Chapter 81 Ro
Ro
Ishoved open the ornate double doors of Windguard Castle, entering the king’s grand hall where I’d unfortunately stood a couple times before.
The guards shuffled on their feet when a massive tiger strode in behind me.
Any that took even a fraction of a step forward lost their swords, the weapons ripped from their hands and floating high above them.
Tio just smirked as the men stood there defenseless and confused.
“What the fuck is this?!” Amir Taja rose from his throne, shoving a half-naked woman off his lap. She landed on the stone floor with a thud and a whimper.
“I’ve come to deliver your reckoning.” My voice echoed off the walls in this chamber of indulgence.
He played with his fingers at his sides, contemplating his position. His guards were unequipped as a lethal feline prowled at my command.
“And to tell you that I was wrong,” I said.
Surprise flashed across his face. “Oh?” he asked cautiously, unsure how to read his situation. After all, none of his posted soldiers from the gates all the way through the castle had stopped me.
“The last time I was here, I told you your arrogance would be the downfall of your kingdom.”
With an appeased smile that bordered on friendly, a desperate attempt to soothe whatever troubles awaited him, he said, “And yet here it stands. I’m assuming I have you to thank, Ro Collins.”
“Yes, it stands, and shall remain. Luckily, your arrogance wasn’t the kingdom’s downfall…but it is yours.”
As if we’d had rehearsals, a battalion of Highcrest and Duski soldiers marched in, weapons in hand, magic at the ready.
The king stumbled back, falling into his luxuriously upholstered seat. His staff and council fled through the back doors. Taja’s shock cost him precious seconds. Our soldiers blocked his exit, leaving him no way out.
“Do my words sound like a song yet?” I asked, a pleasing smile stretching across my lips.
We stood outside the brass and copper plated castle, on the platform where Taja loved to make pronouncements—and host executions.
I never expected to be here, let alone wearing a formal floor-length yellow sari.
Excess fabric draped over one shoulder, flowing loosely at my back.
I wore a collection of shiny gold bangles over my wrist, and a simple, delicate jewel in the shape of an elongated diamond stuck to the center of my forehead.
Dae wore a matching one, the silver accent matching the thick band of embroidery that outlined the v-cut in his navy long sleeved kurta.
In another life, I would have worn outfits like this to celebrate all sorts of occasions.
It was fitting how that part of my heritage returned to me on this day. Very symbolic.
The king wore his green velvet cape and ostentatious crown donned over perfect black hair. The gag around his mouth was a nice touch, and his hands were bound behind his back as his neck lowered onto the block.
“This does not mean war between our kingdoms,” King Nicholas shouted to the gathered crowd of Windguardian citizens. An announcement had been sent in the weeks leading to this day, and all who came understood what they were about to witness. Yet, none objected.
“For too long, Taja has committed genocide against a portion of his people, exterminating those with magic though they committed no crimes. He poisoned your miraja crops with iron. Sold out his people to a fanatical, murderous organization. I stood idly by for too long, and I bear the grief of all the deaths I didn’t help prevent.
With this day, oppression ends, and liberation begins. ”
Queen Nora stood beside her king, dressed in the finest fighting leathers I’d ever seen, filled to the teeth with weapons, yet still wore her sparkling crown. She was the one who gave a nod to the awaiting executioner.
The blade swung without hesitation. I buried my face in Dae’s chest. He secured his hand to the back of my neck, tucking me close. Taja’s muffled scream lasted only a second before a thunk on the ground.
A few shouts of agreement rang from the crowd in the aftermath of the king’s demise.
That man had been responsible for thousands of murders against innocents.
Others, like me and my family, had the luxury of fleeing, but it still cost us our home.
The lives we could have had here. The loves we were meant to meet.
I rested my palm over Dae’s chest, just needing to feel his heartbeat.
Tomorrow, a new king would be declared, the start of a new era for all of Windguard. I looked up at Dae to find him already staring at me.
“Are you alright?” he asked, brushing a strand of hair away from my eyes.
“Of course I am. I have you.”
He smiled, and it was the view of a sunrise over the mountains. The sunset over the ocean. The way I wanted to start and end the rest of my days.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Almost.”
I walked through the empty halls of Windguard Castle, hugging myself against the lingering inhospitable chill radiating off all the polished, hardened stone.
I thought about the what ifs, the should have’s of it all.
What if my father hadn’t gotten us out of Windguard?
This should have been the castle of my homeland, but it wasn’t.
Truthfully, the stains left behind ran too deep to be scrubbed away.
I entered the throne room to find Ravinder standing by himself with his hands clasped behind his back, staring at the vacant throne. My steps echoed off the spotless floor, but he didn’t move or say anything as I came up to his side.
“How does it feel to be back here?” I asked.
Rav donned his most formal vest today, his appearance unchanged from any regular day except his hair gathered in a bun, and a new piercing in his other nostril. He inhaled deeply. “It feels empty. Broken.”
Our gazes locked, and I knew what he meant. It felt empty to be back here because he had lost his brother and half of the people under his care.
“You’re going to make it whole. The Wind King of Windguard they’ll call you.” I motioned as if reading the title off a placard.
He smiled, the most joy I suspected he’d allow himself to express today.
“He would be happy for you. Radhak dreamed of his people returning home.” I swallowed down my rising grief, but my eyes stung as they welled.
“Yeah, but he’ll never be able to see it.”
“He’ll see it.” I placed my hand on my friend’s shoulder.
I didn’t know what I believed about the gods, if they’d been real or if people created legends based on those kernels of magic, but the way everything had played out for us to be standing here made me believe there was at least something out there.
Who was to say there wasn’t a celestial place where our loved ones watched over us?
Though, I was sure revelry and afterlife affairs would be much more entertaining than watching us fumble our way through life.
“If he does, they will, too.” Rav looked at me, empathy in his eyes over the family we’d never hold in our arms again.
With a contemplative nod, I scoured the room one last time. “You should redecorate. We can talk design over that beer you were going to buy me.”
“Demolish is more like it. I want this place to be unrecognizable.” He folded his muscled bare arms in front of him, the planning already beginning.
“I have every faith in you that it will be.” I left him in his throne room with confidence that Windguard today would be completely different from the Windguard tomorrow. There was no one better suited for the task.
Dae waited on the front steps. I snuck up silently behind him, sliding my hands over his shoulders and placed a kiss upon his cheek. “Are you sure you’re ready to leave this place?”
“Jai is excited. Kaval would have loved to have seen what this place will become.” Dae absentmindedly rubbed his hands together.
I placed my palm over his scruffy cheek, pressing my nose and forehead to the side of his face.
His grief radiated from him in waves that I’d spent nights holding him to soothe.
But these types of hurt took time to heal.
We ruminated in silence, processing the traumatic hardships that had been inflicted upon us.
He wrapped his arm around my waist, stroking my ribs with his thumb. “Think we should go feed the horde?” Dae asked, massaging the growing scruff on his face.
I snickered. “Won’t take much.”
We returned to our rented room in Kabash. There was no sum in all of Myelle that could have convinced me to sleep in that castle until Taja’s reign officially ended.
Braxius rushed over to me, fluttering around my head before landing on my shoulder.
“Hey you,” I laughed the words as he nuzzled into my neck.
“What, I don’t get a greeting?” Dae said, crossing his arms with a smile.
“Tell him he’s my second favorite.”
“What about Mira?”
He paused briefly. “Okay, maybe third.”
I giggled. “Are you hungry? Any of you?”
Nine other little dragons zipped around the room, all confirming how hungry and thirsty they were in a cacophony of replies. When the dark magic receded, it was taken from the dragons as well. They returned to the size they’d been before they’d entered the Black Pool.
In the era before dark magic plagued the land the first time, the Black Pool had been a rite of passage into adulthood.
Dragon ceremony, of sorts. Though the Black Pool still remained, Tyberius decided to leave those dark waters undisturbed, meaning the once terrifying horde would remain a tiny little swarm of cuteness.
Even Witches Pass all the way through to Argora Vale showed no signs of the death magic, from recent events or prior. The Cursed Kingdom was no more, returned to a thriving fertile land awaiting those who’ll call it home.
Dae set down the basket of raw meats he’d procured from the market.
They attacked their meal. Watching Braxius interact with his old family made my heart smile.
He loved all he got to do in the world, being tiny like that.
Now, he had a chance to show them what life could be like, away from the confines of the mountain. His tail wagged as he ate.
Dae’s hands slid around my waist from behind. “You know, I think I could eat, too.”
“What are you in the mood for?” I asked, lazily dragging my fingers along his forearm.
His lips trailed my neck, stopping to nibble on the lobe of my ear. “You.” His deep, sensual voice made my knees weak.
“Well,” I said breathlessly. “We can’t start our travel unsatisfied now, can we?”
Within moments, he had me on the bed beneath him.
“I think I’m going to take my time with you today,” he threatened with a heady smile. My skin pebbled beneath his trailing kisses that dipped lower and lower.
I exhaled in pure anticipation. “We have all the time in the world. So please, be thorough.”