37. Raelyna
RAELYNA
DAY THREE
It was official.
I was going to kill my stars-damned starbound mate the moment I saw him.
I had awoken early this morning to the sound of incessant buzzing from my nightstand.
Loxl howled in frustration, cowering by my feet under the covers as my phone continued blaring, disrupting our sleep.
With a disgruntled groan, I shifted under the covers, clawing at my nightstand until I found the infernal device and accepted the call.
“What?” I bit into the receiving end as I flopped back onto my pillow, listening to the line.
“Well, good morning to you too, starlight.” Callum’s voice flooded the other end of the line, and I shot up at the sound of him speaking.
For the love of the stars.
“Not a morning person, I take it?” His voice huffed on the other end, and words slowly began to form.
“This is not morning,” I stated as Loxl began snoring from the foot of the bed. “This is pre-morning. So, no, I’m not a pre-morning person.”
A deep laugh came from him as he spoke. “Listen, I don’t have a lot of time to speak, but I wanted to get a hold of you before I left.”
My heart caught at the wording.
Before I left.
As in before I left to circle The Wall of your entire Quarter while flying under constant fire.
“Okay . . .” I waited for him to go on.
“I need you to get in contact with someone. Iver. He’s a Remnant in Solis.”
I swallowed, toying with the comforter as I asked, “Why?”
“He’s been our main point of contact for the past month. He’s the male who snuck into Kira’s marking room.”
“Why do I need to speak with him?” I asked, still not clear on what he needed from me. I heard a few shouts in the background, then Callum’s frustrated sigh before he answered.
“I need you to make contact, to ensure that the last of the Remnant remaining are in the agreed-upon location on the seventh day.”
“Okay . . .” I paused before continuing. “And how will I reach this male?”
“His number should already be in your phone.”
“Wh—How?” I stuttered.
“I have my ways.” He chuckled slightly before another shout sounded in the distance.
“Okay. I’ll make the call,” I replied.
“Cal, let’s go.” I heard Axel’s voice in the distance.
“I’ve got to go,” Callum said. “Just promise me you’ll make the call and that you’ll stay out of the king’s way.”
“I will,” I replied. “But, Cal?”
“Yes, starlight?”
“Promise me you’ll be safe too,” I said softly. “We can hear the shots ringing out during the day—the shouts and cries of pain . . . and every day I worry—”
“I’ll be fine, Raelyna. Don’t worry about me. Just make sure you get things in place with your family.”
I nodded, knowing he couldn’t see the action, before the call disconnected.
The strong, rhythmic beat of wings fell in the background as I began to get ready for the day, knowing I needed to meet my mother at the Tilted Tavern. I quickly got dressed, leaving a disgruntled fennex fox buried under my blankets as I hurried to the tavern before it opened for the morning.
It was the third day of aerial fleets from Aurum’s Army circling around The Wall.
It was the third day of the enemy circling our Quarter.
Although, they weren’t actually my enemy.
It was the third day in a row that the RSG had been flying throughout the Quarter, enforcing curfews.
Three days of shots ringing out from all the battle posts.
And three days of me praying that Callum made it out alive.
“You’re telling me you’ve known about this for nearly three weeks?” my mother hissed as we stood in the kitchen of the Tilted Tavern, and I cringed at her tone.
“Yes?” My voice squeaked as I leveled a stare at my mother. “Well, no. I don’t know. So much has happened, and, well, there’s been a lot going on. It’s all rather complicated.”
“Raelyna Kingsley,” she scolded. “What in Aurelia has possessed you to go gallivanting around with Aurelian spies? You know how dangerous they are.”
I sighed, a weary sigh, as I placed another dish on the drying rack before speaking. “Just trust me, please?” I asked my mother. “I know what I’m doing. I have a few other stops I need to make today, but please. Just . . . come to my apartment tonight. Kira and I will explain everything.”
“You got your sister involved, too?” My mother’s voice rose, yet another octave, and I winced at her tone.
“Mother.” The word was an exhausted plea on my lips. “I’m over a century old. I know what I’m doing.”
“Pfph,” my mother humphed as she took the plate from my hands and began furiously scrubbing at it. “Don’t age drop me, girl. I have six centuries on you. I’ve lived a life you couldn’t have dreamed in your wildest fantasies.”
I sighed as I spun on my heel, leaning against the bar top.
“Please, Mother, I’m begging you. Just come by the apartment tonight and hear us out.
I know you don’t like to talk about it,” I admitted aloud.
“But you know Father was looking into things . . . That he had suspicions and fears that ultimately cost him his life. So, please, just give us a chance. Please?”
My mother stared at me, her hazel eyes narrowing before her lips pinched into a tight line as she thought over my proposal.
“Fine,” she replied. “I’ll be there.”
“Thank you.” I sighed in relief at her answer.
“I’ve got to fly, but I will see you tonight.
Seven o’clock.” And with that, I headed out the double doors, on to my next stop before the chaos that would ensue tonight.
On to meet Emberly, Sage, and Finn. To ensure that they were up to speed on the latest plans.
I paced my kitchen. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back—
“For the love of the stars,” Finn growled as he stretched his hand out, stopping me from any further pacing. “You’re going to wear holes into your already threadbare rug. You need to relax.”
“I can’t,” I admitted as my fingers snaked through my hair. “What if they don’t believe us? What if they don’t want out?”
“They will,” Finn replied, calmer than I’d expected him to be.
“Stop stressing, Rae,” Sage added as she spun around on the barstool she was perched on to look at me. “Besides, it’s literally just those closest to us to begin with—our parents, siblings. We’ll be fine.”
I stared at her without amusement. “My mother nearly refused to even show up today. I had to bring up my father for her to even consider what I was saying.”
“Your mother will believe us, trust me,” she affirmed, and I nodded slowly, trusting that this would work.
“Okay,” I replied. “Let’s do this.” I began to walk into my living room, my three best friends falling in behind me as we stepped in front of those we loved.
“Thank you all for coming,” I started, already cringing at the words falling from my lips.
“Um . . . I know there’s probably some confusion as to why we asked you all to be here tonight.
And I know we don’t have much time, with the curfew currently in effect.
But—” A knock sounded on the door, and we all froze, my eyes darting toward Finn.
A rapid hush of utter silence fell across the room as he hurried over to the display by the door, checking to see who was on the other side.
I watched as he tapped around on the display system before a light whirled, and then the locks of my front door unlatched.
“He came,” Finn replied as he turned to look at me. “At least, I’m assuming it’s him, based on the outfit he’s wearing.”
“You’re sure it’s him?” I questioned, my eyes darting toward the door.
“No?” Finn replied, arching a brow at me. “We’ve never met the male before. But based on the messages, I’d say I have a fairly good chance at being correct.”
“Well, then”—I gestured toward the door rapidly—“let him in. Don’t just make him stand there.”
Finn sighed dramatically before opening the door to the apartment and letting the male walk through.
The male stepped into my living room, and I heard a sharp gasp that had me spinning as a strangled noise fell from my mother’s lips. “Iver.”
I stared at my mother in shock before spinning toward the male she called Iver, my gaze darting back and forth between my mother and the male.
“Alya Kingsley,” he responded with a nod. “It’s been far too long.”
“Too long indeed. I haven’t seen you since—”
“Since the king executed Graysen for treason,” he answered as I continued to look between the two. My mother’s eyes watered with unshed tears as she looked at the male standing inside the doorway.
“And I apologize for that,” Iver added. “There’s been so much at stake, but it’s no excuse. I should have checked in on your family throughout the years. I should have been there for Graysen.”
“You were both guards at the time,” my mother stated. “There was only so much anyone could have done for him.”
Wait, my mind reeled as my gaze darted between the two once more. Do they know each other? Why does my mother know a Remnant? Does she know he’s a Remnant?
“So, it’s true then?” she asked him as she glanced to where I stood, before returning her gaze back to the male in question. “Everything my daughter told me. The spies—”
His head nodded in a solemn movement. “It is. He’s called us back.”
My mother nodded, silver rimming her eyes as she stared at Iver.
“I’m sorry,” I interrupted, dumbfounded as I looked between the two of them once more. “You two know each other?”
My mother nodded in confirmation, yet it was Iver who spoke first. “Alya and I worked together in our early decades—before I went underground—working against the royal family and their lies. Back when your father was alive, we were both RSG together. It’s because of me that your father first started looking into the corruption spreading through the Quarter. ”
“Oh,” was the only word that fell from my lips as I looked toward Kira in confusion, and she simply shrugged, as much at a loss for words as I was.
“I don’t have much time. You have word from Elion, I presume?” Iver asked after a wave of silence washed over the room.
His words snapped me to attention, and I nodded. “Um, yes . . . I do. I was just about to inform everyone why we called them here.”