Chapter 30
The sun had slowly shifted in the sky and dipped down toward the horizon when Lioran slid back into the room.
He leaned in toward me, his lips lingering on my forehead. I sank into the bed, resigning myself to the journey without him.
“I will take you home,” he said.
“How?”
Lioran folded his hands together. “It doesn’t matter. We will have our time together.”
My heart stalled in my chest as I sat up. The moment the lines etched further in the creases around his brow—I knew. There was something he wasn’t telling me. “How, Lioran?”
“I promised I will marry.”
Hearing his words, I felt something shatter within me. I wept. My fingers wrapped around the posts of the bed, pressing tightly into the wood. Lioran wiped the tears from my cheeks.
“Aelira?” Cora peeked her head around the massive door. Fyn was beside her, but he looked as shaken as he had when Lioran was unconscious on his horse.
“Fyn…” I lifted my head toward them.
“What’s wrong?” Lioran asked. Cora’s fingers trembled—her whole body trembled.
She choked on her tears. “I…had…another vision.”
“What was it?” Lioran’s tone was sharp.
Cora stumbled back—Fyn’s arm embraced her. “You…”
“Tell them, Cora.” Fyn’s voice unraveled.
“It was about the Myrwood Grove. I know exactly what you must do.” Cora sobbed.
I gripped Lioran, waiting for her to finish. “The tree in the center of the Grove—you must connect with it and bind your magic to it. Once you do, you will give to it until it can restore.”
“And then my magic is gone?” My voice cracked.
She stumbled again, and Fyn held her steady. “It won’t just take your magic.”
Lioran gripped my arms, bracing me as we heard the news together.
“Don’t say it.” Lioran’s words fell flat even in anger.
The weight of the onyx bore down on me, its chill running into my veins.
“I’m sorry, had I known—I would never have said anything at all.”
Even without her words, I knew. Fyn’s eyes watered. Lioran’s grip on me tightened.
Cora reached for me. “It’s all my fault. I thought it would just take your magic, but you...”
“I won’t survive it,” I said.
Cora held a desperate silence.
The onyx ran ice cold on my chest; I attempted to warm it with my fingers—wanted to feel its lull, but it wasn’t there. The air pulled from my lungs. They constricted with what little remained. My choice didn’t give me a future of my own—I had bargained my life, so that everyone I loved would live.
“There has to be a way around this.” Lioran stiffened behind me, his arms wrapped around me, holding me upright.
“Lioran.” Fyn’s hand set on Lioran’s arm.
“I will find a way…” He rocked me in his arms. “I can’t lose you.”
I gasped for air, until my eyelids fell heavy—life slowly being drained from me.
“Aelira, you need to breathe.” Cora’s words pierced through her muffled sobs. I couldn’t…I pulled at Lioran, desperate.
“Leave us.” Lioran’s tears soaked my hair. “Leave!” he yelled.
“She needs…” Cora reached for him, but pulled back.
He lowered me to the floor. “Aelira, I’ve got you…breathe. Breathe with me.” Lioran inhaled and exhaled loudly. I mirrored each breath until the room stopped spinning around us.
“Just breathe.” I was desperate for the hope he offered.
Lioran remained with me. I stopped shaking in his arms. Our time here was stolen, but soon, we would be together in a way the High Court could not control.
The glaring truth haunted me. I gripped the leather book, trailed the familiar embossed flowers. I hadn’t stopped to speak with my father since we arrived.
My mind was too cluttered with the decision to be made. It was one that only I could make. I didn’t want him, or anyone else to tell me what to do. But since I made the bargain, everything had shifted. I needed him.
“I am here at the High Court. I need to find you.”
I am not at the High Court.
Someday we will be together again, but the time is not now.
The words fell heavy on me. “I made a bargain…to heal the land.” The words barely escaped my lips. “Cora had a vision. I didn’t survive it.”
Your magic is strong, stronger than you imagine.
No one can know what will happen.
“I’m scared.” I said it out loud for the first time.
It is normal to fear what you do not know.
When you came through the divide you knew nothing of this world.
You crossed with only your hope that it would be worth it.
Was it?
I thought of Lioran, Fyn, and Cora…my family. The family I always wanted, they were there for me always.
“Yes, it was.”
Go into Myrwood Grove with the same hope.
Embrace your days with those you love while you have them.
We never know when our days may be our last.
You will never regret the moments you take with those you love.
“I just wanted…” I couldn’t bring myself to say the rest. My eyes closed as I pictured the life with Lioran all over again—all the things we would not have.
What you want is beautiful.
Allow yourself to have those thoughts, those dreams—stopping them does nothing, but deprive you of joy.
“Do you think I will die?”
I think you live a beautiful life…
revel in it as long as you can.
Live, Aelira.
He was right; it wasn’t over yet. I would choose to live until I couldn’t any longer.
I barely slept that night, nor did Cora. Our tears filled the void of the foreign room, echoing and cracking in the stillness of the night. I longed for Lioran, wishing he was there to hold me. We would return home to Lythira—there, I would love him until the very end.
I dressed in my riding tunic as Cora silently tidied our things.
The few possessions we brought were carted out of the space.
As we quietly escaped the palace halls for the last time, I noticed how somber the paintings were.
The flowers lacked their natural hue—as if stifled—molded to what they should have been.
Lioran and Fyn greeted us at the end of the hall. Lioran’s bloodshot eyes met mine before the four of us walked in silence together.
Wind poured in through the open palace doors, lulling me out into the open. The instant I stepped beyond the grand entrance, the onyx’s warmth returned. A melody danced on the wind, distant and faint—Lythira was calling me.
It was time to go home.
As we descended the grand silver steps, I heard a frantic, but familiar voice call.
“Lioran.” The queen trailed the steps behind him, she was a blur of silver in my tear-streaked view.
“You will take them back and return to us quickly. Your future bride will be waiting.” She reached out to touch him, but Lioran pulled away.
He wouldn’t look at her. The queen’s smile vanished.
“Thank you for inviting me to your court.” My voice held steady, even though I had nothing to thank her for at all.
“Don’t forget your promise, Lioran.” Her words softened.
“Rest assured, Mother—I will not forget anything we discussed.” He glared at her.
“Your sacrifice for our kingdom has not gone unnoticed. Your father would have been very proud of the woman you’ve become.” Her hand grazed my arm. I stilled under her touch.
I gripped Lioran as the words settled.
He would have been proud…would.