. When he realized I wasn’t injured, his head snapped in Greason’s direction. He spat, “What are you doing here?”

Not wanting to have the conversation multiple times, I repeated the information when Mother joined us. The guard who’d retrieved them remained in the hallway, keeping watch, and the sound of more guards fluttering sounded outside my gigantic, glassless window.

“You came here tokillour daughter?” Mother’s hand shook as she placed it on her chest. “And believed we would appreciate it. Is that what our people think of us?”

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