46. Chapter Forty-Six Rhea
Chapter Forty-Six: Rhea
W e wake up just before the sun has risen the next morning to begin the final leg of our journey to his home, although I suppose it is my home now too. He offers to braid my hair again, which I quickly accept, and then we go to find Bella in the gardens. Immie has indeed given us an incredible amount of food as well as refilled our waterskins. I look back at the small town one last time as we walk away, now quiet as the people who celebrated late into the night sleep peacefully.
Our journey through the woods is mostly uneventful, with the exception of running into a small pack of black bears. My heart beats wildly at seeing them up close, but Flynn insists that we keep our distance despite my protests. We continue following the winding Vida River, staying just inside the treeline. Bella has grown comfortable walking far ahead of us, just the sway of her fluffy white tail visible between the trees from where we follow behind her.
Flynn and I walk hand in hand, keeping our pace brisk. For the first time in perhaps forever, but certainly since we had left the tower, I don’t feel bogged down by the swirling thoughts in my head.
I am anxious but also so excited to explore Flynn’s home. To see where he has grown up and meet his family and friends. My past has been a series of sorrows and torments, but now with my twenty-second birthday behind me, it feels like my life is finally beginning. We lay down in a small clearing of trees that night, Flynn offering to stay awake so Bella can cuddle up next to me. My hand runs down her side, my heart swelling with love and gratitude for my oldest friend. For the fact that we have been able to stay together through everything that has happened, that we both get to truly live now.
“The moon may have the stars, but I’ll always have you,” I whisper against her head before falling asleep.
“We’re nearly at the border,” Flynn says as we climb a small hill the next day, stepping over exposed roots and under winding tree branches.
Trees still blanket the area heavily, though the limbs are more twisting and dense than they were closer to the Mortal Kingdom. It’s like each trunk is stretching out to the neighboring tree so that they can interlock and form a barrier. I’m grateful for how dense it is, as it gives us shade from the summer sun, but I’m reminded yet again that, even though I did exercises in the tower, I certainly am not fit enough to spend days on end traversing through the woods. We crest the hill after a few more steps, my legs crying out for me to take a break as breath huffs in and out of my chest.
“There.” Flynn points, but I don’t need his guidance to make out what must be the border. I stare with wide eyes and parted lips at the shimmering, iridescent wall that starts on the ground and rises as far as the eye can see into the sky. Speckles of sunlight breaking through the gaps in the canopy of trees cast an illustrious shimmer on the Spell, reflecting every single color of the rainbow. My hand goes to my chest as my magic immediately starts coiling and writhing within me, moving like it is trying to reach out towards the Spell.
“Oh my gods,” I state in shock as he leads us closer to it. Bella walks ahead, trotting happily to the barrier, but I have to swallow down my nerves as I squeeze Flynn’s hand. “Are you sure it’s okay for me to walk through it?”
I know what happens to those from other kingdoms who pass through the Spell—they lose their magic in whatever capacity they possess it. And those from the Mortal Kingdom lose their youth. Flynn had explained to me on our walk here that the Spell recognizes those with mage magic and allows them to pass through without any repercussions. It had been a shock to learn that, and I am still feeling uneasy about the risk of crossing the border .
“I’ve lived in the Mortal Kingdom my entire life, what if I go through and it makes me old on the other side?” I whisper, somehow afraid that the Spell is going to hear me and enact that very scenario.
“From what we understand, the magic reacts to how you present, so to speak,” he explains, as we descend the hill. “You have raw magic, which means that you are not mortal. Plus, you are now the age when mage magic hits its peak strength. Because of that, the Spell should recognize you as mage. At least,” he teases, looking down at me with a smirk, “that has always been the case in the past.”
“Very reassuring,” I mumble as his chuckle suffuses the otherwise-quiet woods. “Well, you’re the one who will be stuck with an old lady if that happens, so you better have meant what you said about taking whatever I can give you.”
He brings our joined hands to his lips, softly kissing the back of mine. “That won’t happen—even if it did, you’d still be mine. But the Spell kills whoever crosses through it within a few days.”
I squeak out a noise of shocked surprise while he leans in to kiss my forehead. “You’re joking right?”
“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t let you cross if I didn’t think you would be safe.” I start to question him again, but Flynn suddenly halts my steps, his head moving slowly from side to side. “Where is Bella?” he asks as a chill scrapes down my spine.
“Maybe she already walked through the barrier?” I answer, stepping closer to him as my eyes search intently for her. The wall of the Spell is thin though, easily translucent enough to see through to the other side, though the image is slightly distorted. It’s what I imagine looking through a bubble would be like.
The forest is frozen, not even a rustling of leaves on the branches as it watches us. I feel the heavy gaze of something or someone bearing down on my skin. My magic—already at attention because of our proximity to the Spell—moves down my arms and into my palms, a glimmering white emitting from them. I begin to question why it always does this, but then I’m distracted when I see Flynn’s magic glowing in his palm as well—the darkest purple, nearly black, illuminates his entire hand. It’s as beautiful as it is deadly looking, and I can’t believe I didn’t ask him to show me what it looked like before now.
“Call your magic back, or we kill the fox,” a stentorian voice splinters through the air. A flash of gold steps out from behind a tree followed by another and another until we are completely surrounded in a crescent shape, only the barrier of the Spell behind us not lined with guards. A tenuous hush claims the air, interrupted only by the harsh pounding of my heart in my ears. Two men step forward, each of them holding the end of a rope in their hands. My eyes follow the ropes down as Bella is dragged between them, her neck straining against the tightening cords. The two ropes wrap around her neck in a noose-like fashion, and the sight of it makes my heart drop into my stomach.
“Bella,” I whimper, moving to take a step towards her. The guards yank the ropes hard, causing Bella to whine—the noise piercing my heart like a spear. All around us, guards draw their swords, the scrape of metal being unsheathed an ominous ballad to our demise.
“Call your magic back now ,” the guard on the right of Bella snarls out. “Or so help me, I will have her killed.” His blonde hair falls just above his eyes, giving him more of a boyish appearance, but there is no mistaking the pure hatred that seeps from him. He jerks his head to the right, and another guard in full armor steps up with an arrow drawn taut on his bow. It’s pointing directly at Bella.
“Flynn,” I whisper as panic seizes me. A tingling sensation starts at my scalp and works its way down to my toes.
“It’s going to be okay,” he replies, though the way it comes out from between his gritted teeth tells me that he doesn’t quite believe that. “Take a deep breath, and call your magic back inside of you.”
I do as he says because what choice do I have? I can’t lose Bella. As our magic fades from our hands—my chest tightening in response—each guard around us steps forward, boxing us in even further.
“Here is what’s going to happen,” the blonde guard says, his jaw clenching as he speaks. His knuckles turn white from how tightly he grips onto the rope, and bile crawls up my throat as Bella struggles to find purchase with her paws. “You,” he says, looking directly at me, “are going to come with us. If you do so peacefully, your fox will return home with you as approved by His Majesty.” Flynn steps closer to me, though there is no way he can protect me from every single guard. He doesn’t even have a sword.
“ You ,” he says as he points to Flynn, “will be allowed to live so long as you go through the Spell.” Flynn growls in response, the sound vibrating on my back from where it’s pushed up against his chest. “You already have two guards’ deaths on your hands, Princess. Do you want to add your fox and your friend to that tally as well?”
Two? My hands clench at my sides as my chest rises and falls quickly. The other guard holding Bella yanks on his rope, causing her to yelp loudly. “Please, stop!” I cry, moving to step towards her again, but I’m halted when Flynn wraps an arm around me. “I have to go! They are going to kill her,” I shriek while my fingers dig into his forearm. “Flynn, let me go!”
“Rhea, I’m not giving you to him,” he warns, turning me around so that we’re facing each other. Alarm flashes through his eyes as he surveys me, but what can we do? My life isn’t worth the loss of both of theirs.
“You promised me that you would do whatever I wanted. Even if it destroyed you,” I say tearfully, gasping for air. “You promised.”
“I did,” he agrees quietly. His thumbs brush my shoulders as he looks behind me towards Bella. It’s just a few seconds—a breath’s worth—before his gaze finds mine again, and it’s agony staring back at me, an unrelenting agony that threatens to take me to my knees. “But I’m not willing to let you destroy yourself.”
My eyes go wide, but in two quick movements, he hauls me up against his chest and starts backing up towards the Spell, his dark magic glowing powerfully around us. My gaze flies to Bella, where a glowing ball of Flynn’s magic hits one of the guards holding her. I watch as she turns and snaps her jaw around the hand of the blonde guard. His blood-curdling scream pierces through the air, the rope falling from his hand. Terror locks my limbs as Flynn continues to move us farther away from Bella, though he sends another ball of magic at the guard holding the bow and arrow and knocks it out of his hands.
The other guards dodge around the trees as they descend on us like a sea of shiny gold, their swords lifted high in the air. Time stills as everything around us blurs. The only things I see is Bella and the unrelenting love that I can somehow decipher within her eyes. She darts in our direction, only making it a few feet, before she’s yanked back—a different guard standing on the ropes that are still bound around her neck. I scream until my voice gives out and I have to force air back into my lungs. She darts around to the guards she can reach, snapping at any exposed flesh not covered by their armor. She’s giving us the chance to escape. And I hate it. I hate it with everything that I am.
“Bella, no!” I scream, trying to pry myself away from Flynn. “Don’t do this!”
My feet kick in the air from how I’m being held, Flynn’s strength overpowering any of my attempts to escape. The guards are pushing on the barrier made from the dark radiance of his magic that he has up to shield us from them.
“Flynn, please stop.” My words ride a ragged wave of despair, filling the distance that separates Bella and I.
She dodges the sword of a guard, his blade missing its mark but severing the ropes that are keeping her in place. Immediately, she turns and rounds a tree as she starts to sprint to us. Flynn sends another glowing bolt of magic into the closest guard chasing her, their back slamming into the forest floor from the impact. I can feel the humming of the Spell right at our backs, the opalescent glimmer of a foreboding wall separating kingdoms. The guards can’t come after us if we go through it, but Bella needs to make it through as well. Her paws kick up dirt and fallen leaves as she weaves around trees, the distance separating us closing quickly. The brush of something powerful, ancient and familiar, blankets my skin and soaks into me as Flynn pulls me through the Spell. I sharply inhale, and in my mind’s eye a series of images flash by too quickly for me to make out what they are.
And then we’re on the other side, the sensation indeed like going through a bubble. Because the Spell is nearly crystalline, I can still see Bella running in our direction. My hand reaches out towards her—only four more strides, and she’ll be on this side. Blood rushes in my ears while my heart beats hard in my chest, the pace matching the pounding of her paws on the forest floor. I stretch my arm out, fighting to wiggle free of Flynn’s hold. My eyes meet hers through the distorted barrier, and then she collapses, her body sliding to a stop as a sharp, brutal howl rends the air. An arrow sticks out of her hip, blood already spilling onto her white fur.
“No!” I roar as I drop to my knees and Flynn falls down behind me, an arrow whizzing overhead. I try to crawl to her, my magic alight in my palms ready to heal as soon as I reach her, but Flynn is there, pulling me backwards. The guards—gods, there must be forty or fifty of them—line the Spell and surround Bella. The dark swirling glow of Flynn’s magic rests on one palm, slowly seeping down into his body again until it disappears—my hope along with it. “Let me go!” I yell, pushing my hands against his chest.
“I’m sorry, Rhea,” he rasps, holding my wild gaze with a silver-lined one of his own, “I can’t.”
I spin around to look at Bella again, her chest lifting up and down with the heavy panting of her breaths. Through the Spell, I watch her pick her head up, the guards coming in from all directions to surround her. And in her eyes, I see it—her desperation for me to go. Her silent pleading for me to be safe, and with a mortal-like nod of her head, her permission for me to leave her behind.
An arrow flies through the Spell, nearly hitting me before Flynn drags me to the side. “We need to go,” he begs, hauling me up to stand, but my legs give out almost immediately. An arm reaches under my knees, the other around my shoulders as he scoops me up and starts to run, another arrow landing precariously closely behind us. I watch as the guards completely encircle Bella, cutting off my view of her. And as Flynn rounds a corner of the path, before my eyes completely blur from the tears gathering there, a flicker of light blue briefly shines at the center between the guards before dying out.
And then, Bella is gone.
“I’m sorry, Rhea.” It’s the fourth or fifth time that he’s said it as we walk, his glances burning into the side of my head.
I don’t know what to say though. A familiar numbness blankets my body, my mind, my soul. I understand why he pulled me away. I know that we were in a difficult position. I’m even aware that Bella sacrificed herself so that we could get across the Spell. I comprehend all of this, and yet I can’t stop the way that my heart aches like it’s been pierced with a sword. An invisible weight sits square on my chest making each breath nearly impossible. And Flynn… I know he was doing what he thought was right, but he chose me over her, and I can’t help but feel like he chose wrong.
We spend hours following a well-worn path of gray stones that cut through the most beautiful and lush scenery I could imagine. Trees surround us in all directions as we walk, and I notice that there is a variety I’ve never seen before. The trunk of this one is absolutely massive as it stretches high into the sky, no branches growing from it until the very top. There, a thick canopy spans out in all directions. There is so much color everywhere I look that it’s almost as if I can’t comprehend that this place is real. To go from being confined by gray stone to unbound in a brilliant forest of color is too good to be true.
I breathe in more deeply, the scenery helping to calm me. A familiar smell tugs on my memory as we continue walking. Flynn. His scent has an underlying note of something unique to him, but without a doubt, he smells of this forest—of his home. Even though I know that the sun is high in the sky, the treetops are so tightly woven above us that the light only trickles in where there are small gaps. It’s beautiful, enchanting even, and I sigh deeply because I can’t enjoy it. I can’t allow myself to when the only reason that I’m here is because of the sacrifice of someone else—someone who mattered more . That is the sum of my existence—either I suffer alone and in a cage, or I have to watch as the people and beings I love are forced to give up everything so that I can have a modicum of freedom. It isn’t fair, and it isn’t right.
“Rhea,” Flynn says, his hand brushing against my arm. I halt my steps, finally turning to look at him. His face is like a heartbroken plea for me to talk to him. “Let me help you.”
“You can’t,” I mutter. The sound is barely audible.
“Talk to me. I know you just lost someone—”
“I didn’t just lose someone,” I snap, taking a step closer until we’re nearly chest to chest. “I lost everyone. My parents, Alexi, now Bella. Let’s not forget about the nearly twenty-two years I spent inside a fucking tower and everything I lost because of that! I lost my freedom, the possibility of ever having friends, even the ability to choose a meal for myself.”
My hands shove into my hair, pulling at the strands as I step back from him. Flynn’s panicked gaze follows me, moving from where my hands rip at my hair and then back down to my eyes.
“Don’t pretend that you know anything about what I’m going through right now or how you could possibly help me, because you don’t. You can’t!” I scream as my hands slide down to cover my face. “No one can. I’m completely alone.”
“You’re right,” he concedes. Gently, his hands cover mine and pull them away from my face, holding them safely in his as he steps closer. “I don’t know what to say right now. I don’t know how to help. But you are not alone anymore.” He enunciates each word sharply, imploring me to feel the truth in them. Begging me to not walk this path of grief and sadness and anger by myself any longer, and to let him take some of the impossible pressure that burdens my heart and soul for himself.
You are not alone anymore. Let me help you. You need only to let me. Each declaration from him washes over and through me like a phantom wind. And I may not know anything about love—about being in love—but I know that the way I feel about Flynn is stronger than any other emotion whirling inside of me, and maybe that means I need to surrender to it. To him.
“Okay,” I whisper, crashing my body into his as I weep. I weep and weep until my eyes burn and my throat is hoarse. Until I have nothing left and have hit rock bottom. “I feel so broken.” I murmur the words into his chest, unsure if he can even hear me.
But he does—of course he does.
“You need to break in order to heal, Rhea,” he says quietly while he rubs my back. “And I will be here the whole time. You can fall apart piece by piece until you feel like you have nothing left to give. I will be here picking up your pieces and holding them for you until you’re strong enough to put them back together.” His hands slide up to cup my face as he steps back, his beautiful gray eyes engulfing me in compassion and love. “Because you are strong enough, but until you’re ready, I will hold you together.”
Another sob is pulled out of me, nearly painful in the way it scratches up my throat. “She died because of me,” I heave out, gripping onto his wrists.
“She lived because of you, and then she chose for you to do the same. You saw the same look in her eyes that I did, Rhea. She chose you in her final moments because she loved you,” he proclaims quietly, his thumbs wiping away my tears.
We stay enveloped in our own world for a few moments longer, and I allow myself to give some of that turmoil to him. It’s so terrifying to do so, and it doesn’t make the pain go away, but it liberates me. It frees me from not having to pull more mental boxes out to shove my feelings into. To not have to pretend that I am okay or put another shield around my heart. Though maybe there is a different, softer one there now, formed by the man by my side—to guard what is already his. One that isn’t meant to keep anything out, but instead is there to remind me that I’m not alone. And while I may not know what this new life is going to look like now that Bella isn’t with me, I cling to the only truth that I can right now: I love Flynn and he loves me.
We walk for another few hours, Flynn giving me space to grieve but holding onto my hand tightly. Occasionally, he points out homes and other small shops as we walk, the sight of them incredible because of how they almost blend into the forest. Every structure has flowers growing around it and on it. I’ve never seen so many shades of green, and I have certainly never seen so many different flowers.
There aren’t very many people out, I notice. The few that do walk on the path near us stare at Flynn keenly for a few seconds before giving him a large smile or a respectful nod of their head. Flynn is polite—returning their greetings—but he also dips his head as if he’s trying to hide. My mind is hazy as I focus on putting one foot in front of the other when I hear what sounds like scuffing on the stone ahead of us. Through the foliage, a man that looks to be about Flynn’s age appears. Flynn moves his head forward, squinting his eyes slightly before he smiles broadly.
“Cass!” he yells at the man and picks up our pace to a fast walk. The man freezes in place, his hand reaching for what appears to be a sword strapped to his back before recognition lights his eyes and his hand drops back down.
“No fucking way! You’re back.” He laughs as he jogs the rest of the way to us and nearly tackles Flynn with the intensity of his hug. Flynn lets go of my hand to embrace the man, patting his back vigorously as they laugh and start talking too fast for me to understand.
After a few moments, Flynn clears his throat and reaches for me, his hand finding the small of my back. “Rhea, this is Cassius, my best friend.”
Cassius steps forward, dipping his head respectfully as he looks me over. His dark skin crinkles around his light blue eyes as he smiles, his white-blonde hair long and tied back from his face. He stands nearly as tall as Flynn, though his build is less muscular.
“Rhea? That’s a beautiful name. And you are a beautiful woman,” he all but purrs, adding a wink. His grin grows even wider when he sees the narrowing of Flynn’s eyes. I notice that his cheek forms a tiny indent on one side when he smiles, and I can’t help but give him a weak smile of my own. Even if my heart feels like it has been trampled on.
“Are my parents home?” Flynn asks as we amble back down the path. Cassius leads the way in front of us, and although he has a long sword strapped down his back, he wears no metal armor. He’s dressed in thick leathers in different shades of brown that belt and buckle in such a way that I wonder how long it takes him to get dressed.
“Holy shit! Oh my gods, that’s right. You don’t know,” Cassius says, swinging around to look at Flynn as he walks backwards now over the stone. My amusement grows as I wonder how he knows where to step while not looking. His eyes bounce excitedly between us, and it’s then that I notice he has a small scar on one temple that runs from his hairline to right underneath his eye.
“I don’t know what?” Flynn asks curiously, concern tightening the corners of his eyes.
My lips purse in response as I wonder if we are in any kind of danger. If perhaps King Dolian somehow knew that we were coming here and sent an army to get me back. They can’t get through the Spell. I breathe out a little sigh at that.
“Your father made a deal with the shifter king. He arrived a little bit ago, and everyone is at the beach now. I’ll get a carriage ready, and we can head there.” He runs backwards for a few feet, waiting until Flynn nods at him, and then turns around to sprint away.
“The shifter king?” I question, gazing up at Flynn. He tugs on my hand until we’re in a jog as well. Who is Flynn’s father that he can make a deal with a king from another kingdom?
“I guess so,” he says warily. Our footsteps echo out against the trees, my gaze down so that I don’t accidentally trip on anything. It isn’t until Flynn slows our jog that I look up again, gasping at the sight up on a hill in front of me.
The most beautiful structure built between four of the largest trees I’ve ever seen towers over me on my left as we walk. Stone, wood, vines, and flowers make up the building materials of this large… house? Castle? It looks palatial in its appearance though different from anything in the Mortal Kingdom. Each of the three levels has a wrap-around porch with portions of it covered by an awning made of flowers and vines. It’s the most breathtaking thing I’ve ever seen. As we near, I see mages dressed in the same way that Cassius is step in front of us on the path. Their eyes roam over us, only hesitating for a moment before they step off to the side. When we pass them, I watch as one of them stares at Flynn with a surprised look on his face. His gray eyes are glued to the man at my side.
A light wooden carriage adorned in vines and colorful flowers rolls up in front of us pulled by two large black horses, their coats shiny and thick. Cassius opens the door and extends a hand for me, which I take as I step up into it. Two deep green velvet benches line either side, but what draws my attention right away is the fact that the top of the carriage is completely missing. I take a forward-facing seat close to a small window, Flynn sitting next to me. Cassius shuts the carriage door, and I hear him climb onto the front before there is a snapping sound. Then we begin to move, the motion jarring. I let myself sink back into the seat, and Flynn extends his long legs out to the other side, his heels resting on the bench there. For a moment it’s silent as I look out the window, watching as the trees pass quickly by.
“After we see what is going on at the beach, I will introduce you to my parents and—” Flynn hesitates, waiting for me to look over at him. He brings a finger under my chin, gently tipping it up even higher. His lips kiss mine, just a trace of sensation, before he pulls back again. “And we can talk more.”
There’s a certain penitence to his voice, but before I have the chance to comment on it, the carriage is already slowing to a stop. I hear the soft murmuring of something in the air, and a scent I’ve never smelled before stings my nostrils. I look at Flynn in question, and without having to voice a single word, he smiles and nods his head.
“It’s the ocean,” he says softly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
The carriage door opens as Cassius pops his head in, his eyes dancing with delight as he looks from Flynn to me. “You two lovers ready?” He grins, laughing when Flynn shoves him back outside.
I step out of the carriage, and it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the scene ahead of me. A large gathering of people lines the entire beach in both directions. Flynn holds my hand tightly as Cassius leads us through the crowd, many of the people taking a double look at Flynn as he passes. I notice how their eyes grow wide before they all dip their chins at him, their gazes then going to where his hand holds mine. This repeats with nearly every single person we pass as we trudge through the sand. While Flynn is graceful in his movements, my shorter legs struggle to keep up with him as sand gets in my boots, flying everywhere with each step that I take. We finally break through the crowd, and Flynn halts our movements. I see the same iridescence of the Spell that I saw in the forest. The shimmering wall moves into the sky and over the water as far as the eye can see.
I can’t stop the small step I take forward, tugging on Flynn’s hand as I stare out at the expanse of water ahead of me. My heart beats wildly, as if it can pump fast enough to spread the tiny inkling of excitement I’m feeling through my otherwise-depressed state. The ocean is enormous; the bright blue waters, glimmering under the Spell, seem to go on forever. It’s similar to the lake I grew up looking at every day, but it’s also so much more. In the distance, a large ship bobs on the waves while a smaller row boat is pulled up onto the sandy shore. On the other side of the Spell, I can see a small group of people, three men and two women.
“Does the Spell work the same here as it did in the forest?” I ask Flynn quietly, chewing on my bottom lip.
His eyes stay locked on the people standing there as he answers, “No, there is a small section from the water to where the border officially begins that is like a neutral ground.” His hand squeezes mine tighter as we take another few steps closer.
The sun beats down on us, and I notice that no trees grow on the beach to block it out. Closest to the water is the largest man that I’ve ever seen, his height towering over those standing before him. His light golden brown skin and dark brown hair gleam under the bright daytime sun, only broken up by black swirls of some sort that go down the length of one arm. Standing directly in front of him is a woman. Her hands are on her hips as she leans forward, almost appearing as if she is yelling at him.
The breeze blows her dark blue dress and her curly brown hair behind her as she continues her conversation with the large man. To her side are an older man and woman holding hands. The woman has the same style of dress on, though hers is in a pink color, and her curly brown hair is tied up, but there is no denying that it’s the same hair as the woman in the blue dress. The man next to her looks to be about Flynn’s height, half of his longer black hair pulled back. He wears a style of clothing that isn’t quite a dress but goes down to his feet and is open in the middle—the dark blue and silver color of it contrasting against the light brown, almost white, color of the sand. And upon his head, glinting under the sun, is a golden crown.
Flynn tenses when the man with the crown looks over in our direction. He stares for an eternity, like his eyes can’t believe what they are seeing. Then they move on to me, where my hand holds Flynn’s, and a look I can’t decipher crosses his face through the slight malformation of the Spell. His gaze goes back to Flynn’s, and he moves to step forward when my view of him is blocked by an older man.
“Nox! Your Highness, it is so good to have you back safe and sound!” he says, planting a hand on Flynn’s shoulder. “And perfect timing as well. Tell me, was your mission in the Mortal Kingdom…” He trails off, eyes flicking my way for a moment before he continues, “successful?”
My heart pounds in my chest as my brows draw together in confusion. Nox? Mission? I must have misheard. I had to have misheard. My hand begins to tremble—or perhaps that is Flynn’s—as my gaze meets his, and I know. Even in this, he doesn’t hide his expression.
His dark gray eyes practically bleed with remorse, his lips parting as he takes a sharp inhale. “Rhea,” he breathes, moving in front of me to cup the side of my cheek, but I step back from his touch, dropping his hand from mine.
And in this moment, on a beach in the Mage Kingdom under the afternoon sun, I realize that the man I love—the man that I thought I could trust with my heart—is more of a liar than I ever thought possible.