Chapter 27 Promises Made
It turned out that the explaining we had to do took far longer than I would have liked.
Especially knowing that every passing moment chipped away from the little time I had left with Atlas.
Because one thing had become clear after our meeting, he intended to act quickly, and that meant taking his men to the Rift the very next day.
It didn’t come as a surprise, his obligation to his people and ending this threat had been his main concern for the last three years.
The irony of it all, hiding from him that first day in the cupboard, had begun to haunt me with what-ifs. What if he hadn’t let me go? What if he had found me there and taken me back to the prison, forcing me to face what I was before either of us knew?
Would we have discovered this connection between us sooner? Would we have had more time? They were foolish thoughts, I knew, because fate had already written our path. Sooner or later, Atlas would have realized what I was, and we would have been led to the Rift all the same.
Because I wasn’t just his anchor.
I was also the Key to unlocking the Rift.
And what I had to do tomorrow would have come to pass regardless. One way or another, this had always been waiting for us. Either way, we had never been given the luxury of time. One more night, that was all the Gods had allowed.
As he explained the plan to everyone gathered in the hotels conference room, I watched him speak, his voice carrying strength and resolve.
He was every inch the king in that moment.
But it made the ache in my chest deepen, knowing he was already half gone, already turning toward the war waiting for him on the other side of the Rift.
The painful part came when it was my turn to speak, when I had to admit before all of them that I was the reason the Rift had opened in the first place.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Every face turned to me, every pair of eyes filled with understanding, except my own reflection in their gaze.
I couldn’t forgive myself.
They tried, though. They told me I had been used, manipulated, just as Atlas had said. Still, the truth sat heavy in my chest. When I heard the horrified gasp from Tiff, I flinched, unable to meet her eyes.
The plan was simple. Atlas would take half of his army through the Rift to confront his brother, to stop him before his corruption bled any further into either realm. The belief was that cutting the head of the snake would then destroy the spell that had been cast over the Dark Ones.
Aster was the first to leave the meeting, moving with quiet efficiency to prepare the troops for dawn. I expected him to join the battle, to be at Atlas’s side, but when I learned he was to stay behind, I couldn’t hide my surprise.
Later, when we were alone in the soft glow of his penthouse, I finally asked Atlas why. His answer was simple, but it struck through me like a blade.
“I trust no one else to keep you safe,” he said.
The way he looked at me then, his voice low, almost tender, made it clear that this wasn’t just duty anymore. It was something far deeper, something neither of us could walk away from.
Most of the night was spent going over the plan, and even when the words faded, uneasiness still clung to us like fog. No matter how much we tried to ignore it, it stayed. The thought of saying goodbye lingered between every breath, every pause, every glance.
I wanted to ask if I could go with him. The question sat heavy on the edge of my tongue all night, but I never let it fall.
Deep down, I knew what waited for him beyond the Rift was not something I could face beside him.
He needed to fight this alone. And I knew he didn’t need the burden of worrying about me when his mind was already at war.
When morning finally came, it brought with it a sight both breathtaking and terrifying.
His army was ready. The sheer number of them stretched down one of the main streets of the city as far as I could see.
Their armor gleamed in the weak light, weapons catching glints of dawn as the air trembled with the weight of their anticipation.
The sound of horses shifting, the clink of steel, and the murmur of soldiers created a rhythm that seemed to echo the pounding of my heart.
Atlas led me to where his own horse was at the ready for him to lead his men back to the Rift.
His hand was firm and warm around mine. His touch anchored me, even as everything else felt like it was slipping away.
I hadn’t had much time to speak to Tiff about what had happened between Atlas and me.
It seemed that she, too, had her own complications to untangle, especially when it came to Aster and the way he looked at her now.
From what little she had told me, she had tried to sneak into the prison to find me and Riley but had found Aster instead.
I didn’t know every detail of what followed, but I knew enough.
She had learned the truth, that nothing was as it seemed.
That the King and his Myths had been helping people all along, keeping them safe when most thought they were the enemy.
That discovery had led to the decision made the night before to travel to the base in Jerome and speak with the people there.
To convince them that the city was a safer refuge.
It was a plan that would only work if both Tiff and I went together.
She had reminded me that people trusted me, that my time among them had earned their faith.
With her at my side, she believed we could make them see reason.
Atlas had agreed, though I could see in his eyes that the thought of letting me go, even for something so necessary, was not an easy one. The way his fingers lingered at mine, the way his gaze followed me even as he issued orders, said more than words ever could.
It turned out the prison wasn’t the only secure structure used for housing survivors. There were others, scattered sanctuaries that had been fortified to protect the remaining people. Space was not the problem. Trust was. And that, somehow, had become my responsibility.
It was another reason I didn’t dare mention going with Atlas into his world, into The?kós.
We both had our responsibilities, and I owed it to the people at the base to do everything in my power to keep them safe.
Tiff may have come here looking for Riley and me, but what she had found was something far greater.
She had found hope, a solution. A permanent place of safety where Myths would fight Myths, an army of creatures far better suited to protect us than any human defense could be.
I wondered if that still rang true now, knowing that Atlas would be taking half of that army through the Rift with him.
It was a fear I had confessed to him last night in the quiet of his penthouse, but he had assured me there would be enough left behind to keep the city safe.
I had believed him because I needed to, though a part of me still trembled beneath the weight of that uncertainty.
We passed through ranks of soldiers, every kind imaginable.
The air shimmered with the energy of them, each creature standing tall and ready to obey their King.
I walked by a group of armored harpies, their wings sleek and metallic, their eyes sharp and intelligent.
Thankfully, they were the beautiful kind, not the vicious ones who had once torn into Riley.
My stomach twisted at the thought of him again, fear creeping through me like poison.
I prayed he was safe, wherever he was. But that was not my only worry.
As Atlas led me toward Acelin, I realized the moment I had been dreading had finally come.
The ache in my chest deepened, heavier with every step closer to his horse.
Atlas stopped, the heat of his body pressing close to my back, his breath brushing against the side of my neck before he placed a soft kiss there. His hands encircled my waist, steadying me, and for a heartbeat, I thought he meant to lift me onto Acelin. Instead, he turned me to face him.
His eyes caught mine, dark and deep, filled with the kind of intensity that made the world fall away.
His broad frame dominated my view, his shadow folding around me until I felt small and fragile beneath it.
The warmth radiating from him stirred something fierce within me, melting through my resolve and awakening every part of me that wanted to cling to him and never let go.
He didn’t move. He just looked at me, and in that silence, everything I had been trying to hold back broke free.
“And you have to go today?” I asked, my voice unsteady, soft. “You can’t… erm…” I faltered, unsure of what I was even trying to say. “You can’t stay a little longer?”
His gaze softened, a tenderness flickering through the storm of command that usually lived there. My cheeks burned, embarrassed by my own desperation.
“Alexandra,” he said, my name escaping him in a low, coaxing tone that sent a shiver down my spine.
“I know,” I whispered quickly, shaking my head. “Forget I said anything, we should…”
Before I could finish, he cupped my face in his hands, the gesture gentle but unyielding. His thumbs brushed my skin, and his eyes searched mine.
“I would be lying if I claimed that seeing your reluctance for me to leave did not fill me with joy. Because I, too, feel the weight of our parting. It is a heavy thing, one that crushes more than I can bear. But it comforts me to know that I am not alone in these feelings,” he said softly, and a breath escaped me.
A half sigh, half a sound of surrender, and I finished his thought for him.
“But you have to go.”
“Yes,” he said.
I nodded, the motion sharp and quick, though it hurt more than I wanted him to see. Inside, my heart fractured at the truth of it. There were no goodbyes that could prepare you for watching someone you loved walk into a world of darkness.