Page 34 of The Kingdom of Flames and Ash

Tavish was beside me within a second, his own concern mounting within him.

No, I don’t sense any Unseelie magic here,he replied andscanned the area.

I stared at the cave, waiting to see if anything else fell, but as the brown magic dissipated, nothing else seemed to be a threat.

Mom and Mother joined us as Dad straightened and helped Father to stand. Both men were drenched in sweat, and their chests heaved.

“I can’t locate a threat,” Mom gritted out as she searched the entire space for enemies.

“If you’re looking for an Unseelie, they didn’t do this,” Tavish reiterated again. “There is no Unseelie magic out here.”

“And besides, they don’t have earth magic.” There hadn’t been anything that indicated frost, and if the falling rock had been an illusion, I doubted the wind would’ve made a difference.

“It wasn’t magic attacking us.” Father rubbed his temples like he had some sort of headache. “I was the one who made the cave fall, though I’m not sure how or why. It was like something hindered my magic.”

Dad nodded. “Yes. It was like our magic couldn’t penetrate the ground, no matter how hard we tried.”

I pulled in a shaky breath as the realization of what that meant weighed on me. When Tavish’s wings sagged and our bond constricted, I knew that he’d come to the same conclusion.

Since they weren’t able to restore the mushrooms, more Unseelie would starve. How could we unify the Unseelie under Tavish after the division Eldrin had caused? They’d blame both Tavish and me for the Seelie being here in the first place, prompting the Unseelie attack that caused the cave-in.

Even though it wasn’t our fault, a large portion of the population would see it that way. People always needed someone to blame.

However, we had to face one problem at a time. “Are you both injured?”

“I… I’m unsure.” Father’s forehead wrinkled. “I felt a sharp pain in my head, though it’s fading now. For a moment, I was certain death was upon me.”

Dad chuckled but then cleared his throat, trying to hide it. “It’s called a headache, Your Majesty. I experienced it too—it’s a physical ailment that happened from time to time when I lived on Earth. It’s nothing dire; we just strained ourselves in a way that wasn’t familiar.”

In other words, they didn’t have direct access to Seelie magic.

“It’s horrid.” Father tugged on his golden tunic. “I hope to never experience such a thing again.”

“I’m just glad this isn’t another attack on us.” Mother sighed and lowered her hands.

Mom still had her hands raised, the tips of her fingers red with fire, ready to sprout at any sign of an attack on the Seelie royals.

“There will be more attacks once my people discover that our food supply is severely limited once again.” Tavish paced in front of the cave. “Our resources will be strained, and we’ll be weak when the dragons return to try to take Lira from me.” His hands clenched.

A lump formed in my throat. I hated seeing him revert to the broody Tavish he’d been before we’d given in to our bond.

I couldn’t allow responsibility to steal the lightness from him again.

“The Seelie are here, so—” I started.

He spun toward me, his eyes dark slate once more. “The Seelie being here will make things worse. With the strain on the food supply, all of us will weaken. The dragons won’t need to fight us because we’ll barely have the strength to stand.”

A sour taste filled my mouth, and bile churned in my stomach.

“Then the answer is simple.” Father stood tall, spreading his wings behind him. “Lira must return home with us so we can protect her from the dragons.”

My head jerked in his direction. He’d lost his mind if he thought that I would go anywhere without Tavish. “LikehellI will. Neither Tavish nor I will stand for it.”

“King Erdan, if you’d just—” Tavish rasped.

“Don’t you dare. All I’m concerned about is the safety of my daughter.” Father puffed out his chest. “I understand that part of this is my fault for promising her to Prince Pyralis, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about keeping her safe for as long as I can.”

Dad and Mom flanked the royals, keeping their gazes on Tavish like he was the threat. The thought of them trying to force me to leave had my blood boiling. I wouldn’t be going anywhere without my fated mate. Never again.

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