Chapter 15
ARAN
Islowly push the door open—despite knowing her slamming it closed meant she wanted to be left alone—and watch in despair as Daisy crumples, fire consuming her as her screams rip through the chambers.
I can’t move. I can’t help. This is her grief, raw and unrestrained, and though every instinct in me screams to pull her from it, I know she needs this.
If she keeps it buried, it will rot her from the inside.
Better to burn now than let it fester and destroy her later.
Still, I feel helpless. Gods, she’s endured too much already.
Marta. Theodus. Each loss a blade carving deeper.
How much grief can one soul take before it finally breaks beyond repair?
Every flicker of light I see in her gets snuffed out by the world before it has even the smallest chance to shine. And it kills me.
The guards rush in at the sounds of her screams, but I raise my hand sharply. I shake my head, and I see their hesitation. But I don’t hesitate one bit. “Stay back. She needs this.”
When at last the fire gutters out, Daisy collapses into a heap, spent and unconscious.
I cross the room and gather her in my arms. Her skin burns against mine, a small hiss leaving my lips at the contact, but I don’t care.
I bark at the guards to pull back the silk sheets on her bed.
Gently, I lay her down on the cool mattress, brushing a strand of hair from her damp cheek.
I can’t tell if it’s from tears or sweat.
I step to the door, voice iron as I face the men at the threshold. “Two guards at this post at all times. No less. If one leaves, another steps in. If I find out this door is left unguarded for even a moment, you’re done. Understood?” They nod quickly. “Good. Alert me the moment she wakes.”
I don’t wait for a reply. My feet move on autopilot, carrying me to the only place that can soothe my aching soul.
She’s leaning against the doors of the balcony when I enter, short hair fluttering gently in the breeze, silver eyes distant. But when she hears me, her head snaps around and all the worry she wears on her face crashes through my heart. She runs to me, flinging herself into my arms.
“Oh, thank the gods. I heard the commotion—I saw the smoke—I thought—”
“I’m here,” I murmur, stroking her back and placing a soft kiss to her temple as I lift her fully into my arms, her legs wrapping around my waist instinctively like a little koala. “I’m here.”
I move and sit on the bed with her curled on my lap, her arms tight around me like she’s afraid that if she lets go, I’ll vanish before her eyes. I take a moment to breathe her in—her soft comforting scent of coconut and lavender.
“What happened?” she whispers.
I kiss her forehead before answering. “We were in Gehenna when word came that Cinderspine was attacked. By the time we arrived, it was already rubble. The wards are intact, which means it had to be from the inside.” I let out a heavy sigh. “We have traitors.”
Her expression hardens. “The other realms?”
“I don’t know yet. I’ll send word. The leaders are due here within days, but I no longer trust this place. Rats are loose in our home.”
Her hands roam my shoulders. I know exactly what she’s doing.
She’s making it look like she’s comforting me, when actually, she’s searching carefully for injuries.
I shudder under her touch. She’s always been like this.
Her instinct to always protect me even when she’s the one who lived for centuries amongst ruthless enemies.
“And Daisy?” she asks softly.
I shake my head, grief thick in my throat. Her gasp makes me look up quick. “She’s alive,” I say quickly. “But she found two she loved. Marta, the baker. And... Theodus.” I swallow hard, trying to dislodge the lump that’s formed in my throat. “Barely sprouted his horns. Gods. He was just a boy.”
I turn my head to stare out the balcony doors, doing my best to keep the mask firmly in place despite the burn in my throat from unshed tears. Velentha’s hand lifts to my cheek, forcing me to face her. Her silver eyes blaze, fierce and unrelenting.
“Don’t do this, Aran.”
“Do what?”
“Hide it from me. You think I don’t see it? That you’re breaking?”
My jaw tightens. “If I let myself crack, even just a little, I’ll shatter completely. Korithax. Daisy. Marta. That little boy. This was never meant to be her burden. I’ve failed them all. Failed Saevyn.”
I search her eyes for disappointment. For condemnation.
But there’s none. Where I expected to see a look of disgust, I only find pure, burning love.
“None of this is your fault,” she whispers fiercely.
“This is theirs. The Divine’s. If blame falls anywhere, it falls on me for not warning you sooner. I couldn’t escape them—”
“No,” I cut in, cupping her face. “They are liars. Manipulators. Don’t you dare try and put this on yourself. This is not yours to bear.”
“Then it isn’t yours, either.” She kisses me, sweet and firm, her lips trembling against mine.
Something inside me cracks, just slightly.
Just enough for her to slip in, just enough for the dam to break.
I groan against her mouth, clutching her like a drowning man, and she’s my life jacket.
For a while, there’s nothing but her. Her warmth, her touch, her whispers of “mine” against my skin as she distracts me with delicious touches and soft moans.
Tangled in sheets and sweat, her head rests on my chest as my hand trails absently up her spine. I kiss her hair, allowing her soft scent to comfort me. “Thank you.”
She peeks up at me, silver eyes soft in the light of the room. “For what?”
“For being you.”
She smiles that devastating smile that has had my heart in a vice-like grip from the first time I saw it—a small dimple sitting at the corner of her mouth. “As the stars remember the dark.”
“So do I remember you,” I say, smiling back.
For one heartbeat, the world feels almost whole again as I remain lost in her endless silver eyes.
But, as if the world knows that happiness is just a luxury, a sharp knock shatters the bubble entirely.
I curse under my breath, tugging on a black robe and smoothing back my hair to something vaguely less like ‘just had sex.’ Opening the door only slightly, ensuring I hide Velentha from view, I find two guards and two soldiers waiting.
One quirks a brow at me, clearly amused.
“What is it? Has she awoken?” I ask, almost a little too sharply.
A tall, broad guard with deep blue hair and deep grey eyes shakes his head, his expression tight. “No, sir. It’s… Sovarith.”
My blood goes cold. “What about it?”
He hesitates, as if dreading to speak the next words. But finally: “The Council Spires have been attacked.”
For a moment, I can only hear my own pulse roaring.
Then I nod once, sharp and controlled as the mask slips tightly back into place.
“I’ll be in the war room as quickly as I can.
Gather soldiers to the spires immediately.
Send word to the other realms. Find Maelkar and every ruler of this domain and have them there. ”
“Yes, sir.” The two guards and two soldiers bow in unison and vanish down the hall. I close the door, pressing my palm hard to the wood as I try to steady my rapid pulse.
“Shit,” Velentha breathes.
I turn to face her. She’s sitting on the bed with the sheet clutched to her chest, eyes wide with sorrow. “I have to go,” I murmur.
She nods, watching me frantically gather up my clothing. She rises to help me dress, moving closer as I begin fastening the buttons of my suit jacket. Her hands come to rest against my chest, steady and purposeful, though the lingering fear in her eyes betrays the calm she’s trying to maintain.
“You’ve tied this wrong,” she murmurs softly. I glance down, realising my fingers have indeed made a mess of it. Of course they have.
Velentha reaches for the knot of my tie, her fingers deft and familiar as she loosens it and begins again, tying it perfectly.
The silk slides through her hands as she moves to straighten the collar of my jacket, smoothing the fabric like she has done a hundred times before.
Like we have all the time in the world. Neither of us speaks.
The silence stretches between us, heavy with everything we don’t dare say.
Her hands pause when she finishes, lingering against my chest for just a moment too long.
Then, she curls her fingers into the tie and gives it a small tug, pulling me down towards her.
The movement is gentle, but insistent. Before I can speak, her lips meet mine in a touch that’s gentle to start.
The kiss is slow. Deep. Not desperate—no, it’s far worse than that.
It’s lingering and deliberate, like she’s trying to memorise the shape of me.
Her fingers tighten in the silk of my tie, holding me there as though letting go might send me slipping out of her reach forever.
I taste the faint sweetness of tea on her lips, mixed with the lingering sweat from her skin.
My hand rises instinctively to the back of her neck, holding her just as tightly as she does me.
For a short, wonderful moment, the world quiets.
There’s no war. No sharp knocks. No burning realms. Just us.
Just me and my wife, my mate, my aeshira.
When she finally pulls away, I rest my forehead briefly against hers, her breath warm against my mouth.
“Come back to me,” she whispers. The words are soft, but they strike something deep in my chest.
“Always.” I press one last kiss to her lips before stepping back, forcing my feet to move toward the door before I lose the will to leave at all. As I strike toward the war room, dread coils tight in my chest. Sovarith. If even the Spires are not safe… then nowhere is.
I didn’t expect this when entering the war room.