57. Jaxus
FIFTY-SEVEN
JAXUS
I t sat wrong with me, letting Faolan just fly off into the wilds, with no plan, no experience of this realm and no coin. But if any fae could make it work and come out on top, it was him. I had no doubt he would be fine and he deserved his freedom. He knew how to find us and I had a feeling we would be seeing him again.
We had agreed to take Emrys with us back to the capital and present him as a healer who travelled with us from the Forest Kingdom to work in the palace. Kiera knew a spell that would disguise his dragon scent from the rest of us shifting fae, and no one would question more healers being sent when they were so short. It would give him purpose and help him adjust, too, which was important to me. I knew how critical that was to his integration.
Emrys had been quiet since we parted ways. Having left the rest of his family behind, I believed he had been clinging on to having Faolan still with him. But I would ensure he would never be alone.
I flew with Kiera and Emrys mounted on my back as we had decided that we couldn’t risk two dragons being seen arriving in the First Kingdom. We couldn’t do anything to arouse suspicion at this point, having been gone for weeks. We would rely on the story that Kiera’s condition had taken this long to heal and we just had to hope that it was believed.
As we flew in over the city a patrol flight met us, checking the identity of an incoming dragon, but quickly let us pass once they identified us. By the time we reached the palace, it was dusk and the skyline looked beautiful. I hadn’t realized how in my months here I had come to feel so at home, but as much as I was happy to see Amaya again, this felt like a homecoming too.
We set down on the landing of the healer’s wing, eager to stash Emrys in Kiera’s quarters before anyone could identify what he was.
“Go straight to my rooms, and I’ll go see my father and let him know I’m home safe and well. Then we won’t be disturbed,” Kiera instructed, heading for his offices.
Emrys walked side by side with me and when we reached Kiera’s rooms, I welcomed him inside and closed the door.
He looked around, setting down his bags and taking in Kiera’s space with a charmed smile. “This place is like nothing I expected,” he finally spoke.
I smiled. “It’s a lot to get used to,” I agreed. “This is where Kiera lives, but I think you’ll be staying here for tonight at least,” I told him.
“I don’t want Kiera to have to sleep elsewhere, I’ll sleep anywhere.” He argued.
“Nonsense, old friend. You are with us now, and when I first arrived here, I was made welcome and provided for, the same will be done for you. Besides, when we left, Kiera and I were not in the place we are now. We were living apart. I’m not about to settle for returning to that state. She will be staying with me. Where that is, I do not care, but we will no longer need two residences. And I can’t exactly put you in my room in the barracks, surrounded by dragons, and hope your disguised smell holds, can I?”
Emrys nodded, “That makes sense. In that case, I appreciate it.”
“I’m happy to have you here. You will be invaluable to the coming struggles. I have no doubt. But more than that, I missed you when I left before.”
Emrys clasped my shoulder. “You’ll miss Drystan, won’t you?”
“I’ll miss them all, but I knew what I was leaving behind, and Drystan knew what he was doing by staying.”
“I’ll miss them too, but I had given all I could to Kerani. It’s time to find a place where I have something fresh to offer.”
The door opened, and Kiera stepped in, locking it behind her.
“Father is just leaving to visit a clinic in the north, so I let him know we are home and that I’ll catch him up when he returns in a few days. We won’t be disturbed while I make the potion we need for your scent, then we won’t have to worry who we run into.”
Relieved, I nodded. “Was he pleased to see you home?”
“Yes, Gran sent word that we had gone to the Rainforest Kingdom to seek a root to speed up my recovery, so he expected us to be gone for a while.”
“Your Gran is a gift,” I grinned.
“They say I take after her,” Kiera beamed.
“Then she must be quite a female,” Emrys said.
Jaxus raised his brows. “If you take after her, my life will not be dull.”
Kiera blushed slightly. But now that I was free to show my feelings for my mate, I would not hide them from anyone. She needed to get used to it.
“Father did say that we should look in on Nyx. Apparently his condition has not improved and Father has been assisting Zaria. He’s glad we are back in time to take over because he was concerned about Zaria coping on her own while he was gone.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Emrys said, concerned.
“I know,” agreed Kiera.
“Okay, let’s make you smell like a regular, non-shifting fae, and then we can go check on them.” She crossed to her workbench, immediately selecting a fire bowl and a number of ingredients.
I knocked on the door to Nyx and Zaria’s rooms and we waited. It wasn’t late and I had been surprised not to find them still in their offices. But according to the flyers we’d encountered on our tour, they were in their rooms for the evening already. Most unlike them.
The door cracked open and Zaria peeked out, blinking for a moment in a daze. When she registered who was standing at her door, she squeaked and threw it open. First throwing her arms around Kiera and muttering relieved greetings.
“Thank the Goddess, you look so well!” she cooed, catching my eye over her shoulder and reaching out a hand to greet me rather than letting Kiera go. “You too, Jaxus, you were gone too long.” Then she stilled and released Kiera. “Emrys?”
“It’s wonderful to see you again, Zaria,” Emrys said.
Zaria looked between us in shock, then threw herself at Emrys, who caught her in a warm embrace.
“What is going on?” she asked.
“Shall we come in and fill you in?” I suggested .
She peeled herself off Emrys and stepped back. “Sure, come in. But I must warn you. Nyx is—well, he’s worse.”
Kiera put a supportive arm around Zaria’s shoulder. “We are here to help,” she consoled, and Zaria’s raw emotion and exhaustion showed on her face in that moment.
We entered their rooms behind Zaria, and she showed us to the sitting area. “Would you like tea?” she offered, wringing her hands.
“I’ll make it. You sit,” I told her.
“Where is Nyx?” Kiera asked.
“He’s sleeping,” she sighed. “Your father has been giving him a draft to take this week because he was getting almost no sleep at all. He wakes in the night calling for Kol. He says he can feel him, and his distress is unbearable. Then, once he fully wakes, he realizes he can’t actually feel him at all, but since it had felt so real in the moment, it’s like he loses him all over again. It’s excruciating to watch. So naturally, we are both exhausted during the day and unable to rest fully at night. It’s taking its toll.”
Kiera held her hand. “We are here now,” she soothed. “I’m sorry we were gone so long, but you are not alone anymore. And I’m working on something that could be a longer-term treatment.”
Zaria broke down at her words of reassurance. Gathered in Kiera’s arms, she sobbed.
I brought a tray of tea over and served cups to each of us and we let Zaria just release all the stress she was holding on to, safe in the arms of a friend who was here to help. It was heart breaking, but she needed it.
Emrys rubbed his hand on her back to offer his own comfort and after a moment I realized both he and Kiera were using healing magic to bring down Zaria’s stress levels and treat her exhaustion .
I was glad we arrived when we did. I didn’t know how much more Zaria had left to give without her friends around her.
After long moments under the healers’ ministrations, she sniffled and sat back up.
“I’m sorry about that. I feel better now,” she said sheepishly. “I’m just so glad you’re home,” she squeezed Kiera’s hand. “Are you well now? You look marvelous.”
“I’m fully healed now,” Kiera glanced at me and grinned. “Mostly thanks to the power of our mate bond.”
Zaria gasped and smacked her hand over her mouth, her eyes shining once more with tears. “That’s amazing news!” she said with obvious joy, then her face fell. “Oh no?—“
“What is it?” Kiera asked.
“He’s going to be insufferable,” she rolled her eyes.
“Who, Nyx?”
Zaria nodded. “He told me this would happen, and I said he couldn’t possibly know.”
I laughed.
“This is so exciting, though! You have to tell me everything. But for the love of the Goddess, please tell me how you’ve come to be here,” she said to Emrys.
“It’s a very long story,” Kiera told her.
Just then, an extremely frayed-looking Nyx wandered in, ruffling his hair and rubbing sleep from his eyes.
“What is a long story?” He said sleepily.
Zaria jumped up, crossing the room to him and studying his face. “Did the draft not work tonight?” she asked, her voice full of concern.
He gave her a soft smile. “I didn’t take it yet, Sol. I just fell asleep while you were in the bathing chamber and got a little nap in, I’m good.” He kissed her forehead and then glanced around the room.
Stunned, he looked from me to Kiera, to Emrys, and then back to me. “Okay, I think I’m going to need to hear this long story!”