Page 117 of Why Broken Wings Fray

Finally, Raegan sighed and rolled his weight over one hip. “And who are you?”

Whether or not Brian was insulted by the lack of knowing, it was hard to tell. He took the role of a pixie quickly, the sly grin and the narrowed eyes as he purred out a response. “Your father and I knew one another well.”

“Ah,” Raegan crooned. “Brian of Uisge – failed commander of the Sea Army.”

“It seems you know your enemies better than you know your friends, young King.”

Raegan’s nose twitched as he fought the desire to look at Killian next to me. His stare remained lethal, cold, and cruel on Brian as his grin turned pointed. “Are we enemies, Brian Mar’Rugadh?” The question was cool and lacking an ounce of care as Raegan’s eyes turned lazy. “I would have to care about you to consider you an enemy, would I not?”

The Rachainn behind us let out a series of damning noises from growls to snarls to grunts. The pixies behind Raegan did the same, some of them taking to tighter grips on their weapons and placing planned war between their brows.

Urram warned the world with the vibrations that came from the back of his throat. Which only made Gliocas chuff out a hateful noise and prowl one step closer. They remained in their cat-like stance, the two of them simply waiting for the smallest of commands to allow the taut tension between them to snap.

“When I lived in Saoghal and I abided by the ancient and twisted rules that govern your life – yes, we would have been enemies. Enemies, because a border sat between our lands. Because you prefer the grass and I prefer the sea. Because my people have gills that form against their ribs and your people have wings that sprout from their back. Enemies, because of what divides us instead of what unites us.”

Raegan gave off no sign of having even listened to Brian’s little speech. I, on the other hand, found myself agreeing with every word he said, for once.

“Explain it to me, young King – if the bay did not separate your people within the trees and your people beneath the sun, what would you expect of them? Would you want them to become one, to unite beneath the title of Talamh that you so confidently wave around? Or would you expect them to do as the rules of Saoghal tell them to – to despise one another and find commonality only in the love of their throne?”

One of Raegan’s eyes twitched, but he said nothing.

“Would you free them of these aged confines? Would you allow them to become one people?”

“Do you have a point, Brian?”

“You took the first step, Your Majesty. The first step towards a new future, a new Saoghal where our enemies are not our own kin. I believe that you did not intend to do that, but tell me what else you managed to achieve by uniting Choilltean and Cluaineach?”

“Other than the attention of low-lives like you?” Raegan prowled closer to Brian, Gliocas close behind him, and the Rachainn let out a variety of threatening noises. Raegan paid none of it a shred of attention. “I heard what you did while you commanded the soldiers of Uisge. I heard of your cruelty, of your wicked ways. Do you truly intend to stand here and tell me how I must treat my people?”

Brian let out a bitter, grating laugh. “No.” He grabbed onto my arm, his nails digging into my flesh and causing me to try to yank away from him. He only affirmed his grip. “I have come here because I have something that you care about.”

Raegan’s interest did not change. If anything, he cared even less, rocking backwards on his heels and sighing. “The Rachainn – good for nothing but threats and violence. It makes it hard to believe that you opt for anything else. You claim to want peace and equality throughout Saoghal yet you, likely yourself, have killed more than most of us.”

The soldiers on both sides were growing restless, the adrenaline slowly trickling out of them and demanding to be used.

“I shall arrive at my point at last. When you took the thrones of Choilltean and Cluaineach, you did so without care and now Saoghal is sick. Above all else, that is what I care about. I can fight for peace any day, but I cannot revive a realm that has fallen beneath your pretty boot.”

Raegan narrowed his eyes.

“I have planned and plotted and schemed to fix what you have broken, young King. But you have, too, haven’t you? Why, does the Prince of the Sea not sit within your dungeons as we speak?”

Raegan grumbled as he flashed an unpleasant look at Killian. Why he assumed it was Killian and not me, I’d never know.

“So I find myself shifting my plans, Raegan,” Brian continued. “Because if you play the rest of this out right, I believe we will both achieve our goals.”

Frowning, I turned to get a glimpse of Brian’s face.

Brian released me, only to drop to his knee. Behind him, the Rachainn all followed, the ground shuddering as a thousand weights were dropped against it.

“Take an oath of allegiance with me, Raegan of Talamh, and the Rachainn shall serve you as we turn our sights to Speur.”

My mouth fell open, prepared and eager to refute that idea altogether, but I was stopped dead by the look in Raegan’s eyes.

“Deny us, and we will kill her.”

Growling, I tried to step away from Brian only to be caught on both arms by two more Rachainn, more and more and more flooding towards me to try to pin my body still as I fought against them. Somewhere amongst the chaos I heard Killian, his bellows and his lashed threats, but it was no good as dozens of the Rachainn grabbed onto my arms and I was lost amongst them.

It was not Raegan who spoke next but someone else. Someone whose voice I did not recognize, whose features were unfamiliar. A male, one of Raegan’s ceadan, standing only a few feet behind him where he strung his bow and pulled it taut in my direction.