30. Ryker
Ryker
When we surface back in the Drift, it’s late, or at least I think it is. It’s dark this far down. The flying creature blinks at our approach, its eyes narrowing on my father, who trails behind me. He’s muttering to himself about something I don’t care to know.
I thought these five years would have changed him. He’s always been an asshole, but now that I’m an adult, I’m not putting up with his shit. I’ve never talked back, never even hinted at how his words have always broken me, but now I’m over it. He will never have that kind of power over me again.
Cole doesn’t know the depth of my father’s abuse.
It was never like that for him. My father took his anger out on me, always keeping me up late for him to unload on.
He never hurt physically. But the blame, the tone, the constant reminder of how I failed to measure up to being the heir he wanted, it always cut deeper than a fist would have.
No more.
I’m not a scared teen he can push around. And he sure as hell will never speak to my future wife that way again.
The creature's nostrils flare as it blows out a strong gust of air before it takes off, its impressive body launching from the grass and flapping its wings until it hovers above us.
Raea is still shaking from the cold clothes clinging to her body. I reach for her, pausing before we reach the pod to pull her into my arms, using the warm air to help dry her off. She shivers and buries her face into my chest.
My father hovers nearby, his gaze burning a hole in my back, but for the first time in my life, I don't feel small.
He spent years trying to mold me into a hollow version of himself, using his words like a scalpel.
But as I look at Raea—dry and safe in my arms—I realize the ink beneath my skin and the woman at my side are parts of me he can never touch. His power over me died in the Drift.
Within minutes, she’s dry enough that we can get her back to the palace and into something warm. I have no clue what’s going to happen once we get back.
Originally, we had planned to debrief what Astor and Calia had to say. We’ve both been quietly mulling it over, but I think we both knew we needed more minds involved. Otherwise, we’d both get stuck. It’s what happened with the prophecy.
“Love you,” she whispers, tilting her chin up. “No matter what happens next, we do this together, and I want you to know, I’m always on your team.”
I have no words, so instead I bring my lips to hers. “Mine.”
She nods. “Yours.”
With that, I take her hand, leading us back to the pod. It opens at our approach. We don’t even bother to glance at my father as he enters behind us. I program the console to take us back to the palace.
As it lifts off, lightning coils around the creature, filtering through its wings and body as it flies ahead to lead us through the dark.
My body is radiating with nerves. It’s been a quiet trip, and Raea has been nibbling on her lip as she wrings her hands in her lap.
The pod lowers back into its original spot, and I reach over, seeking her touch.
She takes my hand in hers and looks up at me.
Those big green and gold eyes convey so much more than words ever could.
There’s a part of me that almost wishes my father had stayed gone, but that’s unfair to my family.
“Ready?” I ask.
My father is already stepping from the pod.
Raea nods and follows me out. The walk across the wide stone bridge that leads to the palace is filled with tension and the roaring sound of the waterfall that falls off the edge.
The glass sections of the palace illuminate the area, reflecting the light of the large moon. Raea exhales as the doors open for her. She crosses the wards ahead of me, still clinging tightly. My father grumbles behind me, and when I turn to face him, he’s stuck at the doors.
“What is this?” he hisses. “Bastian and his tricks. Fetch the old fool.”
I inhale, shoving down the intense rage that threatens to explode out of me. He can’t return from the dead and expect everyone to bow at his feet. We’ve all moved on.
I watch him thrash against the invisible wards, and I have to fist my hands to keep from launching at him.
The growing Bond between Raea and me has stripped away my patience.
Every insult he hurls at her feels like a physical strike against my own skin.
I want him gone—not just for the kingdom’s sake, but because my soul won't settle until she is the only person in my line of sight.
The guard looks between my father and me. “Prince Anders, should I—”
“No,” Raea speaks up, her voice more firm than before. “My father’s wards are here to protect the royal family from anyone who dares to enter with ill intent.”
She steps forward, her voice a sharp, protective blade that cuts through the tension. I can feel her distrust through our Bond—a jagged, electrical hum that mirrors my own. She doesn't just see a king—she sees the man who broke the person she loves.
The invisible wards of the palace shimmer in agreement, a physical barrier between the monster of my past and the future we’re trying to build.
“What are you doing back here?” Raea asks. “And what work did you complete?”
My father’s lips curl. “Just an old score to settle. Get your father. I’ll wait.”
Raea doesn’t budge. She stands there, glowering at my father. A spark ignites within me, and suddenly I can feel every ounce of her confusion, her anger, and her distrust. She doesn’t believe a word my father says. Honestly, I can't blame her. Every word out of his mouth feels like a half-truth.
King Bastian enters, strolling to my side, arms crossed over his chest. “Aki,” he states, his voice clipped. “You’ve returned from the dead just in time for their wedding. How convenient.”
I look to King Bastian, then back to my father, whose face doesn’t hide his rage.
My father’s face turns a mottled shade of red. “You’ve always been full of tricks and secrets, and now you dare to ensnare my son to your schemes. You’ve always been a fool.”
King Bastian stands unmoved at my side.
Raea steps back to my other, taking my hand in hers. “I love your son and I will, even beyond death. So I’ll ask again. Why are you here? Why now?”
My father bangs against the invisible wards, his eyes flickering with something dark. “I want to see my wife. You can’t keep me from her. Anders, summon your mother here.”
Before I can say a thing, King Bastian scoffs.
“She’s busy preparing the palace for their Bonding Ceremony and wedding.
You’ll see her tomorrow when we all travel there.
For now—” He steps forward from our line, inspecting the wards.
He lays a hand on them, and for a second, I see an invisible ripple of air.
At once, my father stumbles forward. King Bastian nods to the Regils standing around us.
“I think you can handle one more night in isolation.”
My father protests as guards grab him by the arms and surround him. He thrashes and yells, “I’m still a king! You have no authority over me!” His protests grow quiet as he’s dragged down a hall to where I’m assuming the holding cells are.
King Bastian turns toward us. “I’ll meet you both in my study.” He looks to one of the servants standing nearby, who seems shaken by the whole interaction. “See that dinner is brought up for them.” Then back to us. “I must attend to a new set of wards.”
With that, he heads down the hall to where my father was taken.
Raea turns to me, her large eyes searching mine. “How are you?”
I sigh, running my free hand through my hair. How am I? Not great. I place a quick kiss on her temple before guiding her to the staircase.
The word vacuous is still ringing in my ears, making the Aethermark in my soul do more than hum—it’s a sustained roar.
As I guide Raea up the stairs, my hand remains locked on the small of her back, a physical anchor I refuse to let go. I can still feel the possessive snarl that nearly broke through my throat when my father dared to breathe the same air as her.
To him, she’s a political piece on a board. To me, she is the only thing in this system worth protecting, and this possessive part of me is demanding I lock her away where his malice can never find her again.
After a few quiet minutes, I say, “I need to consider notifying my mother. This changes nothing.”
“But your coronation—”
“Can wait. I don’t care about the crown.
I care about you. I don’t know what to think about that whole interaction.
I don’t understand why my father is so upset, but he won’t come between us.
For now…” I pause, turning to face her. “Let’s just focus on what Astor and Calia said. We can deal with my father later.”
Or never.
After dinner is brought up, King Bastian enters the study. When we go to stand, he waves us back to our chairs. He’s quiet as he sits behind his desk, his knuckles tapping on the wood armrest as he gazes off in the distance.
Raea sips on her tea, warding off the chill.
We’ve both changed into clean, dry clothes, but I don’t think this is the type of chill that comes from the water.
I rest my hand on the back of her chair, letting the warm air flow, but it isn’t enough.
I find myself leaning closer until my shoulder brushes hers, the contact grounding the erratic, protective pulse of my heart.
I don’t want to warm her. I want to claim the space around her, ensuring Bastian—and the galaxy—knows that she is mine to protect.
She turns her head toward my hand, and her eyes convey her gratitude and understanding.
“You made it to Sgya,” King Bastian starts. “Is that where he’s been or the Drift?”
I clear my throat. “He’s been on Evello, according to his notes. I found them years ago. I honestly didn’t know if he was alive. I don’t know how he ended up on Sgya.”
He nods, pacing the length of his desk, once, twice. “In the years before his disappearance, Aki grew…paranoid. He didn’t trust anyone at the end. He kept muttering about needing to go to prepare.” King Bastian stops pacing and leans over his desk to look at me.
There’s something similar to an apology written on his features as he says, “I never told your mother. That last week, I went to Malaya…” He shakes his head, dropping into his chair. “He said I wouldn’t understand, but I had to promise that Raea must never visit the palace.”
Astor’s warning about a 'bearer no longer whole' and 'loyalty festering in shadow' suddenly feels a lot less cryptic.
My father didn't return—he brought darkness back with him. Maybe this war started years ago, silently infiltrating royal families. As Bastian talks about my father’s growing paranoia, I wonder if the 'work' my father completed on Sgya was actually the first stone laid in the path of the coming war.
“Why?” Raea asks from my side.
King Bastian shrugs. “I’m not sure, my dear. When we stopped visiting, it was after an incident with you two. I thought he always blamed you, but I couldn’t be sure. Your mother and I agreed to just keep you home.”
Something tugs at my memory. “What happened?”
His gaze goes distant once more. “You two were showing signs of magic. You’d both fallen asleep, and when we went to retrieve Raea to leave, there was a barrier of light around both of you.
White strands mixed with glittering golds like an invisible wind.
We couldn’t break through it, and you both were asleep, so there was nothing we could do. ”
Raea looks at me as tears spill from her eyes. “I remember that night.”
“Your father convinced your mother that you two were attempting to Bond,” he scoffs.
“At six years old. After that, he repeatedly denied our requests to visit until one day he asked us not to return with Raea. He thought it best. That’s when we had your memories wiped.
You both struggled for months after, always asking for each other. We didn’t feel like we had a choice.”
The words hit me with a different kind of force than the cold water of the portal. We already knew they had wiped our memories—Bastian and Amaya had owned up to that—but I never understood the why. I always assumed it was a mutual decision for our protection.
Now, hearing Bastian describe my father’s demands, the truth settles like lead in my stomach.
It wasn't about our safety. It was about Aki’s obsession with control.
He saw two six-year-olds finding peace in each other and viewed it as a threat to his grand design.
He didn't ask them to keep us apart. He bullied them into agreeing to create hollowed out versions of ourselves to satisfy a paranoia I’m only now beginning to fathom.
I look at Raea, the tears spilling from her eyes, and the anger in my gut turns to a cold, hard resolve. My father didn't steal our memories—he tried to break a Bond he couldn't understand.
“He always told me the reason why Raea and I never were at the same events growing up, the balls and meetings, was because you were keeping her locked away, afraid for her Bond.”
King Bastian shakes his head with a disbelieving laugh.
“My fear for Raea’s Bond was only this year when I realized what you two were.
I didn’t want anyone else getting close enough.
Why do you think I asked for you specifically?
I knew once I remembered the prophecy and wanted to ensure—” He shakes his head.
“No, atone for my part. I knew you would need time to rebuild the trust we stole from you. For my part in this, I’m truly sorry. ”
Everyone is silent, lost in thought for several long minutes.
Raea wipes away her tears, straightening in her chair. “So what now?”
“Let’s get through what Astor and Calia said first. At this point, deciphering their cryptic words seems an easier task than dealing with the implications of my father’s sudden return.”
Raea stands, brushing her hands down her sleeping pants. “Well, then I guess we will need Elison.”