Chapter 6 #2
“You all are being treated with caution,” Willow says slowly as her gaze pauses on me. “Though, I will heed your warning, daughters of Evelina.”
I give her a short nod, my back straight and shoulders pinched as anger still pulses through me, knowing Adrian is a few mere paces away.
“Welcome to Kauri,” Aster murmurs.
I squint at the name, remembering Willow indicating the trees.
“We respect the forest,” Willow explains, catching my eye. “It provides us safety, and we exist with it, not through it.”
She turns toward the village. Aster walks over to her side, his knuckles grazing the back of her hand. As if on instinct, her fingers intertwine with his, connecting in a way only lovers do. A weakness skilled warriors wouldn’t show unless they had their guard down.
“Can we have a moment?” I ask, my voice hoarse as my muscles loosen.
Willow glances at me, giving me a soft nod as she and Aster drift away from us—but not so far that they can’t keep an eye on our group.
Leda’s gaze catches mine.
I look at her now—really look at her. Her dry and cracked lips set into a thin line. Her face is caked with mud, and a freshly healed cut lines her jaw. She’s the image of a warrior, more than a figurehead of power over her kingdom—a woman who leads her people by fighting alongside them.
She’s so much more than just the princess of Penyth. She’s my sister—half-sister, but still my family. My blood. We may not see eye to eye on…most things, but that doesn’t erase our ties.
She may be the woman who snarled in my face when I arrived in Penyth.
The one who watched me with distrust for weeks and hated having to train me one-on-one.
The same woman who knew I was following her to the Shadow Lands and let me.
She’s also the person who gave me a mirror, reminding me that if I ever forget who I am, all I need to do is look into it.
In the blink of an eye, Leda closes the gap between us and throws her arms around me. Shock runs through me; her hug is soft and warm. My body tenses, arms dangling awkwardly at my side.
Leda and I have never been affectionate with one another. We’ve hardly acknowledged our kinship. She squeezes me tighter, her arms comforting me in a way I hadn’t expected. In a way that feels like home. This time, my arms wrap around her in return.
“I thought I lost you again,” she croaks, her throat raw.
My chest tightens, and all I can do is nod. I thought I lost her, too—lost all of them.
“Is Brielle…” The words going to make it stay trapped in my throat, unable to voice the fear circling my thoughts.
Leda shakes her head, her arms tightening around me slightly. “No wounds from what I could tell on the flight here, but she used so much magic. Too much.”
Relief floods through me, but it doesn’t last long.
“We all did,” Leda rasps softly enough for only me to hear.
I can feel her heart pounding against my own, her emotions fierce and strong. Her breath comes out in quiet, short pants, and I realize just how afraid she is—how spent her body is from holding Daimon off.
The thought of Leda being afraid…
My palms begin to sweat, and I pull back.
“How did you get here?” I croak, my throat scratchy.
She jerks her chin up and to the right, her gaze now worn and dull. “We,” Leda shudders, “flew here.”
She gestures to the sky, her face twisted in distaste.
“Aster showed up after a wall of clay separated us from you and Daimon,” she explains, her voice low. “We had no choice but to follow him. Brielle dropped just as he showed up, and if it wasn’t for him…”
I nod, knowing that if Aster and Willow hadn’t come when they did, none of us would be here.
Calix snorts and pats my back. “Only after Aster promised you were being brought here too,” he adds. The humor in his gaze is gone—his voice empty.
I give him a weak smile, my body beginning to grow heavy as the adrenaline slows in my veins.
Sidra and Orla come up beside us, their eyes wide as their gazes bounce from me to the village. Orla’s deep brown irises lock with mine, sharp to her surroundings but softening when she takes me in.
A mirroring softness fills me when I realize they look to be safe, the tightness in my chest beginning to ease when Sidra gives me a reassuring nod.
“It’s good to see you, Lu,” Sidra whispers quickly, her strawberry hair braided to the side with wind-swept strands sticking out and framing her freckled face. “Glad that we got out of there.”
All but Graylen.
My breath is nearly knocked from my lungs at the thought. We got away, but he didn’t. He’s stuck with Vidaris, trapped in a place where I can’t get to him.
I can’t stop my mind from drifting to the image of him disappearing.
He could be barely hanging on, his sanity slowly slipping.
Or Vidaris could be draining his very essence, leaving him at death’s door.
It haunts me that Graylen—the complete and utter idiot hero that he is—put his own life at risk.
I may not have had a say in what he did, but he still did it. Still sacrificed himself for me.
Tears burn my eyes, and Sidra reaches for my hand, squeezing it lightly.
Leda catches my eye again, her gaze softening as if she understands where my thoughts drifted to.
“I’m going to get him back.” I half-whisper the promise to Leda, while a part of me hopes it carries on the wind to Graylen, too.
She gives me a sharp nod, and her hand lands on my shoulder, squeezing it tightly. It doesn’t help quell the rage, fear, and restless energy burning in my veins, but it still needed to be said.
Because I will get him back. No matter the cost.