Chapter 51
Reign
Flying is liberating. It’s the only time I feel like I can escape it all.
There’s something calming about the wind brushing my hair and the distance between me and the world below.
It’s almost as if everything that happens down there is only a dream.
But the delusion of it all only exists when I’m soaring through the sky.
The moment my feet touch the ground, it quickly disappears.
“So, are you going to tell me what’s going on with you and Ryder?” Kane asks once I shed my phoenix form.
“Not you, too.”
“Your friends like to talk,” he says with a shrug. “I just listen.”
“Well, what have you heard?”
“Hmm, let’s see. I know about the little garden date Amaya set up for you two, and I know about the curse. That’s quite the inconvenience.”
“Tell me about it,” I say, tossing my head back.
“How does Damien fit into all of this?”
I move my foot around in circles over the dark grey dirt. “I don’t know. I’m not even sure where I fit into all of this.” I lift my head back up to look at Kane. “How did you know Lytia was the one for you?”
His face lights up at just the mention of her, and it warms my heart.
“Lytia brought me to life. That’s how it felt when I was with her.
Even when we were apart, her letters had a way of awakening parts of me that had long been asleep.
” His smile reaches his eyes as he talks about their love.
“I guess you should ask yourself which one of them does that for you. Which one of them makes you feel most alive? Which one of them makes you the best version of yourself?”
“What if they both have that effect on me?”
“Then I guess you have to decide for yourself which is the one you can’t live without.”
It’s not the answer I wanted. How am I supposed to decide that? Right now, I can’t imagine not having them both in my life. I’ve already lost so many people. I can’t lose anymore.
But that’s what will happen. If I choose Damien, I’ll lose Ryder. But if I choose Ryder, I’ll lose Damien. It feels like an impossible choice.
The first Skycap was fun, but over time it has grown into something even more spectacular.
The witches and fae have added shows where they get to show off their unique talents, and sometimes the shapeshifters put on competitions for everyone to bet on.
All of the magic aside though, my favorite part is getting to be all together.
“Look what I have.” Amaya swings the bag of meltpuffs in Emeric’s face, and he snatches them with one fell swoop.
“My sweet little angels,” Emeric chimes before popping one into his mouth.
“Over here, Em!” Elias motions and Emeric tosses one up for him to catch in his mouth. It’s no surprise when he catches it on his tongue. Elias is one of those people who seems to be naturally good at everything.
“I hope you all don’t mind, I invited someone to join us.” Amaya nods, and I turn around to find Ryder walking up.
My heart skips a beat just seeing him. He’s never come to one of the Skycaps before, let alone joined me and my friends for anything that didn’t involve talk of war.
To my surprise, everyone welcomes him with open arms. I don’t know why I expected anything different.
It’s not like he’s a stranger. I guess it’s just weird seeing him in this kind of setting.
At least Kane is also a new addition tonight. It makes Ryder’s presence feel slightly less strange. Emeric scoots over and pats one of the pillows, motioning for Ryder to sit next to him. I don’t miss the wink Amaya gives Ryder when he settles in. Of course, his being here was her idea.
“What did I miss?” he asks, directing the question to my meddlesome sister.
“Nothing yet,” Amaya answers with a devilish grin. “I was actually just getting ready to tell everyone about the game I have planned for tonight.”
Oh, boy. Normally, I would be excited by the idea of a new game, but now that Ryder is here, I find myself being more nervous than excited.
“What’d you come up with?” Akari asks as she props herself up on her right elbow.
“Okay, so it’s called Truth or Consequence.
” Amaya reveals a small bag and reaches into it, pulling out a piece of paper.
“We’ll go around one at a time and pull out a piece of paper with a question on it.
You have two choices: answer the question honestly or flip it over and do the consequence listed on the back.
Of course, there’s a magical twist to it.
I had one of the luminaries spell each paper.
Once you pick out your question, you have to fulfill the task.
Should you try to get out of it, the spell will trigger a sort of temporary truth serum that will activate and make you spill the truth whether you want to or not. ”
She seems far too pleased with herself as the rest of us look to each other with a bit of wariness. The only one who seems to be thrilled about the added magical pressure is Emeric.
Amaya holds the red, velvet bag out in front of her. “So, who wants to go first?”
Emeric is already reaching for the bag before she has a chance to call someone out. I’m hoping I can go after a few people, so I at least know what to expect.
“Wow! Okay, so this is not what I was expecting,” Emeric tells the group.
“What’s it say?” his brother probes.
“Out of everyone in the group, whose ass do you think you could kick the easiest?” Em looks at each of us before stopping on Zane. “Sorry, dude. It’s gotta be you.”
Zane’s jaw drops, and he pretends to look overly offended. “Honestly, that’s fair considering everyone else in this group.”
“See, that wasn’t so bad!” Amaya says, passing the bag to Kane. “Your turn.”
“Here goes nothing,” he quips, reaching his hand in.
“Who do you think puts on the biggest front? Hmm. I don’t know you all as much as you know each other, but there is someone here who I thought I knew until recently.
I was pleasantly surprised, however, to find out that there was more than just a ruthless, dark prince behind those threatening shadows. ”
Kane nods to Ryder, who offers one in return as if to say “touché.”
“I think Amaya should go next,” Zane insists, and we all agree.
“Fine!” She sticks her tongue out at us and pulls out a slip of paper. “Oh, no.”
“What’s it say?” Akari demands as the suspense builds.
“Who do you think is the biggest liar of the group? Yeah… I’m gonna have to go with Consequence on this one.” She turns over the piece of paper and reads it aloud. “You must now do your best impression of each person.”
By the end of her performance, we’re caught in a fit of laughter.
Amaya can barely pull herself together to finish, but she finds a way.
The only person not crying with laughter is Ryder, but even he can’t resist bursting out when Amaya impersonates Emeric.
She takes a dramatic bow before sitting back down.
“Well done!” Akari cheers with a round of applause.
“Your turn, Bestie.” Amaya tosses me the bag of questions with a sinister grin that reignites my nerves.
I hesitantly reach into the bag and pull out my question. Before I even read it out loud, I glare at my evil sister. She only shrugs, attempting to appear innocent.
“Go on, Reign. What’s it say?” Kane urges.
I run the slip of paper through my fingers to straighten it. “Tell the person sitting two to your left how you truly feel about them.”
I don’t know how Amaya pulled this one off, but if I had to assume, there must be some magical spell that made it to where I was the one to get this question.
Amaya isn’t the only one to blame, though.
I can see by the smile Emeric is trying and failing to hide that he played his part when he motioned for Ryder to sit next to him.
“Well, what’s it going to be? Truth? Or Consequence?” Amaya chirps from the other side of Ryder, who looks just as uncomfortable as I do.
“Consequence,” I answer smugly.
I’m not ready to tell Ryder how I truly feel about him because the truth is I am in love with him.
It just doesn’t feel right crossing that line when Damien still has no idea about any of this.
Plus, when I finally do tell Ryder, it should be when we’re alone and not because of some silly game. He deserves that much.
“Consequence it is then,” Amaya replies, matching my smugness.
When I look down at the other side of the paper, I realize why she’s acting that way.
“Well, read it for the group.” Zane waves his hand around impatiently.
I sigh. “Take the person for a stroll through the bonfires and hold hands the entire time.”
I look to Ryder and expect him to simply vanish from this whole awkward situation, but instead he nods to me.
When I reach for his hand to pull him up off the ground, I hesitate. “Are you sure this is okay?”
He takes my hand in his. “Yes, Princess.” I shake my head, and he takes the lead, walking us out to the center of the lined firepits.
“I’m sorry about all this.”
“Don’t be,” he reassures, squeezing my hand a little tighter.
“I’m surprised you came,” I tell him as we continue on down the lit path.
“I may have been pushed a little.” He turns to me. “But I’m glad I came. I like seeing you like this with them.”
“Like what?”
“Relaxed. Unburdened by all the things you normally let weigh you down.”
“They tend to have that effect on me when we’re all together. Maybe you’ll let it rub off on you,” I suggest, not quite as casually as I had hoped.
“Is that your way of telling me you want me around more often?” he asks with a cheeky smirk that makes my heart flutter.
“I guess it wouldn’t be the worst thing,” I tease with a nonchalant shrug.
As we make our way down the aisle of ashy terrain, I can’t help but notice everyone stop to bow as we pass by. If we were back in Strellesia, I wouldn’t think twice about it, but here it doesn’t happen as often. Everyone is much more relaxed around him than back in the kingdom.
“Did I miss something?” I stop and look around at the groups of people who have stopped what they were doing to show their respect for their king.
“They’re not bowing to me, Reign. They’re bowing to you.”
I almost hurt myself with how fast my head whips around to look at him. “Me? But I’m not their queen.”
He starts walking again and takes me with him. “Maybe not, but to them you could be.”
“Why?” I ask, still confused by it all.
“Because of this.” He lifts my hand that is still intertwined with his. “But also because they know you.”
“What? No, they don’t. I mean, sure, some of them do, but I don’t know most of the people here.”
“They may not know you personally, but they know that you defied my father, and they’ve heard what you endured while you were held captive.
Besides, most of them are aware you possess special gifts, even if they don’t know the exact details.
If I asked them to follow you, they would.
Not just because I asked it of them, but because they believe in you, too. ”
“I don’t deserve it.”
Ryder instantly tugs our connected hands, turning me toward him. His thumb gently strokes my cheek, igniting my heat.
“Don’t ever say that.” His brows pinch with seriousness.
“Your strength and resilience deserve to be admired and respected. Whether or not you believe it, you were born to be a leader.” He puts a finger up, stopping me from arguing.
“Not because you were born from The Mother as a phoenix, but because you have an unwavering calling to fight for what is right. It’s embedded in you like it’s embedded in me. ”
I don’t say anything. Instead, I take in his words as I look around at the people who make up this new place I call my home. It makes me wonder what each of their stories is, and I find myself wanting to feel closer to them.
Ryder seems to read my thoughts because the next thing he says is, “Do you want to show them who you are? The version of you that you’ve kept hidden?”
I don’t need him to clarify. I know what he means.
For so long, I kept my powers at bay in fear that the king would collect me, and after I found out I was a phoenix, I never wanted to share that part of myself until I was sure what it all meant.
But even though I still don’t have it all figured out, I find myself ready to share it now.
“I’m nervous,” I admit, squeezing his hand a little tighter.
“I know,” he says, rubbing his thumb over the top of it in circular motions. “What if we join you? Your friends and I?”
“You would do that?”
“For you, I would do anything.” He looks up at the sky. “You know, the whole point of these Skycaps is for everyone to share their gifts with each other.” He focuses back on me. “It’s time everyone gets to see yours.”
“Let’s do it,” I agree with a smile.
When we make it back to the group, Emeric and Elias immediately take to the sky in their dragon forms. Even with Elias still missing a leg, he seems to be able to move around just fine in his shapeshifter form. I suppose it helps that he has three legs and two wings to help him maneuver.
Akari follows behind, and it’s only the third time I’ve seen her with her fae wings splayed out.
I have yet to find out what her power does.
It’s an unspoken rule that no one asks about it.
Maybe it has something to do with her past. Perhaps there was an accident or something that made her not want to share that part of herself with others. I, of all people, can understand.
“You ready?” Kane asks, standing next to me.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”