Page 66 of The Kingdom of Flames and Ash

At first, all I could feel was the strong essence of Unseelie magic. The frigidness of the frost, the chill of the shadows, and the sluggish feeling of the illusion magic that permeated our land. The magic twined around me, taking my focus away, untilI homed in on a faint magical pulse full of volatility… like the volcano of the ruined island.

“How is that possible?” I whispered, narrowing my eyes. None of the porous rocks we’d found on the former dragon land felt anything like this hilt.

Lira tilted her head, examining the stone. “I never paid attention until now since I assumed the sword was made of Unseelie materials, but this looks like the obsidian rock back on Earth. It’s made by rapidly cooling lava, which would be a water source. The quick cooling has to be what kept residual dragon magic within the rock, allowing it to be used as such a weapon. Think about the lava rocks and how they killed the mushrooms in the cave. The rocks were formed by the dragon’s magic.”

“How in Ardanos do you know this?” The queen’s eyes widened. “We don’t have any volcanoes in our land.”

Brenin smiled. “On Earth, Lira was in her senior year at college, majoring in geology. She knows more about Earth rocks than any normal person does.”

“As I mentioned before, many humans believe that rocks and gemstones can hold different energies… things that we would call magic here. It’s not nearly on the same scale on Earth as here, but this is further proof that humans aren’t as daft as some fae would like to believe. Anyway, the idea has merit here. The obsidian is made from lava… the very thing that would ruin the land, like where the Unseelie were living. And if lava is a product of their power source, then it makes sense that their dragon flames are so potent.” Lira’s attention landed back on me. “There’s no telling what this has been doing to you. We need to destroy it.”

Anger rippled through me once again, but I gritted my teeth. The emotion didn’t make sense, especially since I didn’t want to carry this weapon anymore. “I agree. And the extra boost of power was how Father managed to cloak the realm in darkness.Now that feat makes more sense. His power couldn’t have been strengthened that much by fae magic.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t be so rash.” Caelan lifted a hand. “If this sword contains dragon magic, then it might be helpful for when we attack the dragons to retrieve Eiric.”

The thought of getting close to the dragons, knowing how desperate they were to get Lira to breed with Pyralis, made me clench my free hand. My chest thudded. “But then we’d risk Lira.”

Lira lifted her chin, the skin around her eyes tightening. “I love you, but I need to be clear. I refuse to allow my sister to die. She put herself in that situation toprotectme, and I won’t be able to live with myself if I allow her to die.”

I gritted my teeth, trying to contain the crazed emotions taking over. “The thought of you in danger doesn’t sit well with me. I can’t risk you. You’re too important.”

“So is Eiric.” She gestured to her father and mother. “She’s important tome, and I refuse to allow her to die because she loves me.”

Lira’s parents cringed and glanced at each other, and Hestia and Brenin’s expressions became strained.

My shoulders relaxed. The Seelie royals agreed with me.

“Sprout, Eiric is important to all of us, but—” the king started.

“With no disrespect,” Finnian interrupted, bowing slightly with a wink at my mate.

The eye he left open would be the one I’d remove in a moment. I could leave it behind with Eldrin’s body so the guards could clean it up with my cousin’s remains.

“Not going to retrieve Eiric won’t accomplish what we desire.” Finnian steepled his hands in a grand gesture. “If the dragons are that desperate for Lira, then they’ll come straighthere to fight us as soon as they realize that Lira won’t be handing herself over.”

In my haze to protect her, I hadn’t thought beyond the deadline. Unfortunately, Finnian was right, so maybe I wouldn’t remove the eye completely. Just damage it enough that he’d spend the rest of his life with some sort of patch.

Lira placed a hand on my shoulder, and the jolt of our connection eased more of my discomfort. “And we’d be fighting on Seelie and Unseelie lands, which they won’t hesitate to destroy. It’s best to take our fight to them, especially if we can catch them off guard.”

I didn’t like the sound of that.

At all.

If I didn’t settle my emotions, I feared my wings would get in a bind and make Lira more resolute. As much as I loved how she thought for herself, at times like this, I wished she’d be more pliable to my way of thinking.

We could still have a betrayer among us, and I refused to risk Lira more than necessary. “Why don’t we head inside the castle to discuss this instead of talking in the prison cell?”

“Agreed.” King Erdan took a few steps back, giving us an opening. “It’s best if we discuss things in private, away from prying ears. Not taking a stance may be something we should consider.” He scanned the room coyly, indicating that we should join his ruse.

My wings tensed. I’d assumed Eldrin had been the only one discussing such things with the dragons, but we didn’t know who was loyal to Eldrin and might want to take his place. They’d want to prove their worth to the dragons. “Clearly, that’s what I would prefer to do. And if all the royals are for it, then we should set up precautions if we allow the dragons to even come into our land. I agree; let’s take this conversation elsewhere.”

Lira’s nostrils flared, but she nodded.I’m remaining quiet but not out of agreement. I just don’t want anyone who shouldn’t to overhear my ideas and plans.

I closed my eyes.Sprite, you’ve made your stance clear. This is all a performance in case there’s still a traitor among us.

“I’ll head out first to ensure nothing has been set in motion by Eldrin’s death.” Brenin flew out with King Erdan and Queen Sylphia strolling after him, giving him time to scout the area.

Lira reached across my body, placing her hand right above mine on the sword’s hilt. Her voice popped into my head.I worry about you carrying it on you at all times after learning what it did to your father. However, we need to put the sword away in case we do need it.She didn’t yank at the sword; she was merely making the request.

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