Page 82 of The Kingdom of Flames and Ash

A few people in the back cheered, but most didn’t react. It would take time to mend the twelve years of hatred that had brewed between the two species. Still, that didn’t mean it wasn’t salvageable.

“But even though this is part of a new chapter to our story, it isn’t free of issues.” Father frowned and patted Brenin’s shoulder. “The dragons intended to capture Lira, but Eiric glamoured herself and took my daughter’s place like a true royal guard. Because of this, the dragons are demanding that we hand Lira over to them to free Eiric. However, I refuse to bend to the will of the dragons and allow them to use my daughter to create heirs that could one day take over all of Ardanos!”

Even though this hadn’t been the plan, my parents had already gone down the course. Before I realized what I was doing, I said, “And allowing Eiric to die in my place isn’t right. But there are more reasons than just her death.” The fae wouldn’t understand why it wasn’t right. I was the royal; her life wasn’t supposed to be as valuable as mine. I hated that line ofthought and believed that Earth’s way of caring for each other should be what we strived for here. “At the end of the day, the dragons need me to create future heirs that could withstand all elements. Even if they kill Eiric, they will bring war to our land. They already expressed their intentions when they delivered their message.”

“They’ll ruin our land with their magic,” someone cried.

“Which is their intent.” Tavish spread out his wings as he hovered, wanting his strength and presence to be felt.

I could feel exactly how tired he was, though I wouldn’t have known by looking at him.

“But you expect us to just suddenly trust the Unseelie?” a man called out.

“No, I don’t.” Father rubbed his hands together. “Time will be required to heal from the twelve years of misinformation the dragons caused. However, right now, our kingdom and royals are being threatened, which will not be tolerated. All of our resources must be focused on the dragons and their threats. The discord between the fae must end now, and we need to help the Unseelie rebuild their food supply in Cuil Dorcha once again. Otherwise, it’s going to put a strain on ours.”

The crowd glanced around, staring at one another. Not only was Father telling them we had a new enemy—the dragons—but he was throwing additional work their way.

“So, who can I count on to help restore Cuil Dorcha?”

Several beats passed, and not one person lifted a hand.

My heart sank. How were we going to win a war and live in peace if we faced resistance everywhere?

28

LIRA

Concern swirled from Tavish, mixing with mine. During the entire conversation, I’d sensed conflicting emotions within him, but there was too much going on to even attempt to talk via our fated-mate bond.

However, the tightness of the bond reflected our emotions perfectly. This seemingly simple question spoke volumes about what sort of future the two of us would have—one leading toward peace for both our people or one where they would always be at odds.

I already knew my choice. I would always choose him, no matter the consequences.

Still… it’d be easier if our people could learn to at least accept one another.

Father’s wings lowered marginally, the only sign of his own disappointment in our people, which caused me to release Mother’s arm and tug Tavish forward with me.

He didn’t resist, though his confusion wafted through the connection.

“I understand your hesitation.” I straightened, now hovering in front of both of my parents. I could see Father’s raised eyebrows, but he didn’t intervene.

He was going to let me say what I wanted.

My heart swelled, causing my chest to feel like it might explode. Father trusted me. Something I hadn’t even realized that I wanted.

“For over twelve years now, you’ve viewed the Unseelie as a threat to our realm, our safety, and most importantly, to our land and magic.” Even though both Seelie and Unseelie were fae, Unseelie magic could thrive in the darkness and frost because that was part of what made them, whereas Seelie magic couldn’t. We had to have a balance of day and night and warmth for our magic and land to remain at their strongest. “And even before that, there was mistrust because our magic can be at odds.”

A few nodded, encouraging me to continue. I tried to ignore the butterflies soaring inside my stomach and the urge to vomit. Somehow, fighting for my life in the gauntlet had been easier than standing up here, trying to plead for the Seelie to not view the Unseelie as their enemy. “But although the moon and sun are opposites, they complement each other. Without the light, our crops can’t grow, and without the night, the heat would scorch our land.” The island where the Unseelie had lived was an anomaly. The dragons had ruined it, and nothing could grow outside the cave, so Tavish cloaking the land in constant darkness and snow had been a tactic to discourage the Seelie and dragons from coming back.

“Why did King Dunach cover the entire realm in darkness if their food supply was at risk as well?” someone shouted from the back.

Fair question. One I wasn’t certain Tavish would want answered. I turned to him, knowing Father had alluded to the fact that the dragons had used their magic to influence theUnseelie. He hadn’t gone into detail, which I’d appreciated. That wasn’t our story to tell.

Tavish smiled sadly at me and then stared back at the people. “As King Erdan referenced, my father was influenced by dragon magic and wasn’t in his right state of mind. People in our court noticed, and he was being watched constantly. He shouldn’t have been able to blanket the realm in darkness; no one is meant to be capable of that. Everyone is aware of how our magics work together in Ardanos to balance our world. None of us had even considered the possibility of my father doing that, but recently, we exposed a traitor close to the royal family who was working with the dragons. All I can say is that neither my father nor my mother ever intended to take control of the realm. In fact, prior to the dragons’ influence, my father was convinced that Lira and I should be married to unite the fae.” His regret filled our bond, causing a deep ache in my chest.

The past twelve years had been so hard for him, and I wished I could go back and prevent the chaos that had consumed our realm. I couldn’t do that, but what I could do was stand beside my mate. “Yes, his father was wrong, but haven’t the Unseelie paid enough for their former king’s mistake of trusting the wrong person? The Unseelie lost their king and queen as a result, and a fourteen-year-old young man was tossed into a leadership role, unable to mourn the death of his parents. His people were kicked out of their rightful home and banished to a land ruined by the dragons, where he had to witness almost two-thirds of them starving to death and try to keep the ones who remained alive from fighting one another for resources. Don’t you think they’ve suffered enough? Especially when the dragons are the ones who caused all of this?”

I needed the people to redirect their hatred to therightspecies. They had to realize that the Unseelie were just as much, if not more, victims as we were. The Unseelie were just asimportant to me as the Seelie, and I needed the two to get along because both were nowmypeople. In my heart, there wasn’t a divide anymore. “Working together will allow us to be strong and face the bigger threat.”

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