Chapter Nineteen
Kade
T he camp lay still, save for the whispering leaves and the occasional snort of a slumbering horse. My feet carried me swiftly toward Ace's tent.
I hesitated at the entrance, the fabric flapping softly against my hand as if urging me onward.
The musty scent of medicinal herbs and dried blood assaulted my senses as I stepped inside.
My eyes adjusted to the still form lying on the makeshift bed—Ace, who had become more than a friend to me over the weeks he’d been in Valla's cell.
Luana sat next to him. Her head lay heavy upon her arm, cradling the edge of the bed where Ace lay motionless.
Moonlight trickled in through a slit in the tent, casting a pale glow upon her face, revealing her eyes, red and swollen.
So much sorrow and pain was written on her face, and I couldn’t imagine seeing Emelyn in such a state.
I swallowed down the image. Luana didn't move, didn't blink, her gaze fixed on Ace's peaceful-looking face, as if she were pleading silently for his eyes to open.
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat, my boots rooted to the dirt, reluctant to intrude upon her when she was so weighed down with grief. But maybe a small reprieve would be good for her. I cleared my throat, the sound abrasive in the quiet. Sniffling, she jolted upright and her eyes met mine.
"Crow, hi, sorry—" Her voice cracked, and I lifted my hand.
"No need to apologize, Lu. I understand," I said. My gaze slid past her, settling on where Ace’s chest rose and fell. "Do you mind if I have a minute alone with him?"
She gave a slow, silent nod as she stood, casting one more glance down at him before looking to me. “I could use some air. Take all the time you need.” She granted me a smile, small and fragile, as if she were on the edge of breaking all over again.
I watched her go, and then I moved to the chair she had just been in and took my seat. My hands rested on my knees, fingers drumming an uneven cadence while I studied his face, searching for any flicker of the cheeky jackass that had always burned so fiercely behind those closed eyelids.
"Hey,” I murmured, feeling a little silly that I was talking to him, knowing he probably couldn’t hear anything I would be saying.
But over the past few weeks, he had been the only person I’d had to talk to, and I couldn’t deny that I missed our conversations.
I leaned in, my voice barely more than a whisper against the silence.
"I severely fucked up," I admitted, raking a hand through my hair with a rough tug.
"Right about now, you'd have that look, the one that cuts deeper than any blade, and you'd lay out exactly how I botched things with Emelyn," I said, the corner of my mouth twitching in a semblance of a smile.
A pained chuckle huffed from my chest, as thoughts of our banter within the cold, damp cells of the palace lanced through my thoughts.
My eyes roved over him, taking in the bandages, the burns, his wings being gone.
The laughter died in my throat, replaced by a tightening coil of remorse.
"I'm so sorry, Ace," I murmured, head bowed as if in prayer to some absent god.
A moment passed. "I wish you would wake up and tell me what to do." My fingers curled into fists. "I failed you—and Emelyn. Gods, I may have lost her forever. I don’t know if she’ll ever forgive me for what happened to you." The words came faster, desperation sharpening them. "She's relentless, healing your wounds and practicing her bending day and night, and I— I'm just here, floundering in the dark. It’s ironic, isn’t it? How I’m sitting in the very thing I wield and yet I’ve never felt so fucking powerless.”
Sighing, I straightened, looking down at Ace.
"I miss you, brother .” Regardless of how Emelyn felt about me, I knew how she felt about him, and that was what he was to me now.
I would never give up on Emelyn, just like he wouldn’t.
It was probably one of the only things we could ever agree on.
And I wouldn’t give up on him, just like Emelyn wouldn’t.
I paused, jaw clenched. "I've got to leave for Iron Isle Harbor, but I'll return as soon as possible.
Emelyn will be here to continue working on you, and I'll be back to check on you both," I explained before steeling myself. I stood, the chair scraping softly against the earthy floor as I moved away. “I tried to tell her I’d be leaving, but she keeps shutting me out. You think you could tell her for me?” I asked, huffing out a breath.
“See you soon.” The tent flap fell shut with a muted thud behind me.
I opened my Hollow and was gone with my next step.