Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Piper
Piper’s tears had long since dried in the week since the battle that had taken so many. But the arguments of what had transpired on the field that day had only grown.
Accusations had been hurled at Xander, questioning why he’d abandoned his sister when they thought she needed him most. Doubts over Ser Aeron’s healing abilities had been shared in hushed tones and shouted in crowded rooms.
It didn’t matter.
None of it mattered.
No one could have changed the outcome.
No thread could have been pulled to make it end another way.
She’d tried. Goddess, how she’d tried to see another ending for her friend.
But only the Goddess Dalia knew how their story would end when all was said and done.
All she could do was hold on to the hope that light would shine through the heavy gray clouds that shrouded the realm—clouds that seemed to grow darker with each passing day.
Piper adjusted her position in the armchair next to the bed. Hugging her legs to her chest, she rested her cheek on her knees as she watched the swirls of shadows dance around Auraelia and Daemon.
Pinpricks of light glimmered in the inky black depths of Daemon’s shadows, reminding her of how the stars drifted across the sky as the night wore on.
“Any change?” Xander asked as he draped a blanket around her shoulders. She hadn’t heard him enter. No vision came to show her the decisions he’d made. But then again, she hadn’t had a vision since she saw Auraelia’s body lying limp in Daemon’s arms, her skin streaked in crimson.
“None,” she said with a sigh. “They’ve been like this for a week now with no change.
We don’t even know if either of them are alive, Xan.
I can’t find their threads. I can’t even reach them to try.
And believe me, I’ve tried, but Daemon’s fucking shadows block everything.
” She angrily threw a hand out toward the bed, scowling into the star-flecked darkness that cloaked her friends.
“Hey,” Xander cooed, dropping to his knees before her. “You can’t take this on, Piper. You can’t control other people’s choices.”
“But I should be able to control my own magic!” Piper buried her head in her hands as tears began to fall.
What was the point of being clairvoyant if the threads didn’t give her the answers she needed to save the people she loved?
Auraelia was her chosen sister, the one constant in her life she could always count on.
She was a piece of her soul, and that piece was gone.
At least, that’s what it felt like. Watching Auraelia day in and day out with no change—no chance to even see if a soul was left in the body lying swathed in shadows—had stolen a piece of her she didn’t think she would ever get back.
“My visions are gone, Xander. My power abandoned me when I needed it most. And I—” A sob caught in her throat, halting the words that had been swirling in her mind over the last week.
She’d failed to protect her queen, and it seemed her magic was failing her in response.
“Piper—”
“You should have saved her, not me,” she croaked out in a whisper.
She felt Xander’s body shudder, but as he released a heavy sigh, his finger found her chin, and he lifted her gaze to his. “No, Piper. I was right where I was meant to be.”
“You were where she told you to be.”
Xander’s hand dropped as he inhaled deeply through his nose and pushed to his feet. “I was where I wanted to be, Piper. You can choose to believe that, or you can blame me for something you know neither of us could change. Either way, I was, and still am, right where I want to be.”
Xander pressed a kiss to her brow, and her heart sank as she watched him walk away.
She knew that if she could talk to Auraelia, she would call her an idiot.
She would tell her that it wasn’t his fault, and deep in her heart, she knew that to be true.
But she’d already lost one of the most important people in her life.
If she let Xander in, how long would it be until she lost him, too?
Another week came and went, and still, there was no change.
Piper was pretty certain she’d become affixed to the chair by this point.
Meals were brought to her by either Xander or Liza, and they stayed until she’d finished the plate.
Then, they would gather her dishes and leave quietly.
But she never missed the sorrow in their eyes as they looked back at the bed.
Never missed the tears that brimmed when there was no news of improvement.
And with each passing day, the hope she’d held onto faded, and resentment took its place.
Why did I survive?
Who am I to the realm?
I have no power to protect our people, have nothing to offer…
“Piper?” A hesitant voice called out, breaking her out of her spiraling thoughts. When she turned toward the door, piercing green eyes met hers. “May I come in?”
When she nodded, Daemon’s sister pushed the door wider and stepped into the space.
A week after the war ended—when there still hadn’t been a change with Auraelia and Dameon—Xander sent word to the Court of Opal and the Sapphire Isles to let them know what had happened.
But it wasn’t until Yvaine showed up a few days ago that they learned of King Evander’s death and that Daemon was now King of the Sapphire Isles.
“Would you like to sit?” Piper asked quietly, gesturing to the chair beside her.
Yvaine swallowed audibly, nodding as she slowly sank down into the cushion with a grieved sigh.
Her eyes were rimmed in red, the kohl she usually wore smudged beneath, and the fact that she didn’t bother hiding her tears brought Piper a small amount of comfort.
She was so tired of pretending to be strong when all she wanted to do was crawl into a hole and whither away.
They’d been sitting in silence for a while, both staring blankly at the shroud of shadows cloaking their loved ones, when Yvaine spoke. Her voice was a hushed whisper, but there was no mistaking the relief that flooded each word. “He’s still alive.”
“How can you be so sure? Nothing has changed.”
A small smile tugged on the corner of Yvaine’s lips as water began to line her eyes.
“A week or so before the war started, I made Daemon bind a promise that he wouldn’t keep me from fighting for our people.
I’m not sure how much you know about them, but when you bind a promise, the participants exchange a kernel of magic.
And I can still feel his. It’s weak but growing stronger the longer I sit here. And I can feel mine pulling toward me.”
“I wish I had that. I don’t know—” Piper choked on a sob as she stared through the shadows at her friend’s still body. “I don’t know what fate has befallen Auraelia. And I can’t see—”
“Piper,” Yvaine reached across the small space between them and grasped her hand, squeezing tightly.
“My brother would not be growing stronger if Auraelia had been welcomed home by the goddesses. Nothing, and I mean nothing, would hold him here if she was no longer present.” She squeezed Piper’s hand once more, then pushed to her feet.
“Have faith, little raven. They will come back to us when they are ready.”
Little Raven? Raven’s are birds associated with death.
Yvaine gave a small chuckle. “I can see the wheels in your mind turning in your eyes. It was a compliment, I assure you. A raven is also the bird of prophecy, Piper.”
“But my sight—”
“Will return when you’re ready for it to. You don’t trust yourself, let alone your visions, right now. Believe in yourself, and they will come back.”
Piper watched her walk away, her words resonating with something in her soul and fanning the dying embers of hope. But as Yvaine pulled the door open, Piper called her name, waiting until she turned to say, “Thank you.”
“We all need a little light right now. I’m glad that I could give that to you.”
Yvaine smiled and then slipped through the door, leaving her alone once more.
Though their conversation was short, it lifted some of the weight off Piper’s heart, and she felt as if she could finally breathe more easily.
A little while later, Liza brought her dinner, and it was the first time her face wasn’t pinched with worry as she watched her eat.
Not long after, her eyes became heavy, and sleep slowly claimed her consciousness.
But as her eyes drifted closed, she could have sworn she saw a tiny streak of lightning mingle within the shadows.