Chapter 4 #2
She had absolutely seemed like a goddess.
Emmeric thought back to the battlefield when he had sensed Iyana tap into the magic of the amulet.
A silver light shone around her, and she’d hovered a few inches off of the ground, her hair spread around her as if she were underwater, and her irises had become a molten silver.
It was similar to how she had appeared in his dreams when they first began, but infinitely more intense.
He could tell she was losing control, and was about to kill every single person and monster within that small area, so he did the only thing he could think of—Emmeric had placed himself directly in front of her, pushing a warm calm down their bond, praying to all the gods who would listen that he could break through to her.
And she had recognized his call and come back to him.
“Anyway,” Emmeric said, “I was able to take that magic she had stored within me and channel it back to her. If we hadn’t taken the time to do that in the tomb, she would be dead.”
“And so would I,” Talon said softly. He and Iyana shared a brief smile. Two friends who had come so close to death and evaded its grasp.
Iyana yawned wide again, her eyelids fluttering closed. “We have at least five days on this ship until we reach Arinem,” Emmeric said. “Let’s get some rest and we’ll discuss this more later.”
Zane stood off of the couch, Talon following close behind him. They remained constantly in contact, neither one seeming to want to stray far from the other. “I have no desire to sleep in my father’s rooms. Emmeric, you and Iyana stay here. The rest of us will find other accommodations.”
Emmeric glanced at the woman sitting at his side. “Are you okay staying in Uther’s rooms?” he murmured.
“Honestly? It’s the least he could do after all the shit he put me through.”
He clasped her shoulder gently, relieved that the room itself wasn’t dredging up terrible memories for her.
Once their three companions had left, Emmeric locked the door behind them.
Realistically, a mere lock would be nothing to any of their enemies, but it gave him a small sense of safety.
Then, he scooped Iyana off of the couch and laid her gently on the massive bed, tucking the blankets in around her.
He thought she was asleep until he went to move away and she grabbed his wrist.
“Don’t leave me,” she mumbled, her eyes still shut. Emmeric’s pulse increased at her words and touch. He brushed her hair back from her face.
“I won’t, Mouse. I’ll be right here in a chair, okay?”
“Promise?”
“I promise, Mouse. I’ve got you.” He continued to lightly comb her hair until her breathing changed, and he knew she slept. Exhaling deeply, he flopped onto a nearby chair to keep watch over her. It would be a long while before he was comfortable letting her out of his sight.
For the next five days of travel across the Aptua Ocean, they all focused on simply surviving.
Eating, drinking, and bathing were the only actions any of them seemed capable of.
If they spoke, they carefully avoided the topics of what had transpired, instead sticking to less emotional subjects.
Needless to say, they did not speak much.
Emmeric and Iyana continued to occupy Uther’s old space.
He would sleep in the chair while she slept on the massive bed.
While it was plenty large enough for both of them, Emmeric did not want to make her uncomfortable.
She had asked him to stay that first night, and she would search for him every morning when she first awoke—the feeling of relief at his presence blooming within her, then quickly dying down to the numbness she felt most days.
Well, numbness and seasickness. The journey out to the Dead Lands had not been pleasant for her, but at least she’d had her healing supplies.
In all the chaos between Uther and Altair, her bag had been lost, and so now she continued to suffer, alternating between sleeping and retching in the bathing room.
Emmeric had tried to get her onto the deck one day, but her face turned a pallid green color and she ran back to their room. He didn’t try again.
Occasionally, while he slept, he would have nightmares.
Visions of Iyana dying in his arms; of Talon motionless.
The overwhelming sense of powerlessness.
There would be flashes throughout his dreams of Uther and Altair leering down upon him, and those were the parts that unsettled him the most. He knew Iyana was not sleeping well, either, but Emmeric did not want to share his own nightmares with her, lest they drag her further under.
For the moment, he was simply trying to keep her afloat.
Kaz would come visit every once in a while, but even she found it difficult to rouse Iyana from her apathetic state. Talon and Zane, for the most part, kept to themselves.
It wasn’t until the day before they would arrive on the continent that they decided to reconvene Team Save Arinem and decide what their next move would be.
“We really need to think of a better name,” Kaz groused.
“Hardly the most important issue at hand, Zoara,” Emmeric drawled, then laughed when the shifter princess raised her middle finger at him.
They were all huddled within Uther’s bedroom again.
Iyana curled in upon herself on the couch, out of his reach.
Tal and Zane were cuddled together on the loveseat opposite of them, but their posture was stiff.
Their sides were pressed together, but other than that, there were no intentional touches.
“Is it still our plan to go to Nyr?” Talon asked.
“I think that would be our best course of action,” Zane said. “Kaz mentioned there are protections in place around the kingdom.”
“We would have to cross most of Arinem to get there,” said Emmeric. “And we don’t exactly know what’s waiting for us after all the stars have fallen. Plus, Kaz, are you sure they would let you back in?”
Kaz waved away his concern. “They wouldn’t really have a choice. I’m still the crown princess and I have important information to pass along to my parents.”
“Are you sure you’re still the crown princess?
After you ran off without telling anyone?
” Zane asked. She glared at him, her eyes shifting from brown to a golden-yellow.
Zane raised his hands towards her. “I’m just trying to be pragmatic.
You said yourself that deserters are rarely let back in, and that your brother wants the job more than you do.
And with twelve other siblings, I’m sure your parents could easily name someone else as heir. ”
The shifter narrowed her gaze at the Athusan emperor. “You weren’t there when I said anything about my brother wanting the job more than me.”
“I have my sources,” Zane replied. Kaz threw a glare at Talon, who shrugged.
“In my defense,” Tal said, “I didn’t realize you were the heir to Nyr at the time. You had said you wanted away from the ‘family business.’”
“While His Majesty is correct that my parents could have named another heir, they wouldn’t have.”
Zane opened his mouth to argue Kaz’s point, but she held up a finger. His lips pressed tightly together in annoyance at being shushed. After all, he did now outrank everyone within this room.
“My parents were always more lenient towards my wild tendencies,” Kaz said.
“Partially because they realize it is a part of my nature, and I think also because they were hoping that if I were to get it out of my system then I would eventually calm down and do as they asked. So, I’m confident that once they learned I had run off, they were simply waiting for me to return and claim my rightful place.
I’m sure my brother would have tried to talk them into naming him as heir”—Kaz rolled her eyes—“but because I am still technically the most powerful, they would not strip me of my title so easily.”
During the conversation, Iyana had been sitting quietly, biting at her thumbnail. Emmeric wasn’t entirely sure that she was paying attention until she looked at the group, a resolved determination on her face.
“I agree that we go to Nyr,” she said. “Regardless of what the stars have been doing these past few days, we do still hold an advantage.” They all stared at her in silence, seemingly shocked by her sudden contribution to the conversation. Emmeric’s lips lifted in a smile.
That’s my girl, he thought. Iyana glanced at him before continuing.
“Altair believes Talon to be dead.” Emmeric noticed Zane still at her words, his eyes going blank before Talon wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
Iyana threw them both an apologetic glance.
“And he most likely believes I am as well. If that is the case, then if the two of us remain disguised under cloaks, whoever we run into will hopefully think that Kaz is fleeing for home after a harsh defeat.”
The shifter frowned. “And what of the uncrowned emperor of Athusa?”
“Zane could stay hidden as well,” Iyana said. “If we needed to, the three of us could travel slightly separated from you and Emmeric. Altair knows you two were involved, and he wouldn’t have cause to be concerned about a Kanaliza without his Aztia, so you would be more likely to be left alone.”
Emmeric’s entire body stiffened at the idea, his mind rejecting it entirely. “There is no way in the nine hells that you will travel separately from me,” he said to her, practically growling at how much he hated the notion. Iyana placed her small hand on his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“It may be for the best, Em,” she said gently. “This way we can try to lessen the risk for all of us.”
He was shaking his head, staring into her caramel-brown eyes, pleading with her to see this from his perspective.
“Iyana…I—I can’t bear to let you out of my sight right now.
Please, let’s try to find another way.” She only stared up at him, wide-eyed.
Emmeric covered her hand with his own. “Please, Mouse.”
“Okay,” Iyana whispered. “We can think of other options.” The terror that had briefly clutched his heart lessened.
“Old man,” Talon hedged, “we can’t give up an advantage just because you don’t want to be parted from Iyana.”
Emmeric glared at his oldest friend.
“I get it, Em, I do,” he continued, glancing down at Zane next to him. “But we need to play this smart. Altair already outmaneuvered us once, and now there are gods only know how many stars on the continent. There’s no way for us to go against them all and win.”
Emmeric would tear them all apart with his bare hands if he had to.
If it meant it kept Iyana safe. But he could acknowledge that they both had a point.
Altair had already tried to kill the Aztia once.
If he realized she still lived, would the stars try to finish the job?
He took a deep breath in an attempt to center himself.
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t be hidden; I just don’t want us to travel apart.
Iyana is safer if I’m with her, and all of you will be more safe also if she is nearby.
” A flood of Iyana’s doubt hit him in the center of his chest. He placed a finger under her chin, forcing her to look up at him.
“They will be, Mouse. Altair took advantage of you. You’re stronger than you realize. ”
Her doubt did not lessen. Emmeric vowed to make her realize how special she truly was.
She was talented, loving, and so strong, but she couldn’t see it.
Iyana was her own biggest critic. But now was not the time to tell her all of those things.
Not with an audience, and not when they were supposed to be strategizing.
“We could hire a cart,” Zane said. “Then the three of us could hide in the back while Emmeric and Kaz drive it.”
“How are we going to buy a cart?” Iyana asked. “We don’t have any coin.”
Zane smirked. “I am the emperor of Athusa, am I not? Plus, there’s enough gold in this room to buy an entire house.”
Iyana rolled her eyes at the uncharacteristic display of arrogance. “None of them will know Uther is dead. And what are we going to do with his men and the crew?”
Now the emperor frowned. “We’ll have to take the men to the jail in Curth. They’d be able to substantiate the claims that Uther is dead. The crew…there’s not much we can do with them.”
“Do we really want it advertised that Uther is dead and you are in Curth?” Talon asked. “It seems like a good way to draw the stars to us, if they aren’t there already.”
“I don’t think there’s much other choice. I’ll have to use my status to get us a cart, and to arrest Uther’s men. You and Iyana will need to stay hidden, though.”
“And the crew? They know we’re alive,” Iyana said.
Kaz shrugged. “Just kill them all.” Four pairs of shocked faces turned towards the shifter. “What? Then there’s no problem.”
“Kaz,” Iyana said, “we are not killing the crew. They’ve done nothing wrong.”
“You’re the boss.” Kaz gave Iyana a mock salute.
“I’ll figure something out before we dock tomorrow,” Zane said, rubbing his eyes with his finger and thumb. Talon massaged his neck.
“Let’s all get some more rest,” said the redhead. “We’ll need it before tomorrow.”
They all agreed to meet at dawn the next morning, then parted ways.
Iyana yawned and padded off towards the bathing room on weary feet.
Emmeric hoped she could work through everything that had happened, or at least let him in enough that he could help her.
Otherwise, she may be more of a liability on this next part of their journey rather than an asset.