Chapter 42
Reyla
The four of us flitted to our suite at Irridain.
Dorion carried Laphira to the sofa, gently laying her on the cushions, stroking the hair off her face.
“Dorion?” She gazed up at him in wonder. “You’re dead. She told me you were dead.” Her hand shook as she reached up to stroke his face. “But no. You’re real. Truly here and…real.” Her shoulders shook with sobs.
He climbed onto the sofa and gathered her close. “I’m here, love. No one’s taking me from you again.” He glanced up at us with tears in his eyes. “Go. We’ll follow soon. We need to control the situation here first, but with her death, my love is free.”
“There you are.” Calista rushed from our bedroom with Farris right behind.
Farris scampered over and jumped around us, whimpering. He got solid pats before I straightened.
Calista frowned at Dorion and Laphira before her gaze met mine.
“Why is he holding Princess Laphira and why is she sobbing on your sofa? And what’s that infernal noise?
” She stomped over to the window, drew it up and poked her head out, only to duck back inside quickly and rush over to us.
“It looks like they’re preparing for war down there.
Soldiers are rushing in from all directions and—”
I held up the pendant, letting it spin on its chain, its tiny wings fluttering.
Calista cupped her cheeks tightly enough to make her lips pucker.
“You’ve done it, my queen.” Her gasp rang out.
“I mean…Lady Bliss. You’ve done it!” She peered back at Dorion before turning back to me and Lore.
“Incredible. I assume we’ll leave immediately?
It might be wise to depart now if they’re preparing for war.
” Her jaw dropped. “You don’t think they’ll be attacking Evergorne Court, do you? ”
It was a very real possibility—if they connected Naveer’s death to us.
“Irridain will not attack Evergorne.” Laphira stroked Dorion’s face again before easing off his lap.
She drew herself up stiffly. “With my mother dead, I am now in control. There will be nothing but peace with Evergorne.” She pressed her palm over her heart.
“This I swear.” She extended her hand to Dorion.
“Would you come with me to make the announcement?”
Calista leaned close to me, keeping her voice low. “She recovered quite quickly, didn’t she?”
A queen did what she must.
Dorion rose, towering over her petite frame. “Wherever you go, love, I follow.”
She leaned into his chest. “We have some talking to do. Soon. You’ll stay with me, won’t you? I have news to share.”
He took her hand and kissed it, gazing into her eyes. “I’m staying.” He glanced our way. “I know you need to leave soon, but thank you.” Pure gratitude glowed in his eyes.
They eased around us and left.
“I’ll gather your things,” Calista said, seeking my approval with her eyes.
“Moira…” How could I tell her?
Her head tilted, her brow furrowing. “Moira…?”
“She’s dead.”
Something flickered in her eyes, confusion mixed with pain, before her face cleared.
The spell was still working, still stealing pieces of memory.
“I’m terribly sorry.” She pursed her lips and reached out to pat my arm in sympathy. “Was Moira a friend? I’ve heard the competitions can be dangerous. Poor dear. How horrifying to lose someone here in this wretched court.”
“She was your daughter.” I watched her face.
Was Dorion right; would everyone forget?
“Daughter?” Her eyebrows rose, and her laugh burst out.
“Oh, my queen, you’re joking. Me, a daughter?
Wherever would you get that idea? I’ve never wed, though I had my offers, let me tell you.
Not that one needs to be married to have children, but I assure you, I have none.
I’ve sometimes wondered if I should’ve tried harder to find the right one and have at least one child, but I enjoyed my independence too much to give it away to any man. ”
She truly didn’t remember Moira.
Yet I did.
My heart still hurt from the loss of someone I’d thought was a friend.
Damn Prager. All those willing deaths feeding her power, making spells like the memory golem easier to maintain.
“No need to pack.” Lore stepped between us, holding out his hands. “We’re leaving for Evergorne now.” His head tilted, and his attention shot to the door.
Shouts rang out in the hall, the thud of footsteps coming this way.
Lore latched onto Calista’s hand. Sputtering, she gaped up at him.
I snatched Farris up in my arms and leaned into Lore’s side.
A blink, and we stood in our suite inside Evergorne Court.
“Oh, my.” Calista’s eyes widened as she stepped away from Lore.
“That was an interesting way to travel, now wasn’t it?
” She stiffened and gave us both a pert nod while I placed Farris on the floor.
“Shall I notify the head chef that you’ve returned and will be dining?
I can also draw you a bath. I’ll let Faelith know we’re here and have her take Farris out to play, if you’d like. ”
“I can handle the bath,” Lore said. “Take Farris to Faelith, and you both can wear him out in the gardens. Yes, notify Dulvade we’re here, but we’d only like a tray sent to the room.”
“Something well crafted, however.” She grabbed Farris’s leash from a table and attaching it to his collar. “Surely you need something decent after what you went through.”
“Anything, Calista,” he said, nudging her toward the door with Farris.
She left, and he secured the door behind her, turning to lean against it.
My chest lifted and fell with my sigh. I still felt like my heart had been yanked through a too-small hole.
Lore drew me into his arms, holding me while I sniffed. How could I mourn someone who’d never existed?
That’s when a touch of anger shoved aside some of my sadness.
“Fucking Prager,” I hissed. “What will she do next?”
“If I have my say, die.”
“There’s competition, so you’d better be fast.” I snorted out a bitter laugh.
Leaning back, he watched my face. “I’m sorry. I know you cared.”
My laughter gone, I shook my head and walked over to the flickering fire, holding out my hand, trying not to cry. “How could I care for someone who didn’t truly exist?”
“But she did. I’m sad about the loss too. And angry that I didn’t see and eliminate the threat.”
“Would you do something for me?” My voice still carried traces of tears.
“Anything.”
“Make me forget everything if only for a short time?” I needed him to remind me of what was real.
He flitted to stand in front of me, gently cupping my face, staring into my eyes. “I’m here for you. Always.”
We kissed, and nothing was more amazing than grounding myself in my husband.
For now, I could shove Prager and her latest trick to the side.
No nasty queen playing cruel games and no more praying to the fates we’d win the talisman.
The three were secure in my pocket, and I’d keep them close until we fused them together.
Should we be doing that now? Probably. But three days wasn’t a lot of time to make memories with my husband, and if spending half an hour with him could be considered a waste by others, it wasn’t to me.
I latched onto his tunic, dragging him closer until our mouths met again. His kiss deepened, his teeth grazing my lower lip before he soothed the ache with a stroke of his tongue. I melted against him, the heat of his body chasing away the cold left behind by Moira, by Naveer, by all of it.
Lore pulled back enough to whisper. “Let’s disappear for a while. Just you and me, wife. The rest of the world can wait.”
“Yes, please.”
We quickly stood beside a small pool far in the mountains. Dense woods marched right up to the water on three sides, and on the other, jagged cliffs rose to snowy peaks. In the distance below, Evergorne Castle’s rooftop gleamed in the moonlight.
“Where are we?” I asked. Such utter stillness. Such complete peace. Only the low whir of insects broke the silence. Warmth stole back into my heart, a gift from this man I loved.
“I found it when I was in my twenties.”
“Who found it?”
His expression wry, he shrugged one shoulder. “Me. Lorant. Me.”
Steam curled across the pool’s surface, and with a flick of his finger, small lights burst into life. They bobbed in the air, casting warm, golden light across the polished stone surrounding the pool.
His gaze found mine, and when his lips curled up on one side, my clothing vanished.
I gasped, though I should’ve expected it. He did adore stripping me with magic. The rush of cool air hit my bare skin, and I laughed. “You could warn a girl, you know.”
“I like your laugh,” he said, his voice rough and amused. And then his clothing disappeared too.
“Are we going to walk back to Evergorne naked?”
Bracing my shoulders with his warm palms, he stared deep into my eyes. “Ride me, Wildfire, and I’ll take you wherever you’d like to go.”
“Ride you, I shall.” Heat rushed to my cheeks.
He swept me into his arms, and I squeaked as he spun me in a wide circle, my laughter ringing out above the splash of tiny waves rippling on the shore and the distant rush of the wind through the forest surrounding this secluded spot.
He slowed, our noses brushing as he held me snug in his warm embrace. When he growled into the crook of my neck, he brought out my laugh.
And it felt good. Prager could try, but she’d never steal this.
He carried me to the pool. Steam curled around us as he sank down, cradling me on his lap, my back pressed to his chest.
I let my head fall back against his shoulder as the heat soaked into my muscles, undoing every knot and every coil of tension left behind by the last few days.
He found the ties at the crown of my head and began unbinding my hair, his fingers tender and so gentle, I swiped away a tear. The pins clinked as he set them aside, and then his nose pressed into the waves of my hair.
“I thought about this,” he whispered. “When I was alone in the tower room. Sitting on my throne hoping you’d come join me. I’d pretend you were with me.”