Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Dawn’s light spills through the high windows of the palace, bathing the grand hallway in a soft golden hue and illuminating the hopeless state of my clothing after spending the night in the hatching cavern.
I took Rose to her mother hours ago, then I flew back to the cave to continue admiring the newborns and the bond between the babies and their parents before returning to the capital.
Dame and Chirean remained behind, ready to feed their hungry brood. I don’t know how long it will be before we see them at the palace again with their hatchlings in tow.
Though my bed beckons, I’m too energized to sleep. My heart races with the knowledge of what I’ve witnessed, and I replay the events of this miraculous night in my head over and over again.
The moment I round the corner toward the royal wing, I stop dead in my tracks.
Sterling stands in the dim light at the end of the hall.
For a heartbeat, time stops.
Gold-flecked eyes, stormy with fatigue and something deeper, meet mine, and the world narrows until it’s just the two of us.
I drink in the sight of him, cataloguing every line of his face, the scruff on his jaw, the new scar on his forearm.
He’s dressed in all black and strapped with enough weapons to supply a small army.
His glossy black hair is loose and wild, hitting just past his shoulders.
My body launches forward without thought.
I race toward him, my boots pounding the floor.
Sterling’s mouth is on mine in a matter of seconds.
He kisses me—no, devours me—like he’s starving.
His hands tangle in my hair, pulling me closer until there’s no space between us.
I wrap my arms around his back, reveling in his familiar warmth.
He smells of wind, leather, and spice, and the grounding scent ignites something fierce and comforting inside me.
Home.
The frenzied kiss grows gentle, lazy. We take our time tasting each other. Exploring. Relearning what we already know.
Minutes later, he pulls back far enough to study my face. “You look like you just battled a dragon and lost. What happened?”
A laugh bubbles up and spills free. “Well, it did involve a dragon, but there was no battle. I’m happy to see you, too, by the way.”
A grin splits across his face. “Oh, that kiss? That was only the beginning of me telling you just how glad I am to be back with you. Once you’ve visited the others and I’ve had a hot meal, I plan to whisk you away to bed and not let you leave until I’ve given you at least a dozen orgasms.”
My cheeks flush and my toes curl at his promise, leaving me a little breathless. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
He kisses me again, long and slow, then lowers his forehead to mine. “I’d be disappointed if you didn’t. Now tell me about whatever happened that involved a dragon.”
“Dame’s eggs hatched.” I launch into the story, ending with, “Newborn dragons are messy eaters. And did you know they don’t have full control of their tails yet? They just trip over the swinging safety hazards. It looks so painful and adorable at the same time.”
“That’s amazing. I can’t wait to see them.” His brow furrows when he catches something else in my expression. “What else happened while I was gone?”
I shake my head, my throat thickening. I don’t want to think about all the other crap. Focusing on the dragons is way more fulfilling. “Later. You first. How did it go?”
Sterling shrugs, but the nonchalant gesture fails to hide the burdens he carries. “We didn’t find what we were looking for. Just—”
Familiar voices approach, laughter and chatter rolling down the hall like a welcome wave. When I spy Leesa and Agnar at the end of the corridor, relief floods me. Their presence acts like a balm, soothing the frayed edges of my anxiety.
Agnar spots me and straightens. A grin spreads across his face. “Agnar Kerrin reporting for debriefing, Your Majesty.”
Leesa’s eyes are wide and bright, and I’m pretty sure she’s biting the inside of her cheek.
Which doesn’t explain the muffled giggle coming from their direction. Nor the wriggling lump under Agnar’s coat. Or why Kin’s hovering over Agnar’s head.
I play along. “Agnar, I’m so glad to see you. Though you seem to be suffering from a strange form of humpback.”
Agnar shrugs his shoulders, and the bouncy act produces even more girlish giggles from behind his back. “Ah, yes. It’s a family affliction, you understand. Tends to flare up after I’ve been away for a while.”
When he lifts his arm, the lump under his coat scrambles. A familiar leg pops out before digging into his side in an attempt to climb back up into hiding. A set of hands is suddenly visible at his collar as well.
By this time, I’ve reached them. I pat him on the oddly head-shaped lump just below his neck. “Yet despite your travels, you show up smelling like roses.”
“I don’t smell! Mama made me take a bath!” Rose’s voice is muffled by her uncle’s coat but indignant enough to make us all fight to keep our composure. Except Agnar, who just continues smiling with innocent eyes.
Sterling chokes down a laugh. “Well, we all appreciate this new rosy disposition of yours. Let’s get some breakfast. Then we need to talk.”
Unfortunately, all the jokes and levity are left at the door. The air feels thick in my private sitting room as Sterling, Agnar, and Leesa recount the strange things they ran into during their journey.
Abandoned villages stretch across my mind.
Children “dedicated” to temples like sacrificial lambs.
Fourteen ships off the coast of Tirene lured to their doom by harpies.
Temples filled with blank-faced worshippers, like the corrupted, but without black eyes.
People who, when questioned, vowed that they chose their fate without regret.
As they speak, every fact bleeds into another, each detail worse than the last. The collective horror of their discoveries cocoon us like a thick, suffocating shroud that demands to be torn apart.
My heart sinks, and I’m sure of the answer before I even voice my question. “And the portal?” I glance over at Rose, who’s happily swinging her legs at a table on the far side of the room. She’s eating a cream pastry, unaware of the “adult talk” happening over here.
Honestly, I don’t know how her mother keeps up with the little girl. Though, now that they’ve moved into the palace, Quinn no doubt enjoys some quiet moments to herself when Rose is hanging out with me, Sterling, or Agnar.
Sterling shakes his head, the shadow on his face deepening. “Gone. Hidden. Maybe never existed. While we located places resembling what we saw in the scrying and book illustrations, we never actually found it. But the worst part was what we did find.”
A chill runs through me, and the room grows still.
Rafe and Helene arrived during these disclosures, joining the circle silently.
Their presence heightens the tension because I’m still waiting on their discoveries about the missing scientist-priests.
With every new piece of information, faces grow grimmer.
Bastian slipped in last and took a seat beside Leesa on one of the couches. He’s since pulled her into his lap.
With anyone else, I’d be willing to bet they missed the last five minutes of the conversation. But I have no doubt that between stealing kisses when he thought no one was looking and whispering into Leesa’s ear, Bastian’s processed every word.
“It’s not just the other kingdoms we have to worry about.” Helene clenches her hands tight in her lap. I know she has to be worried for her own family back in Aclaris. “If this corruption spreads, it could reach our borders and devour us whole. We need a plan, and we need it fast.”
“Something is wrong with the elemental balance.” Rafe toys with his breakfast, using his air magic to push a sausage around on his plate. “This is all the gods’ work.”
Sterling’s brow creases as he stares into the hearth in contemplation. “If we could find the portal, we could demand answers. We could…” His voice trails off, the possibilities weighed down by harsh reality.
Agnar catches my eye, his expression shifting from camaraderie to urgent concern. “Lark, Sterling’s being watched. He felt it the whole time. The presence is getting stronger.”
The tension uncoils around my heart, pulling my breath short. I recall my garbled vision of three figures staring into a pool. Of gazing down at Sterling surrounded by water. Sterling didn’t mention anything like that happening.
Questions race through my mind, like fire raging through the underbrush. Thinking of that distorted vision reminds me of something else I saw. Or thought I remembered seeing. “Rose, can you come here, please?”
The little girl perks up, scrambling down from her chair to race over to me. The others shift to let her through. She licks pastry cream off of her lips and brushes her hands on her dress.
“Do you think we could see Kin scry again? The first one you showed us of the portal.” At my request, Rose’s flame familiar flickers and flutters at her shoulder, its soft glow illuminating her blond hair.
When Rose nods and smiles, the flame-image shimmers to life with images of mountains, caves, and mist.
There.
Something I hadn’t noticed the first time.
I point to a blurred section. “There’s something odd there. It’s as if some illusory, gauzy film floats overtop, hiding what’s beneath.”
It reminds me of the spots in my shattered, twisted vision that I couldn’t see until I enhanced my eyesight. The area where something attempted to cover up the message intended for me.
With that in mind, I unfurl my wings to improve my vision.
Around me, others follow suit. Rose stares open-mouthed at us, her face tinged with jealousy.
Agnar’s eyes brighten with understanding. “It’s like the earth magic I use to make a cave entrance look like solid rock when it’s just a thin veneer of sandstone.”
The room’s a little crowded with everyone’s wings out, but we shift around so we can all see what we missed before.
Sterling bends over the flame, his focus sharpening. “I recognize that cave. It was in the Withered Undulations. That’s where the portal lies. We can go straight back to it.”
Maybe my mangled vision wasn’t a failure after all. The gods certainly speak in strange ways.