5. Five #2
Nox turned to face her, eyes shining with the hope he carried for the future.
“Perhaps a day will come when Omen’s shadow no longer looms over our family.
Then you could return. And stay.” Everything he wished for their Court, she, too, desired.
Never before had she felt such a profound sense of belonging as she had in Silvergard.
“Consider this my first diplomatic trip as Silvergard’s Emissary.”
Nox forced a smile, but held it for only an instant before his face fell. “For so long, I’ve been lonely even when surrounded by my subjects at Court. Since you arrived, it’s been like having a family. Not the broken one I grew up with. A real, proper family.”
“You’ll still have Lucan to keep you company,” she said, attempting to lighten the mood.
“That is some consolation.”
“I’ve managed to keep the secret of who my father is during my time here. I’m worried I won’t be able to hide it forever. Thorn is sharp, and he already suspects me. What will folk think of me if they learn the truth?”
“Whatever the Realm believes, we have done things—you and I—to restore some measure of honor to the Elsever name. Do not allow anyone to make you ashamed of who you are. You’ve done nothing wrong.”
Nova nodded quickly, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. Nox pulled her into his arms and rested his chin on top of her head.
“You stay safe. I’ll search for a solution to the problem of my brother. I fully intend for you to return. You belong in Silvergard with your folk.”
He released her from his embrace, brushing away a rogue tear tracking down her cheek.
A few moments later, Nova and Nox walked arm in arm to the grand entryway of the Estate, where Bryn and Lucan waited for them.
Lucan held out Nova’s cloak, and she quickly wrapped it around her shoulders.
Her chest tightened, filled almost to bursting with the sadness of her departure, the anticipation of seeing Callan, and the anxiety about what lay ahead.
Lucan pinned Bryn with a hard stare. “I’m trusting you,” he said with the same tone he reserved for new recruits, leaving the other half of the warning—Don’t fuck it up—unsaid.
“I’ll protect her with my life.” Bryn laid a hand over her heart. “I swear it.”
Dawn approached as they stepped into the courtyard, the sky a sea of purple fading to pink and deep orange along the horizon. Nova stood flanked by Lucan and Nox, a warm breeze tossing strands of her hair against her cheeks as Bryn walked a few strides away from them.
Straightening her spine, Bryn threw her head back and cast her arms out at her sides, the flowing black fabric of her cloak clutched in her hands.
In the same instant, a harsh crack rang out in the quiet as her knees buckled backward unnaturally.
Not accustomed to the physical spectacle of shapeshifting, Nova turned her face away from the grisly sight.
She pressed her forehead against Lucan’s shoulder until the sound of crunching bone ceased, replaced by the rustling of great wings and deep, throaty croaks.
After a moment, Nova dared a glance back to where Bryn had been.
In her place, an enormous raven shifted from foot to foot, each scaly toe tipped with a long, curved talon, as sharp and as deadly as the Silvergardian dagger sheathed at Nova’s thigh.
Nova approached warily, transfixed by the bird’s eye, glinting like a bead of shiny obsidian as Bryn cocked her head to the side.
Close enough to touch the creature, Nova ran her hand along Bryn’s iridescent black feathers. Bryn extended the hackles at her throat and let out a low croak in response.
A rush of airy laughter flowed from Nova’s lips, brought on by an odd mixture of anticipation and fear. She turned to Nox, who gathered her in a silent embrace, planting a firm kiss on the crown of her head. Lucan clapped her on the back.
“Tell Callan he still owes me a fair fight. No cheap shots this time.” He gave her a tight smile and crouched down, offering his bent knee as a mounting block.
Nova gripped a handful of feathers, stepped up onto Lucan’s knee, and swung a leg over Bryn’s back.
Though she was nearly as large as a horse, Bryn felt far less solid as she bobbed and ducked beneath Nova.
Lucan and Nox backed away, and Nova flashed what she imagined was an unconvincing smile.
Bending low, Bryn extended her impressive wings then leapt into the air.
Nova clung to the rigid feathers at Bryn’s throat as they climbed higher and higher, the sprawling Silvergard Estate shrinking down smaller than a doll’s house far below.
Nova spent the majority of the journey lying as flat as possible against Bryn’s rippling back and trying to remember to breathe.
She lifted her head once to glance over her shoulder toward the Silvergard Estate just as it faded from view and again when they crossed the white peaks of the Nephari Mountains marking the border with Nivali.
When the snow-covered fjord guarding the inlet that led to the Nivali Estate came into view shortly after sunrise, Nova shouted into the wind, instructing Bryn to find a wooded area in which to land.
The residents likely wouldn’t react well to a raven the size of a stallion landing at the base of the Great Hall’s steps.
Bryn touched down gracefully in a snowy clearing ringed with towering evergreens a short time later.
Nova’s dismount was decidedly less graceful, and she landed in a heap face down in several inches of fresh powder.
Rolling onto her backside, she watched through half-closed eyes as Bryn twitched and contorted, seeming to fold in on herself, until, at last, she crouched on the ground, concealed by the folds of her cloak.
Several quiet minutes passed before Bryn sat upright and lowered her hood.
Strands of hair clung to her sweat-soaked brow, cheeks ruddy as if she’d run a great distance.
“Are you well?” Nova crawled through the snow to her side. Bryn raised a shaky hand and nodded.
“Fine,” she panted. “The change. Takes a lot out of me.”
“It’s a short walk to the Estate, but then you’ll be able to rest. Here, let me help you up.”
Nova draped Bryn’s arm over her shoulder and helped her to stand. They remained in the clearing for a moment longer while Bryn caught her breath, and then the two started off toward the Estate.
By the time they reached the Great Hall, Bryn was able to walk on her own.
Nova knew one of the guards posted at the entrance by sight, and he opened the door for them.
The massive room was empty save for a handful of household staff hurrying through the chilled air, opening the wooden shutters to let in the morning light and feeding the embers in the room’s central firepit.
Nova flagged down a familiar female servant, the one who had always been fearful of her.
“Miss Nova!” Her startled greeting rang out like an accusation in the quiet. “We’d h-heard you were returning to Nivali but didn’t expect you for several days more.”
“I’m afraid I’ve returned ahead of schedule, and with a guest,” Nova offered apologetically, gesturing to Bryn and attempting to inject some softness into the hard exterior she maintained outside the comfort of her own Estate. “Could you prepare a chamber for her?”
“We’ve hardly any space with all the recent arrivals,” the maid explained, avoiding Nova’s eye. “But there may be a small room without a bathing chamber on the ground level.”
“That will be fine,” Bryn cut in.
The maid nodded and made a quick curtsy before hurrying off in search of a room.
“What did you do to her?” Bryn asked.
“Nothing—I swear it,” Nova insisted, crossing to the low fire to warm her cold-stiffened fingers while they waited.
The female returned moments later, ushering them to the rear of the building where she’d prepared a quaint room with a straw cot and a small grate fireplace.
There was no attached bathing chamber, but a large wooden tub sat in one corner.
Bryn surveyed the room and turned to Nova with a nod of approval.
After encouraging the shifter to rest and tasking the maid with seeing to any of Bryn’s needs, Nova took her leave, eager to find her mate.