54
Raiden
Raiden plummeted before Skybell Castle, and Kora squealed in his arms as the wind tore at them, her voice disappearing behind him.
He smiled as her arms tightened around his neck, her fingertips brushing that spot in the crook that sent shivers spiralling throughout him.
It’d taken a day and a half to fly here from the Aurora Gap, and every time Raiden rested, Kora had practised her returned magic, her face lit up like an excited toddler.
It wasn’t as strong as before, the power resisting whenever she’d push too far. He’d ordered her to stop when blood dripped from her nose, and he’d raced as fast as he could for Skybell. It was nearly two weeks until the full moon, and Kora’s intense urgency was creeping back in every day.
“Here we are, Huntress,” Raiden announced as his feet touched the sand. Kora tumbled from his grip, her mouth parting.
Sat upon a low cliff, Skybell Castle glistened on the coast as faint sunrays bounced off the moonstone.
It was regal, built as the original fortress of Galen, armed to the teeth with turrets and harpoons, along with a watchtower further north for enemies—not that they could see them now.
Shells encrusted every window, and polished steel reinforced every line of stone.
Raiden guided Kora up the gentle slope of the cliff, and she adjusted her hair as guards stood to attention by the main gate.
They bowed as they passed, dressed in purple and white, with lightweight silver chest plates, vambraces, and helmets.
Raiden had been a regular visitor in the past. He’d even resided in Skybell for years after Iris’ passing.
Unable to wander the same halls she’d lived in as he atoned for his actions.
Aerion and Skylar had never visited him .
. . but he understood their anger, their grief.
Raiden marched through the castle, pushing open two heavy-set wooden doors, lined with pearls.
As Kora followed him in, she gasped, her hand whipping to her mouth.
The library enveloped a whole wing of the castle, spanning three floors.
Light cascaded in from high windows, framed with thick cream drapes and light blue ties.
Their boots echoed on the polished tiled floor as Raiden grabbed the nearest sliding ladder.
“This is the Galen Archive.” Raiden motioned to the room.
The walls didn’t follow the usual square shape in castles, but instead flowed like a winding current.
Each shelf was made of reinforced marble, lined with white gold filigree, all leading to a hand-painted depiction of the gods above.
Their character and elements captured in a dazzling array of colour.
Tears pricked Kora’s eyes as they landed on Umbra.
“I . . . it’s . . .” Kora swallowed. “It’s magical.”
Raiden smiled. “The oldest collection of books are at the top. They should contain everything we hopefully need to understand what’s happening in there.” He gently pointed to her forehead, and Kora exhaled.
“Come on,” Raiden tapped the ladder. Kora raised her chin and grabbed hold, ascending the ladder one rung at a time.
A minute passed and she’d barely climbed halfway up, her short stiff legs, and moans making it clear that she was fatigued from the flight.
Raiden flicked a single finger, and she yelped as his phantom hands wrapped around her waist, lifting her higher up to the peaks of the library.
“Oh my gods!”
He shivered, the saying causing his blood to ignite. Her past self never possessed such frivolities. His magic tightened, the feeling of Kora’s waist mirrored in his real palms, heating him from the outside.
“What book should I choose?” she shouted down.
“Anything at this point!” By the gods, he needed a cold bath.
Kora descended with his magic, miraculously balancing multiple thick tomes in her short arms. Raiden curiously eyed them, his magic snaking and taking the books off her with ease, balancing each one in the air as she gained her footing.
“Show off,” she muttered.
“You enjoyed it.” Raiden winked. “Follow me.”
His energy thrummed as the books floating in the air followed him towards the nearest window.
A large table broke up the space, made of simple woodwork, with chairs lined with blue velvet.
Thick, tall candles dominated the centre of the table, and Raiden gently placed the tomes down.
They were dark, the leather ruptured and faded, the ink barely preserved inside.
“These are extremely old,” Raiden observed. “You might have found the oldest books in here.”
“Nothing in here is as old as you,” Kora joked.
Raiden glanced up, his heart lifting with the sparkle in her eyes. The life. She was piecing back together. Becoming that formidable captain he’d seen on that ship months ago.
“So, she can make a joke!” Aerion sauntered into the library, his curls wild.
The red headband struggled to contain them as he unzipped his labradorite flight suit, cricking his neck.
Aryn followed shortly after, and Kora snorted at his windswept hair and flushed cheeks.
Both of their eyes seemed brighter, and Raiden’s stare narrowed on the perfectly shaped pair of bruised lips on Aryn’s neck.
“You can run laps for that tomorrow,” Raiden teased Kora quietly.
“Ha.” She sat down at the table. “You don’t tell me what to do, Rai.”
He froze, his nickname uttered from her lips almost undoing him. She also stilled, her stare rising to meet his, her mouth opening and closing as if she’d just realised. Her cheeks heated as Aerion halted a few feet away, his brows raising.
“Are we interrupting?” Aryn stumbled into Aerion’s back, his attention snapping to the hand-painted ceiling of the gods.
It’d taken Raiden years to complete.
“Just in time to do a lot of reading.” Kora opened the first tome.
“I’m here to study the skildaj bond. No offence, K, but I don’t want my boyfriend to suddenly turn straight on me.
” Aerion wriggled his tattooed fingers, and shelves creaked as endless stacks of books pulled from shelves, piling effortlessly at his feet.
Now that was showing off. Kora studied him for a moment, her stare flickering between a warm spark, and a glacial crevasse.
Aryn rubbed the back of his neck, wincing slightly.
“I’m willing to discuss terms if it means a safe separation.” Kora’s cheeks dimpled, her sign she was nibbling them. “Aryn, I’m still mad at you. I still don’t understand why you did it.”
“Likewise,” Raiden added.
But Aryn remained silent, his mouth thinning as his hooded stare darted between all three of them. After a moment of awkward silence, Aerion grabbed his cheek, squeezing lightly. “It’s hard to stay mad at your lovable face.”
“Brother, please. I’ll get you all something to eat,” Raiden replied, quickly exiting the library before he did—or said—something stupid.
Kora’s gaze tracked him across the grey-and-white floor as he rushed through the large doors, a simmering heat permanently coiled within.
He brushed the iced bracelet still intact around his wrist. Tiny beads, smaller than a pea, in a simple circlet.
It wasn’t cold to the touch, and the way the light reflected off it reminded him of Galen.
Fuck.
So help him, Haizea.
He was in deep, tantalising trouble.