Chapter 58 Elorie
Elorie
“I wish I could have seen this dress before the battle.” Letia runs her fingers over the torn and stained fabric, hanging on a hook.
Steam from my lavender tea warms my nose as I hold it near my mouth. “You would have gone wild for the dresses at the palace. They were unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The silk was…” Lifting my hand, I rub my finger and thumb together. “It was everything.”
“I can only imagine.” A wistful sigh escapes her lips, and I leave her with the beautiful picture of it, not pointing out that the dresses are simply another piece of the king’s mask. A facade he wove to hide his true intentions.
There’s no point upsetting her more after all that’s been lost.
After Letia found us in the snow last night, she brought us into her home, and I discovered that the Ley Court wasn’t the only place the realm experienced heavy losses in the past weeks.
A bout of sickness swept through the village, claiming Mabel and Letia’s siblings, leaving her alone with the few humans who survived.
Half the Guard left to rotate and never returned.
Finally, the second wave abandoned the village as well, deciding to give up on the last humans in Lyrichia.
They didn’t realize at the time that leaving would mean their death.
They’re either still at sea or at the bottom of it.
Maybe that is a sick joke from fate, punishing them for abandoning their posts.
When Letia was done telling me about the struggles on Alyssium, I told her about my time on the continent.
About meeting the king and making the promise to heal the realm. About discovering my magic and the truth about my mother. And then I told her about Wilder, even as it tore at the seams of my heart to think of him. I told her about hating him, fighting him, and finally loving him.
Wherever he is in Vaelier, I wonder if he feels the same gap I do.
The void of darkness between us sings with echoes of emptiness. Inside me, there’s this place he should be, but he’s so far away that I can’t reach him.
I woke up through the night with a stir in my chest, and for a split second before I opened my eyes, I thought he was with me. But he wasn’t. All I have is his promise.
He’ll find me.
“Where are Callum and Greer? They must have been up early.” I stretch my legs, eyeing the empty cots they slept on last night in Letia’s cabin.
I’d planned to visit Father’s house, but after seeing Letia, I decided to put it off. There’s time to do it later. I fear time is all we have now.
Letia pours a fresh glass of tea. “They went to see what’s left in the Guard’s quarters and to check in on the rest of the village. Not that there are many of us. Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you this morning?”
I shake my head. “I need to do this alone.”
Letia nods, handing me one of her cloaks.
I drink the last bit of tea and then swing it over my shoulders.
The dress and any reminders of the court stay behind while I stalk out of the cabin in leathers.
These are thin in comparison to the carefully stitched ones I’ve grown accustomed to in the Ley Court, but they remind me of Mabel and times before things broke irrevocably.
Letia stares out the window, her face etched with grief as I set off down the road. The sky is cloudy but bright. The overcast is thin, so I doubt it will snow tonight. Finally, Alyssium’s winter is breaking, and so many of those who trudged through it won’t see the other side.
It’s a long, cold walk to the shore, but I take the path through the edge of the forest, collecting pine needles as I go. Green is the only real color here.
My steps falter when I finally reach the stony beach at the opposite end of the island from where we’d light the funeral pyres. I walk until I find the large flat stone Letia described—the spot she burned my father.
Snow and seawater have washed away any hints of him, but I cling to his presence in the breeze. I hold the pine needles to my chest, and then I let them go, scattering them with the wind.
The gods have never been so close when their magic stirs inside me, and yet, they’ve never been so far.
“I understand what you were saying now,” I tell my father. “But I still have questions.”
So many questions and no way to fix this.
“I know why you didn’t tell me where I came from, and I forgive you for that.”
A tear slips down my cheek, but I wipe it away. Father would want me to be strong, so that’s what I’ll be. Strong as the night and bright as the stars.
“Malaseah, Father. May Sarrow see you home.”
With the final blessing, I stare out at the churning water. All I’m left with are questions and no answers.
Except now, I know where to get them. I know why my heart sang for home when Callum opened the Gateway. To see my friends, my village. But also, to find her.
I turn to glance at the prison, looming over my shoulder.
Spires pierce the sky, nearly tall enough to reach the clouds.
My mother may no longer be there, but if there’s a chance she is, I have to try.
Her sword vibrates where it’s sheathed at my back.
I thought it was lost when I ran from the rebels.
Not rebels. That was a lie as well. They were Malachi’s men, causing panic to try and lure out Wilder’s mate.
The sword sings with secrets, and I’m thankful Letia kept it safe for me. I might need it for what’s next. Father said it was my mother’s sword. But what that meant and what it means now has changed.
The prison casts shadows on the island, begging me to return.
Callum doesn’t like my plan, of course. He stormed back and forth across the cabin last night when I told him I was going to look for answers. He warned me there’s a chance that now that I’ve woken my Fae side, entering will mean I can never walk out. But there’s still so much I don’t understand.
Closing my eyes, I face the ocean, letting the seawater mist my cheeks. I listen to the lap of the waves and make peace with what needs to be done. I swim deep into my chest, brushing against where my magic hides, and I soothe it.
Soon.
Then I stumble through the threads and cling to the one that brings me comfort. The one that led me to my mate before I knew that’s what he is.
“Wilder,” I call out, wishing for him in the endless night. “Where are you?”
A brush of warmth crackles inside my chest. It weaves through the threads. The breeze tickles my skin as something deep warms within me. A hint of lightning. Rain. A crack of static through the storm.
My eyes flash open.
“Miss me, Starfire?”