I shuddered, bringing my gaze to the sun-drenched glass ceiling above Torin’s bed. Apricot light streamed through the leaves of the tree in his room, dappling everything with coral.
It was all over now, wasn’t it?
At least, I hoped it was. Worry scratched the surface of my thoughts. I still had no idea where Shalini had been when the wave hit. My throat felt tight.
I rose, my gaze sweeping over the apple tree that grew in the center of his room. Torin had carried me in here, and he’d told me to eat as many apples as I’d wanted. Instead, I’d simply fallen into a deep sleep tormented by nightmares.
I plucked a cherry-red apple from the tree and bit into it. The taste exploded on my tongue. Gods, this was heaven. Torin said he thought the tree had been dead until we’d killed Modron.
I crawled back into his bed, eating my way through the apple. When my gaze flicked up to the glass ceiling, my heart jolted with joy at the sight of the sunset once more. I’d never seen it this gorgeous in Faerie.
As I was finishing my apple, Torin opened the door to his room, flashing me a lopsided smile as he took off his shoes. “You’re awake.”
My pulse raced. “Did you find Shalini and Orla?”
“Both of them, in fact. And Aeron. He was leading them to a cabin in the woods when the flood hit, but they were within the boundary of our walls.”
I exhaled a long breath. “Are they okay?”
He slid into the bed next to me, sunlight washing over him from above. “They will be, but Moria hung them in cages. They need time to recover.”
My eyes widened, cold fury crackling through my chest. “Shalini, too? What the fuck did Shalini ever do to anyone?”
“Nothing, of course. It’s just that she was your friend, and thus a demon lover.”
I supposed it was a good thing the person I wanted to murder was already dead. Saved me the effort. “And she’s fine?”
“She had some frostbite, but I healed it. In a way, she seems better than Orla. Orla was in the cage longer, I think. She seems very rattled by the whole thing.” He ran a hand through his hair. “She keeps talking about the cold like she can’t get warm.”
I shuddered, shadows flitting through my thoughts. “It must have been horrible. Can I see Shalini?”
“She’s sleeping, but soon. Of course.” He slid into the bed next to me. Sunlight slanted in through his ceiling, lighting up his features with dabs of gold.
I turned to lay on Torin’s chest, and he stroked a finger down my lower back. I licked my lips, and they tasted of sweet, tangy apples. Light warmed my skin, and I felt as if I fed off it, just like trees.
My muscles throbbed with exhaustion. After I’d burned all the power from my body, strength was slowly seeping back into my limbs. Still, I wanted to sleep for days, wrapped in Torin’s arms.
I traced my fingertips over the red scar at his throat. “See? I’m still alive.” I arched an eyebrow. “No curse.”
“I still don’t understand.” He caught my finger in his hand. “How were you so certain?”
I hadn’t been one hundred percent certain, but I didn’t need to mention that now.
I turned onto my back and nestled in the crook of his arm. “Mab told me several times that what she wanted was her heirs on the throne of Faerie. With us, she could get that.” My mouth curved in a smile as I felt Torin’s heart against my arm. For so long, I’d thought he was dead. I’d never take the feeling of his beating heart for granted.
“Yes…but why torture us, then?”
I sighed. “Everything that happened there was a test. First, they wanted to see if I’d come as a spy. But really, what she wanted to know was whether you loved me, and if I was strong enough to be queen. You broke me out of the cell, and that suggested you cared about me. When they captured us again, they wanted to know if you loved me enough to make me queen. She issued the most horrific threats to castrate you if you came to see me. And you did it anyway. She could have stopped that from happening, I’m sure. She could have put us on opposite sides of the castle, guarded. But that was part of the test. She wanted to know if you’d risk your own life. Because if you would do that for me, maybe I could end up on the throne of Faerie. Even as an Unseelie, horns and all.”
He arched an eyebrow. “The fight was to see if I would sacrifice myself for you. Did she care if you loved me?”
I nodded slowly. “I think she did, because they kept telling me the strength of Unseelie magic came from the pain of love. Maybe from the desperate anxiety of needing to keep loved ones safe. She wanted me to be strong. Without magic, without my wings, I wouldn’t be a Dark Cromm queen. So, the next test was whether I was strong enough to be her heir, strong enough to take down my enemies, like we did today.”