Chapter 18
Raine groaned as Kai worked on his ankle, needle-like pain shooting through his calf as it healed. He hadn’t allowed the healer near him until he’d assessed Maeryn thoroughly, but now that he knew she was injury-free, he was able to relax.
The panic and terror that overcame him when the ceiling collapsed was so intense his soul had felt as though it would split apart. He would do anything—absolutely fucking anything—to keep her safe from harm. And that’s when he knew for certain.
Maeryn was indeed his soulbond.
He almost couldn’t believe it. Never thought he’d find another person he wanted to be with for more than a hook-up since Finnick died, let alone his destined soulmate. And he couldn’t help but wonder if she’d figured it out.
He wanted to tell her. Wanted to shout it aloud for everyone to hear. But they still didn’t know each other well…and they were in the middle of a war. Besides, what if she didn’t want the bond? Or worse…what if she did? If they bonded and then one of them was killed in battle…
Raine had heard the pain of losing your soulbond was agonizing, like ripping your heart from your chest. He wasn’t sure he could live with it, and couldn’t imagine putting Maeryn through it either.
With one last look at Maeryn, Raine tuned in to the conversation at hand. The remaining leaders were now in the tent, listening to Casimir explain what happened, their eyes wide with disbelief.
“You rode on the fyreleopards?” Aelerion asked.
“Yes,” Raine said. “It was amazing.”
“You were screaming like a scared child,” Ava pointed out.
“That’s because mine wanted to eat me,” he shot back with a grin.
She rolled her eyes while Casimir continued, explaining the rest. And when he got to Deidamia’s death, the air around them shifted, everyone stunned into silence.
Quinn shook her head, muttering, “I thought she couldn’t be killed.”
“You and me both,” Raine said.
This new turn of events was unimaginable.
Something they hadn’t prepared for. Because now it was obvious.
Their enemy was not who they thought it was this entire time…
and much stronger than they originally believed.
Raine desperately tried to examine the new information, hoping something stood out to him regarding this change of power.
Though he wasn’t a seer, he would occasionally get a sense of something the others couldn’t—like when Ava had first arrived in their world—but it hadn’t happened clearly since.
And right now, he felt nothing.
“We’ve missed something vital,” Thalia said.
“But what?” Jorrar asked. “Even back in the old wars, it was believed she couldn’t be killed. That she was more of a threat than him.”
“Unless that’s all been a lie,” Casimir said.
“Whatever it is we’re missing,” Astrid said, “Andras is more powerful than we thought. You all learned he could jump between places back at the battle in Oakshire. And he was able to kill the daemon queen with ease. This does not bode well.”
“The plan was for Ava to open a portal to the daemon realm and banish Deidamia. Do we just continue, but instead she must banish Andras?” Quinn asked.
Jorrar rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know. It seems so.”
“Wait,” Ava said. “Remember in the book…there was one last type of portal in a completely different language. An ancient one you couldn’t translate, Jorrar?”
“Yes,” he responded as the rest of them watched Ava closely.
“That has to be our answer. Or part of it. Where can we get it translated?”
“I don’t know of anyone who can,” Jorrar said.
“We don’t have time for that,” Aelerion said. “We must focus on rebuilding Igneothenia now.”
“You promised your forces would join us in this war,” Casimir said with irritation.
Arguing ensued on what to do next. Would they spend time rebuilding the volcanic kingdom?
Where would the armies station themselves?
How would they report this information back to Thorne?
There were too many hot-headed leaders in this fucking tent and voices were raised as they all tried to push their agenda and ideas of how they should proceed.
And then it hit him. Some kind of intuition. Like a small whisper on the breeze, guiding him toward the answer. He gasped as he was barely able to make out the words. Words the others couldn’t hear.
Vardan destroyed the evidence. Go to Caelestia.
A gentle hand touched his arm. He met Maeryn’s yellow eyes filled with concern. “What is it?”
“I know something.”
“How?”
“I’ll explain later.”
Maeryn beheld the leaders as she whispered, “They’re all wrong, yes?”
“Yes. Hey, everyone,” Raine tried, but they didn’t hear him, still arguing. “Hello?” They still didn’t acknowledge him.
“Hey!” Maeryn barked and everyone paused. “Silence yourselves. Raine has something he’d like to say.”
“You sense something?” Casimir asked.
“Two things. This is related to Ava and Thorne’s father burning texts. And the answers lie in Caelestia.”
“Casimir,” said Jorrar. “The connection between Caelestia and King Vardan…did you know your father was good friends with Ava’s father?”
That was news to Raine. He had no idea. But that had likely been before he was born, so he couldn’t have known. In fact, the only ones in this tent who might remember were Jorrar, Kai, Thalia and Aelerion. The rest of them were much too young.
“Are you saying my father knows something?” Casimir asked.
“Maybe. Maybe not. But he and Vardan were close.”
“They were also close to Valeria and Eros before he died,” said Thalia.
“Good riddance,” Aelerion said. “That man was a monster.”
“Who’s Eros?” Ava asked.
“The former King of Frosthaven,” Jorrar said. “Valeria’s been ruling it by herself since his death. You know the story about the old king who messed with portals and accidentally let in Deidamia? It was him.”
Ava blanched. “I thought portal magic only existed in my bloodline. That makes no sense.”
Jorrar rubbed the back of his neck. “I know. The story has been muddled over the last century, but it’s believed he manipulated someone in your family to help. A distant relative perhaps. No one truly knows. But it is a well-known fact that Eros was heavily involved.”
Raine brushed his hair behind his shoulder, frustrated with the back and forth.
“All this postulating does us no good. We can debate all day on who opened the portal and how they arrived. Does it matter? What we do know is this: things aren’t what we initially thought, Andras is stronger than we believed, and he and Deidamia have obviously been lying about who he was.
“We must learn two things: who is Andras and how do we defeat him? And it seems the only people who might know are Vardan, Valeria and Orion. Vardan’s dead, Valeria won’t be helpful…so that leaves the astral king.”
Maeryn rose, her hands clasped behind her back as she took on the role of general. “We must translate the rest of the book. Raine and I will stay here and take charge of the armies. Casimir and Ava will go to Caelestia to build more allies and get information. What else?”
Gods, she is fucking sexy when she takes charge, Raine thought, unable to keep his eyes off her. The way the muscles in her forearms flexed as she spoke, the confidence in her voice when she fell into her role as leader. Her intelligence. Her determination.
“Quinn and Jorrar will come with us,” Casimir said. “Kai, how long will it take for Ava’s leg to heal completely?”
“Just a few days.”
“Alright then. Ava, do you think you can portal us back to Mosshaven? We can rest a couple of days, update Thorne, and pack some clothing. Then we’ll return here.
Caelestia is only a few days' journey from Igneothenia.” Casimir looked at Pax.
“I want you to come back to Mosshaven with us and remain with Thorne to oversee security.”
“Yes, general.”
“The rest of you stay here with Raine and Maeryn to continue discussing army movement and strategy. We’ll check back in with you all on our way to the astral kingdom.”