Wings of Ruin: A Young Adult Fantasy Romance Novel (Kingdoms of Faerie Book 3)

by Skye Horn

  Obey me, she thought, summoning her own magic again and maneuvering the tiny bit of control she had into her physical connection with Kieran. He winced and she knew he felt the same burning she did. Finally, the magic responded, flowing into her just as it had from the others. Kieran and her hands trembled in unison, but she didn’t dare let go. Instead, she focused on Declan again, pushing her mind to reach out to his.

  Declan, please. Where are you?

  Tears stung her eyes and her legs wobbled. She wouldn’t be able to control the power much longer. It felt like it would burst from her skin.

  You can do this, Thea, Kieran’s voice came, but she was sure he had not said the words out loud. This new development made her consider jumping into his subconscious. If he could be saved, she knew that was where she’d need to be, but it would be selfish. She could use every bit of power she had and still accomplish nothing.

  She needed to find Declan.

  With that thought, his image appeared again. There was a thin, glowing white thread that tethered him to her, but he looked confused, as if he didn’t know how he’d gotten there. The surroundings were a blur, hardly holding together, and Thea knew she had little time.

  “Declan, can you hear me?” she called out to him, and immediately, his eyes met hers as if she’d just appeared out of thin air. At first, he looked only confused, but then fear filled his gaze as he looked past her.

  “Why is he with you?” Anger quickly replaced fear and Declan strode toward her. Thea didn’t know who he was talking about, but when she turned, she saw that Kieran stood behind her. Or rather, his subconscious did. Apparently he’d piggy-backed a ride into Declan’s head. She wanted to scream, but instead, threw her arm out to stop Declan from pouncing on Kieran. Who knew how long they’d be able to hold this connection? She needed to find out where they were before it failed. Her vision was already beginning to fade away.

  “Dec, ignore him and tell me where you are.”

  “He killed her!” Declan screamed, tears forming in his eyes. Thea knew the anger and grief he carried. She wanted to ease that sorrow, but there was no time.

  “They’re coming for you, Declan,” Kieran said from behind her. His voice sounded strained—distant even. When Thea turned to meet his eyes she nearly let go of his hands in the physical world. Something had changed. Something was different. Sorrow filled his every feature. He looked like a man who’d given up, who’d been defeated and would never smile again. His face was sunken and gray, and Thea wondered if this was what he’d become inside—if this was what Ainé had turned him into.

  “Like I’d trust a word from your mouth,” Declan growled. He was right in front of her now, and yet, she could barely see him. The connection was about to break.

  “Do you trust me?” Thea asked. “I need to know where you are before I lose this connection. War is coming, and you’re going to need us.”

  Declan hesitated, but eventually, he focused on Thea’s gaze and nodded. “We’ve been running for weeks, mostly in the forests. We’re on our way to the Southern Forests. You could meet us there. I have something I need to tell you.”

  Thea blinked hard, trying not to lose sight of him, but he was almost gone. She knew he was probably referring to the weapon he carried, but there was something strained about his expression that she couldn’t shake. She hoped he’d heard her as she said, “We’re coming,” and faded back to reality.

  When Thea opened her eyes the room was spinning. Kieran was still gripping her arms, but his face had turned a slight shade of green. She immediately jerked her hands out of his and narrowed her eyes.

  “How did you do that?” she demanded. “How did you follow me?”

  “I-I didn’t mean to.” Kieran ran a hand through his greasy hair and looked around the room as if someone would tell Thea he hadn’t meant to.

  “And why did you look so… so different?” Thea asked, but by the look of confusion on his face, he didn’t understand her question.

  “I swear, I don’t know how I got there, Thea. I think you brought me with you.”

  Thea wanted to snap about how convenient that was, but since none of them knew anything about how this magic worked, there was no point in even trying to argue. Instead, she turned and directed her next words to Haven and Caden. Adrian had not yet returned.

  “How far are the Southern Forests from here?”

  “It’s a four-day march,” Caden said with a frown.

  “How about flight?” Thea asked with a small smirk. Haven and Caden shared a knowing glance.

  “Possibly two? We’ve never really tested it out. She’s fast, though.”

  “Who?” Kieran asked, but Thea held up a hand to silence him. Even the sound of his voice made her heart race, and she needed to focus.

  “Then as soon as Adrian gets back, we leave. If Morrigan left yesterday, we should be able to get there before her or, worst case scenario, at the same time.”

  “That’s assuming she knows where he is,” Haven said. “If Ainé hasn’t been able to find him, then what makes you think Morrigan has?”

  “I don’t think she would have left with an army if she didn’t know where she was going,” Thea said, dread prickling her skin. She didn’t know how Morrigan had found Declan, but the Goddess had spies all over the kingdom. She’d known where her friends and family were long before she knew about the weapon. Perhaps she’d been watching their movements ever since.

  “Thea is right,” Kieran said.

  Thea growled and spun on him. “Stop agreeing with me, and stop acting like you’re part of this team again!”

  A trickle of darkness escaped her fingertips, lashing out at him beyond her control, but it missed doing any damage. She could feel her anger growing more volatile, and knew it would soon spill into her magic. If that happened, she wouldn’t be able to keep it reined in.

  “I’m just trying to help,” Kieran said.

  “Why?” Thea asked, tone sharp with accusation. “Because our child’s life depends on it?”

  She fought the tears in her eyes, wishing for once he’d say because of her, but instead he remained silent.

  “That’s what I thought.” She glared and turned back to Caden. “Put the cuffs back on him.”

  “Thea—” Kieran started to protest but she wasn’t going to listen. She didn’t trust him, no matter how worn down whatever part of him she’d seen in her head had been. It could all be a trap and she wasn’t about to fall for it.

  Caden hesitated and then did as he was told. As soon as the cuffs were on, Thea let out a breath, relaxing in the slightest. “We need to prepare to leave. Caden, can you tell Adrian where we are going? We need to be prepared for war.”

  “I’ll gather what I can from the weapons vault,” he said. “You might want to get him something else to wear.” He nodded toward Kieran’s shredded clothing and added, “There are some clothes in my wardrobe that might fit him.”

  “Okay, and Haven, I’ll need my armor,” Thea said quietly.

  “I’m not leaving you alone with him!” she argued.

  “He can’t use his magic and we don’t have time for arguments.”

  “Well, you could go get your armor,” Haven said, eyeing Thea. She was ready for a fight, but so was Thea.

  “I won’t allow him to hurt anyone else I care about. Please, just do as I say.”

  The two girls stared at each other for a long moment before Haven finally conceded. She gave Kieran a death glare on her way out the door that clearly said she’d murder him if he did anything dumb. Caden followed soon after, and then the silence filled the space between them.

  After handing him some clothes from Caden’s wardrobe, Thea made sure to keep her distance from Kieran, knowing that despite being unable to use magic, he was much stronger than her.

  She felt his eyes on her as she perched herself on Caden’s desk, staring at anything in the room but him while he changed.

  “Thank you for saving my life,” Kieran s
aid eventually. She shifted her gaze toward him cautiously. He’d managed to pull on clean pants but he was still shirtless. The muscles that had once been so prominent on his skin had faded away slightly due to his weeks in the dungeons, but he was still strong; she could see that.

  “Why aren’t you wearing a shirt?” she asked, ignoring his gratitude.

  He held up his bound hands with a shrug. “Kind of difficult with these.”

  Thea rolled her eyes and jumped off the desk, walking toward him. “Fine, but they go back on as soon as you’re dressed.”

  Kieran nodded in agreement and held out his wrists for her. She pulled the keys out and unlocked his cuffs once more, holding them while he pulled a clean tunic on.

  “Could you help me?” he asked, motioning to the lack of slits for his wings. Thea frowned, pulling a dagger from her hip. She cut identical strips into the tunic for his wings to slip through, helping him dress as her heart raced against her chest. Once he was fully clothed, she put the cuffs back on him and fled back to her spot across the room.

  “Why did you do it? I thought you wanted me dead,” Kieran said, moving himself back into a seated position as he pulled on a pair of Caden’s boots.

  “I never said I wanted you dead.” Thea sighed. The truth was she would have been smart to let him die. It was what she’d been talking herself into for weeks, but after their last conversation, how could she not try to admit that there might be something left to save? “But it is as if you already are.”

  “My heart still beats.”

  Thea didn’t respond to that. Instead, she looked out the window at the setting sun. At least they would have the veil of night for their journey. The world around her was constantly in chaos and yet the moon would rise tonight as it did every other night, followed by the sun in the morning. Even if they died, that would never change. That was the world she needed to fight to save for her child. Perhaps the smart thing would be to flee through the portal that had brought her into this mess, to abandon her kingdom and its people to save her child’s life, but how would she ever be able to face that decision? Or to explain it? It went against everything she wanted to stand for, and yet—

  “I heard your voice,” Kieran said, drawing Thea out of her thoughts. She looked toward him, scrunching her nose slightly. “You said I made a promise that I needed to keep.”

  Her mouth felt dry.

  He’d heard her.

  And it had mattered enough to remember.

  “Something inside me is broken, Thea. Something I don’t think will ever be mended. I thought the Goddess blessed me with this ability to no longer feel the pain, but I’ve realized that pain never really went away. I’ve done horrible things, and in that moment, when my body was giving out, I wanted to die because I deserved to die. You brought me back.”

  Thea’s back stiffened. Her wings twitched anxiously at his words. She didn’t want to hear that her voice had been the light in his dark tunnel. It hurt enough hearing him tell her to move on, and now he was telling her she was the reason he hadn’t given up on life? She felt like an animal trapped in a snare of whatever game Kieran was concocting, but she refused to play. It was a dangerous line they were walking and there would be no going back if she crossed it. She needed to keep her head on straight.

  “Why are you telling me this?” Thea said, voice cracking. “Do you wish to break my heart more? Because I trust that you know by now that you are not the only broken person in this room.”

  Kieran looked down at that and nodded his head. “I know you are broken. Your eyes don’t sparkle like they used to when you look at me. You call me a monster, but what is it that you’ve become? I’m still myself. I still remember, regardless of what bonds have been broken, just like you do.”

  “How can you say you are just like me? The bond was broken on my end too, Kieran, but I did not turn into a monster.”

  “No, instead you abandoned your family in mourning and fled to the enemy.”

  Kieran’s eyes darkened, and Thea flinched.

  He wasn’t wrong. Ethel had died and she had run. She’d run as fast as she could away from yet another death on her hands. She’d chosen to flee to Morrigan, and Kieran had stayed with Ainé.

  Were they honestly so different?

  “I am queen. What should I have done differently? Relied on some flower nectar to hide away from my grief?” Thea asked, looking at him through lowered lashes. Her anger wasn’t exactly uncalled for, but she thought the nectar comment might have been a low blow.

  “You should have fought to bring me back.” Kieran’s voice cracked, and Thea’s heart skidded.

  “I’m trying,” she said, staring at her dangling feet. She couldn’t look at him. She’d spent so much time going back and forth over whether or not Kieran could be saved, but she’d never stopped to think about how different he was from her. Both of them had suffered a soul bond being broken. Ainé had captured him in her spell, but should she have tried harder to get through to him? Should she have stayed with Iris and the others to fight to regain her kingdom? She couldn’t go back and change the past now, but she could wonder what might’ve happened if she’d remained.

  “I don’t want to be this way, Thea.”

  She wanted to believe him. Her heart told her that her Kieran would never lie to her. That he would go to the ends of the earth to be with her and to protect their kingdom, but her heart had led her wrong before.

  “Then answer this question,” she said quietly, lifting her gaze to meet his again. “Who are you loyal to?”

  There was a pause and Thea watched as Kieran’s face twisted as if in anguish. His eyes darkened and he eventually placed his head into his hands. She saw the struggle, the way he wanted to answer the question versus the words that would actually leave his mouth, but instead of answering directly, he said, “I will protect our child.”

  She nodded her head.

  “Do you see that Ainé is a threat?” Thea asked, silently praying that his answer would be what she wanted to hear, because if it wasn’t then what hope was there for them?

  “She… she lied to me. I see that. I also see what that nectar was doing to me now.”

  His voice sounded broken. Thea wanted to comfort him, but knew the consequences of that comfort.

  “She told me you weren’t with child and that I was to bring you back to Ivandor.”

  “And yet you still follow her.”

  “I made an oath to return to her—always.” This time it was his turn to look away. Thea blinked back her furious tears, remembering a similar oath he’d made to her once, but refusing to pettily bring it up.

  “I hope when the time comes you choose the right side, Kieran. Because in the end, I will make sure our child is safe.”

  Kieran didn’t answer. Instead, he nodded and she knew he understood.

  When Haven returned a few minutes later, Thea and Kieran had fallen back into silence. She examined the tension between them as she dragged Thea’s trunk into the room and opened it up to reveal the armor Iris and Ethel had gifted her with before this mess began. Thea picked the armor out of the trunk, disappearing into Caden’s bathing chamber, but as soon as the door was shut she slid to the floor, silent tears streaming down her face, overwhelmed by the hopelessness ahead.

  Chapter 28

  When Thea returned to the room, she was dressed for war, without a glimpse of tears on her face. She’d made sure to leave her emotions on the other side of the door, putting on the mask of complete control she would need to survive this. Adrian had returned and appeared to be in a fouler mood than when he’d left. He and Kieran were in the middle of an intense glaring contest.

  Thea cleared her throat. “Where’s Caden?”

  “He’ll meet us at the caves. Are you ready?” Haven asked, eyeing Thea with a knowing gaze. Nothing escaped her friend.

  She nodded her head and grabbed her sword from the bed, sheathing it at her hip. She pulled two daggers from the chest Haven had hauled in
and secured them at the opposite hip before slipping a third dagger into her boot. She secured her bow and quiver of arrows onto her back with ease and stretched her aching wings. Her whole body felt as if it had been beaten to a pulp, but there was no time to waste now. She strapped Declan’s protection stone in its twine bag to her belt and then met Adrian’s approving gaze.

  “You look...” His eyes sparkled, and her cheeks flushed.

  “Thanks,” she said and then glanced past him to Kieran. “Should I lock you in the dungeons or take you with us?”

  This seemed to surprise him. “If you leave me locked up you might as well sign my death sentence.”

  Thea knew that, but what she was really asking was if she could trust him.

  “One wrong move and you’ll be dragon food.”

  At this, Kieran’s eyes widened. Thea’s lips pulled up into a smirk. She turned and slammed her trunk shut, latching it. Haven had packed a small bag of clothing and supplies for her. It would be lighter to travel with. She lifted it off the bed and headed toward the door.

  “I’m sorry, did you say dragon?” Kieran’s shock was unsurprising, and Thea didn’t answer as they headed out of the room.

  Without the normal hustle of soldiers about the castle, they were able to reach one of the side exits easily. Thea wondered how Morrigan had convinced her uncle to leave his home so unprotected, but she suspected the king would assume no one was stupid enough to attack him here. For today, he was right. That takeover would come another day.

  “Come on. The darkness should cover our tracks,” Thea whispered, but drew her sword just in case as she moved out of the castle. She and Adrian took the lead, while Haven stayed at the back, always keeping Kieran in the middle. They moved in silence across the outer courts. The only sound was the crunch of ice beneath their boots, but even that was too much for Thea’s comfort. She winced at every snap of a twig, eyes darting around as if they’d be caught at any moment. They’d left a bloody mess at the dungeons. It was a surprise no one had come looking for them yet, but she guessed Caden’s chamber was about the safest place in the castle for them. No one would ever disturb the crown prince, after all.