Chapter 11
Jaxon
The sun was low on the horizon as I approached Aria’s camp, my horse already cantering off into the woods to graze.
I imagined Aria’s stormy expression when she discovered I’d been assigned to watch over her, and it made me consider turning back.
She’d be displeased to see me for more reasons than one, and I tried to prepare myself for what I knew was going to be a long night.
“Hey, you! Stop right there!” a guard's voice boomed from my right. He blended in with the trees, his emerald and black uniform a perfect camouflage, but I'd gotten good at spotting them. I flicked my eyes in his direction, but kept walking, ignoring him. “I said stop!” he bellowed again.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something hurtling towards me.
With a subtle flick of my wrist, the earth rose up, forming a barrier that blocked his weak attack.
His arrow, propelled by wind, ricocheted off the rocks and shot back toward him.
He yelped, ducking from the oncoming attack, and when he peeked out again, his eyes widened in recognition as he took me in.
His anger vanished, replaced by sheer panic, as he began to stammer.
“P-p-prince Jaxon, I'm-I-I'm—”
I stopped him by holding up my hand. “Where is she?” My voice was sharp, laced with annoyance.
It wasn't at him, but at having to do this, to be here.
The guard's gaze flickered to the branches above, and I sighed.
I should have known. “You are dismissed,” I commanded, and the guard practically sprinted towards the camp, his armor clanking at his sides as he fled.
I turned and looked up into the branches of the trees overhead, my eyes meeting Aria's cold, fiery gaze.
She was perched on a branch, bow in hand, an arrow pointed straight at my chest. Flames erupted along the arrow's shaft, and I twisted out of the way just in time to avoid it as it flew past me.
I spun around, my glare locking onto her smirking face.
“Not exactly smart to shoot at your prince,” I hissed. “Then again, poor judgment seems to be a theme with you these days.”
“Want to say that again?” she spat, nocking another arrow into place.
A searing pain shot through my arm as her arrow grazed my skin. I blinked, watching blood trickle down my arm, my skin already knitting itself back together. A bit stunned, I looked back up at her, one eyebrow slightly raised. “You shot at me!?”
“You’re alive, aren’t you?” Aria said indifferently, her voice floating down like silk.
She dropped from her perch in the trees to a lower branch just above me, slinging her bow across her back with lazy ease.
She straddled the weathered branch, legs dangling, and began picking at her nails, a smug little smile tugging at her lips.
Her hair hung loose around her shoulders, catching the wind and blending into the horizon, which was still setting behind her.
The red of the sky matched the red of her hair, wild and untamed.
A loose white shirt clung to her frame, tucked into tight black pants that hugged her thighs.
My gaze dragged down her body, unable to stop myself. She was beautiful. I always thought she was beautiful. My eyes lingered on her full lips, and she noticed, her smile vanishing as it pressed into a tight line.
“What do you want, Jaxon?”
Ignoring her ire, I pulled my lips into a cocky smirk that I knew she hated. “That’s a tough question. I want many things.”
“Well, you made it clear you don’t want one thing,” Aria snapped, her eyes flashing as if she were surprised she had said it as well. My smirk fell away.
“I'm not here to talk about that, that is, unless you finally want to.” Hope bloomed in my chest, but it quickly vanished.
“We have nothing to discuss on that matter,” she said with blatant distaste.
“What are you doing here, Jaxon?” Aria swung her leg over the branch so that both legs now dangled off one side.
We stared at each other in silence for a moment before she pushed herself off the branch, landing with a thump on the ground in front of me.
“You are becoming a problem,” I stepped closer, jaw clenching, “and I was ordered to come here and talk to you about it.”
Aria’s eyes blazed and she let out a strangled noise from her throat before hitting me in the shoulder and striding away.
I grabbed her arm before she could get far and turned her back around to face me. “We have enough problems to deal with without adding your ire to them. You are putting your soldiers, this kingdom at risk. Is that what you want? To see this realm go up in flames?”
Aria barked a laugh and ripped her arm out of my grasp. “Coming from the boy who wanted to find his mother so badly that he opened up the goddamn realm that started all of this!”
A growl tore from my lips. “You know that’s not what started all of this. They were already here.”
Aria took a step back. “So, what? Your brother doesn’t have the balls to come talk to me himself? Had to send his little brother to fix his mess?”
“His mess?” My eyebrows shot up. “My brother has better things to do than come and fix your adolescent ego. Everything isn’t always about you, Aria,” I snapped, my hands balling into fists at my sides.
Aria scoffed, turning away again and storming for the camp.
“Aria!” I yelled, hurrying after her into the thick woods.
She had picked a good location for their camp.
The trees were so dense around us, it would be nearly impossible for anyone to approach without being noticed.
We emerged into a wide clearing, where dingy, gray canvas tents were scattered throughout.
Her griffins, Agatha, Tria, and Dimitri, were in the middle of the camp, lounging lazily at its center.
Golden fur flashed and I watched as Agatha's massive paw padded lightly at a butterfly; her beak chirped as her honey colored eyes tracked its movements.
Agatha abruptly stopped as she heard us approach. Flipping onto her feet, she crouched low, growling menacingly as she tucked her massive golden-brown wings into her side. Her eyes landed on me and her growl seemed to intensify.
By the fates, she was vicious.
The other two griffins didn’t pay us any mind.
Tria, the smallest of the griffins, yawned and rolled over on the ground, putting her back to us as if she were bored.
Dimitri, whose feathers and fur were spotted with black, had been sleeping and merely huffed in our direction, cracking one eye before closing it again in annoyance.
Agatha tracked my every step as she watched me follow Aria into her tent. I stuck my tongue out at her before the tent flaps closed around me, and a snarl echoed throughout the camp, making me chuckle.
“Agatha, stop,” Aria ordered, and silence fell over the camp once more. Aria glowered in my direction. “Don’t antagonize her.”
“I don’t know what you mean.” Shrugging, I flashed my teeth at her before scanning her tent. I glanced at the maps spread openly on the desk beside Aria’s bed and frowned.
Aria noticed where I was looking. “They're fake,” she said, walking over to a basin and splashing water on her face.
“I don't leave anything important out in our camps.
They're decoys. Each tent has something different.
Nobody knows what the decoys are, so if anything goes missing, I'll know we have a traitor in our camp or an intruder.”
Slightly impressed, I nodded. “Smart.” Stretching out across her cot, I leaned back with my hands behind my head and wiggled to get comfortable.
“Get out.” Aria turned fully toward me, her hand lit with flames, and I only shook my head at her.
“I'm not leaving until this is resolved,” I retorted, flashing her my teeth. She growled again, but her flames died down.
“He should be the one here, working tirelessly to break this cursed ward.
He should be assisting me, not punishing me for trying.
I'm doing everything—anything—I can to stop them. To reclaim what's mine.” Aria snapped the words like a whip, and my brows shot up. She couldn’t be serious?
I pushed up slowly, settling into a seated position on the cot, my arms resting on my knees.
“It’s not yours, Aria,” I hissed. “It’s his. And all you're doing is hurting your people more with these reckless stunts. Why do you think I’m even here? Because Xavier just sensed what you were up to?”
I let the silence drag a beat before continuing.
“Your soldiers went over your head. They reached out to him. Because they were afraid of you. Afraid you will be the reason their kingdom gets invaded further. That you will be the reason they fail him, their families, their neighbors. You.”
She winced at my words, attempting to conceal it, but I'd already seen. I hated the flicker of pain that rippled across her expression.
“Gunnar and Julian have been working nonstop on the wards. That’s their job, not yours.
Yours is to protect this kingdom, to make sure we’re ready when they come back.
But your people? They’re too exhausted to fight.
And you are the reason there’s weakness in our ranks.
You’re giving the enemy the crack they need to break through.
” My voice rose with the last words, and I stood, every muscle taut with frustration.
“He is mated to our enemy!” Aria shouted. “How can we trust him or put our faith in him now?” Her voice cracked as she reached for reasons to justify her actions.
I only shook my head.
“He is your king. Aria, you grew up with him, trained with him, and you know exactly the kind of male he is,” I snarled. “He has no control over who he is mated to or who our mother is. Only the fates know why this is happening.”
Aria scoffed, lips parting as if she had a retort ready, but I didn’t give her the chance. I stalked forward, forcing her to tilt her chin up as I loomed over her.