Chapter 24
When he first stepped through the doorway into this twisted world of fae gateways and magical trials, Xavi had intended nothing more than to protect Kel’s mortal bride. To ensure that she succeeded so that this curse could finally end. So that after all these centuries, Kel could finally be free.
This human could be no more to him than any who had gone before her. She was simply a means to end the curse—in one way or another.
He’d never stopped to think beyond that moment of potential success.
Perhaps a part of him had always assumed that he would not survive it.
That true success, for him, was to finally prove his willingness to die on Kel’s behalf.
To repay Kel’s father’s sacrifice, and to honor their many years of trust and brotherhood.
But now, even as he found himself the unexpected guest of humans—caught in a false betrothal and following Ryn ever deeper into this unforeseen snare—he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about that unknown future. About what it would mean for them to succeed.
If they failed… Well, failure was an old companion, and he knew her face intimately. And this time, failure was unlikely to return him to the same endless search, which was its own sort of victory.
But what if he… lived? What if this cycle of hopeless striving ended, and he did not?
The feeling that accompanied that thought was perhaps the most deeply uncomfortable he’d experienced since attaining adulthood—something akin to panic.
But why? He was completely capable of survival in this world.
Powerful enough that no night elf, no creature of the forest, no human mage could challenge him.
There was no reason he could not carve out a new life for himself—savor the taste of true freedom for the first time since he and Kel first fought the serpent in that cave.
His debt would finally be repaid, and in this world, Kel would have no need of him. There was no throne to protect, no armies to lead. Kel would have his own magic. His own freedom. His own choices to make and his own path to pursue.
“I’m sorry to say, it’s not very impressive,” Ryn said, as she came to a stop on the banks of a rather larger body of water than he’d pictured. “But it’s a good place for thinking, even if you don’t like to fish.”
Xavi had never found himself wanting for places to think, but he would not disagree with the assessment.
During summer, the trees would hide it from the house and provide shade for the stone benches placed near enough to the banks for fishing.
The grassy lawn ran all the way down to the water on one side, while the others were lined with natural stone.
And on the farthest end, the stone formed a ledge over which a gentle flow of water cascaded into the pool.
It might have appeared to be a natural part of the landscape…
except for the rather startling bronze statue of a wyvern that had somehow been placed in the middle of the water.
“Ah, yes.” Ryn put her hands on her hips and gazed wryly at the decidedly odd addition to an otherwise pleasant scene.
“My father did have a taste for the dramatic, I’m afraid.
When I was five, I named it Fireheart, and while my father was off on his adventures, I used to sit here with my books and imagine that we were friends.
” Her gaze darted to Xavi’s for a moment, and a smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
“I know what you’re thinking. Surely my obsession with books and studying must have made me the most popular girl in the kingdom—far too popular to be spending my time alone by the pond.
But strangely enough, that was not the case. ”
She’d grown up alone. Except for the father she seemed to idolize, who was no longer in her life.
“What happened to your father?” Xavi asked, unsure whether he truly wanted to know or somehow sensed that she needed to talk about it.
Ryn sighed, moved towards one of the benches, and dropped into the seat. And Xavi, without really thinking about it, took the seat directly beside her, their elbows nearly but not quite touching.
“Died at sea,” she said simply. “Shortly after I started at the university. But even before that, he was rarely at home. It was as if he could not exist without new adventures. New challenges. The more frightening, the better. I think it’s why my mother disapproves so much of everything I do that reminds her of him.
Because she’s afraid that one day… I will just not come home. ”
Well, that was inconvenient. Xavi had no desire to feel compassion for the human who called herself Dowager Baroness. But that fear… he could understand. And it seemed Ryn could as well, given that she’d agreed to stay.
Had he perhaps been wrong about the point of this particular trial? Or had he been wrong about all of them?
The first trial had taken them to the place of perhaps his most painful memory.
Forced him to relive that feeling of hopeless fury and fear, along with all the guilt and regret that came after.
The second had dropped them into Ryn’s world—in a place to which she had devoted her whole heart, only for it to reject her utterly.
And now? They were at her home. With the people who should have loved and understood her the most, but who nonetheless contrived to hurt her over and over again.
So what was it these trials were trying to prove, and how exactly were they testing Ryn’s worthiness to bond with Kel?
He’d expected trial by combat, survivable only through pain, bloodshed, and determination.
Instead, Ryn was being reminded of her darkest moments of rejection, isolation, and heartache.
Perhaps these experiences were meant to manipulate her into rejecting her own world. To bind her more tightly to the future the curse had chosen for her.
If true, it suggested that whether she wished to escape that fate or not, Ryn was destined to be Kel’s bride in every sense of the term—the one who would share with him that unseen future Xavi had only begun to contemplate.
Could it be that these trials were somehow bending fate itself to bring about their intended end?
And if that was the case, it seemed very important to ask his questions now, before the coils of this curse drew even tighter.
“Do you want to come home?” he asked abruptly. “After all of this is over. Is that what you most truly desire?”
Ryn looked at him sharply. “I told you we can’t afford to think like that.”
“And I do not believe in letting fae enchantments tell me what to think.”
“Ugh.” Ryn let out a groan and slumped in her seat, arms crossed defensively over her chest. “I don’t know,” she said softly. “I don’t know why I’m admitting this to you, but in truth, I’ve never felt so confused about what I want.”
There was something oddly satisfying about even that small offer of trust. So satisfying that he immediately wanted more.
“Explain,” he demanded.
“I started dreaming of Kel and the cavern beneath the mountain when I was eight years old,” Ryn reminded him.
“My whole life has been about chasing down this story that you’re a part of.
But now, I’m a part of it too, and I don’t know how to feel about that.
I’ve done what I set out to do. I’ve proven, even if only to myself, that my father was right, that I’m not a silly, deluded girl, and that myths and legends are worth believing in.
So if I do survive this—if we manage to break the curse and I’m free to choose my path afterwards—I don’t know what my life would look like.
I know I don’t want the life my mother has planned for me, but the university is no longer an option either. ”
“Then do you wish to not come back at all?” Xavi did not care for the taste of the words in his mouth, but he asked the next question anyway. The one he wasn’t sure he wanted the answer to. “Do you hope that this curse will end by making you Kel’s bride in truth?”
The look Ryn shot him was annoyed but also…
something else. Something tentative and uncomfortable.
“I already made it quite clear that I have no desire to marry your king. Whether the curse wants me to or not. I won’t leave him in the clutches of that wretched fae forever, but I also don’t intend to make a life with him, and I’m sure he would agree.
What could he possibly want with a human who cannot share his memories or his magic? ”
A strange and desperate swell of frustration caught Xavi entirely by surprise.
“Kel would never reject you for being human,” he argued, uncertain why he felt compelled to defend Kel in that way but unable to stay silent. “He is kind and honorable, and would never abandon or betray you. There is no reason to fear a future with him.”
The truth was, Xavi had no idea what Kel would do. His king might not want to be bonded to a human. So where were these words and this anger coming from?
“I’m not afraid,” Ryn snapped suddenly, jumping to her feet. “And I told you, I don’t want to talk about this.” She strode the last few steps to the edge of the pond and stood there, arms crossed, back stiff, staring off across the water.
Something was clearly very wrong. Even though he’d only known her…
Had it only been a few days? Time was bent so strangely within the misty boundaries of this curse, it might also have been forever.
But either way, it didn’t matter. Xavi knew it was entirely unlike Ryn to avoid a discussion.
She had a habit of confronting even the most awkward topics—diving to the heart of them with instinctive accuracy—so there must be something in particular about this one that drove her to…
“I’m not afraid,” she muttered again. “I can’t be.”
Rising silently from the bench, Xavi moved to stand behind her, not touching, but close enough to hear the harsh sound of her breathing as she fought the swelling tide of some dark emotion.
One that looked very much like the panic lurking within his own heart.
“Why not?” he asked.