Chapter 39
Chapter
Thirty-Nine
FINLEY
Brenton sat across from me on the grass without a word, letting King Elias and Queen Teddy’s twins toddle around until they plopped down on his lap.
Zayne picked up a piece of bread from Brenton’s plate, which Brenton had broken into smaller pieces, and the youngling ate it.
Caspian babbled at Luana, who sat like a perfect, sweet lady, her ears perked and tail thumping softly.
Chatter from around the king and queen’s yard blurred in the background.
Beneath it, the earth exhaled in slow, rhythmic breaths.
I swore I felt something against my palms where they rested against the grass.
It was more than magic or the wind, but something deeper, only I could feel.
Respandora’s heartbeat. Her soil was alive.
Where I felt it in Niev, here I breathed with it.
The steadiness scraped like daggers inside me.
Because Vistos didn’t hum quietly like this. It roared. Smoke and heat and wings beat against the open sky. With dragons that had looked at me as if I were part of the answer.
My fingers curled into the grass.
I had left them. Not by choice. Not truly. But absence didn’t care about intent.
Zaicha had taken from them before I ever arrived. She could do it again. For all I knew, she already had. Another sky falling silent while I sat beneath a peaceful tree pretending my lungs knew how to rest.
Respandora’s heartbeat thudded beneath my palm.
In Vistos, I didn’t know if theirs still did.
But for this small pocket of normal, I let myself stay.
No one had questioned why I’d chosen a tree at the edge of the small gathering. But I’d noticed the signs of Etienne’s distress mounting and wanted us tucked away far enough so he could breathe, but not too far that we appeared rude. Brenton had followed, his easy chatter helping Etienne relax.
Brenton handed Zayne a small piece of chicken. His nephew immediately held it out to Luana, who nipped at the corner, careful her teeth didn’t graze his fingers.
“Zayne.” Brenton laughed his nephew’s name. Before the little boy could shove the slobbery piece into his mouth, Brenton plucked it from his pudgy hand. “You don’t eat after the dog.”
Zayne pointed at Luana. “Dog.”
Luana tilted her head, her tail giving a single, hopeful thump.
The corners of Brenton’s mouth curved up. “That’s right. Dog.” He leaned back slightly, glancing over his shoulder with genuine pride. “Your boy’s a genius! He told Luana she’s a dog.”
Teddy snorted, shaking her head, but King Elias only grinned. “Wait until you hear what else they learned to say. I’ll give you a hint. It starts with C and involves bowel movements.”
“Your wife taught them that before I left,” Brenton shot back, his smile widening when Teddy glared.
Beside me, Etienne let out a low chuckle. It came out unguarded, a genuine laugh I normally only heard when it was the two of us.
Not to be outdone, Caspian scrambled to his feet and squished Brenton’s cheeks between his tiny hands. “Dog.”
Brenton made a ridiculous face around Caspian’s grip, eyes wide with exaggerated awe. “Two geniuses. We’re unstoppable.”
A surprised laugh slipped out of me, and beside me, Etienne stiffened for half a beat before his rigid muscles loosened. Etienne bumped his shoulder against mine. A small, unspoken I’m okay. And despite the crowd, he did seem okay.
Queen Teddy wandered over with a drink in her hand, kicking off her shoes before she sank onto the grass. I tensed automatically, bracing for judgment or strained politeness.
But none came.
“Caspian.” Her deep sigh didn’t match the contentment in her expression. She pried Caspian’s exploring hands off Brenton’s face. “You know, you could tell him to stop.”
“Why would I do that?” he argued, putting Caspian back on his lap when Queen Teddy tried to pick him up. Caspian let out a victorious squeal and clapped his hands.
Zayne crawled to his uncle, running his piece of bread through dirt and grass. When he offered it to his mom, she tossed it to Luana, who ate it all too happily while giving her son another piece from her plate.
“So he learns discipline.” She lifted her brows in mock exasperation. “Tell this giant man-child I’m right.” She turned to face me with an easy smile on her face.
When I stayed quiet, my fingers digging at the hem of my shirt, Etienne stepped in. “Finny is only good at taking sides if it’s the wrong side to choose.”
I gaped back at him, taking in the light in his eyes. “The side I choose is always the right side.”
Queen Teddy lifted her glass. “Because women are always right.”
Brenton arched a brow, his grin growing as he angled his face toward Etienne. “And here I thought, we could be the ones who brought bad decisions to the group.”
I snorted. “I’m sure you already bring all the bad decisions.”
Zayne let out a loud, “Dog!” when Luana licked his face. Brenton reached over with a napkin to wipe the slobber away.
“Between my brother and best friend Ryenne, I don’t know who’s worse,” the queen said.
“Brenton,” Etienne and I both said it at the same time.
Brenton barked out a laugh. It came out easy and carefree, like this, us, was how it was always supposed to be.
One by one, Alastor, Everly, and King Elias drifted to us. No one called them over, and no one else followed. It didn’t feel planned or forced. It just happened. Like our conversation drew them in while the others scattered across the lawn, their voices and laughter like a hum in the background.
Alastor sat on the ground with that quiet grace of his. Up close, he looked a lot better than he had in Vistos. Less pale, stronger. When I mentioned it, his mouth tilted up.
“Being in my homeland is good for me,” he said. Then he tossed me a grin before turning to Teddy. “It’s my understanding Finley still calls Elias King.”
King Elias let out a scoff, his own smile in place. “Because that’s what I am.”
“Not in Respandora, you’re not,” Brenton said, sending the king a quick wink.
Also sitting, King Elias tugged Queen Teddy closer while he scooped Zayne into his arms. “I don’t understand why the three of you are always trying to strip me of my title.”
Queen Teddy rolled her eyes and sent me a mischievous look. “If you and Etienne are going to be family, you can’t inflate his ego. Call him Elias.”
I blinked at her. Family. Freely offered without asking anything in return.
Brenton smirked. “I like you better when you’re just Teddy’s husband.”
Elias brushed Teddy’s hair back, his knuckles sweeping across her cheek. “I like that role best too.”
“That’s when you’re most incapable of winning any arguments,” Brenton continued.
Elias covered his palm over Zayne’s eyes. Then he lifted his middle finger.
Laughter rippled through our small circle. A quiet moment stretched. Elias shifted, his jaw working as he looked between Etienne and me.
“Call me Elias.” The words were simple, but I caught the faint edge of nerves he tried to hide.
Etienne was the first to nod. “All right, Elias.”
I followed a beat later with a quiet, “Elias.”
His grin grew. “Good.”
Brenton leaned back while Caspian lounged against his chest, his eyes growing heavier. “Where’s Javi?”
“Kassidy wasn’t thrilled to hear you and Finley left so suddenly,” Alastor said, voice strained. “She was even less thrilled when I told her Everly and I were also leaving.”
Everly huffed in agreement. “Alastor calmed her in his charming, charismatic way.”
Brenton snorted. “You mean his shadows terrified her, and she had no other choice but to relent.”
Alastor smirked, but it quickly fell away. “Javier offered to stay. As a show of trust that we would return.”
“Is he safe there by himself?” Teddy asked.
“He has Sama,” Alastor said. “He’ll be fine, Ted. He’s not a youngling anymore. He does well at taking care of himself.”
Elias took Teddy’s fidgeting hand and brought it to his lips.
Brenton didn’t say anything, but I noticed the way his hand, braced on Caspian’s back, went still. I didn’t have to know the details to feel him. Tight, protective, worry. Each emotion filtered through our bond.
He was too far for me to brush my knee against his. Too far to squeeze his hand. His eyes met mine, and one side of his lips tilted. He knew I wanted to reassure him and be there for him in any and every way.
Elias broke the silence with a heavy sigh.
“I saw Victoria’s birth mom in Vistos.” It came out tight, but he kept his fingers soft as they traced over Teddy’s arm.
“I confronted her the night I left. She told me that after her husband died in battle, she didn’t want Tori to grow up around dragons or their riders.
She wanted Tori to have a fresh start in a new realm.
Kassidy wasn’t the leader yet, but she helped her leave all the same.
No one but Kassidy knows where she went, but even Kassidy believes Tori died when I brought the endless winter to the human world. That’s why I left.”
Brenton frowned. “You said she fled Vistos. How did she go back?”
Elias rubbed his hand across his jaw. “Her husband’s dragon opened a tear in his rider’s honor and never sealed it. He guarded it so she could return if she ever wished to. Kassidy helped her leave, but she never knew the dragon kept a path open.”
Teddy nodded. “That’s why she’d leave Tori with me for days at a time,” she said, glancing at Elias. “She wasn’t disappearing. She was going home long enough to ease the ache of missing it.”
“After I brought the endless winter to the human realm, she believed leaving Tori with Teddy would keep her alive. She trusted Teddy. And she trusted what little she knew of the fate that brought me there.”
Alastor tilted his head slightly. “What now?”
Teddy’s face pinched, and her voice came out low but sure. “When Tori’s old enough, she deserves to know the truth so she can choose where she wants to be. It’s her birthright.”
“It makes sense now.” Elias nodded, his gaze distant. “Why Tori was never afraid of Nalari. Why she took so quickly to Hoshiko.” He let out a dry laugh. “I swear she’s more comfortable around dragons than she is people.”
Around us, the world dimmed as night fell. One by one, spheres of fae lights started to glow.
“Nalari’s taken her up a few times,” Elias said, turning his attention to where the dragons lazed on an open field.
My sweet Ashara curled between Nalari and Hoshiko while the other dragons kept a smaller distance between them.
“She said she’ll train her so when the time comes, she won’t be behind if she chooses to move to Vistos. ”
Brenton’s smile faded. “If there’s a Vistos to go back to.”
The words quieted the group.
Everly’s gaze shifted to the dragons in the field. “Zaicha doesn’t need Finley to keep draining the dragons.”
Tension crept through the air, fragile but unmistakable.
Alastor’s shadows stirred, and he folded his hands in his lap. “No one is safe until she’s back in the astral realm.”
Quiet stretched between us until a sharp snap echoed across the field.
Hoshiko lunged forward, snapping his jaws near Nalari’s wingtip as she deliberately flicked it into his space again. She huffed smoke in response.
“Hoshiko said he’ll train her too.” Brenton peered over his shoulder at Hoshiko, who snarled at Nalari’s bared teeth. “Nalari objects.”
“I swear those two are in love,” Teddy said, voice light again although worry still shimmered in her eyes.
“What do you mean?” Brenton huffed and crossed his arms. “They hate each other.”
“All the best love stories start as enemies.” Teddy winked, leaning toward Brenton. “Have you started the book I gave you?”
He grinned.
I’d spent most of my life on the outside. Never a participant but waiting to be shunned and feared. But sitting here, surrounded by Brenton’s friends and family, what he had didn’t feel fragile. It was sturdy and real.
And they were all offering Etienne and me space among them.