Chapter 48 Melody
Melody
Decorum be damned. I didn’t let Tio leave me alone for the night, not since the battle.
Not after the memory of him taking an arrow through the shoulder as he threw himself in front of me.
Not after watching countless people scream in pain and perish.
Not after the end had been so close to the two of us, the chilling memory still lingering like cold fog over a field.
I held no reservations anymore. Especially after spending the night in his arms, under the constant stroke of his fingers in my hair when I nestled close and tucked myself under his chin.
He’d even offered to stay above the covers.
I didn’t let him, though we didn’t indulge in each other.
I’d just wanted to hold him, to feel his chest rise and fall beneath my hand, to allow my very soul to be warmed by his closeness.
When dawn broke, it had come too soon. I wanted to live in this moment forever; safe, cozy, entangled in him, leaving the burdens and uncertainty of the world outside those elegantly carved floor to ceiling doors.
But Tio stirred, and the tension on his face was as readable as ink on a page. And as much as I wanted to keep us frozen like this, I also agreed.
“We’ll go back today. I’m sure Nicholas will receive word that the stock wagons are ready and we can leave,” I said.
His fingers renewed their lazy strokes, and he pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I think I should go ahead of you.”
I pushed onto my elbow, glaring at him. “You’re not leaving without me.”
“Sunshine, the chaos of battle is one thing, but the aftermath…” He rubbed his temples with one hand.
“Sunshine?” I glared, but a tiny smile broke free. My chest warmed at the nickname I immediately loved.
His hand plopped on the bed, and those oceanic eyes lit a fire within me. “Of course. You’re the light of my days.” His smile turned rogue as he leaned forward, sliding his hand into my hair, securing his grip, pulling me forward until our mouths collided.
Kisses and smiles and teeth, a collection of happiness personified until our lips broke free.
His eyes took on a weary weight. “I mean it, Melody. You’ll never look at a beautiful bed of grass the same without seeing dark marks of phantom blood.
The smell of death will invade your nose and whisper reminders on a random breeze.
” He swallowed, expressing the ugly reality that remains long after the incident was over. “It stays with you.”
For the first time, I saw the scars of battle that don’t get left on the skin. I couldn’t not touch him, not offer him some sort of comfort. My palm grazed his jaw, and he turned into it, pressing a kiss to the center. “I’m not some plucked flower to be kept in a vase.”
His eyes softened. He knew that fight with Nora still lingered at the back of my mind.
“I know, sunshine. I just don’t want you to wilt.”
Nora requested I join her on an errand to South Harbor, and since the supply wagons for Rahana still weren’t ready, I obliged.
We exited the carriage in our former town, stealing the attention from those who wandered past. A home I’d never been to before stood in front of us, and Nora banged the knocker against the wood. We waited a beat or two before someone answered.
“Melody! Nora! How lovely to see you,” Tryssa said, propping the door wider for us to enter. “Come in, please.” She assessed the carriage and guardsmen waiting by the curb, almost extending the invitation to them until it clicked. “Or should I say, Queen Ellanor.”
“Tryssa, please, Nora is fine. Thank you for letting us drop in on you like this.”
Tryssa’s hair contained multiple rollers, her dressing robe cinched and slippers adorning her feet.
“Oh psh. I suppose I don’t have to inquire as to how you found my address, citizen records and all that.
” She tossed a wink over her shoulder. “Have a seat, have a seat. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? Something stronger?”
We politely declined her offer. I hadn’t quite gained my appetite back since the battle, and I was anxious to get back to Tio.
“I have something to discuss with you,” Nora said, folding her hands in her lap, back straight and perfectly poised.
“Of course, dear. Erm, Majesty,” Tryssa said while taking a seat in a patterned sitting chair across from the chaise we sat upon. Her style consisted of a mesh of patterns and colors, but it was cozy and lively.
“As you know, my sister and I hope to usher in a new reign of acceptance toward magic wielders.”
Tryssa smiled broadly. “Of course.”
Nora sighed, but pushed forward. “We, the king and myself, have recently accepted a group of magically displaced citizens from Argora Vale. I don’t know if word has traveled here about it yet.”
Tryssa nodded with a smile. “It has.”
“I’m unaware if you’ve also heard there are those who are less open to the idea, those who believe matters of violence are the appropriate way forward.”
Considering the inquisitive look on her face, I assumed that meant no.
“Nothing more than usual. You know how things are, usually drunken brawls. A few occasional insults spat in the market. Haven’t heard about any targeted issues though.” Tryssa clasped her robe at the base of her neck.
Nora sighed with relief, a small smile coming to the forefront. “Good, that’s good. If you hear of anything, can I request you let me know immediately? If this is just an isolated issue, we’re already handling it, but if anything surfaces down here, can you be my eyes and ears?”
“Oh, a personal errand from the new queen herself.” She shimmied her shoulders, raising her chin. “I will, Your Majesty.”
“We also have another request,” I said. Her kind eyes met mine.
“You’ll soon hear that we had an issue along the border.
I saw the altercation firsthand, and I can say with certainty that any magic wielders who have the ability to fight in the royal guard should consider doing so.
” Nora and I exchanged a glance, carrying the unspoken burden of possible impending war with Windguard.
Nora said, “Will you spread that message along to your network? And make sure Sverik gets word?”
She blinked, as if she doubted she heard us correctly.
“Things are about to change in Highcrest, Tryssa, for the better. This is how it starts,” Nora promised.
Tryssa cleared her throat, but nodded. “Is there going to be a civil war?” Her eyes darkened with fear, understandably so. The entire reason she’d established the Magic Supporters Forum was to set us all on a path of friendly welcoming and acceptance.
“Not if we can help it,” Nora said. “Your assistance will help us ensure that.”
Tryssa glanced between us, then held Nora’s stare and nodded.
We departed, stepping out onto the street.
“I’ve been meaning to pay Odion a visit. Should we stop by quickly? He should be at his booth,” Nora asked, staring in the direction of the market.
“No, I should be getting back.” I continued to the carriage.
“Why don’t we stop in and see Kenzie? I’m sure she’ll be happy to know you’re alright.”
I halted. “You’re trying to keep me from returning to the castle. Why?” Not on Nora’s best day would she ever suggest she return to the house that sat a few blocks away.
She hesitated, consideration flashing over her features, like she was trying to come up with some excuse.
“You don’t want me returning to Rahana.” I crossed my arms.
Nora closed the space between us, grasping for my hands. I relented, letting them connect between us.
“Melody. It was an attack. It’ll be carnage while they work on cleaning the damage and restoring things.” Her sad eyes plead alongside her words.
“I know, I was there,” I said with no frailty.
Seeing that I didn’t budge, Nora became more heated. “You shouldn’t have even been there in the first place. You were too close. If anything had happened to you—”
Scars from the past made their way to the surface. “I should have been there, because it was my choice.”
Nora shook her head. “This isn’t about that. They could have killed you. This isn’t something trivial like walking home without an escort, Mel.”
“No, but it is the same premise. You think I can’t handle myself. Well I did! And you still don’t think I’m capable.” Even as the words tore from me, I knew they were ridiculous, yet I couldn’t help the nagging, festering rage that bubbled up.
“Melody, that’s absurd. Even the greatest soldiers fall to enemy attacks.
I don’t want you going back there, not while things are so unclear.
” Nora stopped being my sister and started being my queen the moment she expressed her wish.
No, not a wish, a command, just without the presentation of one.
She held that look of authoritative power she’d developed since taking on her mantle, a look that had me beaming with pride until it now fell upon me.
“You chose your life, Nora, and I get to choose mine.” Separating our hands, I turned on my heel and stormed back to the carriage.
Our ride was heavy with silence on the return trip, the confined space brimming with all the things unspoken between us.
Nora was right to worry. Only a fool who would think themselves infallible in the throes of battle, especially someone with precisely zero battle training.
But first with Tio this morning, wanting to protect me, then Nora trying to insist I stay, I’d lashed out—had a temper tantrum if I was honest with myself.
That scorch of shame prevented me from doing anything other than holding my ground.
Like I somehow knew that if I told Nora she was right, I might consider staying.
Returning to Rahana sounded horrible, and after seeing the muted horrors in Tio’s eyes, the ones he wanted to keep me from, I doubted my decision even more.
Maybe that’s why I was so upset, because I knew deep down I was a coward.
Just like along the river’s shore, when I turned away from Tio to run when he’d simply said to, I knew the person I wanted to be.
Someone strong, someone capable. Hiding behind castle walls may let me bury my head in the sand to the atrocities of the world, but it would be through those difficult experiences that I would be forged into someone new.
I couldn’t let Nora see the side of me that longed for tea in the sitting room, because I was trying so hard to leave that version of myself behind.
How could I throw it all away now? The moment our carriage pulled up to the castle, I bolted inside.
When I found Tio, I threw myself into his arms, and wept.
He didn’t say a word, but his embrace said everything he didn’t.
“I’m scared,” I admitted, trying to muffle my sob in his chest.
His fingers sank into my hair, his other arm wrapped firmly around my back, pinning me to him, as if when I didn’t have the strength to stand, he would hold me upright.
“That’s okay,” he said quietly into my ear.
“Rav can handle the cleanup, especially once the crew Nicholas and Nora are sending get there. We can stay.”
I sobbed harder. After last night, he knew I wasn’t willing to part with him, and he knew I wouldn’t hold him back from going. So he offered to stay with me.
“I don’t deserve you,” I cried, thoroughly soaking his shoulder through.
He laughed that distinct, beautiful sound that was as melodic as birdsong in the early morning. “Other way around, sunshine.”