Chapter 23
ADRIEN
The people of Deimos really knew how to throw a party. Adrien was thankful for the sheer number of revelers flooding the lower squares of Mavec, making it easier for him, Sebastian, and Malakai to blend in.
They sat at a restaurant by the river’s edge, watching from the stone bank as boats bobbed along the water.
On and around them, pack members ate, drank, danced, shopped at vendor stalls, and filled the sky with lanterns brimming with their wishes and gratitudes, if he recalled the tradition correctly.
Occasionally, thunder would rumble, a distant rolling sound, but no one seemed concerned about rain ruining the night.
It wasn’t unusual to experience the same ambiance in Io—hell, the Golden Avenue was spectacular, especially around the Summer Solstice—but there was something different about this place.
About today. It spoke to something deep inside him, tugging at him.
It had been a while since he’d seen such pure joy.
Not happiness simply because of survival, not at the expense of another, just…
a celebration because they were alive. Because everything was good.
This community had been dealt a heavy hand, but today…
today was like coming up for air after being underwater for too long. Something he had desperately needed.
“Have either of you seen Isla?” Malakai asked from beside him, the plate of food before him barely touched as he scanned the mingling crowd.
Sebastian, who’d already scoffed down his meal, snuck a fritter off his father’s cooling pile.
“She’s probably changing into a new dress.” He waved the morsel in an arc before popping it in his mouth. “I swear, every day, she goes through at least three outfits.”
Despite his words, Sebastian’s gaze slid to Adrien, lip curling and a knowing look in his eyes. His better guess for where Isla had gone with her mate was probably the last thing Malakai wanted to hear.
The Imperial Beta sighed and dug into his food.
“Are you alright, old man?” Sebastian went to swipe another fritter but earned a slap on the hand with Malakai’s fork. Recoiling, he met his father’s narrowed eyes, pine-colored mirrors of his own. “You’ve been white as a ghost since Isla and Kai nearly burned the place down.”
Adrien grimaced.
He’d tried his best to forget about that moment, just for tonight.
He swore he could still feel the heat burrowed beneath his skin from the tunneling flames that shot to the ceiling, sending everyone in their seats faltering back.
He’d never seen anything like it before, and though it had slipped his mind, the significance of the ritual and what the offering of the blood represented, especially when burned, gave him a sinking feeling that whatever Kai and Isla had ignited served as a beacon.
A target, bigger than they may have already been.
News would spread, and he had no idea how his father would feel when it reached him. Given Malakai’s reaction, he may have realized it, too. Maybe it would be a good idea to pull him aside so they could plan what to say when they returned to Io.
For a few moments, Adrien watched the Beta stew in silence, pushing around the food on his plate. “It just happened so fast.”
“That’s how mates work, isn’t it?” Sebastian said. “Find each other and run off into the sunset? Everyone was pushing her to choose someone a few years ago.”
What looked like regret flew over Malakai’s face before he swept his utensil beneath a fritter and skillfully flipped it onto his son’s plate, a swagger to his movements that shouldn’t have surprised Adrien as much as it did.
From all the tales of their youth that the prince had heard, Malakai had always been the lightness to his own father’s nature, through childhood, battle, and his rise to power.
“I always imagined she’d take them back to Io. ”
A part of Adrien had always thought the same.
Malakai dipped his head. “Isla of Deimos,” he muttered.
Even Adrien hadn’t completely adjusted to hearing it yet, a sinking feeling pitting his stomach.
“She’s still Isla,” Sebastian reassured him, gnawing on his fritter. “A know-it-all pain in my ass.”
Adrien couldn’t hold in his laugh. They were words laced with love, though Malakai barely flinched.
Adrien’s stare collided with Sebastian’s, his best friend’s lips turning down as he surveyed his downtrodden father.
His knitted brows betrayed the deep concern clawing through him, and Adrien recalled the same look on his friend’s face once, long ago, when he couldn’t do anything while he watched his father fall into a pit after losing his mate.
Sebastian made another attempt. “Hey, you still have me.”
Malakai finally lifted his head, his eyes scanning his son’s face. “Yes, a know-it-all pain in my ass.”
Sebastian’s shoulders dropped, relieved and shaking as he laughed. Adrien couldn’t help but feel the reprieve, too.
“Fair.” Sebastian grabbed a toothpick and leaned back in his seat. “She’s worse, though.”
A resounding crackle and pop drew Adrien’s attention outward to where a shimmering light burst and filtered through the cloudy sky, alongside some of the bobbing lanterns. The crowd around him pointed and gawked.
His lips ticked up in a smile. Happiness. Life.
A coolness around his wrist suddenly pulsed, and he glanced down just in time to catch the nearly imperceptible sliver of shadow skittering up his sleeve. He hoped neither man alongside him at the table had noticed.
He couldn’t explain how or why one of Raana’s shadows had attached to him, as if she’d somehow marked him, not with her bite but with magic.
It was dangerous to let it linger, but even if he’d known how to make it go away, he wasn’t sure he wanted to.
If the shadows were a part of her, its existence told him she was still alive.
A small pulse.
Another roll of distant thunder shook the sky, making everyone gasp and look up.
Some threw their arms out to embrace the oncoming onslaught of droplets.
But nothing fell; only a soft rain-kissed breeze blew by, making the hair on Adrien’s neck stand up and sending Raana’s shadow meandering over his body to his back.
That was three times now without a hint of rain or lightning. If it meant the storm was building, maybe they should start thinking about shelter.
“Are you ready to return with me tomorrow morning?”
Adrien turned his attention back to the others, watching Sebastian’s face contort in confusion at the question. “Tomorrow morning?”
A line etched itself between Malakai’s brows. It didn’t seem to be the reaction he’d been hoping for. “Now that the coronation’s over, Cassius will expect you both back.”
Adrien’s gut twisted at the mention of his father. Goddess, the hell he would have to deal with once he got home. But at least he’d warned Isla and Kai of the Alpha’s plans. It probably made him a traitor, but whether it was to his father alone or to his entire pack, he wasn’t sure.
Sebastian’s features darkened, and his voice took on an uncharacteristic coldness. “Why?”
“Why?” Malakai leaned in, his widened eyes narrowing. “I think that goes without question. You were granted temporary leave for the coronation, but now it’s time to return home.”
Home.
The word trudged through him.
A muscle feathered Sebastian’s cheek. He had always been so great at hiding his emotions, but his discontent flashed like a beacon.
“I want to be here for Isla, at least until things have settled. She just became luna, and today may be a day of celebration, and Kai has the pack patrolled to high hell, but those defenses will loosen. I know some people don’t want her here—I’ve gotten into brawls with them. Fate or no.”
“What?” Malakai’s fingers tightened on his fork, his mouth curling as if to say who, but he reeled back, remaining silent until he calmed.
“I’m sure Isla and Kai have prepared for that.
She doesn’t need you, and staying will only do more harm than good.
” He lowered his voice. “Word will travel that the three of us are here today. It’ll be said throughout the continent.
There’s already curiosity about what this union means for the relationship between Io and Deimos.
What it means for Deimos’s status within the empire, if it puts them above the others. ”
“And what if it does?” Sebastian asked, and Malakai observed him as though he’d transformed into a whole new person.
“I think you’ve been here too long,” he answered through gritted teeth.
“The hierarchy that has survived for nearly a millennium depends on balance in the continent. Ten kingdoms, one as a ruling body to centralize and represent them within the world and equal power amidst the rest, who govern how they see fit.”
This hierarchy has technically only stood for five hundred years, Adrien thought. There was no need to bring up that there had once been eleven packs in Morai.
“Tension is already rising. Rogues, rebellion…”
The words hit Adrien like a blow to the head. “What do you mean rebellion?”
Malakai turned to the prince, his features rigid as he said, “Come home, and I’ll explain.” He straightened when it seemed the crowd around them began to pay attention. “But Cassius wants—needs—to do everything he can to prevent it.”
Sebastian sniffed, opening his mouth to retort when his gaze drifted up behind them. Adrien turned, and his brows lifted in surprise.
Warrior General Eli stood with his shoulders back, his warrior’s uniform nowhere to be seen, replaced by common but elegant clothes suitable for the holiday, but didn’t betray his station.
Despite his well-kept appearance, the dark circles under his bloodshot eyes and a throbbing vein in his temple told of a wildness beneath.
“Imperial Heir, Imperial Beta.” Eli bowed his head to both Adrien and Malakai. Sebastian also got a slight dip in greeting.