Chapter 51
Derian
Huntyr is different around her sister. Softer. Her smiles come easier.
It helps that Tyla somehow seems to be doing better. Huntyr’s relief eases any frustration that we might have made the journey back to Oxhurn for nothing.
The two of them walk easily next to me now as I lead them towards the halls where the more permanent bedrooms are. Huntyr frowned when I initially led her away from where she’d stayed earlier, but I simply quipped that I couldn’t have my betrothed staying in such a dilapidated room.
Which technically is true.
But the fact that I also want her sleeping across the hall from me is just as true too.
After leading them to the room just next to mine, I open the door and stand aside to let them in.
The room isn’t entirely different from the one I’d had Tyla stay in at the Springhallow manor.
There’s a bed big enough for the two of them, a small table that they can eat their breakfast at in the morning, and windows that let in the afternoon light.
Kaia trails in behind them, examining the space for a minute before jumping onto the bed and resting her head.
I frown at the Eshari. “Do you ever do anything other than sleep?”
Her snarl tears through the room, and Huntyr tries, and fails, to hide her laughter. I lift my brows at her, silently demanding to know what the beast had to say, but she only shakes her head.
“You don’t want to know,” she assures me.
Based on the way the cat still glares at me, I don’t doubt that. I can’t believe I’m going to have to spend the rest of my life sharing my wife with that beast.
Shaking away the thought, I turn back to Tyla and Huntyr. “You two will stay here until we’re ready to head back to Springhallow.”
Tyla snickers. “No.”
“No?” Huntyr questions, turning her gaze to her sister and crossing her arms over her chest. The action presses her breasts together, and I have to avert my gaze to keep from dragging her from this room.
It’s been too long since I’ve been inside her. I can hardly think of anything else.
Tyla looks at me like she can read every thought in my mind as if it’s written in large print right in front of her.
“Huntyr has slept with me every night since I arrived, and you two have been forced to sneak away to dark corners and alleyways because of it.”
My Huntress blushes a sinful shade of pink.
“For a highly trained assassin, you’re not as subtle as you think,” Tyla deadpans, resting her hands on her hips. “So, I will stay here, and you will stay with him.”
Say yes.
“No.”
I swallow my disappointment with a heavy breath.
Tyla’s brows lift in an expression of utter stubbornness that puts her sister to shame. “I’m perfectly capable of spending a single night alone.”
I should leave. I should give them the courtesy of figuring this out alone without me hovering, but, Gods, I can’t seem to make my feet move. Not when there’s still a tiny shred of hope that I might have her in my bed tonight.
Huntyr inclines her head. “And what if you get sick again?”
Well, that kills any of my remaining hope. I recognize that tone of voice. Tyla is fighting a losing battle. That tone means Huntyr’s mind is not going to change. I start to move towards the door.
“Kaia can stay with me,” Tyla reasons. “I think she’d prefer it.”
I pause. That is a fairly convincing argument.
Glancing over my shoulder, I meet Huntyr’s gaze and find… conflict. For some reason, that causes something deep within me to clench.
“It’s up to you,” I tell her under my breath.
Tyla rolls her eyes and huffs. “No, it’s not. It’s up to me, and I’ve decided.”
Huntyr stares at her sister for a long while before shifting her gaze to the Eshari, the two of them communicating in that silent manner. Then, finally, she looks to me.
“Okay,” she agrees.
It takes all of my pride and control to stop my grin at just a smirk.
Tyla might be my new favorite person in the world.
From the sparkle in her eyes, she likely knows it.
“Alright then,” I say. “I have to check in on a few things. I’ll send Marta with some bathwater for you both.”
I close the door behind me, but my Fae ears can’t avoid overhearing bits of their conversation as I retreat.
“I can’t believe you.” Huntyr sighs, but her voice lacks any real bite.
“You’ll be nicer after you’ve been laid.”
“Tyla!”
“See? That’s proof enough. It’s not my name that you should be screaming.”
“I might actually kill you.”
“Derian!” Tyla teases, her voice turning high-pitched and breathy. “Oh, Derian!”
I smile all the way to the War Room.
Cal has already begun checking in with the fortress leaders.
Parker, Imani, Wyatt, and Geoff all stand spread around the map.
Cal stares down at it, one hand resting on the pommel of his sword, and the other scratching at his jaw.
His thick brows are drawn together so tightly that my stomach instantly plummets.
“One of these days, I’d like you to bring me some good news, Parker.”
The warrior flicks his brows in agreement. “That would be nice, wouldn’t it?”
I pull a wooden chair backwards towards the table, sitting and folding my arms over the top of the backrest. The torchlight flickers over the worn parchment as I take a moment to examine the new red markers that have popped up in our absence.
Fuck.
We were barely gone more than a fortnight.
Not long enough to warrant this many new sightings.
“You’re not going to like what we’re about to tell you,” Wyatt sighs.
It gets worse?
Cal shifts beside me and sighs, looking down at me with an expression that tells me everything I need to know.
Our experience during the journey wasn’t an isolated incident.
“Let me guess,” I drawl. “They’re traveling in groups?”
Imani and Geoff exchange a look. “How did you know?”
“We were attacked on our way to Springhallow,” Cal explains, while I run my tongue over my teeth and consider our next steps. “Three of them together. They killed Roland.”
Imani gasps, a hand flying sharply to her chest. She isn’t one to show emotion often, but she and Roland have been… close. Close enough that I momentarily debate giving her leave, but I watch her roll out her shoulders and harden.
No, she won’t want to leave.
She needs to be here, planning a counterattack. She needs Velkai blood on her hands to numb out the pain.
It’s how I would respond if Huntyr—
I stop that thought before it can finish.
Parker sinks heavily into a seat across from me and points to a spot in the Wastelands a few miles to the west of the fortress. “Four here.” He moves his finger closer. Too close to the fortress. “Nine here, two days ago.”
“Nine?” Cal hisses.
“Any injuries?” I demand.
A shadow falls over Parker’s face, and he leans back in his seat, letting his arms drag back against the table as he does. “Two casualties, one injury. We expect he’ll make a full recovery, though.”
My chest tightens. I hold onto that feeling for a moment before I release it. That’s going to be the first of many casualties if we don’t stop the Mother.
“Did they say anything?” Cal asks, exchanging a quick glance with me.
He’s careful not to mention her to the others, a decision I agree with. No need to put that concern in their minds until we know more about whether or not the bitch is still alive.
“That’s what’s odd,” Wyatt says, scratching the top of his head. There’s a new scar stretching down his bicep. I fight the guilt that’s creeping up my spine. I might have been able to stop those casualties if I’d been here.
“They weren’t even trying to attack us at first,” Imani continues. “If anything, they treated us like we were a nuisance in their way.”
Cal frowns. “Come again?”
Wyatt nods. “They were trying to get around us. They only started fighting back after we attacked first.”
That is… unusual.
“Any idea why?” I question.
“One of them, a leader, was shouting at them to keep on and not slow. He said something about her drawing closer.”
I sense Cal’s tension as his weight shifts next to me. “Her?”
Parker shrugs. “They just kept saying it over and over. How they sense her drawing closer.”
I stare at the floor, feeling a wave of nervous magic begin swirling inside me. Cal sighs, looking to me for permission. I nod and only half listen as he tells them the full story of our attack and what the Velkai said about the Mother.
He doesn’t, however, tell them about Huntyr’s power. For my benefit, I suppose. He’s giving me time to come to terms with the fact that as much as I care for her, Huntyr needs to be on the frontline.
Everyone’s in agreement on that except for me.
Huntyr wants to go alone.
Cal wants her to fight with the militia.
The second everyone else learns what she can do, they’ll all be ready to send her into the Wastelands with nothing but her newfound magic to keep her safe.
Logically, I should want that, too. The leader in me knows it’s what’s best. There’s no room for favoritism in war. You use your assets to the best of their ability, even if that means you lose them in the process.
Huntyr is a weapon. It’s ignorant not to admit that.
She’s a formidable opponent. Highly trained and improving every day as her Fae strength and speed develop. Her magic, untested as it is, is unparalleled in a fight against a Velkai.
It’s my job to defend my kingdom.
I’m the second-born son, farther removed from the crown with every child my brother sires. My only job is to protect this kingdom.
If the Mother rises, it becomes my job to protect the entirety of the realm.
I’ll need every weapon at my disposal.
Even if that weapon is her.
I don’t say another word for the entirety of the meeting. I can’t. I can’t think straight enough to speak coherently when I feel like I'm falling through the air and about to crash down heavily to the ground without anything to save me.
Plans are made to reinforce posts, and exploratory expeditions are arranged.
We determine what updates will be given to the other fortress warriors and who will give them.
We make a plan for expanding the infirmary.
Eventually, after all strategies have been exhausted, the others rise to their feet and exit, leaving Cal and me alone staring at that map in front of us.
Wordlessly, he moves to close the door, giving us privacy.
“Thank you,” I rasp. “For not telling them about her.”
The only response is the sound of his boots on the floor as he walks back towards me. He rests his hands heavily on the table and sinks into the seat Parker had occupied a few moments ago, his watchful hazel eyes examining me slowly.
“I should have,” he finally says, his voice notably harsher than usual. “You should have.”
I work my jaw for a long moment before I nod.
He glances out the window to where the setting sun is sending hues of orange and coral over the training yard outside. “I’ll admit Lachlan has grown on me too, but she wouldn’t be the first friend we’ve sent into danger.”
I know that. Gods, I know that. I feel the weight of every one of my lost friends on a daily basis. Roland is only the most recent addition to an unfortunately very long list.
“You didn’t even know her a few months ago,” he reminds me softly, as if the length of time that Huntyr has been in my life changes this situation at all.
“I know her now.”
“And that changes things?” Cal demands, smacking a finger down on the table. “We’ve been preparing for this for decades, Derian. One girl shows up and changes all of our strategies?”
I can’t bear to look at him. “She changes everything.”
His heavy breathing takes up space in the room, the sound of it echoing in my head, a slow contrast to the heavy beating of my own pulse.
“Why?” he finally asks, pushing a hand through his hair as he leans back heavily in his seat. “At least help me understand why.”
I’m not even sure how to explain it. I open my mouth, but no sound comes out.
“Why?” Cal pushes.
I finally gather the strength to rip my gaze off the floorboards and meet the eyes of my oldest friend. The confession tears out of me, surprising both of us.
“Because I’m in love with her.”