Chapter 4
Lore
Farris had remained on the bed, his nose resting on Reyla’s leg. His ears perked forward when I flitted into view, but his eyes never left her.
The heat of the room hit me. How could a place feel warm when she felt so cold? Firelight jerked across the walls, and shadows shifted across the wooden beams overhead. They’d better be watching over my wife.
Every breath she pulled in felt like one borrowed. From where, I didn’t know. But the debt gnawed at me.
I walked to the bed and laid the book beside her, the leather still warm from my hands. I looked at her for a long moment, hoping she’d move. Her chest rose and fell softly. Still here, but for how long? Would the spell eventually suck all of her away?
I left the bedroom and crossed the sitting area, my boots nearly silent on the floor. Opening the door, I found two guards at their posts.
They straightened fast.
“Your Majesty,” one said, the other bobbing his head along with the first. “Welcome back. We didn’t know you’d arrived. Shall I alert the kitchens and ask them to—”
“Send for Lord Briscalar and Talvon,” I said, my voice flat.
The guard blinked. “Yes, of course, sire.” He bowed and jogged off down the hall. The other stiffened and twisted magic around his fingers, increasing our protection as if that might matter.
I shut the door and started pacing.
When the lord and Talvon arrived, I made myself sit. Stop moving.
Briscalar’s voice was as perky as ever and bright with relief. “My king.” He came over to stand nearby. “I'm so pleased that you've arrived back safely.” He peered around, searching for the woman he saw as a daughter. “Where is the queen?”
“She’s resting,” I said. “She was tired from traveling.” I couldn't hide what happened for long, but for now, I ached to protect her from everything, even their concern.
He glanced toward the bedroom. “I’m glad you've both returned safely.”
“How long were we gone?” I hated to but had to ask.
He frowned but smoothed his face quickly. “Eight days. Thankfully, all here has remained quiet.”
The words echoed, sinking deeply. So much time lost while we were inside the labyrinth. Only six days until my thirtieth birthday and the curse broke me. Unless we snapped it first. Unless I brought back my wife, we obtained the third talisman, and we fused it together.
It would have to be enough time.
“Did anything of concern happen while I was gone?” I asked Talvon.
Standing to the lord's right, he cleared his throat.
“There have been no further borgon sightings. People have settled into their newly built homes. The rebuilding is, honestly, going very well.” He shared a long look with Briscalar.
“And the queen's plan for the lords and ladies is working as well.”
Briscalar beamed. “They were eager to take part early, which is benefitting the lessers and the ruling class equally.
I believe we'll see long-term benefits from this plan.
When you and Queen Reyla have a moment, I'd like to discuss how we can expand this sort of arrangement into other areas of the kingdom.”
“Of course. After my birthday?” If I brought Reyla back and was still alive, wonderful. We'd expand this plan. If not, she would make any decision related to that.
I didn't like how bleak that made me feel, though I wasn't worried about myself. If I died, so be it. But I could not leave my wife as she was now.
No matter what happened, she could survive me. She was forged stronger than any myth. But she shouldn’t have to deal with all this, not alone. Not after everything we’d been through only to end like this, with her adrift, and me…gone.
“About your birthday, sire.” With a wave of his hand, Lord Briscalar sent more wood to the fire, and it perked up, sparks flickering up the chimney, greedy flames licking at the dry tinder.
Light blazed across the room. “I've already made some arrangements for the celebration. I'd thought to bring them up with the queen first to seek her input. She may have some special ideas.” He winked as if everything was normal, but to him, it was. And he knew she loved me, that she’d want this to be the best day of my life.
How could it be? That was the day I met her.
“I'll make an appointment with her tomorrow to go through them,” he said. “But if you have anything specific you'd like to see, please mention it soon so I can make the arrangements.”
“I will.” There was nothing else I could say.
“The queen's best friend and her husband have sent advance notice that they'll arrive that day.” His spine tightened. “Imagine. The High Lord of Weldsbane Court, who, I’ll note, is also our queen’s beloved brother, and the High Lady of Lydel will be here soon, staying within this very castle. Such an honor. If only your beloved mother was here to share the excitement.”
“Yes.” My shoulders sagged. I’d had no time to mourn.
“I've ensured our finest suite is prepared, along with the necessary security, for High Lady Tempest and High Lord Vexxion,” Talvon said.
“Thank you. Let's get together again in a few days to discuss things further.” I didn't want to use up any more time with them. My wife and the book waited, and nothing else mattered.
“Very well, sire.”
They both bowed.
Talvon opened the outer door and stepped into the hall.
“Once my queen has recovered,” I told Briscalar. “We may need to leave again.” For Irridain to obtain the talisman. A goal that seemed paltry compared to what mattered most, bringing her back from this spell.
He turned in the open doorway to face me. “You’ll leave after your birthday celebration, I assume.”
“No, before.”
He hid his wince well. “As you wish, Sire.”
“I appreciate all your efforts,” I said. “I know you'll handle things well while we're away. You’ll step back into the regent role while we’re gone.”
“Of course.” He bowed again before leaving, shutting the door behind him.
Silence wrapped around me like a second skin, broken only by the crackle of the fire. I could barely breathe. Think.
Reyla…
Every step back to the bedroom felt like I was wading through a turbulent sea. I slipped inside without making a sound.
Farris lifted his head, his ears perking forward and his tail drumming once on the quilt. Ever dutiful. Loyal to the end. His eyes tracked me as I stepped deeper into the fading firelight. I only paused to feed the flames, building the fire higher to keep her from getting cold.
Moonlight striped her skin. Still breathing. Still far from me.
I crossed to the bed and climbed onto it, taking care with my motion. My weight shifted the mattress, but she didn’t stir even then. I slid in as close to her as I could, curling around her without jostling her, my side pressed against hers.
Warmth radiated from her now, and that was new. Her skin had regained its color. But her shadow still shifted, pulling long across the quilt before jerking back to her side. Then it started all over again. Rippling, testing the boundaries.
If it snapped free, would it keep going, taking what was left of my love along with it?
My hands shook as I reached for the book. The leather creaked softly when I opened it. The pages were thick, edged in dull gold leaf that caught the firelight as I turned them. Ashen symbols looped along each page. Some curved like runes while others bent around each other in spiraled thorns.
“This book is going to help you, love,” I told her as if she was here, listening, looking up at me with excitement to hear what I’d read.
I found what Valera must’ve meant near the end and began reading aloud, my voice low and raspy.
“To descend into the beloved’s shadow, the soul must first bare itself.
But that is only the first step. To reach the chain, one must walk the corridors of their fated mate’s sharpest memories and not only embrace them but be willing, deep within their soul, to carry their burden.
But beware. Each step reveals both wound and wonder.
Only the truth of being known and still loved despite the knowing can shatter the shackles fastened by deceit. ”
The words hit like a blade in the heart.
Had I truly known every part of my wildfire?
What dreams had she buried too deep for even me to touch?
Were there corners I’d turned from without meaning to because some part of me hadn’t wanted to know?
My chest cracked at the thought. This wasn’t magic I could throw like fire or wield like a sword.
This was older, power sharpened to the bone.
I tapped the page, scanning the script again.
“Speak her full name and yours as one, and speak with your soul. Let shadow touch shadow, heart touch heart. Step sideways through silence. Don’t only bear the burden but embrace it.”
My gaze lifted to Reyla, still unmoving other than her hand twitching on the quilt.
The mating mark on my wrist flared. Under her sleeve, hers glowed back in perfect rhythm. Her shadow stretched again, slow and reaching, drawn to the book.
I read more.
“To join a soulpath shadow, you must bare your heart and your mind. Hide nothing. Mask nothing. Lie, and lose them.”
I stilled. The fire dimmed behind me, and the air went cold.
“Touch the beloved with intent. Never duty. Not even with hope. Touch them with truth, then step where only lovers dare.”
My pulse thundered. More ink curled across the bottom of the page.
“Carry a memory, shared behind your eyes. One made of laughter, of open hands, of the night and the stars and the moon that shines true. That memory will tether you to one another.”
I closed my eyes. Let the fear rise. Not of death, but fear of doing all of it, and still losing her.
This spell didn’t want strength. It wanted truth. A naked heart. A soul without crown or command. One open and exposed, willing to take on any and all burdens.
I would do this.
The fire cracked behind me. Farris breathed softly. The bond burned.
There was nothing left I wouldn’t give.
“Is that it?” I asked the silence.
The book answered, bleeding one final line across the bottom of the page, slower than the rest.
“To make the passage, the bonded must surrender their essence. Empty the pool of magic and allow the beloved’s shadow to drink. Only in sacrifice can true love find the way.”
I hesitated. Not because I didn’t want to give everything, but because I’d never known if my love was enough, if giving each piece of me guaranteed anything at all.
What if I held my heart out to her, and she couldn’t reach back? The thought turned my bones to stone. My hand hovered over the book, feeling useless. I could burn kingdoms, face the fates themselves with my head high, but I didn’t know if I could survive diving into her world and finding her gone.
What would be left of me if she had already flown? If I lost her, I'd be a man exiled from his soul.
My stomach twisted.
Bare the heart. Touch with truth. A shared memory. And then surrender.
I stared at Reyla. Still breathing. Still here.
I’d give everything if I had to.
It wasn’t relief that slammed into me. It was panic. Hope had teeth, and it had sunk them into my throat. I might lose her no matter what I did.
The dragon mark on my forearm flared.
“If it’s a journey through your heart,” I whispered, my voice only for her. Evermore for her. “I will walk it gladly.”
Heart slamming up into my throat, I whispered, “I don’t have anything left to prove, Wildfire. It's always been about you.”
No throne. No crown. I was just a man stripped down to nothing.
Curling tighter around her, I made a single shape of our bodies. The book lay open on the blankets, firelight flickering across the pages. Her exhalations fluttered against my collarbone.
This was it. Act or prepare to mourn. No crashing storms. No enemies at the outer wall. Just this single moment before a battle without swords.
One I had to win.
For her.
For us.
“Reyla Jarrn Weldsbane, now of Evergorne Court.” My soul remembered how to say her name, even when my voice broke.
“And Lorick Thorne Damaris Shadowhart Evergorne.” The words quavered in my throat.
Deep in my heart, I was not a king or an heir.
Just hers. Lorick, the man who failed too often to say the right thing, but who had never failed to love her with every ruined part of himself.
Love didn’t want warriors. It wanted believers.
This would be the final step off a cliff while trusting the wind to catch me.
I let go. Into the unknown. Into whatever waited on the other side of a shadow built from sorrow.
Magic stirred low in my chest. I drew it upward as an offering before thrusting it all out, leaving nothing left but me. Heat and light poured out of me in a soft flood. I sent it through my palm resting over her heart. Through the bond winding between us.
I closed my eyes…
…And I fell into her shadow.