Wings of Deception: (Kingdoms of Faerie Book 2)

by Skye Horn

  The rest of her guard joined her in the sky one by one, feathers whistling against the cool summer air as they soared beside her. Unsurprisingly, Kieran was first to reach her side.

  “I guess you can’t tell me to keep up anymore,” Thea murmured, casting a sidelong glance at him. She admired the way the sunlight danced through his windblown hair, illuminating the curve of his jaw. Although his wings spanned farther to his side, Thea dropped just a little beneath him so they could fly close to each other as Haven took up the space on the opposite side of her.

  “Don’t be so sure, Princess,” Kieran smirked, and with a burst of wind he soared high into the clouds above them, disappearing from sight. A bubble of laughter erupted from Thea’s chest, unfamiliar and warm, as she watched the tear in the clouds where he’d disappeared reconnect.

  “You’re not going to let him get away with that, are you?” Haven asked, eyes sparkling with amusement as she studied Thea’s face. “Go after him.”

  Thea grinned ear to ear, using every muscle in her back to stretch her wings wide before pressing them down into the air. The force of her wings against the air pushed her farther into the sky with little effort. She’d been practicing over the past six months, of course, but Kieran had been flying since he was ten. So she knew she’d have to prove herself.

  Bursting through the damp clouds, Thea felt a trickle of water stick to her skin and found Kieran waiting with a grin in the sunlight above. Haven followed behind her, and then Derek and Jami cut through the cottony cloud in spirals of laughter. A jolt of something Thea hadn’t felt in ages traveled through her veins as she looked around at each of their smiling faces: fun. She hadn’t had fun in months. In fact, she hadn’t even thought of having fun in months. All she’d thought about was saving Faerie, losing Kieran, and becoming queen.

  When had she become such a dull being?

  She had wings, and she’d yet to even learn how to enjoy them until this moment with these friends.

  “You’re actually not half bad,” Kieran teased, and then nodded his head for the rest of them to follow. “But Haven was right. We should practice formation.”

  “Oh, c’mon. Let the girl breathe for a moment,” Derek called out, catching up to fly beside Thea. “Formation will be easy. She picks stuff up faster than anyone I’ve ever met.”

  “And she’ll die just as quickly if she doesn’t know what she’s doing.” Kieran’s tone had sunk into a seriousness that silenced Derek.

  Thea knew he was right, but she liked Derek’s idea of just enjoying the moment, so she sped up, trying to catch Kieran at the front of their group. Haven followed, watching with anticipation.

  “Last I checked, Haven was the head of my Guard,” Thea murmured cautiously. She knew that she and Kieran were on better terms now, but that didn’t mean he got to show up and start bossing her around.

  He winced at her comment, meeting her gaze with surprise. Apparently he hadn’t expected Haven to keep the position after their last discussion.

  His arrogance infuriated Thea, but she kept her face calm.

  “Thea—” Haven said, but Thea shook her head to silence her friend.

  “You must earn your place here, Kieran. Just like the rest of them.” Her voice had dropped an octave, but kept a demanding finality to it. Derek and Jami had heard her speak this way before and now fell into a formal line at the back of their formation, awaiting whatever came next from a distance.

  “Understood,” Kieran replied, a note of defeat beneath the word. Thea did her best to ignore the pang of guilt she felt. If he wanted her to act like a queen, that meant doing the right thing for her Guard, and the right leader was Haven.

  “Give us a moment?” Thea asked Haven. She nodded and fell back with Derek and Jami, out of ear’s reach. Thea flew to glide beside Kieran and asked, “Do you understand?”

  He looked up in surprise at her question, but Thea didn’t miss the flicker of anguish behind his eyes. She knew he had dreamt of leading the Queen’s Guard since they were children. He’d confided that in her long ago. However, that didn’t mean Thea needed to be guilted into it. She needed to make a choice based on what she believed was right.

  “I thought you’d forgiven me,” he breathed, but it felt like a verbal slap.

  “I have,” Thea said. Her words dripped with sincerity. “And I want you to be in my Guard, but I need Haven to be the leader.”

  “Why? I have more experience than her. And she’s…” his voice trailed off, but Thea heard the unspoken words.

  “A woman?” Thea frowned at him. “She is just as capable of leading as you are, Kieran. She has shown that.”

  “I know.” His eyebrows furrowed together.

  “For now, that is my decision.” Thea’s orders were final, and she was thankful to see acceptance on Kieran’s face. “Now, let’s go. As Derek said, I could use a little fun, and this is the first time we’ve flown together.”

  Thea averted her eyes, not wanting to recall the loneliness that the past six months haunted her with. She wanted to enjoy this moment with him, with all of them, before they reached Ivandor.

  The world around them was scattering into chaos, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy the stolen moments of bliss in between. She smiled at Kieran, and then shifted her gaze over her shoulder.

  “Okay,” Kieran replied, after a moment of reluctance. “Show me what you’re made of then.”

  Thea smirked at the return of their old competitive nature. There was a spark of amusement behind Kieran’s eyes that made Thea’s heartbeat quicken. Winking, Thea dove through the cloud covering beneath them, hearing the whoop and cheers of Derek, Jami, and Haven as she did. Thea glimpsed Kieran following her before the pillowy clouds swallowed her whole, moistening her skin and feathers. She laughed as she burst through the lowest layer, finding herself above the caravan of horses again.

  “Working on formation, huh?” Declan called out from below, but he was smiling up at them as Derek, Jami, and Haven followed Kieran through the cloud covering. They all spun through the air, following Thea’s lead as she spiraled and twirled, letting her wings and the wind guide her rather than her head.

  It was freeing, and yet, she recalled the way Morrigan had gotten in her head the last time she’d let her guard down. Because of this, she kept part of her mind guarded like Jami had taught her as she flew.

  “Not bad,” Kieran called out, spinning midair to keep pace beside her. His hair whipped around his head wildly, green eyes sparkling with the enjoyment he allowed himself to experience. Thea couldn’t think of a sexier picture than the one of the man who flew beside her now. She enjoyed seeing this side of him. It was one she had little experience with.

  “Try to keep up,” she teased and soared high once more, back through the cloud covering. She could hear Haven laughing, not far away, and was met by her violet-eyed friend moments later.

  “You’re quite a different person today,” Haven commented over the echo of the wind.

  Thea knew it was true. Things were looking up. She had Kieran back, and despite the drama of this proposed marriage, that had lightened her heart. Nothing would have made her happier than to just ignore the tasks they had ahead of them, but for now, she wanted to be just Thea—not the future queen. A genuine smile spread across her lips as she looked at her friend, and with a burst of magic, Thea sent a gust of dampened clouds in her direction.

  “Oh, it’s on,” Haven smirked, and they laughed together, letting the worries of the journey ahead melt away—at least for today

  When they stopped to make camp that night, the muscles in Thea’s face ached from smiling so much, and her voice cracked half of the time she was trying to speak from yelling across the wind all afternoon. Her spirits only continued to soar as she helped Haven and Ethel prepare the tent for the night.

  Mica had a fire going before the sun had set, and Derek and Jami took back to the skies for the first round of patrol. Brayden and Rolan left not long after, a
nnouncing they would secure the perimeter.

  Once the camp was set up, Thea settled herself beside the fire, warming her hands over the flames. She watched Mica poke the embers with a long stick, making them fly into the air and land on her leather pants.

  “Are you trying to set me on fire?” she teased, brushing the ash away with a raised eyebrow at the younger boy. His cheeks flamed into a deep shade of crimson.

  “Sorry, milady,” he blurted, attempting to poke the fire more gently as he shifted the log beneath its flames. Thea watched the seriousness on his face and wondered where the boy who’d lifted Ethel into his arms in the marketplace had disappeared to. The one who had spun her in circles, all lit up with excitement.

  You sent him on a mission, the little voice in her head prodded. Had she taken away that last bit of childhood innocence that he’d clung to and asked him to grow up? Otherwise, how could a sixteen-year-old boy be so serious all the time?

  “Why don’t you go find Ethel?” Thea urged. Earlier, she’d told Kieran they needed to have fun. Well, so did Mica and Ethel. They’d been dragged into this at such a young age. Hell, so had she, but that didn’t mean they needed to stay in it all the time. Thea had the ability to protect them, so maybe it was time she did. “I can keep the fire going. I’m actually getting pretty good at it.”

  This was a lie. Thea was awful at keeping the fire going, but if Mica knew that, he didn’t let it on. Instead, he lifted an eyebrow at her and bit his lip, throwing a glance toward Ethel, who stood talking to Haven a few yards away.

  “Enjoy it, Mica. We have to embrace the moments of happiness.”

  Their world had been one disaster after another lately, and Thea knew it had started long before she’d arrived. She hoped one day it would be different, but for now, they couldn’t miss the moments of peace, because who knew how long they would last.

  “I think that’s the most queenly thing you’ve ever said,” Kieran said. Thea hadn’t heard him approach, but he sat beside her on the blanket she’d laid out, earning a reproachful look from Mica.

  “Why are you even here?” Mica glared, still sour about the way Kieran had treated Thea. “I thought you had more important things to do than take care of your family.”

  The venom in his tone made even Thea flinch. She glanced at Kieran’s stoic face and saw a flash of hurt as he stared at the boy who had once worshipped him.

  “I need him here, Mica. We’ve talked about this.” Thea could sense the tension and tried to keep her voice level. She wondered if Mica would ever forgive Kieran for what he’d done.

  “In that case, I think I will go talk to Ethel. She needs all the family she can get right now.” This time, Thea was sure she saw Kieran flinch, but he remained silent as Mica rose and wiped the dust off his pants. “Apologies, Princess.”

  He gave her a curt nod which she returned with a sad smile, and stalked off toward Ethel and Haven as Thea let out a long breath.

  “Well, that could have gone better,” she said lightly.

  “He’s right, though,” Kieran murmured in response. She noticed the tension in his wings and wanted to reach out to touch them, but she didn’t dare. He was close enough that she could smell the soft musk of his skin—a mixture of pine, dirt, and sweat. She could see the way his hair stuck to the back of his neck in tangles from their flight, and the pull of the material of his tunic over his muscled arms. Her heart quickened at the slight glimpse of his tattooed chest and she had to avert her eyes, feeling the burn racing into her cheeks.

  “Iris and Ethel love you, Kieran,” she said, keeping her voice steady as she tried to push the image of his naked chest out of her head. Her mouth felt dry. “They will forgive you if they haven’t already.”

  Focusing on Ethel, who continued to throw nervous glances in their direction, Thea knew forgiveness would be no issue. Ethel loved Kieran like a brother. She’d never given up hope that he’d return to them, no matter how angry she was.

  “And will you forgive me, Thea?” he asked, catching her by surprise.

  Their proximity was making her dizzy. She wanted to reach out her hand and touch his, but forced her fingers to clasp together instead as she refocused her gaze on his.

  “I have forgiven you,” she confirmed and then added, “Don’t make me regret it.”

  A teasing smile formed on her lips, but his eyes remained serious. She saw that same anguished look behind his gaze that blazed through her own body. The past few days had opened the floodgates of emotions within them, and there was no putting the waters back now. So she swallowed the urge to press her lips to his and smothered the image of his skin on hers to the best of her ability.

  “I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you this was the right decision.” His voice was a low whisper, and heat crawled all the way from her toes into her cheeks, burning its way through her veins.

  “I found water!” Declan said, entering their campsite from the tree line. The sound of his voice pulled Thea’s gaze away from Kieran, but the feelings that crawled beneath her skin didn’t fade. “It’s only about a half mile east.”

  To Thea’s surprise, Declan’s tunic was draped over his arm. His hair dripped water over his bare upper torso as he neared the fire, beaming. He dropped to the blanket beside Thea and gave a shake of his head like a wet dog, splattering both Thea and Kieran with chilly water.

  “Ah!” Thea squeaked in surprise, wiping the droplets of water from her already burning face. Declan’s tan skin radiated heat against her left shoulder, but he focused on the fire in front of them. “Was that really necessary?”

  Thea glanced at Kieran, whose face had returned to a stoic mask. He hadn’t bothered to wipe the droplets of water from his own face, but was instead staring at Declan with a look of pure annoyance.

  “Why are you half naked?” he asked.

  “I took a bath.”

  It was a simple response that almost made Thea laugh.

  “And that didn’t require you to put your clothes back on?” Kieran’s eyebrow shot high into his forehead.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. This tunic is crafted from the finest thread in all of Gimmerwich. I can’t just put it on when I’m wet.”

  Thea choked on a laugh as Kieran’s other eyebrow rose to meet its twin.

  “Could you sound any more royal right now?” Thea giggled, unable to stop herself as Declan’s gaze shifted to both of them.

  She saw it coming before it happened, but he gave his head another dramatic shake, covering them with water, and smirked.

  “I am royal, Princess. Get used to it.”

  Kieran rolled his eyes, wiping the water from his face, and shook his feathers to clear them of any droplets. Thea followed, but took in a deep breath as she did. Kieran’s sweet musk still lingered on the air, but now it was mixed with a strange new smell—damp earth and daffodils.

  “You smell,” Thea leaned over and sniffed, “like daffodils…”

  Declan roared with laughter, and even Kieran snickered.

  “What? It’s true!”

  “Only someone who didn’t grow up using magic would comment on how someone smells,” Kieran chuckled, shaking his head. It appeared the two boys had found common ground in teasing Thea. Her cheeks burned as they both laughed, and she rose to her feet, leaving them on the ground.

  “Well, on that note I’m going to go bathe.” She glared at them both and walked toward the tree line from where Declan had appeared.

  “Do you need help finding the water?” Declan called out. Thea was glad she faced away.

  “I’ll go with her,” Haven said coolly. She’d been standing with Ethel and Mica this whole time, but appeared happy to have an excuse to leave their intimate conversation.

  “Thank you,” Thea mumbled as Haven approached and the two of them disappeared into the tree covering, leaving the boys, laughing by the fire, behind.

  They walked in silence until the sound of running water reached their ears.

  “So you an
d Kieran seem… close,” Haven said carefully as Thea tugged at her knee-high boots, freeing her feet. She turned her head up to look at Haven, who leaned against a tree with her arms crossed over her chest.

  “We do?” The innocent tone she was trying to conjure sounded more like a hitch in her voice, so she cleared her throat. Her baldric of weapons was back by the fire, but a dagger was still tucked within her corset. She pulled it out and handed it to Haven before unhooking two copper latches of her new waistcoat and stripping out of her leather pants. It had been Ethel’s idea to ask for less corseted outfits, since they were so difficult to undo on her own, and Thea was grateful for it.

  A quick shake got any excess dirt off both garments before she dropped them over a low-hanging branch.

  “If you want me to be the head of your Guard, I need you to be honest with me.” Haven cocked her head to the side, watching Thea as she stood in only her cream-colored undershirt. It fell just past her bottom to rest against her pale thighs like a night shirt, because they didn’t make tunics for women in these lands.

  “I know we are friends and all, but you don’t have to watch me get undressed,” Thea teased, pausing until Haven averted her gaze with a roll of her eyes. As soon as she had looked away, Thea tugged the tunic over her head, shaking it out as well, and pulled her undergarments off.

  The touch of air against her bare skin brought goosebumps to her arms and legs, but as her toes touched the water a physical shiver traveled down her spine.

  It was freezing. So cold, in fact, that she wondered how in the world Declan had endured it.

  “Will you hurry?” Haven said, wanting to continue their conversation.

  “It’s like ice!” Thea complained, but Haven only laughed.

  “Then use magic to warm it, dummy.”

  It was a simple solution to someone who had grown up using magic, but it still surprised Thea to think she could do anything like that. She stared at the water with a curious tilt of her head. Magic came at a cost, but using a little, in a controlled environment, was okay. She knew that. Still, it worried her to think of the control Ainé or Morrigan could get over her if she didn’t stay at full strength.