Page 2 of The Truth of Our Secrets (Unframed Art #3)

2

LIRA

W hen Tavish wrinkled his nose in disgust and his forehead lined with confusion, my heart shattered. His eyes darkened to slate, the very shade I’d seen in my nightmares during my time on Earth.

He held out both hands so I couldn’t step closer and rasped, “What the blast?” His dark hair dripped past the bottom of his ears, contrasting with his pale skin.

Nightbane growled, coming to my side. The cù-sìth resembled a wolf but was the size of a horse. The green-tinged tips of his dark fur rose, and he was clearly ready to intervene.

I threaded my fingers through his fur, wanting to calm him as my bottom lip trembled after Tavish’s rejection.

Watching Eiric be abducted by Prince Pyralis, Tavish trying so desperately to save her, and Finnian, Lorne, and him getting injured by the ashbreath had been awful. The only reprieve had been Tavish returning, but it had resulted in this, the most agonizing torment I’d ever experienced in my life.

“Your Majesty, what’s bothering you?” Isla asked from her spot next to me in front of the dark Unseelie castle. Her crystal- blue eyes glanced from me to him. Her light-blue hair appeared gray in the darkness. “You triumphed over Eldrin.”

I placed a hand on my chest, trying to steady the pain flaring inside. I wanted to figure out what was going on with Tavish but didn’t want the girl to feel ignored. “Sometimes, winning doesn’t actually feel like a victory. Sometimes, important things get taken from us that make it still feel like losing.”

“Oh, Lira. Right.” She winced. “I forgot about their connection.”

I had no clue what she was talking about, but I needed to focus on Tavish, whose face had twisted into despair. “Did I do something wrong?”

Maybe he was angry with me for pressuring him so much to save Eiric. One of his best friends and solid guards had gotten severely injured because of my request.

“No, but Eldrin must have done something to me.” He frowned, scanning me. “If this is what he meant about not needing to kill the dragon prince, I’ll slit his throat and enjoy watching him bleed out.”

“What?” My brain felt foggy, and intense pain from my injuries made my wings ache. “What did Eldrin say and do?” I took a step toward him but paused, unable to handle his rejection once again.

“You don’t feel the connection between us? Maybe it’s an illusion he somehow pushed onto me, and I need to find the magic to release its hold.” His terror and anger intensified.

“Tavish, did you hit your head or something?” A chill ran down my spine. Something was truly wrong. I squinted and looked him over, searching for some kind of injury. “We’ve had this connection since you took me from Earth.”

His eyes widened. “I didn’t bring you here. I brought Lira.”

But I am Lira. I looked downward, noting my tan complexion, which was several shades lighter than my sister’s. I didn’t understand what was going on until realization washed over me and relief flooded through our bond. I faced Isla again, remembering her strange comment from moments ago. “Who am I?”

Isla’s nose wrinkled as she glanced at Tavish and me and answered, “Eiric.”

My heart seized, and then I felt the faint hum of Seelie magic covering me. Son of a bitch. “She glamoured us.” Of course she did. “And took my spot. That’s why Pyralis didn’t hesitate to grab her. I thought that was odd.” Since she’d glamoured us both at the same time, I hadn’t seen myself as the others had. She’d known what she was doing when she did this to us.

Now that I could sense her magic, I removed the glamour with my own. Glamour used passive magic, so it didn’t take more than a thought to remove it now that I’d realized it was there.

As soon as it dropped, Tavish sagged with relief. He stumbled to me, pulled me into his arms, and buried his face in my hair. The buzzing between us sprang up once again, and this time, he relished the embrace and didn’t pull away.

I could feel Nightbane ease at my side, a sign that the tense moment was over.

I thought I’d lost you again and to the one person who’s actually a threat to what we share. He kissed the shell of my ear, and my body tingled. I should be pissed that Eiric put us through that, but I’m glad she did.

In my mate’s arms, it was hard not to agree with him. There was no place I’d rather be, but I couldn’t enjoy the moment. “What happens when he realizes it’s her?” My stomach dropped, and cold tendrils of fear clutched my heart.

“He won’t harm her… not if he believes that she’s important to you.” Tavish exhaled. “He’ll decide to begin a chess match and use her as a pawn.”

And there was no doubt I’d hand myself over to him to save my sister. I’d do it without a moment’s hesitation.

Concern flooded our connection as Tavish leaned back. You giving yourself to him isn’t an option. We’ll find a way to get her back without you sacrificing your own freedom.

I nodded, choosing to believe his words. Before I could ask him about Eldrin, Struan and a female guard with silver hair flew over to us, holding an unconscious Finnian. Parts of his fair skin looked charred.

My wings had to feel better than what he’d experienced.

Two other guards flew behind them, carrying Lorne, who was in a similar state. Even the ends of his pale-blue hair were tinged black from the dragon’s fire.

“Take them to their bedchambers.” Tavish stepped away, intertwining our fingers. “Then have someone wash their skin gently to remove anything that could irritate it as it heals.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Struan bobbed his head, his light-green hair spilling into his face. “Isla, come with me. Let’s get you behind the castle walls.”

Isla pouted. “But what if the king and Lira need protection?” She unsheathed the knife from her side. “I should remain here to help guard them.”

The corners of my mouth tipped upward. I understood, especially with my memories returned, that Fate was a little more cutthroat than humans. But this ten-year-old girl had everyone I knew beat, and when she grew up, I had no doubt she’d be in charge of the guards, even over her father.

“She can remain with us.” Tavish forced a smile, though it didn’t meet his eyes. “I’m addressing the people now to reinforce that the fighting is over. There’s no need for alarm.”

Tavish sounded way more confident than I felt, but as I finally paid attention to the village and the people on the stoned pathway, I noted that the fighting had stopped. Dead bodies littered the area.

Since being forced to relocate to this decimated island, about seven thousand of Tavish’s people had perished due to the harsh living conditions and lack of food. Now, the remaining three thousand had been reduced by a hundred, if not more.

Not wasting any additional time, the guards carried off Finnian and Lorne as Tavish led me to the top of the stairs and spread out his dark wings behind us as Nightbane flanked my other side.

“I, the true and rightful king, have proven once again that I’m the strongest Unseelie and will lead my people.” His voice boomed, echoing against the village walls. “The revolt against me is over, and the ones who turned on me—”

Don’t make them prisoners, Tavish. I didn’t want to tell him how to lead, but at least a quarter of the Unseelie had aligned with Eldrin, and the others had remained quiet, giving in to peer pressure, afraid to speak out for what they wanted. Show them that you’re better than Eldrin. Make them see the difference. After all, haven’t you made a similar mistake, siding with others when you didn’t want to or remaining silent even when you felt like it was wrong? I didn’t like bringing up how he’d treated me, but this was a unique circumstance. He had to see how hypocritical he was being when I’d forgiven him. If they abuse your trust again, that’s a different story.

Silence hung heavy since Tavish had cut off midsentence in order to listen to what I had to say. Proof that the two of us had come far in a short amount of time.

“Your Majesty.” A man with hair the color of charcoal bent to one knee and bowed. “You are the rightful king, and I should have stood strong beside you. Punish me as you wish, for I deserve it for my betrayal.”

Murmurs of agreement filtered through the village as person after person kneeled, including children, leaving a handful of Unseelie standing before they dropped as well.

Those have to be Eldrin’s loyalists. Tavish’s hand tightened. The blasting wildlings who assisted in getting everyone to turn on me.

But now we know, and we can let them believe they got away with it without being noticed. I understood that, eventually, some of these people would need to be dealt with. We can have the guards you trust closely monitor the holdouts to see if they attempt to free Eldrin or something else.

Unfortunately, though they weren’t the majority, Eldrin’s followers numbered more than we’d anticipated. Still, the ones who’d cried out against Tavish had given us more information than we’d known before, and we might not have learned of their disloyalty if Tavish hadn’t paused to consider what to do next.

You’re right, but there is one person who won’t be given that grace. Tavish lifted his chin, looking ever more the royal that he was. Even with his injuries and weakened magic, he appeared stronger than any man I’d known.

My chest expanded to the point that it felt as if it might explode from how proud I was of him and how much I loved him.

“I understand that, under the circumstances, it was easy for you all to doubt me. I did allow you to believe that I’d perished, and I left the land to save the Seelie princess. But I never intended to abandon you. I had to rescue my fated mate, who was taken away from me against her will.” He lifted the sleeves of his black tunic, showing them part of the intricate fated-mate tattoo of delicate vines and leaves interconnected with thorns that spread across both our chests, down our arms, and continued to our left hands, circling our ring fingers.

Following his lead, I pulled the sleeves of my dress toward my elbow and allowed the crowd to see that I had the same markings.

A few people gasped, and one of the women muttered, “Impossible. There hasn’t been a fated-mate pairing in centuries.”

“Well, the tattoos are proof, and he spoke the words.” Isla appeared on the other side of Nightbane and wrinkled her nose. “I’m a child, and even I know better than to question that.”

I planned to hug the girl as soon as I was able.

“As soon as Lira and I found a way back here to you, we didn’t hesitate to return.” Tavish paused, allowing his words to sink in. “And though I’m willing to give all of you a second chance, there is one person standing out here who won’t be allowed that fate.”

Completely human, Lira might have interjected and tried to convince Tavish to change his mind, but I knew of whom he spoke and understood that the person had purposely harmed me, and worse, she had a weapon that we needed to learn how she’d gained access to. There would be no talking him out of it.

“Princess Lira,” Tavish said tenderly but firmly. “Please turn around so the people know what will never be tolerated.”

My heart hammered as my emotions clashed. A part of me did want justice for what had been done, but I feared Tavish’s choice would be death.

Obliging him, I did as he requested and spread my wings just as the breeze picked up, causing them to ripple. The injury I’d sustained near the base of my wings from an Unseelie woman’s arrow throbbed. The arrow had been made of true Unseelie wood from their original kingdom and some sort of special stone, and while I’d healed my wings partly with my magic, they hadn’t fully healed. Plus, the wounds had reopened during battle.

Nightbane growled at the sight, and Tavish let out a low snarl that could’ve passed as an animal’s.

“This was done to my fated mate, your future queen , when she wasn’t threatening anyone,” Tavish said and patted his chest where blood smeared from a cut that I hadn’t noticed until now.

I sucked in a breath. He’d proclaimed I was to be their queen. Even though I wanted to be with him in every way, for some reason, being queen hadn’t actually crossed my mind. And in that moment, I realized it was because I suspected that the Unseelie would never acknowledge me that way. Yet Tavish stood here, emphasizing exactly what he saw my future role to be.

He placed an arm over my shoulder and turned me, wrapping his wings around me affectionately.

He continued, unfazed, “I cast the illusion magic, but only on the traitors. If an arrow was shot, it should have been aimed at me. That would’ve been wiser than attacking my beloved.”

Whispers shot throughout the village as everyone turned, searching for the person who would face the wrath of their king.

“The woman who is responsible, come forward now or face a more painful punishment.” Tavish quieted, letting the echo of his voice resound.

But then there was silence.

Can you pick the woman out? Tavish asked.

I could, but I can’t fly to search for her. The village wasn’t large, but walking it on foot would take significant time. If I could fly, it would be easier, but my wings were too damaged to chance that.

“If someone doesn’t point the woman out or she doesn’t come forward herself, the entire kingdom will be punished.” Tavish clenched his jaw, making sure he slowly scanned the entire crowd so the people all felt like he was looking right at them. “Attacking Lira will always be a punishable offense.”

“I know who it was.” A man flew upward from the center of the village. “I can bring her to you.” He turned, racing toward the sea near where I’d been shot, which added credibility to his claim.

The next few minutes felt like an eternity, and then three men dragged the woman who had attacked me toward us.

Is that her? Tavish linked.

I nodded. But we should question her before doing anything rash. Find the stash of weapons that Eldrin hid to use against us. They’re still out there and need to be recovered before someone else is injured.

The woman tried to yank free from the men holding tightly to her wrists. A woman flew behind her, holding a dagger in case she tried to escape us once more.

Finally, they landed on the first step in front of us. The lady scowled at us, showing no fear.

“Do you feel remorse for what you’ve done to my mate?” Tavish arched a brow, watching her every move and expression.

“She’s a Seelie wildling. I don’t feel anything but hatred toward her!” The woman spat at my feet.

Tavish removed his sword from his sheath and stabbed her in the side. “Your punishment is death, but not until you’ve felt more pain than Lira has endured tonight.” He gestured to the windows. “Take her to a different cell from Eldrin. The two of them shouldn’t share with anyone else if it comes to grouping people together. I want to enjoy breaking her, and then I’ll return to assist in taking care of this.” He gestured to the dead bodies on the ground.

I glanced at each person who’d died in vain, especially the seven the dragon prince had burned without any remorse before grabbing my sister and flying away. My breathing grew shallow.

Finnian’s and Lorne’s charred faces surged into my mind. And Caelan, hauling Eldrin into the castle with his injured wing so that Tavish could go after Eiric—er, me. So many people that I cared about could perish, and I couldn’t access my healing magic. I needed to do something, even if it was only to help give them water.

Let’s get you tended to, Tavish connected tenderly. Blood is still dripping from your wings. It’s one reason that you’re weak and struggling.

He wanted me to take care of myself, and the benefit of doing that was that I could help the others. Caelan and Finnian already knew my secret, so there was no increased risk in healing them.

As I readied to follow my mate’s instructions, the Unseelie began to shout, “Fates, no” and “Blighted abyss” and, “Princess Lira, please protect us.”

My stomach dropped. Had Pyralis returned to get me?

However, when I spun around, I saw a sight that made me even more heartsick.