39. Rae
RAE
“I can’t believe my own horse ditched me,” Kian grumbled.
I grinned as I ran a hand down Shadow’s neck. He blew air through his lips in answer. “He missed me, that’s all,” I defended.
Kian just shook his head from atop the dark-brown horse that was supposed to be mine. When I’d moved to mount, Shadow kept getting in my way, until Kian finally said, “For fuck’s sake” and swapped with me.
I was secretly glad. Not that the other horse didn’t seem lovely, but Shadow made me feel safe. Much like Kian did.
“Your horse just has good sense,” Rhys muttered as he guided his mare, Ash, between a pair of ember trees up ahead.
Kian flipped him off. “He did try to bite you earlier, so you’re not wrong.”
Pax fought a laugh only half successfully as he brought up the rear. “Hope it doesn’t bruise.”
The three of them bickered, but I was grateful that nothing had taken on a truly aggressive air yet today. I wasn’t sure my head or anxiety levels could take it if it had.
I let their sniping fade into the background as I studied our surroundings. The Firelight Kingdom might have been a land of darkness, but the vegetation was absolutely stunning. I couldn’t help trying to classify things in my mind.
My hand lifted as if of its own volition to brush over some leaves above me. The tree looked like a beech but was made entirely of glowing embers. As my fingers grazed the leaves, sparks flew from them, dancing over my skin. I couldn’t stop the giggle that left my lips.
Two heads snapped in my direction, and my hand fell as I stared back at Rhys and Kian. “It tickled.” As if that was my only defense.
“Gods,” Rhys muttered, turning back around.
Kian sent me a reassuring wink.
“How are all the kingdoms different? Other than the light thing?” I winced, realizing I probably shouldn’t have brought up that last part, given that my people were holding it hostage.
Kian didn’t seem offended. “All the Nocturnae kingdoms are quite different. The Starlight Kingdom, where I live, is full of plants that glow.”
“Glow?” I parroted, trying to imagine it. “The whole plant or just the flowers? The leaves? What about the trees?”
A low, rumbling laugh came from his chest, and the sound wrapped around me like an invisible hug. He shook his head as he grinned back at me. “You really do love plants, don’t you?”
“You’ll never beat plants in her eyes,” Pax called.
“Good to know,” Kian said.
I turned and stuck my tongue out at Pax. “Thanks a lot.”
As I shifted back into place, I nearly fell from Shadow’s back. A series of ridiculous curses slipped from my mouth, and I fumbled for his mane.
“No injuries, Butterfly,” Kian ordered. “Or I will make us share a mount.”
My lower belly heated at the thought. “I’m okay.” The high-pitched tone called me a liar.
Rhys let out a loud sigh. “Stop trying to harm yourself.”
“Do you feel my pain or something?” I asked, suddenly curious. If our lives were linked, maybe feeling was, too.
Rhys shook his head. “No.”
“Geez, such a Chatty Cathy. Please, do shut up,” I teased.
Kian’s lips twitched as he waited for me to catch up to him so we were riding side by side. “Sometimes, those who are fated can feel extreme emotions in each other, but only after the bonds have been sealed.”
“Sealed?” I asked.
“Completed, for lack of a better word.”
I nodded. “And Luminaries and Nocturnae aren’t usually fated?”
Kian trailed tattooed fingers along his horse’s shoulder. “There has never been a fated bond between the two species before, as far as I know.”
“Oh.” Just one more way I was a freak.
“They’re usually enemies,” Rhys said, not turning around. “Unless you’re Kian.”
Kian simply rolled his eyes in response.
“Why?” I asked.
Kian shifted to look at me. “Why what?”
“Why all this hatred? Simply because Luminaries hoard the light?” And why did they demand it all?
Was it for their magic? Power? Faith? There were endless reasons to go to war with someone, and they tended to repeat themselves over and over, each generation refusing to learn from the one that came before.
The three men were silent for a long moment, but it was Pax who finally spoke. “The Nocturnae were created by ancient Luminaries as a means of protection against the demons.”
Unease slid through me. Created?
Rhys shifted atop Ash’s back and turned to look at me.
“What he’s not telling you is that we were used and abused, treated like nothing more than attack dogs.
The Luminaries didn’t care if we were fed or housed.
Hades, they didn’t care if we were slaughtered.
All they cared about was that we were what stood between them and the demons.
We still are. The Luminary lands are surrounded by the Nocturnae Houses, so they are the last to be attacked. ”
That unease turned to nausea. “What happened?” Because I could tell there was more. A lot more.
“The Nocturnae started to fight back,” Kian said quietly. “There were countless ugly battles, but neither species was strong enough to win. And when the demons used it as a chance to attack, both sides knew it was time for a truce.”
Rhys let out an ugly chuckle. “You call that a truce? It got my father and sister killed.”
My fingers tightened in Shadow’s mane. Killed by my biological father.
“The Luminaries are more progressive now,” Kian assured me.
“Are they?” Rhys challenged.
“Hey,” Pax cut in. “Why don’t we break for lunch? Rae’s probably hungry.”
Hunger was the last thing on my mind, but I still nodded. “Some water might be good.”
Rhys grunted, not saying a word, but he guided his horse off the trail and toward a babbling ember brook.
It was beautifully magical, but I was still stuck on the fact that my people had used the Nocturnae as a shield. Worse, they hadn’t cared if they lived or died.
I slid from Shadow’s back somewhat awkwardly, grateful when I didn’t fall on my ass. But my legs were like Jell-O. I walked in a small circle, trying to stretch as my thoughts followed a similar pattern, circling through all the what-ifs and whys.
As I walked, I examined the flowers and shrubs, noticing that when leaves or petals fell to the ground, they lost some of their ember hue, the light fading. I’d have loved to study the reason behind it.
“Follow her so she doesn’t get killed,” Rhys ordered, but in a tone that said he didn’t give a damn.
He was faking it though. Because if I died, he died. I was starting to see that Rhys liked to pretend he didn’t care about anything. But maybe that was simply because he’d lost so much already.
Ignoring the surly vampire King, I wandered along the water’s edge, studying every possible plant.
“Is she always like this?” Kian asked in my wake.
“Sometimes, it’s worse,” Pax explained. “She forgets to eat or drink. I like to call it the plant haze.”
“Gods,” Kian muttered.
I tried to tune them out, too. Let them laugh. Nature had always been my escape, and I’d need it even more now.
Movement caught my eye—a breathtaking bloom fluttering in the breeze. I picked up my pace, hurrying toward the bush and bending to examine it. It was like a cross between a peony and a dahlia, but larger. Absolutely captivating.
The wind shifted again, and another flicker of movement snagged my attention. I expected to see another flower or maybe a tree swaying. But I was so very wrong.
A man stepped out from between the trees, and I couldn’t look away. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. Taller than Rhys and Kian, but not quite as broad, his form reminded me of an Olympic swimmer.
But the rest of him was anything but. He had long, white-blond hair with intricate braids and a few dreads. His skin was the palest gold but crisscrossed with countless silvery scars, only accentuating eyes that were a blue so pale they were almost translucent.
And those eyes held fury.
He took one massive step. “You.”