Chapter 39
Iyana
“Yrza?” Iyana muttered to Emmeric. He shushed her through their bond, and she glowered at him. She hadn’t even known that was possible.
A gentle apology stroked against her mind. Don’t say any more. We still can’t trust him, Em said.
I think I understand that better than anyone.
Emmeric winced enough that Altair narrowed his eyes at him.
“What is this?” the star asked, gesturing between the two of them. “I fucking knew there was something happening.”
Iyana saw red. She couldn’t believe the absolute audacity of him acting offended because she was finding comfort in the arms of another man—after Altair had nearly killed her, tried to kill Emmeric, and murdered Talon.
“Whatever may or may not be happening between Em”—she used the nickname knowing Altair hated it—“and I is none of your business. If you can’t help us, we’re done here.”
She stood swiftly from the table, Emmeric following suit next to her.
As Iyana went to breeze past Altair, he gripped her wrist. Her traitorous skin still alighted at his touch, so she decided to set him alight as well.
Concentrating her magic in her wrist, Iyana pushed fire into Altair’s hand.
She glared at him, hoping the flames were visible behind her irises.
Altair continued to hold her wrist despite the odor of burnt flesh wafting between them.
Something close to pride shone in the star’s gaze as he finally tore his hand free and shook it out with a silent curse.
His skin was already beginning to heal, the burn disappearing like it had never happened.
Emmeric stood by, allowing her to deal with the situation, and she could have kissed him for his confidence in her.
“You’ve been practicing,” Altair said.
“Well, I had to. You see, somebody I thought I could trust stabbed me in the back and now I’m responsible for saving the world.
” Iyana quirked a brow at Altair, relishing the shame she saw wash over his face as he finally turned away from her.
She looked at Emmeric and nodded towards the door; it was time to go.
“Iyana.”
Gods help her, but she stopped. Altair’s golden eyes were filled with a passionate fire.
“I want you to succeed. If it means keeping you safe, then I will gladly return to that confinement. Please find me if you need anything.”
Shaking her head, Iyana sighed. “It’s too little too late, Altair.”
And then he let her leave. Once they were outside, Emmeric ran his fingers lightly down her spine.
“Are you okay?” he murmured, the others falling into step behind them.
Iyana nodded, and she shocked even herself when she realized she wasn’t lying—it was the truth.
She was okay. A part of her would always love Altair despite how much he had hurt her.
But the sharp pain that had come originally with his betrayal had dulled, and Iyana found herself grinning at Em.
Her heart leapt when he smiled back. It really was a beautiful smile, and it too rarely graced his face. Iyana wanted to find reasons for Emmeric to be happy so she could see it more often.
The next morning, Team Save Arinem reconvened in the library after having gone their separate ways the night before. They had been too tired—and Talon and Kaz too drunk—to discuss what Altair had told them.
But now, after breakfast, they’d all agreed that they needed to figure out their next steps, and they proceeded to sit silently at the table. Nobody seemed to want to open the conversation. Either that, or nobody had any good ideas, and they were well and truly fucked.
“Could we ask Yrza?” Iyana finally asked Kaz.
“We could,” the shifter replied, then frowned. “But even if we left for Nyr now, we wouldn’t make it there by the next full moon. So we’d have to wait another moon cycle to talk to her.”
Well, that option was out then. As much as Iyana would have loved to simply exist in Nyr for an entire moon—learning more underneath the healers there and practicing her magic with Emmeric—that would leave the humans at risk.
Many would die waiting for a savior who was languishing safely behind wards.
“So, what do we know about the gods?” Zane asked.
“They’re asleep,” Talon said, helpfully. The emperor rolled his eyes.
“But Yrza isn’t,” Iyana said. “And we saw Altea in the Everlands, so she can’t be sleeping either.” Talon winced, but waved away her apology.
Zane pulled a book closer towards him. “Maybe there are answers here about how we can find the gods. Like Yrza has the pool in Nyr, it’s possible the others have some way of communicating with them.”
Suddenly, a thought struck Iyana, and she sat up straighter. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it before.
“The Forgotten Mountains.”
“What about them?” Talon asked.
Excitement bubbled within her as a plan began to fall into place.
“The stories I grew up with all say that the gods are asleep underneath those mountains and any who wander off the Aula Pass will be dragged under. Legends say that those who disappear are slowly forgotten by their loved ones, hence the name of the mountain range. So all we need to do is get lost in the mountains and the gods will find us.”
Emmeric frowned, and his sour doubt cut through Iyana’s exuberance. “Those are only myths, though.”
“Many aspects of mythology are based in truth,” Zane said. “There’s a large population of people who believe the mere existence of gods is a myth, but we now know that they’re real because we’ve seen them.” He shrugged. “It’s worth a try. We don’t have any other options right now.”
“Then it’s decided. We should leave in the morning,” Iyana said.
Zane and Talon exchanged a glance, and her stomach dropped. She just knew they were about to say something she wouldn’t like.
“Yeah, Smalls. Zane and I were thinking we’d stay here.”
She, Emmeric, and Kaz all frowned at them.
Iyana couldn’t bear the thought of being separated from her friends—especially Talon.
After everything he’d been through, she wanted to be near him.
She wanted to know they both were safe. But she had noticed the small touches and smiles the two men shared, the way they spoke in murmurs and whispers to each other.
Tal was cracking jokes with Kaz again and laughing authentically. He was healing.
Zane was talking as Iyana made the realization that both she and Talon weren’t quite as broken anymore.
“We won’t be much help against gods,” the emperor was saying, “considering we have no magic, so we both thought it’d be best to stay in Istoria and continue researching here in the library.
That way, if the gods are another dead end, maybe we can find something within books.
Plus, I can try to talk to the queen more—sway her to our side. ”
Begrudgingly, Iyana admitted that Zane’s argument was logical and valid.
It would be helpful to have someone continue to persuade Camilia that war was coming to her nation, whether she wanted to fight or not.
And Zane, as emperor, would be the best person to do so.
He understood how to play the games within courts; he knew which words to say and how to say them.
They all reluctantly agreed that this was the best course of action, and, suddenly burrowing themselves in books didn’t seem as important.
So for the rest of the day, they lounged in the living area in Zane and Talon’s room.
Tal regaled them all with stories from his and Em’s childhood, while Emmeric argued that he was telling it wrong.
Kaz would chime in with her own adventures and some of the things she’d done after she left Nyr before she had met them.
Zane and Iyana simply sat and listened, laughing uproariously.
Iyana especially loved getting some insight into Em’s early years.
She wondered if anything would have been different if her grandmother had allowed her to go to Athusia to study at the healer’s university.
Maybe they would have bumped into each other in the marketplace and could have grown their relationship organically, instead of being thrust into a life-changing situation.
Iyana wouldn’t have seen him as an enemy and wouldn’t have fought her feelings for so long.
Many things could have been different, but there was no use wondering about what might have been when they were incapable of turning back time.
Dinner was served to them in the room, along with generous helpings of wine. They’d all be severely hungover the next day and traveling on a horse would not be fun, but it was worth it to feel a little lighter and see her friends happy.
Not long after midnight, Iyana and Emmeric stumbled back to his room and fell into bed completely clothed. They exchanged small, tender kisses until the wine finally lulled them into a deep slumber.
The next morning, they both woke with a splitting headache.
Because they could feel the other’s pain through their bond, it only amplified the problem.
Iyana wordlessly reached into her medical bag and gave Emmeric some willow bark, motioning for him to chew it.
She did the same, and thankfully within a few minutes the pain-relief began to take effect.
Iyana felt obligated to say goodbye to Camilia and Halim—they were family now, after all—with promises to return once they found some answers.
Then she and Emmeric slowly made their way to the stables, where their friends were waiting.
Kaz was the only one who didn’t appear to be suffering from the amount of alcohol they’d consumed the night before.
While Talon and Emmeric embraced in a way only brothers could, Iyana gave Zane a fierce hug.
“Take care of him,” she murmured, looking at Talon. The two best friends appeared to be holding back tears as they said goodbye.
“You know I will,” Zane answered. “Be safe, Iyana. All of you.” She nodded, then Kaz was launching herself at Zane for her own hug, making him stumble back a step. Talon chuckled.
“Get in here, Red.” The shifter’s voice was muffled in Zane’s neck as he awkwardly hugged her back.
“Nah, I’m good,” Talon said with a smile on his face. Instead, he swept Iyana up and twirled her around, the same way he had when they’d first met and she had cured his hangover.
“I’m going to miss you so much,” Iyana said into his shirt, a few tears slipping free.
“I’ll miss you too, Smalls. Watch out for our guy, okay?”
“I will,” she whispered. A featherlight touch to her back pulled her out of Talon’s embrace.
Emmeric’s face looked like it was about to crumple. “It’s time to go,” he said.
More goodbyes were said as they tried to put off the inevitable for another moment, but eventually they climbed onto their horses—Emmeric and Iyana atop Pryn, who whinnied sadly when his brother was left in the stall, and Kaz upon her own horse.
They turned to wave three times, Zane and Talon becoming smaller and smaller, until Iyana couldn’t see them at all. Then she cried in earnest.
Strong arms wrapped around her waist. “We’ll see them again.”
Iyana said nothing, because they both recognized that for the empty promise that it was.
As Istoria dwindled behind them and the desert sun dried Iyana’s tears, she steeled herself for an arduous journey full of unknowns.
And, just as she was thinking that, two riders on horses appeared out of thin air.
Silver magic crackled at her fingertips, and Emmeric’s sword was already in his hand before they recognized Altair.
Kaz had been halfway off her horse in anticipation of the need to shift.
The other star with him was one they hadn’t met before.
“What are you doing?” Iyana snapped at him.
“You’re going to need all the help you can get if you’re going to try to find the gods.”
“How—” She shook her head. “Never mind. Who is this?”
Altair actually appeared slightly uncomfortable and hesitated before answering. “This is my brother, Okab.”
“Brother?” He’d never really spoken of his family to her, only in generalized terms. Iyana hadn’t realized Altair had any siblings. But now, glancing between the two, it was obvious. They had the same hair and eyes, although Okab was smaller.
“His twin, actually,” Okab said. “You never told her about me?” Genuine hurt was in his voice.
“It didn’t seem important at the time,” Altair grumbled.
“Does she know about Tarazed?”
Iyana frowned. “Who is Tarazed?” Altair had promised her that he didn’t have a wife or girlfriend when they went to the sky. If that had been another lie…
“Our sister,” Okab said, glowering at his brother. Iyana couldn’t help the relief that flowed through her. She had never wanted to be the other woman, even if her relationship with Altair was over.
“Any chance we could convince you to leave us alone?” Emmeric asked.
Altair glared pointedly at the areas where Iyana’s body was pressed against Em’s before looking forward again.
“No.”
“Fantastic,” Emmeric muttered.
Iyana suppressed a groan. Dealing with Altair and Emmeric together during a long, lonely trip was not going to be fun for any of them.