Chapter Twenty-Seven #2
“I should’ve known I couldn’t hide from you,” she said, though her gaze remained on the clouds above.
“Never,” I joked, gently nudging her with my shoulder. “What’s ailing you?”
“Is it that obvious?” Matea sighed.
“How do you think I found you? I could smell the sorrow wafting off you from down the hall.”
At that, Matea barked out a surprised chuckle.
We remained like that for a few quiet moments, listening as the waves hit the side of the ship, spraying up and wetting the window we were peering out of.
I’d learned that my sister wasn’t the type to be so easily forthcoming with her emotions, so I remained silent, giving her the space and time she needed to express herself—if she so chose to.
After a few more waves hit the side of the ship, she finally revealed what was bothering her.
“You know, this is the closest I’ve ever been to where my father is from.”
Ah, I thought. I had been curious about how visiting the Isles would affect her, but she’d insisted on not leaving me to do this without her by my side.
“And how are you feeling about that?” I asked, treading lightly on the subject. Matea still held onto the hope that both her father and our mother were somehow still alive. And I didn’t have any plans to take that faith from her.
“I’m not sure,” she sighed, sounding resigned.
“I always dreamed of coming here with him. He’d show me all his favorite spots, take me to where he used to live before he met Mother and relocated for her.
But he didn’t have any family he left behind—at least that I know of—so is there even anything for me here? ”
“Sometimes, those we care for live on through the things they loved,” I offered. “If you get a chance to sneak away while we’re here, by all means, go explore. Do what you need to do, Matty.”
She looked my way and narrowed her eyes slightly at the nickname, though she remained silent for another moment before nodding.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Good.” I made to stand up, but before I could, Matty’s hand wrapped around my wrist to pause me.
“I have something for you,” she stated, releasing me in order to reach into her cloak.
I watched with eyes full of curiosity as she pulled out two stunning bejeweled brooches. They were identical, both depicting the beautiful tree of the Ashford family crest.
“Nan and Pops got them made for us,” she explained. “You’re a part of our family now, remember? They figured you should have something official to show for it.”
“I…” I stared at the brooches in her hand, my emotions a jumbled mix of gratefulness, joy, belonging, and sorrow.
“Don’t get all emotional on me now, Viva.” She motioned to the right side of my chest. “May I?”
I nodded, still a bit stunned at the generosity the Ashford family continued to show me.
My family.
Matea reached over, gently pinning the brooch to my shirt. Though it was somewhat large, it seemed weightless, sitting snuggly in place against my chest.
I watched as my sister looked down at her own chest and pinned the second brooch in the same spot she’d put mine. She pushed her cloak to be behind her shoulders, resting on her more as a cape than a cloak, so the brooch wouldn’t be covered.
Looking back toward me, a small smile took over her lips as she took me in.
“Look at you. You have the features of a Heartshire, you wear the circlet of a Thorntier, and now you’re adorned with the crest of an Ashford.”
I took a quick moment to bask in the feeling of belonging that rose in me at her words. The weight of the circlet and brooch were light but ever-present. I’d never imagined I would be more than my father’s daughter, and yet there I was.
Not just a Heartshire, but a Thorntier and even an Ashford, too.
And as our ship docked on the Ocrein Isles, I made a promise to myself and to the Stars that I wouldn’t let any of them down.
***
If I remembered the geography correctly, we’d just arrived in Regis. Regis was the small town that had served Southerners as the main passageway in and out of the Isles for ages, being positioned on the largest Isle, nearest to Fallaine back on the continent.
The Islanders below were obviously confused, and maybe even a tad concerned, as they hovered around our ship on the docks, trying to steal looks at us.
I stood with Byn and Matea on the deck, watching as the ship’s staff managed to lower the gangway and secure us an easy way back onto solid ground.
Teagan was speaking with the captain on the opposite end of the ship, likely to ensure we’d have a way back to the mainland once our business here on the Isles was through, but all the other members of our group were nearby.
Even Margo, who stood with Ezra and Quinn, was close enough to the edge of the ship to peer back at the Islanders below.
Once the staff motioned that it was clear to head down, I heard Byn take a deep breath before stepping forward.
As King of the South, it only made sense for him to lead us into whatever it was we were about to face.
I fell into place behind him as he made his way down the gangway, my wings tucked tight and my chin held high.
I even rolled my shoulders back once I glimpsed a few Islanders gawking at me.
I needed to look the part of queen—now more than ever.
We were halfway through our descent when a female’s voice rung out through the air.
“Stop at once!”
Running toward our ship were half a dozen soldiers, each dressed head to toe in black—including the chain-mail armor covering their chests.
It didn’t surprise me much this time to see females as guards and soldiers; not like it did when I first interacted with the South.
Though I couldn’t ignore the way Byn’s anxiety spiked in my chest—and stayed that way.
“State your reason for coming to these lands!” the head of the soldiers ordered us as she neared. Her sword had already been pulled from its sheath, and a wisp of shadows wrapped around her arm and down the blade in a fiercely protective manner.
“I said—” She was cut off as we all watched two shadows breeze between each of the members of the Valwain and down the path back to land.
The duo of shadows stopped at the very edge of the gangway, not quite crossing onto the Isles and their property, when they materialized side by side to reveal Callum and Caelia.
The Ocrein Isles heir and princess.
“My prince,” the lead soldier gasped, then deeply bowed. “And my princess. Welcome home.”
“Thank you, Niki,” Callum responded, and a weight I hadn’t noticed before seemed to settle on his shoulders as he stepped onto the docks and back into his homeland.
“I know this looks… odd, but we need to see the king and queen,” Callum said.
“At once,” Caelia impatiently added, stepping down to take up her place at her older brother’s side.
“Of course, my prince. Princess.” Niki dipped her head toward each sibling respectively, then turned back toward the five other soldiers that were with her, directing some of them to go ahead of us and ready the king and queen, while others helped clear the docks of the fae crowding around.
Cautiously, we filed off the ship and down onto the docks.
Callum and Niki lead the way, their voices low as they spoke, though Niki would occasionally look our way as we walked.
Caelia stayed near them, though she seemed intensely focused on our surroundings, rather than on her brother’s conversation.
Though, I couldn’t say I blamed her. The Isles were stunning.
The landscape reminded me of our time at Echen Bay.
The water was slightly more blue than teal, but the sand was the same near-white.
Overhead, flocks of colorful birds flew, squawking to one another—very different compared to the griffins I’d been raised around.
Past the sandy shore and small coastal town laid a dense forest—one that we seemed to be heading toward.
Once our group, along with the Titan Wolves—who supposedly refused to be left behind—reached the outskirts of the forest, we paused. It wasn’t until then that I noticed the new group of soldiers that had trailed behind us.
“Alright. From here on, everybody needs to grab onto one of the soldiers,” Caelia said, turning back to face us.
“Why would we do that?” Quinn questioned.
“Some shadow wielders have what we call hastened shadows. They can maneuver through shadows so quickly that it cuts the time it takes to travel by shadow into a fraction. These soldiers have this ability, and will help us get to the castle much faster,” Callum explained, though he looked as though it pained him to divulge this information to us.
Based on the murmurs that arose from our group, I felt it was safe to assume Callum looked that way because the mentioned ability wasn’t common knowledge.
Tilting my head to look at my husband, I raised my eyebrows in a silent question.
He gave me a cheeky smile, then ever so slightly dipped his head toward Rayven.
Ah, I thought. Of course our very own shadow wielder would have that ability.
Because a shadow wielder could only shift one other person besides themselves into their shadow forms at a time, it took a few moments to pair everybody up with a soldier.
Everybody except the wolves, who would be waiting here in the small ocean town with a few of the soldiers until we returned.
Callum had noted that the castle we were heading to wasn’t equipped to house the giant creatures, anyway.
Atlas and Lychen didn’t appear too pleased, but once some of our group started taking on shadow forms, they seemed to understand a bit better.
Intelligent creatures, those wolves.
Teagan and Byn seemed put off by the fact that their wolves wouldn’t be nearby if needed, their muscles tensing when they heard the news, but we weren’t exactly given another option.
Byn paired up with Callum, and Caelia with me. They wanted to present us to their parents themselves, they’d claimed. Rayven refused a soldier, and I noticed that when Matea turned to find a pairing, he headed her way instead.
Teagan had talked softly to Margo for a few moments, trying to calm her sister, but nothing worked.
That was, until one of the female soldiers headed over and made a flower bloom behind her ear.
Margo seemed slightly more at ease with that soldier after seeing her produce the plant, her shoulders dropping at the sight.
Maybe she’d just needed to be reminded that the Islanders weren’t so different from her and what she knew, after all.
Once we were all settled, I gave Byn a quick kiss on the cheek, then grabbed Caelia’s hand.
In an instant, we took on the shadows and speared forward at a speed faster than I’d ever traveled before. Even when flying with a griffin or with my own two wings, I’d never experienced speed like that.
The forest we’d been standing near breezed by in a blur, making it difficult to track where we were and where we were headed.
I kept my gaze ahead, trying to keep track of some landmarks as we passed: a diamond shaped pond, a tree so wide you could carve a home into it, and a field covered in many wildflowers I’d never seen before—the most striking being a variation of one flower type that had black and red petals.
And the entire way, Byn’s worries only seemed to build. Considering we were walking into the Ocrein Isles blindly—a place that had been closed off to the outside world for almost a decade and a half before the Battle of Shadows—I couldn’t say I blamed him.
Eventually, after what felt like ages but also no time at all, we pushed through another copse of trees to reveal Castle Avyer.
Named after the first King of the Ocrein Isles, Castle Avyer was formed out of black earth and colorful crystals. Though, just having heard about the structure didn’t do the palace any justice.
The foundations, pillars, and accents were all that black rock, but the majority of the castle was made up of crystals the color of a glowing sunset—colors that matched the sky.
They must have found giant crystal clusters below and made them spread into shape.
The castle wasn’t quite as large as The Haven, but it was impressive nonetheless.
The grounds around the castle were clean, comprised of organized gardens and shrubbery, with an occasional fountain or training ring.
The closer we got, the more I admired the beauty of this hidden gem.
It seemed so… peaceful.
We stepped out of the darkness, the sun beginning to head beneath the horizon as we started toward the castle. Though before we could even step foot onto the castle grounds, another group of shadows flew our way, moving as quick as we just had been—if not a tad faster.
A burst of fire came to life in front of us, shattering that illusion of peacefulness I had been grasping at.
From out of the flames came a couple that I could only assume were King and Queen Rividian themselves.
Before we could utter a word, the queen spoke, her voice full of pure fury and disgust.
“We extend a helping hand during your time of need, King Thorntier, and this is how you repay us?” she seethed. “By bringing a Northerner to our doorstep?”