Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
O ver the next hours, we gorged ourselves on flaky fish and flame-roasted mushrooms, tucking the eggs away until morning. We laughed as we tossed berries into each other’s mouths across the fire, and Taran was heartbroken to discover I had no survival trick for brewing ale or wine from scratch.
Eventually, the talk turned to more serious matters. I recounted most of what had transpired at the Guardians’ camp, leaving out that I had once been a member myself. When I retold the story of my doomed attempt to sail home, Taran was practically rolling with laughter. Even Alixe struggled to contain her amusement at my misfortune. But Luther’s expression was serene, almost reverent, and when I’d finished, he stared for a long time at the sky, murmuring words too softly for anyone to hear.
They were stunned to learn the rebels had taken the island. An official statement from the Crowns had declared the attack a “failed attempt” and claimed the Guardians involved were imprisoned or dead.
No one knew of the Arboros Queen’s fate—nor, for that matter, had many known of mine. Other than the Crowns, as far as anyone in Lumnos had been told, I was safe at home, recovering from the bedlam of my coronation.
Despite the claims of failure, rebel cells had been bolstered by the invasion on Coeur?le. Violence had increased dramatically in nearly every realm. When I shared the rumor of a powerful Descended helping the rebels in the north, Taran and Alixe had looked startled and a little betrayed. It hurt my heart to wonder what they might think if they knew a powerful Descended Queen had helped the rebels in their own realm.
“What of Lumnos?” I asked finally. “How are things at home?”
“Largely unchanged,” Alixe said. “Your show of force at the Challenging scared everyone enough to not risk provoking your temper. The Twenty Houses are operating as they did under Ulther’s reign but pushing it no further.”
“I heard the army sent soldiers to Lumnos. Did Remis request them?”
She and Luther exchanged a tense glance.
“Fortos has sent troops to every realm,” Alixe answered slowly. “They say it’s to discourage further violence.”
The group fell silent.
“But?” I pushed.
“ But those two think Remis is up to something,” Taran cut in.
My eyes went straight to Luther. “What do you suspect?”
He exhaled deeply. “I don’t know. He’s not keeping any of us informed of his decisions anymore.” Muscles ticked along his jaw. “But I don’t like it.”
“The number of soldiers sent to Lumnos is high compared to the other realms,” Alixe added. “Very high.”
“Too high,” Luther muttered.
“Can’t Eleanor overrule him?” I asked. The night after the Challenging, I’d chosen Eleanor—my first Corbois friend and my advisor on matters of court—to replace Remis as my Regent, giving her the authority to rule as Queen in my absence.
“He said he will not honor your decision until he hears it from you himself,” Alixe said.
I swore beneath my breath. I’d kept the news from Remis, fearing he might do something rash to interrupt my coronation. Little did I know the Guardians would beat him to it.
“What of Aemonn?” I asked. “He has Remis’s ear—has he said anything?”
Taran spat on the ground. “Nothing that rat says is worth hearing. All he’s good for is worm food.”
I shot him a stern look. “He’s your brother.”
“I don’t care. He can rot.”
“What happened with you two? I have a brother too, I know siblings can fight sometimes, but—”
“Aemonn is not Teller. You insult your brother by even mentioning them in the same sentence. Aemonn is exactly like my father, and we’d all be better off if they were both burning on a pyre.”
“ Taran ,” I scolded.
He gaped at me. “You’re defending him? Him? ”
Ever the mediator, Alixe interjected. “Aemonn is still the acting High General of the Royal Guard. He didn’t follow through on his threat to send us away to the coast—”
“Yet,” Taran grumbled.
“—and he gave us leave to come here. He hasn’t helped us, but he hasn’t gotten in our way, either.”
My frown deepened. I still didn’t know what to think of Aemonn. Though he’d been an ally to me at times, he was a man of many faces, each of them calculated for his personal benefit. Every interaction with him felt dangerous—and not in the fun way.
“I tried to convince my father to restore my titles,” Luther growled. “He said I was too distracted searching for you to handle anything else.”
Alixe and Taran’s shared look suggested they didn’t entirely disagree.
“So Aemonn is still Keeper of the Laws?” I locked eyes with Luther, my expression loaded. He nodded and said nothing more.
I let out a long sigh, scrubbing at my face. “And my brother—does he know about our mother?”
“He knows she’s alive,” Luther answered.
My brows rose. “Does he know anything else?”
“He knows she was arrested on Coeur?le and is in prison in Fortos.” His face turned solemn. “Nothing more.”
“Is there more to know?” Taran asked, glancing between us.
Neither of us answered.
“How did he take the news?” I asked.
Luther hesitated. Before he could respond, I saw the truth of it in his eyes—the pain he felt on my brother’s behalf.
When I had withheld the truth from Teller about our mother’s disappearance, this was exactly what I’d been trying to avoid—giving him hope she would return home safely, only to lose her all over again.
I buried my head in my hands. “First Mother, then Father, then me, now Mother again. He must be worried sick.”
Luther moved to sit beside me, then took my hand and folded it into his. “I told him I’d seen you when I came with Sorae. I said you looked healthy and in good spirits. It was a lie, but I hoped it would calm his worries.”
“I don’t think he believed you,” Taran mumbled.
Alixe smacked Taran’s arm.
“What?” he protested, glaring at her. She shot him a pointed look, and he rolled his eyes. “You saw Luther when he got back. That wasn’t a man who just saw the woman he loves ‘ healthy and in good spirits .’ We all knew she was in big trouble.”
Luther’s fingers tightened around mine.
“Stop talking,” he snapped.
“Not helping, Taran,” Alixe mouthed.
Taran ignored them both and looked at me. “Teller’s a strong kid, Queenie. He’s made out of the same stock you are. He’ll get through this.”
Surprisingly, Taran’s words did ease my spirit. He was right—Teller was strong. He’d been the one to pull me from my dark grief and remind me to fight after our father’s death. And, with Lily at his side and our newfound Corbois friends surrounding him in support, he wasn’t alone. I knew firsthand what a difference that could make.
“We’ll send a messenger hawk from Arboros City to let him know you’re safe,” Luther offered. His pale eyes almost seemed to glow from within as he watched me in his quiet, steady way.
I gazed up at him, Taran’s words still ringing in my ears.
The woman he loves .
The weight of it hung in the air between us, its presence heady and thick. It surrounded me—holding me, comforting me, terrifying me, thrilling me. It was a living thing, whispering of a mighty force, almost like—
“ Luther ,” I gasped in realization. “Your magic.”
I’d been so distracted by my emotions I’d almost missed the return of his powerful aura, a trait only the strongest Descended could sense—but there it was now, hovering protectively around me like a warm, heavy cloak.
He looked down as twin cords of light and shadow wove into a knot around our joined hands. I sucked in a sharp breath at the brush of his magic across my skin, each caress thrumming with a crackling energy. A deep, rumbling hum reverberated in my ears, hinting at his boundless well of power—but something about it felt stunted, almost unfinished, like a note missing its harmony.
“Impossible,” Luther said, frowning down at his own creation. “I shouldn’t have magic outside of Lumnos.”
“I thought I felt mine return last night,” Alixe said. “Before I could use it, it was gone again.”
We all gaped in captivated confusion as Luther’s magic twined its way up my arm. After a few moments, it wavered and vanished into mist, and the air again felt hollow, empty of his presence.
Luther’s brows furrowed tighter. “Perhaps it has something to do with being near the Crown.”
“I don’t think so,” Taran said. “When we passed through Faunos, my magic came back for a moment, too.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Luther demanded.
“Do you not remember the journey here, cousin?” Taran shot him a look. “You were on the warpath. Alixe and I were doing our best just to stay out of your way.”
“You should have told me.”
“You weren’t interested in chatting . All you wanted to do was murder everyone and stare at that damn magic compass—”
“ Taran ,” Alixe hissed.
Luther stiffened.
Taran grimaced.
“Magic compass?” I asked.
Luther’s glare narrowed on Taran. His fingers crushed around mine, his shoulders pulled tight as a bowstring.
Taran’s eyes went wide.
Alixe sighed and tugged him to his feet. “Come, cousin. Let’s take a walk before you end up skewered over the fire next.”
They both avoided our eyes and backed away from the campsite, shuffling into the shadows of the surrounding woods.
“What was that about?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Luther snapped.
His cold veneer slipped into place, his bearing turning stony and indifferent. I frowned as I studied his face. I was used to seeing this side of him around others, but not alone—not with me .
I slid my other hand along his jaw, brushing my fingers through the dark stubble that had begun to grow. Though he leaned into my touch, his features softening for the briefest moment, he resisted as I tried to nudge his face toward me.
“Luther,” I said gently.
I waited without pushing, sensing that some vulnerability had yanked him back behind his carefully built defenses. As much as I wanted to pull him out into the open, or at least tuck myself behind them at his side, I also knew this mask had grown out of tragedy and loss. Hiding his emotions had kept him and his loved ones alive in a dangerous world, and I couldn’t fault him for doing so again, when the danger was closer than ever.
I squeezed his hand in wordless support and laid my head on his shoulder. I felt his chest rise and fall in a deep sigh.
Finally, he spoke.
“I saw them take you on the island. Your mother had wounded me, so I couldn’t walk. But I tried—Blessed Kindred, I tried . I clawed my way through the dirt, screaming your name. Before I could get to you, a man came and carried you away.” His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Your body was so still. So terribly still.”
He winced and looked down. “When I healed enough to walk, I ran through the fighting to the Lumnos pier, hoping to chase after you. I found Henri on the boat, attempting to stow some flameroot your mother had hidden nearby, and I confronted him. I could tell he knew where they had taken you, but he refused to tell me, even when things became... heated.”
I held my breath. “Did you hurt him?”
Veins popped on Luther’s forearm as his muscles tensed.
“No. Once I realized he wouldn’t give in, I brought him and some other mortals back to Lumnos. I knew it’s what you would want.”
I sat up in surprise and stared at him, but still, he refused to meet my gaze.
“Sorae was frantic. She could sense you were in danger, but unless you summon her, her ability to find you takes time. I hoped, perhaps... if I could just get close enough...” He trailed off, then pulled my hand closer. “I’d seen the rebel boats going south, so we started there. For days, she and I flew in circles, hoping for some sign of you. And then...”
He closed his eyes.
“And then you found me,” I murmured.
“Yes. And then you sent me away.”
His harsh facade was still in place, but it was fractured, his dark fears oozing from within the cracks. When he finally looked up, I saw the imagined loss of me in his eyes and the wound it had left behind.
He dropped my hand and stood, turning his back to me as he paced around the fire.
“You would have done the same for me,” I protested, rising to my feet.
“It’s not the same. You’re my Queen. It’s my duty to protect you.”
“And if I were not your Queen, would you have abandoned me? Left me to die?”
He whipped back around. “Never,” he snarled.
“No, you wouldn’t,” I agreed. I walked up and pressed my hands to his chest. “I don’t need some duty to protect you, Luther, because we both know the Crown isn’t why you protect me.”
We glared at each other in silence, neither of us truly angry but both of us too stubborn to give in. He reached up and seized my wrists as if he might pull them away. After a moment, his shoulders drooped.
“No,” he said, sighing. “It isn’t.”
He dipped a hand into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a small object, then tightened his fist around it before I could see what it was.
“Sorae refused to fly, and I didn’t know if I could find you again by foot. A search like that could take weeks, if you were even still in Arboros.”
His voice picked up speed as his anxiety and fear came pouring out.
“I went to see the Guardians and threatened them within an inch of their lives. To their credit, few of them broke, and those that did knew nothing useful. Taran had to talk me out of breaking into the prison in Fortos to get your mother, in case she knew where you were. I might have done it anyway, and then I heard the rebels were trying to barter you, and I wondered if I should stay at the palace, in case you were returned. I didn’t know what to do. You were missing, and I... I was...”
He laid his forehead against mine.
“I was lost,” he whispered.
My heart clenched at the agony in his roughened voice. “And yet you found me,” I said, and he gave a tight nod. “How?”
For a long time, he didn’t move, didn’t speak. Then he pulled back until my hands fell away. He slowly raised his fist in front of him and flicked the object in his hand open.
I arched my neck forward to peer at the small gold disc. At its center, a red arrow whirred softly as it spun against an ivory dial, then stopped with a click .
Suddenly, I knew what he held—and what it meant. I’d turned to the very same object when I was lost in my own darkness and desperate for a way out.
A compass—a gift from the Crown of Meros, given to me at my Ascension Ball—spelled with Kindred magic to lead to whatever one’s heart most desires.
I took a hesitant step forward, and my breath caught as the arrow juddered in parallel with my movement. I raised my hand to cup it beneath his palm. The second my skin touched his, the arrow disappeared, and the dial glowed bright.
“I found you,” he murmured.
My heartbeat thundered so loudly I thought he might hear it, or at least feel it in the pulse of charged silence that hummed between us. His gaze rose tentatively to my face, and mine to his.
There was no more mask, no facade or armor to shield his heart. It lay open before me, raw and vulnerable, mine to take—or to wound.
The woman he loves , Taran had called me.
When Henri had spoken that word to me for the first time, it had sent me into a panic. It had made me pull away and question everything. I’d loved Henri, but—did I love him enough? Did he truly understand me? Could I be the woman he wanted, and could he be the man I needed? Did we share the same dreams, the same goals, were we walking the same path—were we even walking the same direction?
I’d run from those questions, and from Henri, because deep in my heart, I’d already known the answer was no. Even before I knew I was Descended, before he and I were pushed apart by a Crown and a war, something between us had always been a little bit wrong.
But the man before me now was not Henri. And I was not running.
And when I stared at the proof of his affection glowing before me in tangible, irrefutable form, everything about it felt right .
I laid my hand on top of his and snapped the compass shut, then slid it back into the pouch on his belt and pulled the drawstring closed. My palms flattened against his waist, then slid over the hard planes of his muscled torso, pausing over his chest until I felt the steady beat beneath his skin.
“My heart desires you too, Luther Corbois.”
There was one perfect, beautiful moment of stillness as my words sank into him.
Then he grinned, and I was in his arms. He hauled me into the air and wrapped my legs around his waist, both of us unable to restrain our smiles even as our lips met in a joyous dance.
“How long do you think we have until they return?” I breathed between kisses.
“Not long enough,” he mumbled, though his broad hands clenched around my thighs as he carried me toward the hollow.
The crack of a twig snapping beneath a boot cut through the silence. I broke the kiss and groaned. “Back already?”
“Keep walking, Taran,” Luther called out loudly. “I’m still considering roasting you on a spit.”
His mouth worked its way to my neck, drawing a soft moan from me as my eyes fluttered closed and my fingers snaked into his hair.
Another sound rang out—dried leaves crunching under heavy footsteps.
Several footsteps.
Too many footsteps.
“Cousin.”
Taran’s voice had none of its usual mirth. It was quiet. Strained.
Luther went still, and my eyes flew open. Near the fire, Taran stood with his hands in the air, surrounded by a circle of brown- eyed men. Their spears were tipped in glittering black points that hovered inches from his chest.
My blood ran cold as Vance emerged from the shadows.
“Shameful, Your Majesty.” His tongue clicked disapprovingly. “What will your betrothed think?”