“I should be going with her.” Keir paced the length of the throne room, waiting.
“We’ve been over this.” Tierney lounged on her father’s throne, and he couldn’t help remembering the way she’d sat on the throne of Vondur the same way. Back then, it annoyed him. Now, she looked like she belonged there. “You can’t both return to Lenya when we still need to figure out how to drive the vatlands back.”
Keir stopped walking and turned to her. “What if all it takes is magic?”
Throwing one leg over the ornate golden arm of the throne, Tierney sighed. “Nothing is ever as simple as just needing magic. It isn’t a cure-all for the world.”
“But—”
“No, Keir. Stop. Bronagh will be fine. We’ll figure out how to help her from here, and then you can return home for good and forget about all of us.”
He didn’t understand the bitterness in her tone, but when she mentioned him going home for good, something clenched inside him. Her father hadn’t told her of their conversation, and it was clear both Gulliver and Griffin had kept silent as well.
“Tierney, I—” The double doors opening interrupted him.
Lochlan walked in with Toby, stopping when he caught sight of his daughter. He pointed one long finger at her. “Up.”
She heaved herself off of his throne, muttering “It’s just a chair.”
Lochlan rubbed his eyes, as if the mere sight of her exhausted him. He took his seat as the queen breezed into the room with Bronagh, Imogen, and Veren. “Oh, good. You’re all here. Let’s get this started, shall we?”
Tierney hugged her arms across her chest, not meeting anyone’s eyes. She hadn’t spoken to him of her portals, but he knew fear when he saw it. The last time she opened one, she’d ended up a prisoner.
“Oh, and Tierney?” Her mom wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You will also be going through.”
“What?” Her eyes rounded, and Keir wanted to drag her away from this place, from anything that could hurt her.
“Told you she wouldn’t like it, Mom.” Toby rolled his eyes.
Lochlan leaned back on his throne. “Eldur and Fargelsi are trying to push back the swamplands. If we are to overcome the fire plains, attempting a less dangerous path first is wise. You and I will observe what they are doing and try to find a solution.”
It was wise. Keir didn’t relish the idea of stepping through one of the O’Shea portals either, but he’d do just about anything to help his kingdom.
The doors opened again, and two guards walked in, a giant wooden trunk between them. “Everything is prepared, your Majesty,” one of them said.
Lochlan nodded to them. “Thank you. You may leave that here.”
“Are those the crystals?” Bronagh asked, fiddling with the latch on the trunk. She managed to get the top open and revealed what must have been hundreds of small, fiery stones with colorful veins of magic running through them. It was … Keir had no words.
The room thrummed with power, and he soaked it in, letting it set every nerve ending on high alert. It wasn’t until Lochlan stood and clapped his hands that he snapped out of it. “All right, dusk has fallen, and there is no use waiting now. Toby will open the portal to the human realm as he is best at bringing fae with him. Once we are there, we must hurry before dawn breaks. Then, Tia will help Toby open a portal to Lenya, but she won’t go into it with them. After that is open, we can leave for Fargelsi.”
It sounded complicated; most things in this kingdom seemed overly complex to Keir. But he’d learned in his short time that the king was trustworthy, and he’d never do anything to put his children in jeopardy.
Lochlan walked toward them, pressing a kiss to the side of his wife’s head before turning to his daughter. “Are you ready for this?”
Tierney hesitated for a moment before dragging her eyes up. Her jaw clenched. “Yeah. Yes. I’m ready.”
“That’s my girl. Okay, everyone needs to have a hand on Tobias. Veren, Brea, you should both stand back.”
Veren was already across the room, staying as far from the portal as physically possible.
Stepping up beside Tierney, Keir put a hand on Toby’s arm next to hers, their pinkies brushing together. Lochlan, Bronagh, and Imogen joined them, and Toby closed his eyes, resting a hand on the trunk.
Keir didn’t see it coming. A burst of light erupted in front of his face. Someone pulled him forward, and his stomach dropped as he fell through open sky, landing on the soft earth, his arm bent in an awkward angle. Pain twisted through him, and groaning surrounded him.
“Thanks for that landing, Tobes.” Tierney scowled as she pushed herself to her feet.
“Everyone hurry.” Lochlan looked to the sky.
They’d left Iskalt at dusk, but here, in what Keir presumed was the human realm, the early light of dawn peeked over the horizon. He barely got a chance to glance around before Lochlan started issuing orders.
“We probably only have a few more minutes before the Iskalt power rests. Tierney, take your brother’s hand. Picture Lenya; hold it in your heart. He will direct the magic.”
Tierney shook her head and took a step back. “We’ve never done it this way before.”
“Yeah, Dad, how do we know it’ll work?” Toby looked more skeptical than scared, unlike his sister.
“It’s a theory, but you need to try before we lose the moon altogether.”
A breeze rustled the grass at Keir’s feet, and he had no time to take in the human realm, to see anything other than Toby reaching out a hand to Tierney. They could do this. He knew it, but Tierney didn’t.
Tears danced in her eyes. “I can’t.”
“You have to.” Her father softened his voice. “Do we let our fears determine what we accomplish?”
She drew in a long breath. “But what if—”
“We have no use for what-ifs, Tia.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “Only what is.”
As hard as the Iskaltian king could be, Keir wanted to be a man like him, one who believed in the fae around him, who inspired them to greatness. A good leader didn’t only help his fae; they motivated their fae to help each other.
After what felt like an eternity of waiting, Tierney nodded. “No what-ifs.” She set her hand in Toby’s, reaching the other out for Bronagh, who had Imogen on her other side. Toby gripped the handle of the wooden box of crystals. One moment they stood before him, and the next, it was only Tierney, a look of shock on her face.
“Did they get through?” Lochlan asked.
“I-I think so.”
They wouldn’t know until Toby returned, but there wasn’t time to wait.
“Okay,” the king said, holding out his hands. “Now, it’s our turn.”
In stunned silence, Keir grabbed hold of him and waited for the stomach-churning feeling he’d experienced only minutes before.
And then, he was falling again. This time, he landed in a thick patch of mossy forest. Tierney collided with him as she hit the ground, her knee digging into his gut.
But the warmth. It thawed out the chill—a persistent presence since the moment they washed up on the Iskaltian shore. Instead, a wave of heat enveloped them.
Tierney shrugged out of her fur-lined cloak. “I hate Eldur,” she grumbled. “Always so dang hot.”
Lochlan’s lips hooked into a smile. “Try growing up here.”
There was a story there, but no time to ask it because the snap of a stick told them someone was near. Keir immediately rose into a crouch, hand on the dagger at his waist. In Vondur, one must always prepare for an attack.
“What’s he doing?” Lochlan asked.
Tierney shrugged. “Being weird.”
A man stepped into view, a long sword hanging off his belt. He rested a hand on the hilt lazily. The intruder had an opposing frame, with a full beard and flashing eyes.
He stopped when he saw them. “Thought I heard trespassers back here. What’s your business in Eldur?”
Keir would protect Tierney with his life. Today had been such a strange day, a fight would only cap it off.
Lochlan rose to his full height. “I speak of my business only to the queen. Do you realize to whom you speak?”
“Someone who thinks too highly of their own influence.”
Tierney smirked. “I’ve been telling him that my entire life, so you’re a little late.”
The man approached Tierney, and Keir moved to stand between them.
“Boy,” their attacker growled. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll step out of the way.” He looked over Keir’s shoulder. “Really, Tia? I thought you’d have better sense than to travel in the company of someone who’d try to start a fight he can’t win.”
Keir’s spine stiffened when Tierney laughed.
“For the record, Uncle Finn, the only person who can best Keir in a duel is me.” She ducked around Keir and wrapped the man—Finn—in a hug.
Shame washed over Keir. This man was the King of Eldur, and he’d wanted to fight him right here in his own forest.
“This is Keir,” Lochlan said, walking past the man. “Don’t scare him off, Finn. I like this one.”
Finn turned to follow him. “Of the two of us, I think I’m less likely to send one of Tia’s suitors running in the opposite direction.”
Lochlan only grunted in response.
“He’s not a suitor,” Tierney said. “He’s a king.” Neither of those statements were true, but she didn’t yet know.
Lochlan caught his eye, giving an encouraging nod. He just had to keep going, to figure out how to save Lenya, and then he could figure everything else out after.
They entered a clearing where sand and dirt mixed on the forest floor, as if the area couldn’t decide whether it was a desert or a woodland. An army of fae occupied the space, some using their magic to push at an invisible foe.
“We’re waiting for Neeve to arrive,” Finn explained. “She sent word that she was a day’s ride out. That was two days ago.”
“The swamplands can be unpredictable.” Lochlan rubbed the back of his neck. “If they had to travel around a bog or fight one of the creatures residing here, a small delay isn’t something to worry over.”
“Uncle Finn?” Tierney stared at the ground before surveying the surrounding area. “These aren’t the vatlands. Dad would never have brought us so close.”
“They are now. Until a few weeks ago, the ground we walk on was desert. It becomes more unstable by the day. We must be vigilant and on guard for quicksand as it changes.”
“Tia!” A girl who couldn’t have been more than a few years younger than Tierney ran toward them, giving Tierney a tight hug. “When my mom told me you’d returned, I wanted to go to Iskalt right away, but they needed me here.”
“This is more important than me, but it’s good to see you, Darra.” Tierney released her. “What progress have you made?”
“Very little.” As the girl reported to Tierney, Keir walked farther into the clearing. The ground underneath his feet was soft, saturated. Water seeped up through the grass and sand with each step he took.
For a moment, he watched the magic wielders work. They’d all been right. He may have wanted to go to Lenya, but being here would provide more aid than he could there.
The sound of many hooves pounding the dirt preceded horses thundering into the clearing. Keir turned to watch an impossibly tall woman jump from her saddle. She moved with the grace of someone who’d spent their entire life trying not to be seen. That must mean this was Neeve, the maid turned queen.
There were no excited greetings or introductions, only mild hellos before she got down to business. “The marsh is almost to the palace grounds.” She gave a weary sigh. “If we do not stop its further movement, I do not know what will happen.”
A hand slipped into Keir’s, and he squeezed, knowing Tierney needed the strength as much as he did.
Finn scrubbed a hand over his beard. “We’ve been at this for the last two months now, and it’s only grown. I don’t know what more we can attempt.”
“There’s always more,” Tierney put in.
“Our fae are tired.” Darra sighed. “We cannot keep operating as we have been. When nothing works, we must change our tactics.”
“What did you have in mind?” Lochlan looked willing to take the young woman’s advice, and it reminded Keir of Eavha and how often he’d brushed her aside. He vowed never to do that again.
“Tia is here now. No one has a power like hers. Maybe she should try.”
Tierney shook her head. “This isn’t the prison magic, Darra. It’s ancient and more powerful than we could ever imagine. The magic of the vatlands has created swamps, frozen mountains, fiery wastelands, and even a maelstrom in the center of the ocean. They’re designed to keep us all apart, every kingdom.”
“Yes, but you have the magic of three kingdoms in your blood.” Even her father was looking at her like this idea might work.
“It’s not that easy. I have the three, but that does not mean they are equal within me. My Fargelsian training has been in depth and I have the most experience with it. My Iskaltian magic is nearly equal, but my Eldurian magic is a distant third—and I’ve been without all of it for many months now. I can only attempt the simplest acts and this is not simple.”
Neeve rubbed her forehead. “She’s right. But we can’t stop trying. It has been a long day and evening is nearly upon us. I’ll have my fae begin shortly with some of the more complex Fargelsian spells and Tia can join with the other Iskaltians as best she can. We need all sides of magic working together in this.”
Finn, Lochlan, and Darra followed her to where the other fae gathered near a fire that lit up the night.
Tierney didn’t move to join them, her voice soft in the dark. “I feel like I’m letting them down.”
“Tierney, look at me,” Keir said.
She lifted her eyes, locking them on his.
“You aren’t letting anyone down. No one knows your magic better than you.”
“That’s the thing, Keir. Ever since we’ve returned, I feel like I don’t know it at all. I worked for years to control the power and never fully grasped that control in the way others do. But being without it for all those months …” She shrugged helplessly. “It’s like a muscle memory has been lost.”
“You’ll get it back.”
“I hope so.”
He pulled her into a hug, and she rested her head against his chest.
“I want to do whatever is necessary to help your kingdom.”
“I know you do.”
“But I’m afraid of unleashing multiple sides of my power at once. What if I make it worse?”
“Can it be worse than threatening to destroy all fae life?”
She let loose a muffled laugh. “Probably not. Maybe we should just all evacuate to the human realm.”
His nose scrunched. “I’ve heard your stories, your weird sayings. I think I’ll take my chances with the fire plains.”
She pressed a kiss to the side of his chin. “And if we can’t stop them?”
“We never stop fighting.”
They stood that way for a while, watching the Fargelsians work under the light of the moon. The Eldurians retreated to their tents to await the return of their magic with the sun.
Keir didn’t sleep that night. Instead, he lay awake imagining a different world in which the vatlands never separated the kingdoms, never left Lenya on their own to become a warring land split in two. He could have grown up with prosperous villages, a father who loved him, the ability to keep his family safe.
In that world, there were no Comhracs, no battles with gold-clad warriors. Children didn’t die of starvation. Mothers didn’t live in fear.
Maybe, just maybe, it was the kind of world they could create one day. But first, they had to figure out how to have a future at all.
He crept from his tent as the sun rose to find the Eldurian contingent preparing to get back to work. Finn and Darra argued over something while Neeve looked on.
Lochlan sat on his own, a tin cup of tea in one hand.
Tierney wandered into the clearing, her mind clearly occupied.
“Everything okay?” Keir fell into step beside her.
“No.”
“Care to tell me what’s wrong?”
“Quicksand.” She pointed through the trees. “Almost fell in it. The vatlands moved last night. They got too close to camp.”
Something had to be done. If they couldn’t solve the problem of the swampland, Lenya had no hope of holding off the fire plains.
Tierney joined the others and explained what she’d found. They jumped into action.
There wasn’t much Keir could do but watch the efficient way the two kingdoms worked together now that the sun was out. He’d never seen such an alliance, but the Queen of Fargelsi and the King of Eldur stood side by side, their magic pooling in their fingertips as they tried to push the powerful vatlands back to where they belonged.
But where was that? The vatlands existed long before any of them were born, but they weren’t natural to this world. For the first time, Keir wondered if simply stopping the spread wasn’t enough.
Could they destroy them altogether?
“Lochlan,” Finn yelled, “get your kingly butt over here.”
Keir followed Lochlan and Tierney to where Finn was bent over, examining something on the ground. He pressed a hand to the soil, where only a few blades of grass poked through.
“Keep going,” Finn yelled as his magic soaked into the ground. “I think it’s working.”
Neeve lowered herself to her knees to imitate Finn’s actions, her eyes widening. The movement was small, slow, a tiny trickle of water pulling back through the ground. They all saw it.
Whatever they’d done, however this happened, Keir needed to learn everything.
Because for the first time, he saw the faint lines of hope in the form of receding water, drying land emerging from the murk of the swamp.