Page 46 of The Reaping Rose

“I don’t really blame her,” I admit. “Running a court that’s not yours for a century would be difficult. Especially with the realms falling apart and the Well tearing into it. It couldn’t have been easy.”

“So diplomatic, even with your mate’s ex.” Greer winces when I glare at her. “Sorry. Maybe they weren’t⁠—”

“I don’t want to think about it right now.” Especially when I know the answer with how Aurora’s eyes track Wilder circling the room.

He takes the seat next to mine, draping an arm across the back of my chair.

“We can talk later if you want.” He must read my concerns through the thread because it’s impossible to close them off now that the mating bond has ripped them wide open.

“I’m fine,” I lie, knowing he sees past my forced smile.

But he doesn’t push.

“Why is everyone frowning like it’s the end of the realm?” Atlas is the first to speak, grinning wide as he laces his fingers behind his head and leans back in his seat.

Perame’s nose wrinkles while Rior’s eyes narrow at his friend.

“Maybe because it is.” Greer is the one to answer, her tone pure annoyance. “So what are we going to do about it?”

Atlas leans forward, seeming to view Greer’s annoyance as flirting. His tunic opens the slightest with the movement, revealing the rune markings on his chest. I didn’t realize he had any, but there’s a dark line of marks that starts at his throat and trails down.

Before Atlas can say more, Wilder cuts in.

“The reports came back from Tael.” He frowns, glancing at Aurora. “A part of their territory has gone dark.”

My eyebrows pinch. “Dark?”

“It’s when a piece of the realm dies.”

“Like Alyssium?”

He shakes his head. “Alyssium is without magic, but it’s not dead. Life can be sustained there. The northwest island of Tael is unrecoverable. If it continues to spread, Lord Kave will relocate as many as he can to our shores.”

My chest tightens. “And Lyrichia? Is the same happening there?”

“One can only hope.” Aurora’s hate is unflinching.

Greer leans forward, but I speak first. “There are innocent Fae in Lyrichia just like there are innocents here. Fae who had no choice in what their Crown did to desecrate their kingdom. You wish that on them?”

Aurora’s lips thin as she watches me. “Do you know what those innocents have done to our people? Our kingdom? How they slaughtered. Pillaged. Raped⁠—”

“That’s enough.” Wilder cuts her off. “If we spend all day listing the sins of the two kingdoms, we’ll never leave this room. The Well has claimed dark land in both realms. Our spies hint that the isles off the southeast shore of Rohldova share the same fate.”

“You have spies?” My heart races. “So the Arches to Lyrichia aren’t closed?”

While he clearly was able to use one from Quietus to Alyssium, that was fueled by the power within my mother’s sword. I assumed all other Arches must have flickered out by now with how the realms are crumbling.

Wilder shakes his head. “The remaining Arches are unpredictable. But working as of now.”

“And Malachi?” Greer asks, the sharp bite of her tone not tempered in the slightest.

“No one has seen him.”

My throat thickens.

I can still smell the haelmarrow hanging from Malachi’s clothes, feel the nearness of him. Wilder’s gaze darts my way, reading my memories of Malachi from my mind.

“You saw Malachi?”