59. Raea
Raea
I can’t stop the shiver that rolls through me as Ryker’s fingers trail very close to the apex of my thighs. I hear his breathy laugh in my head. I wiggle my ass in his lap, and it's my turn to giggle when he sucks in a sharp breath.
Two can play this game.
Thank gods our movements are covered by the bubbling waters of the hot spring we’re seated in. Across from us, Tate is animatedly telling us of his awakening…reliving the hallucinations of his skin peeling off. Gross.
Kellan is seated at our right, Trysten to our left.
Ciara had vanished her wings away like it had taken no effort at all.
She claimed that the Elyndorai’s wings were like an extension of her arm.
You can lift your arms, lower them, fold them across your back—the wings follow the motion, the wings came out like a lifting of her arms, and when unneeded, could be tucked away by some magic, folding into nothingness.
It made no sense, but then again, I’m not sure that I can fully grasp all that magic even is. Are there rules? Where does it come from? How do Auralan and the other two systems call upon it?
At home, the magic was tied to the Veil, to the planets’ energy. Maybe it works the same way, just without a Veil.
“...another rune…” Trysten is talking, but I haven’t been paying attention.
At the mention of the rune, my head snaps to him.
I tense the moment I feel Kellan’s hands on me.
Ryker growls silently beneath me. I can’t blame him, not this time.
I feel all eyes land on me as everyone shuffles to look at my back.
They could have looked at Ryker’s arm, but apparently, I am to be the spectacle.
Beneath the surface, Ryker is a solid wall of thrumming tension.
His left hand cups my waist, his fingers digging into my skin—a silent claim that vibrates through the water.
I feel his restraint like a coiled spring as Kellan continues his path.
Ryker doesn't move, but the water around him hums with the low, protective growl echoing in my mind.
Ryker places a kiss on my shoulder as Kellan’s hands finally fall away leaving me feeling sick. At one point in time, Kellan had felt like home, and now, his touch feels wrong. Still, he touched me and my runes as if I weren’t mated to another male. Like I’m not seated on said male’s lap.
“So beautiful. I want a mate,.” Ciara coos.
Tate snickers. “You have wings. Your runes would probably have to be tattooed on your head.”
I tuck my lips to keep from laughing as she grumbles behind me.
Kellan moves to the other side of us, where he can at least face me as Trysten and Kamden take his place, inspecting both my back and the matching tattoos on Ryker’s right arm.
My runes are delicate, ethereal threads of light that pulse with a dusting of starlight, climbing my spine like a living vine.
Ryker’s are different—bold, jagged strikes of obsidian and silver that claim his skin.
They don't follow a path. They bloom where the magic demands, looking less like decoration.
Kellan’s hazel eyes meet mine. “I’m happy for you, RaeRae.
” Then to Ryker, he adds, “You too.” Though I don’t think any of us truly believes it.
I hate that Kellan is so sad. I miss seeing him smile.
I want to talk to him. I want to find a way to get back to the place where he is my best friend and nothing more, nothing less.
Before I can chicken out, I ask if he wants to go to the beach and stargaze with me. Ryker’s irritation is quickly replaced with love and understanding. He knew when we met that Kellan was a part of me and always would be.
Kellan agrees before turning to the rest of the group, who have now fallen back into easy conversation. It’s strange, sitting here in a place with ancient magic, on the other end of the galaxy, so far from everything any of us have ever known.
We have traveled across the galaxy in a step, learned of races that have been forgotten—or purposefully wiped from history, shed our humanity to become one of these beings that live for longer than I can even comprehend, and yet…we are all still us.
Trysten and Ryker have taken up having a side conversation about AerBall and wanting to play it with their new strength and speed. Kamden, Kellan, Ciara, and Tate are laughing over a story of Kamden’s childhood, and for a moment, I can see it.
When the rest of our family passes into the aether, when all that we know has become dust, when this war is finally over, because I have to believe we will win—I don’t see another outcome, or I’ll lose hope.
So when it is all done, maybe not for another hundred years, but these people, my friends, my chosen family, we will still be together.
And with near immortality, who knows what kind of adventures we will have.
I’ll get to watch all of them fall in love, have children, and one day, I plan to have a large family dinner with not only us, but our partners and kids. I want it to be loud and crazy, and I want to remember this moment.
I sit on the beach staring at the night sky, the waves lulling me into a state of tranquility despite the war inside. The news hits me like a physical blow, shattering the tranquil image of our future.
Aolyn is gone.
She didn't even say goodbye. She vanished into the twilight of Velmora. That planet is a world of shadows, a place that lingers between the breath of life and the silence of death. The thought of her seeking out human witch clans there makes my skin crawl.
Finn promised us she will be okay, that the witches who remain in Auralan are loyal to the Fae king and the councils.
Still, it makes me uneasy.
Kellan knocks his shoulder into mine, pulling my attention away from the stars, away from those heavenly bodies that burn so bright. I feel so drawn to them. I want to be up there right now in a transport. I miss the quiet.
I understand that our tech isn’t needed when you have magic, but I still miss it. There are some things, like space travel, that magic can’t give you.
Kellan points toward the break line, where the moonlight catches the iridescent tails of three mermaids.
Their laughter carries over the roar of the surf, light and carefree.
One shakes out a mane of dawn-pink hair that defies the weight of the water.
Another adjusts a bun of teal silk. They play in the surf as if the war won’t touch them.
Their joy is a stinging reminder of the simplicity I have lost.
“I hate seeing the weight on you,” Kellan says softly, breaking my thoughts. “I wish I could carry it for you.”
I offer him a soft smile before looking back at the water, at the way the sea foam follows its creator back into those inky depths. “I’m worried about her.”
Kellan shakes his head. “It’s more than that.”
I blow out a long breath, letting my shoulders relax.
“Before,” I start. Before any of this. “Life felt simple. I knew what tomorrow would bring. I knew who I was. I knew exactly what my life would look like, and now I feel like I’m a boulder falling down the mountainside, and instead of slowing down, I’m picking up speed, and I’m headed for a cliff.
” The churning in my gut intensifies. Kellan has a way of drawing things out of me, and I don’t realize how much I need to voice this.
Ryker knows me in a different way. He knows how I feel. He feels it too. But saying it out loud—
“I’m here for you, Raea. You know I always will be. I’ll remind you of who you are, what you are. I’ll tease you about Azeban just to make you smile.”
Despite the heaviness, I smile, and he smiles right back.
“I will be the safe place you land when you do go off that cliff,” he says, his hazel eyes searching mine with a depth of history that Ryker cannot yet claim. He isn't asking for my heart, but he is offering to be the ground beneath my feet.
I rest my head against his shoulder, the scent of cinnamon and salt anchoring me.
I cannot give him the love of a mate, but I can give him the truth.
And for the first time since everything shattered, I realize something else—Kellan isn’t asking me for more.
He isn’t waiting for a moment of weakness or hoping I’ll look back at him the way I once did.
He is here because he loves me enough to stay.
Because he would rather mend what we broke than pretend it never existed.
And somehow, that feels braver than chasing me ever did.
“You’re my anchor, Kellan. Without you, I’m pretty sure I’d have lost it already.” I try to sound lighthearted, but it comes out too solemn.
We are quiet for long minutes, both of us watching the waves, the mermaids tossing a large shell back and forth, the way the heavens sparkle on the surface of the water. With each inhale of the thin, salty air, my body relaxes.
“Your friendship will always be enough,” Kellan says softly, wrapping an arm around me to stave off the chill in the air. “And I’m glad you’re no longer shocking me.” His lips curl into a teasing smile.
Despite myself, I laugh.
“So, tell me about Elven magic.”