Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Ladon
The sun was climbing the sky by the time we reached the Gem of Baumheim. After successfully finishing all three bottles of wine, we had caught a few hours of sleep before climbing out of the cave in the early hours of the morning.
Now we were headed back to King Marsden's castle so we could gather our belongings and return home. I couldn’t get over how amazing it felt, knowing that Reyna was gone. I could finally breathe easy.
But every time I thought about it, I remembered I wasn’t allowed to remain in Renoa.
I could go home to pack my things, but after that, I needed to head out of the city and back to Fort Malek.
Once, I had craved returning to Fort Malek so I wouldn’t have to deal with Emilie or childish demands from Cyrus and my mother.
But so much had changed. I wanted to be close to my family and close to Emilie. I had no doubt she would follow me to Fort Malek if that was what it would take to be together, but she shouldn’t have to.
A guard opened the gate as we approached the Gem. He obviously recognized us from our previous visit. I wondered what he thought of our tattered and bloody clothes.
Inside the castle, the host from the first day greeted us—first with a smile and then a look of horror when he took in our appearance.
“Oh, you should get cleaned up. I will send up extra towels and let King Marsden know that you’re back.
I believe he had expected you at breakfast, but I’ll let him know it’s going to be a minute. ”
I chuckled as I imagined King Marsden’s reaction if we had shown up to breakfast in our current state.
I was covered in sand and blood and sweat and looked forward to washing up and stepping into clean clothes.
My muscles ached and the burn marks on my skin were screaming at me, just as I’d suspected they would.
I showered as quickly as possible, gently washing my inflamed skin and patting it dry.
I was thankful I’d packed at least one loose shirt and pants that didn’t rub my blistered skin.
Perhaps there was a healer in the castle who could provide some burn cream.
That likely wouldn’t work on my insides, though.
It felt like I’d swallowed lava and injected it into my veins.
The wine probably hadn’t helped, but consequences had been far from my mind at that time.
I just needed to drink water and suck it up until my body healed. Hopefully Emilie wasn’t suffering too much either.
By the time I made it downstairs to the dining room, Vincent, Jade and Emilie were already seated and filling their plates with fruit and some type of breakfast casserole that smelled heavenly. My stomach growled, and my mouth immediately began to water.
“Good morning, Ladon,” Vincent said after spotting me. “I was just telling the ladies here that this is our traditional breakfast here in Baumheim. Thought it would be nice to share it with you all before you left.”
“Thank you,” I said, taking a seat next to Emilie. Vincent began to fill a plate for me. “What’s in it?”
“This and that. It’s a mash-up of whatever we have on hand—potatoes, egg, cheese, mushrooms. You get the gist.”
“Sounds perfect.”
Before he handed me the plate, he added, “Grab some toast and fruit too. A balanced meal is the best way to start the day.”
I smiled and took his advice, glad that he was in better spirits than when we’d left him.
Cyrus entered a few minutes later, and we finished our meal in near silence, aside from hums of approval and gratitude for the delicious food.
“I have to admit, I thought when you came back that you’d have Reyna with you.
Do I want to know what happened to her?” We all nervously looked around the table, but Vincent chuckled.
“You don’t need to answer that. At least tell me this—is there going to be a body for my citizens to stumble upon in the near future? ”
Cyrus shook his head. “No. You won’t find a body.”
“That’s good.” Vincent turned to me. “I also want to thank you for bringing back my son’s ring and sharing what happened. I might’ve gone the rest of my life not knowing, and I don’t think I could’ve handled that.”
I cleared my throat. “You’re welcome. I’m sorry it happened, and that I didn’t come bearing better news.”
The king’s eyes turned misty, but he dragged a hand over his face and put on a smile. “Well, then. Is there anything else I can do for you before you go?”
“No,” Cyrus said. “You’ve been a gracious host. We couldn’t ask anything else of you.”
“Excellent. I hope you have a safe trip back to Lourova, and let’s not let so much time pass before we see each other again, Cyrus.”
“I agree, friend.”
Jade rounded up her crew in record time. Thankfully, since it was still early in the day, most of them had not started drinking yet and were ready to set sail immediately.
Cyrus shared a few words with the captain, and before we knew it, the ship was drifting away from the harbor. The sun was now high in the sky, and there were few clouds in sight. I hoped it would stay that way and we would have smooth water as we traversed the sea.
Jade immediately went below deck, and Cyrus followed her, leaving Emile and me on the deck. I took her hand and led her to the stern, finding a place to sit and watch Baumheim shrink in the distance.
“How are your burns?” I asked, turning her arm to get a good look. She had a few angry welts that matched my own, but it looked as though they were already healing. I frowned. “Do you have ointment?”
“I do.”
“And you didn’t think to share with me?”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course I did. I brought it with me to breakfast, but it slipped my mind once we started eating.”
“Do you have it with you now?”
She nodded and stood up. “Give me one second.”
Emilie went below deck and returned a few minutes later carrying her backpack. She opened it and pulled out the burn salve. “Would you like me to…?”
“Rub me down? Yes, princess.”
“Don’t think I won’t smack you, Ladon. Even with those blisters.”
I chuckled, taking my shirt off so she could lather all my burns. She scooped some onto her fingers and began to gently cover my chest. I watched her carefully, enjoying the way her fingers brushed my skin. Then she grazed a particularly painful welt, and I hissed.
“Sorry,” she said.
“Don’t be. I really enjoy having your hands on me. We should do it again sometime when I’m not charred.”
Emilie smiled and bit her lip. “You’re insufferable.”
“You like it,” I teased.
She didn’t respond but kept applying the ointment with tender hands. Sinful thoughts entered my head when her fingers got dangerously close to the trail of hair that stuck out of my pants.
“Emilie,” I said in a low, husky groan. “As much as I’d love to see where this is headed and watch you explore my body, I don’t think this deck is the place to do it.”
Her cheeks turned pink, and she pulled her hand back, but I could tell by the look on her face that her mind was still full of delicious thoughts.
I grabbed the back of her neck and lifted her face to me. “Hey. Tell me something honest.”
Emilie’s eyes met mine. “I can’t believe you’re real, and that life led me to you. I want to always keep you with me, keep my hands on you, just so I know you’re not a figment of my imagination. I need to know I didn’t die inside that mountain.”
Keeping my right hand on her neck, I used my left to hold her hand and bring it to my lips, kissing the inside of her wrist. “You’re alive, and I’m very real, princess.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
There was only one day left of our voyage, and I hadn’t talked to my brother almost the entire time. It was like he forgot I existed once again. Now that our mission was finished, he seemed content to ignore me.
I wanted to wrap my hands around his throat and strangle him… in a friendly, brotherly sort of way. The kind of way that makes a person realize they’re being an idiot.
Emilie had just stepped out of the room to grab something to eat when I decided I couldn’t take it anymore. I got out of bed and knocked on the door next to ours.
“Cyrus,” I shouted. “Cyrus, we need to talk.”
When he didn’t respond, I pounded on the door some more. He had to be inside. I’d been listening for the sound of doors opening or closing and footsteps in the hall all morning.
I was about to give up, but then the door opened. Jade squinted at me. Her hair was a mess, as if she’d just rolled out of bed. “What do you want?”
“My brother. Is he in there?”
She let the door swing open wider, and I could see him inside, still in bed. His shirt was missing, and his beard was unkempt. He had dark circles under his eyes and overall looked like a mess.
The wind left my sails, and I sounded pathetic when I asked, “Can we talk?”
His chest lifted with a heavy breath, and he dropped his head. “Yeah. I guess so.”
“I’ll meet you in the crew lounge?”
“Sure. Give me fifteen.”
I let the door close and dashed to the lounge space, taking a seat at the empty table. Thank the gods the crew woke up and ate so early. I would’ve yelled for them to get lost if any of them had been hanging around.
I waited nervously, tapping the tabletop while my eyes flicked toward the staircase every few seconds, expecting to see Cyrus. Every sound made me jerk my head up, then sink with disappointment.
Finally, Cyrus appeared, taking his time to slip into the seat across from me. He stared at me with a blank expression, making me question whether I was pressing him too soon.
Shifting uneasily in my seat, I cleared my throat. “How are you?”
Cyrus merely raised a brow.
Okay, that was a stupid way to start the conversation. But I’d never been in this position before.
I wiped my hand down my face, feeling sweat coat my palm. “Listen, I know that I’ve broken your trust, and I’m going to work really hard to earn that back. Please believe me when I say that I did not do any of this intentionally.”
“Any of what?” he demanded. “If we’re going to do this, we should be completely honest. Right? So, say it. What did you do?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I didn’t intentionally fall in love with Emilie.”
He blinked, and I watched as his jaw rippled with irritation.
“I didn’t know how much I would come to care for her. And I didn’t intend to come between the two of you or break up your engagement. You’re my brother, Cyrus. I love you, and I would never hurt you on purpose.”
He tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling. “And lying to me? Was that intentional?”
I hung my head and numbly drew circles on the table. “Yeah, I guess that was a choice I made. For what it’s worth, I planned to tell you. I was just waiting for the right moment.”
“Because you couldn’t be with her if you didn’t tell the truth.”
How could he be so callous about all of this? I didn’t deserve his sympathy, but I had never seen him act so heartless.
After a long pause, I said, “Because it was the right thing to do.”
Cyrus turned his head, clearly growing tired of this conversation.
I didn’t know what else I could say or do to make this better.
Shaking my head, I sighed. “I really am sorry, Cyrus. Not for loving her, but for hurting you. All my life, I’ve looked up to you. I admire you so much and would do anything for you. I just hope one day you’ll believe me.”
Cyrus didn’t bother to look at me, and I knew it was time to give up. I wouldn’t get anywhere with him like this. Standing, I opened my mouth to say something else but realized there was nothing left to say. So I turned my back on my brother one last time and started for the stairs.
“Wait,” he said hoarsely.
My head snapped around so fast, I thought I heard a crack.
“I… I can forgive you.”
I waited, hope building in my chest.
“I don’t know how long it’ll take,” my brother said quietly, “or how. But I think I can.”
“I understand.”
He raised his eyes and finally looked at me, saying simply, “I don’t want you to leave Renoa.”
“I don’t want to leave either.”
“You can stay. Emilie too. Though I’d appreciate it if you didn’t flaunt your relationship in front of me. Can you do that?”
“Absolutely.” I could keep the public displays of affection to a minimum when he was around. And if it would make him happy and improve our relationship, then I couldn’t say no. It was a small request in exchange for coming home.
Home. I was coming home.