Chapter 14
Lunara paced in front of the cold fireplace, a lock of hair twisted between her fingers.
The shadows in her room were getting longer and, if she weren’t so distracted, she would’ve enjoyed watching Solyrian move, trying to gauge how the light correlated with the time.
How darkness was a signal of true evening, of relaxing, and not the constant, somber state of things.
As soon as Lyriat had left, she’d gulped down every drop of the blood gift he’d brought her, excitement clouding her judgement. She hadn’t needed that much. Her aches had been minor, and she’d used little power in relation to the last gift.
It had left her overly energized—not a good place to be when there was too much to think about, without a distraction in sight. The euphoria of her deal with Lyriat had begun to wane as a result, her mind refusing joy in favor of agonizing over every little detail.
Had she made the right choice? Asked for the right thing? Had Lyriat capitulated so easily because she could have asked for far more, or had worded her stipulations in such a way that he could easily outmaneuver them?
That’s what scared her the most. That she held such hope, but it was misplaced, because she hadn’t really gained anything.
You’re going to find out eventually, one way or another. Hope now or don’t—it doesn’t really matter because the outcome is the same.
Yes, but for once in her life she wanted something solid. Something reliable she could count on without having to consider everything that might ruin it.
Lunara slapped a hand to each cheek and smushed her face between them, loosing a low groan.
This was useless.
If she was doomed to disappointment, she could at least enjoy the time she had before it struck.
A few days in Straelon, a few days in Thodelebor—a week then. Ish.
And another realm, foolish as it is. Seventy-two years without leaving the Evesong, and you’re finally seeing the world. Even if Lyriat finds a way to cheat you—which he probably will—at least you’ll have that.
Occasionally, she and herself did agree on something.
Right. Good.
Now what?
Excellent question. Lunara assumed it would be nearing suppertime soon, but did the Demons always dine together in the great hall, or did they do something different in the evenings?
Sure, she’d been here for four days, but she had yet to spend a single one of them doing anything that even resembled normalcy.
Well, you’re not going to magically come across it in here. Alone. Doing nothing.
So. She just had to walk out the door. Easy.
For the second time that day, she found her hand hovering over the doorknob.
Honestly, it’s getting ridiculous.
“Get it together, Lunara,” she mumbled under her breath. “The whole world’s out there, just waiting.”
And there’s bleeding fuck-all in here.
She almost laughed at herself as she pulled the door open.
The corridors were different in this part of the castle, only one side holding chambers.
The other was a wall of windows that spanned the entire length of the hall and overlooked a central garden.
Someone had opened every pane, allowing a light breeze to tease the air inside.
The welcoming heat of afternoon sunlight had sunk deep into the stone floor, seeping straight through her slippers as if trying to pull her feet outside.
She might have been tempted by the lush greenery had she not looked up to see Brand walking away from her. The sight of a familiar person was a welcome relief. Of all people, he would be able to acquaint her with a standard evening in the Montrealm.
Picking up her skirts, Lunara hurried after him. She was just opening her mouth to announce herself, reaching out to tap him on the shoulder, when he abruptly spun.
And slammed straight into her.
It was like running head-first into a solid wall. Stars exploded in her vision and, if she wasn’t a healer and knew better, she would have sworn he’d just broken her nose. Fortunately, a pair of large hands wrapped around her arms and stopped her from falling flat back onto her arse.
Again.
“I— You—” He sounded strangled until he cleared his throat. “Forgive me, Lunara. I was… entirely distracted.”
Brand’s rumbling bass washed over her, sending a shiver through her bones as she blinked up into his overly-serious face.
It cannot possibly be fair for him to look and sound like that.
“We really must stop meeting like this,” she said, a ridiculous titter escaping her.
Blessed moons. Keep it together.
“Perhaps it’s better the Sisters drive us together, however awkwardly,” he said softly, as if to himself.
O-kay…
“And why is that?” she countered.
“Because then I am forced to act,” he whispered, “instead of dallying with my crippling thoughts.”
Well, that was unexpected.
“Uh…”
Probably have to do better than ‘uh’ if you want him to ever speak to you again.
Never mind that she understood so completely it made her ache. Had lived with those crippling thoughts as her only constant companion for decades.
A blush stole across his cheeks to—undoubtedly—match her own. Charged silence hung between them for a moment as he searched her face, and she wondered if he even realized he was still holding her. Not that she was complaining.
“I wonder if perhaps…”
Should you tell him that you’re still bent backwards and half-dangling, or just let it happen?
Let it happen. Obviously. She hadn’t been held in so long—even inelegantly—that she’d begun to forget what it could be like. The warmth and comfort of it. Of another being sharing their space with her own, unable to tell whose heart it was she felt beating.
This was the third time she’d found herself accidentally in his arms and stars above, she liked it.
Fool.
His nostrils flared as he took a deep breath. “Would you like to see something spectacular?”
There was an earnestness in his tone that grabbed hold of her, banishing every backhanded thought and rejecting any response other than, “Yes.”
Brand’s eyes never left hers as he slowly pulled her upright and offered his arm.
She took it, his scent washing over her as he led her through the empty corridors. Salt and fresh pine, and something warm that seemed attached only to him.
Though he was silent, she felt his excitement grow with every step they took, thrumming just beneath her fingertips where they clutched him. She couldn’t help the surreptitious glances she stole, taking in his profile and the way one side of his mouth had curled upwards.
It teased a smile from her own lips—until she found herself standing before the portal in the great hall.
Lunara had wanted to see Straelon. To visit the city, maybe go to a pub for the first time. Faced with the reality, though, a skitter of nervousness snaked its way down her spine.
“Um… Where are we going?”
“Not too far,” he said, rummaging through a small pouch on his belt. “Just right outside, really.”
He lifted his toll and threw it into the portal, offering her a crooked grin before grabbing her hand and pulling her through.
They emerged into a tempest, her hair whipping into a frenzied, blinding curtain and tangling in every imaginable direction. Brand, too, was caught up in the mess, if the tugging at her scalp was anything to go by.
“Just don’t let go!” he shouted, though she could barely hear him over the screaming howl of the wind.
He squeezed her hand and urged her to follow. Rock and gravel crunched beneath her slippered feet, and she held on like her life depended on it.
For all she knew, it did.
Just as violently as it had appeared, the gale stopped, calming to nothing more than a cool breeze. Her heart stuttered when Brand released her, but it was only so he could reach in to part the screen of her hair, his deep chuckle doing funny things to her.
“My apologies. I’d forgotten the wind could be like that on the portal side of the peak.”
As he smoothed the curls and waves back, the amusement left his face to be replaced with something else.
Eyes darting, lids fluttering, he watched his own fingers moving through the strands. When he tucked the locks gently behind her ears, his lips parted as if words were waiting just on the other side to come tumbling out, but it was only shallow breaths that left him.
Lunara found her own lungs mimicking the action, and she couldn’t tell whether it was relief or crushing disappointment that flooded her when he backed away and let his arms drop.
“Where have you brought me?”
He nudged her forward, turning her as he spoke. “I thought someone who’d never seen Solyrian before today should witness their first sunset like this.”
The sound that left Lunara could not be described by any words she knew. It was like part of her soul wrenched itself from her body, just to come falling back with all the force of a comet landing.
In a million lifetimes, she never could have imagined…
Crowned by the castle and its many towers, all of the Horned City was spread before her, stretching and spilling down the mountainside.
Pure, evening sunlight bathed the mass of rooftops and stone, the biggest trees she’d ever seen scattered amongst it all and providing shade beneath their evergreen canopies.
Winding streets twisted amidst the landscape and structures, all leading her eye to the vast, glittering sea below.
And there, blazing just above the watery horizon, was the sunstar.
It shimmered as it sank slowly towards the waves. This time, she felt the tears as they flowed freely down her cheeks, dripping unchecked and lost to the earth. There were no words. She only wished she could capture this moment forever and live safe within its bright warmth.
She would have missed this if she’d left. Would have run back to her realm of endless dark and never known that such beauty existed.