Chapter 98
Chapter Ninety-Eight
Faylinn
“Rohak! You listen to me!” I called, ducking under a crate propped between two Mages before dodging around a group of unAwakened cadets, rushing to the waiting horses with provisions in their arms. All the while, my General never stopped his forward progress, never glanced over his shoulder.
I could feel his ire and concern down the Bond, but singular focus drowned both to dull whispers. That, more than anything, assured me he wasn’t ignoring me on purpose; the conversation was simply over in his mind, and he needed to devote his attention to preparing our army to leave.
“Leal!” Rohak barked. The stout Air Mage stopped in her tracks, eyeing Rohak expectantly. “You’re staying here with Sol. Take command of the unAwakened cadets. They are your responsibility. Am I understood?”
Leal grunted, a sour look passing over her face for a moment before she nodded curtly. “Understood, General.” She passed the saddle in her arms to a nearby Mage, the force of it knocking him back a few steps with an oomph.
Clearly, I wasn’t the only one pissed the fuck off about being left behind.
I shot Leal a look of solidarity with a pat on her shoulder before I bounded after Rohak once more.
The square in Vespera was in complete disarray. Mages, Vessels, and servants milled about chaotically, all seeing to their individual tasks so the vast majority of the army could disembark within the next ten minutes.
The timeframe seemed absolutely impossible, but Rohak would have it no other way. If we didn’t stand together with Torin, Solace would surely break through their defenses, and then there would be no one to stop her before she reached Vespera.
“Rohak!” I called again, my hurried strides finally pulling even with his determined ones.
“Gene, Art. Are you packed?” he clipped.
“They’re coming?!” I practically screeched, but was ignored by all three parties in question.
“Yessir!” Gene said, glasses magnifying his watery grey eyes almost comically. “We’ve even got Charise here all packed and ready.”
Art pat the wooden crate I’d just seen with a fondness I only reserved for Cotton and Rohak.
“Good. Mount up,” Rohak commanded, already moving on to the next group of Mages.
Each time we stopped, I attempted to gain his attention, but was dutifully ignored.
Frustration bubbled in my gut, and sweat cascaded down my back and chest.
After what felt like the hundredth time Rohak ignored me, I stopped suddenly and screamed down the Bond in tandem with my voice.
“ROHAK. YOU LISTEN TO ME THIS MINUTE OR SO HELP ME YOU’LL NEVER SEE ME NAKED AGAIN.” My shout was met with wide-eyed stares and more than one chortle from surrounding Mages and Vessels. The declaration had my cheeks hot with embarrassment, but it had the desired effect.
I clenched my fists as Rohak slowly turned, his expression completely unreadable. He turned his sharp gaze upon some of the soldiers who had stopped at my shout, instantly sending them back into action.
He prowled toward me, soldiers scurrying to complete their tasks, parting around his determined stride.
Gods, he was stunning, even with his emerald eyes flashing.
Rohak said nothing until we were chest-to-chest, our breaths mingling together as he bent his face slowly toward mine. His lips brushed mine briefly, causing my breath to hitch in response, before he moved to whisper softly in my ear.
“At least we’d both be alive for you to withhold that from me.” Rohak’s voice was all silky danger as his words caressed my skin with all the softness of a lover.
My heart pattered, the fight bleeding from my body as I sank into his chest. My arms snuck around his back as he ruffled my curls with a strong exhale.
In his arms, despite the chaos that surrounded us, I felt at home.
It was like everything else faded away—the noise, the bustle, even the impending doom—and all that was left was us.
We were one; the way it was always meant to be.
“I cannot lose you, Faylinn. And not because it means I die, too. I need to know you are here and safe. If you come with me, I will constantly be looking over my shoulder, eyes trained only on you. My attention will be divided, and someone will be unnecessarily hurt.” His calloused fingers pressed against the underside of my chin, tilting my head until our eyes met.
I saw the anguish there, and his utter devotion. His emotions were only magnified by the Bond, letting me feel each nuance as deeply as if they were my own.
“Do you understand now, my love?”
I nodded mutely, pushing my nose back into his chest to inhale the tang of tobacco that clung to his skin. Ever since he’d lost his Destruction Magic, his scent had changed. It no longer carried the aftertaste of ash, but it was all still wonderfully and wholly him.
“I love you. More than anything else, and I refuse to lose you.”
“I love you, too,” I mumbled.
“Hey, Fay? Can we, uh, talk to you for a minute?” Ben’s voice broke through Rohak’s and my bubble, and I found a smile edging across my face at the discomfort in Ben’s question.
“Yes, Ben?” I asked, turning my head so my cheek still rested against Rohak. I needed this contact for as long as I could have it.
Ben stood with Asha, their five-month-old baby, Fia, clutched in Asha’s arms. Their gazes kept shifting to each other before darting to me.
“We were hoping that you would maybe . . . look after Fia while we’re away?” Ben asked, one large hand gripping the back of his neck, a telltale flush of embarrassment working its way up his throat and into his ears.
I smiled then, a true thing, as I relinquished my hold on Rohak and reached for their little one.
Relief crested both of their faces as Asha passed baby Fia to me. Her face was absolutely lovely—a perfect blend of her parents, though her shock of red hair already favored her mother. Rohak squeezed my shoulder once, and I covered his hand with my own.
Ben and Asha stooped to press lingering kisses to Fia’s cheeks as Rohak speared me with one last beseeching glance.
I respected him as a General and loved him as my other half, but if Rohak thought I was staying here while he risked his life, he was sorely mistaken.
Because this overwhelming feeling of love, of the deeply inherent need to protect, went both ways.
Quietly, so as not to alert my General, I shut down part of the Bond.
Rohak needed to think I would stay here in order to concentrate, and I needed to follow him to ease my own mind.
“Mount up!” Rohak called, never breaking eye contact.
Soldiers scurried to heed his command; the sounds of goodbyes and the creaking of leather echoed throughout the courtyard as hundreds upon hundreds of men and women simultaneously climbed atop their horses.
In two strides, Rohak closed the distance between us and cupped my face in his hands. In front of everyone—to many hoots and hollers—he kissed me soundly, deeply, urgently, as if he needed to savor my taste one last time.
Rohak broke our kiss suddenly, leaving me reaching forward for more, and pressed our foreheads together.
“When I return, I am making an honest woman of you. You will become Faylinn d’Alvey, and we will have as many babies as you allow.
I love you more than the stars love the moon, and I will come back to you.
Thank you for listening and understanding, my love.
” With that, he pressed one last kiss to my brow before mounting Balios.
Asha gave me one last hug, pressing Fia into my arms as she and Ben hurried to their own horses, twin tear tracks evident in the sunlight.
“Lex!” Rohak barked, his voice hard, yet I felt the tremor of fear in it.
Lex and Ilyas pushed through the mass of soldiers embracing weeping loved ones and making final preparations for their journey northward.
“General?” Lex asked as he approached Balios, head thrown back to regard my Bonded.
Rohak’s eyes softened for a moment as he gazed at the Mage who was more a brother than a soldier.
“Take care, Lex, Ilyas,” he said with a nod at Lex’s Pleasure Bonded. “I’m trusting Vespera with you, but you are to protect yourselves at all costs.”
Lex’s eyebrows rose, and he opened his mouth in rebuttal, but Rohak held out a hand.
“Please, Lex. Promise me that.” The General—so stoic and hard, so fierce and battle-hardened—was nearly pleading. My heart ached as I felt his desperation, his love, his desire to protect the man he valued above almost all others.
Lex paused, his expression shifting through a myriad of emotions before he settled on grim determination. He shut his mouth with an audible click before nodding his head once.
“I’ll take care of myself, but won’t sacrifice Vespera to a fate worse than death. These people are just as mine as yours, Rohak,” he finished quietly. “But we will see each other again.”
My Bonded exhaled heavily with a jerky nod.
“May Fate guide and keep you, Lex d’Talionis.”
Rohak spared me one last glance before I saw his expression visibly shift.
He was no longer my love, my General. Now he was General d’Alvey, the man who would lead them to and through war.
“We leave now to stop tyranny in its tracks. If that isn’t enough of a reason for you, we ride to protect those we leave behind here. We go to protect Elyria and all we love in it.”
There were mumbles and shouts of agreement that crested through the sea of black.
“Move out!” Rohak commanded.
Hooves clattered against stone, leather creaked, and horses whinnied as the army moved through the streets of Vespera and into the plains beyond.
I clutched Fia to my chest, taking care not to bobble her head too much, as I climbed staircase after staircase, searching for the one person I knew I could trust.
My pack was already packed and strapped to my back.
I donned a new set of Mage blacks and even the boots Rohak had made for me when I’d first come to Vespera.
Runes of protection and a few for battle were etched on my skin, my daggers strapped to my waist and thighs, a few even shoved in my boots.
A horse was saddled and waiting in the stables.
I was ready to leave Vespera and follow the path of our army. They’d disembarked nearly three hours ago—a large enough head start that no one would be able to see me from the rearguard, but not enough of a gap that I’d lose their trail.
All that remained was entrusting Fia with someone who would look after her as if she were their own.
What a guardian I would make, I thought scornfully. As if she could hear my thoughts, Fia cooed and made gurgling baby noises. Her round, celadon eyes sparkled with inherent curiosity and intelligence as she gnawed on her fist.
Hungry, I thought. Hopefully Felix knows what to do for that.
Wasn’t like either of us could breastfeed her.
My boots slapped loudly in the nearly empty Academy. Those of us who stayed behind, voluntarily or otherwise, were few and far between. Many had gathered together in the mess hall for dinner, but Felix was notably absent.
If he is who I think he is, then this is the only way.
I approached the door to his room, knocking quietly before taking a small step back.
Instantly, the door opened, revealing Felix with a sling already fashioned to his front and a bottle of what looked like milk in his hand. A smile of relief and mischief crossed his face as he reached for the little girl cradled in my arms.
“About time you showed up, granddaughter of Fate,” he said cryptically, gently removing Fia from my stunned arms and placing her with utmost care in the sling. She gurgled happily, instantly reaching for the bottle and sucking greedily.
“You’ll take care of her? Keep her safe?” I asked, suddenly nervous to leave her.
“With my life,” he promised solemnly, his normally smiling face suddenly serious.
I nodded jerkily, adjusting the pack on my shoulders.
“Go now, Child of Fate. Time is of the essence. You are almost there. The end is near, and you must be part of it.” His words were grave, causing my heart to skip erratically.
“Take care. May Fate bless and keep you,” I mumbled, turning to leave.
“Same to you, Rune Master,” Felix returned as the door shut behind me.