Chapter 39
Jaxon
“We are going to be late.”
Julian's voice sounded from the doorway, and I looked up from the desk to meet his enlarged black eyes as he tapped his foot impatiently. He was wearing a black silken button-up with a matching black suit, and I smirked at the familiar material.
“Trying to channel your inner Xavier?”
Julian’s cheeks heated. “I think he will appreciate the sentiment.”
I chuckled, shuffling the papers on my desk. “I’m sure he will.”
Ignoring the sharp pain of grief passing through me, I shoved aside the map that I had been viewing, stacking it with the others as I started rolling them to be put away. I had been studying them vigilantly this past week, preparing for the inevitable.
My gaze cut to the stack of letters lying open on the corner of the desk and sighed.
That curse the Fate had placed on our land was now broken. Our borders were once again opened to the rest of the world, a world that had been forgotten and one that had been made to forget about us.
Nexia was no longer the only kingdom on those maps.
We ended a war, only to be thrust into the unknown.
We knew nothing of the other kingdoms, their lands, or their cultures. Only those who lived here long before Morgana still remembered, and most of them were now dead, either from this war or the last.
Thankfully, those who did remember came forward, and Julian recorded what he could in preparation. Too many families were separated because of it, and learning about what happened to them due to my family weighed heavier than the crown I now wore.
My gaze cut to the letters again as I placed the maps in a drawer.
They had arrived a few days after the battle ended, after the curse broke.
Three letters. Three kingdoms. Each demanding an audience.
But that wasn’t the type of ruler I was.
I couldn’t be summoned. It was no doubt a test, and Julian and Soren were preparing, negotiating on my behalf.
Given our current fragile state, my people needed me here—especially now that Velra had been permanently bound to our land.
There was no longer a portal. No gate. Whatever the Fate had done, it had fused their land fully with ours.
The borders were now seamlessly connected as if they always had been.
Even the maps reflected it, just as they now reflected the others.
Lex, the leader of their rebellion, had taken over as regent. He didn't like me, but that was understandable. My family was the reason his mate was now dead. Although he now knew that I hadn't been the one to kill Lana, tensions were still high between us.
Most everyone from Velra had surrendered the moment Morgana died.
The others, those who were most loyal to Morgana, fled.
It was going to take a long time to get back to anywhere that resembled normal.
We had to rebuild and adjust to so much.
And I needed my brother. But he was dead.
Zara was dead, and I only hoped I was ready for what was to come.
I stood up from the desk, grabbing my jacket off the chair.
We already had their funerals. The entire kingdom came to pay their respects, to honor their sacrifices. Their fallen king, his mate, and their steward. Along with too many others...
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a silver engraved pocket watch. Glancing at the time, I sighed and put it back, my fingers brushing against scratchy parchment. I pulled the crumpled paper from my pocket and stared down at it for what felt like the thousandth time.
The autumnal equinox. Sunrise.
It was the only thing that held me together this past month. The only thing that kept me putting one foot forward—that and Aria.
A smile touched my lips, and my hand moved to my neck, to the winged burn peeking from my black button-up. My hand then lowered to my chest, and I traced the raised skin.
Our mating mark.
It had seared into my flesh the instant the Fates broke the curse, like a brand. A griffin in flight, in honor of Agatha and Aria's bravery. A true act of love.
The Fates had tampered with our bond, with our minds.
I would have been furious, had the memory of us agreeing not also returned.
We had consented to it, for our kingdom, our future–to save us all.
They had buried our bond beneath the curse.
Wove it within it. Whenever our minds wandered to why we weren't together, it would scramble our thoughts, our memories.
It would force us to feel emotions we didn't actually feel.
It was why Aria had been so perpetually angry all the time.
We both knew we should be together but we were forced time and time again to ignore it.
For centuries I had been miserable… and that misery led me to steal my brother's soul, open a goddamn realm and search for a mother that hadn't even been my mother.
It was all fucked up.
The Fates manipulated us like puppets, dictating this path for all of us. And it was my thread, my choices, that had been the butterfly effect that destroyed Morgana. My fate that killed my brother.
That knowledge was suffocating, but there was nothing I could do to change any of it. We had been forced to relinquish our will, our choices, our timeline to Fate so that the balance of all worlds, all existence was kept safe. Their knowledge.
We were just collateral.
I shrugged on my jacket and tried to push away the grief and anger that welled up inside me. I glanced back at Julian and forced a smile as he spoke.
“Soren said—”
“I know what he said, Julian. We are going.”
“We are cutting it pretty close,” he muttered, and I rolled my eyes at him as I slung my arm around his shoulders.
“Have you gathered the others?”
“They're already in the hall. The boat for Theo's departure is ready, and the temple on the cliff has been cleared,” Julian sighed, his fingers twitching nervously as he wrung them in front of him.
“Then it looks like you have everything in order. We are right on time.”
“We only have until sunset. I want to make sure we spend that time—”
“Julian, relax. I promise we will make the most of it.” I yawned, dramatically stretching my arms above my head. “I might need a nap first though.”
Julian shot me a sideways glare, and I laughed, pushing him aside.
“I'm joking.”
Julian smiled softly, and we continued down the hall as I silently began to prepare myself. The Fates had given us one last gift, and we weren’t going to waste it. Not one second of it.