18. Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Eighteen
Ryker
T heron Traveled us back just inside the gates of the Oryn Palace in the capital Voara, the glow of the setting sun illuminating the gray stone walls.
We appeared on the lawn and I immediately stormed up the steps through the crowds of my people, frantic and scared.
They bowed as I passed by. I never closed the gates on them.
The palace belonged to the citizens just as much as it belonged to me.
A female gently brushed her fingers against my arm. “Lord Ryker, please, my family. They were in the village—” she said between soft sobs. My chest tightened.
I placed my hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Nephin. I’ve only just arrived. Please, come inside, and after I speak with my advisor, I’ll come and find you.” I had to figure out what in the After happened first, but I didn’t want to tell her that I had no idea.
She nodded quickly, tears still streaming heavily down her face as she started making her way through the crowded palace doors.
There were too many people I ruled over to know everyone by name, but I made it a point to not forget someone once I met them.
I remembered meeting Nephin and her husband several years back with their two small children.
A pit formed in my stomach thinking of what could have happened to them…
Pushing open the double doors to the palace, I went inside. People were everywhere in the great hall. Citizens were sitting all along the perimeter of the expansive room while volunteers were assisting them with injuries and giving out blankets.
What is happening ?
I gazed around the room, searching for my advisor and second in command. I spotted him talking with a group on the other end of the hall near the stone staircase and made my way over to him.
“Mavris.” My deep voice boomed over the commotion. His head shot up and he briskly walked over to me, weaving between people.
He bowed at the waist. “Lord Ryker.”
I nearly rolled my eyes at the formal greeting, but I kept my face hard. “Care to tell me what is happening?”
He squared his shoulders. “Of course my Lord. Although it may be best to do it in private.” Mavris kept his face stoic while his silver eyes bored into mine with concern.
Not for me, but for the people. His light brown hair was tied at the back of his neck and his court attire was in pristine condition.
While he looked stately and kempt, his eyes reflected his exhaustion and distress.
I nodded before turning and made my way up the stairs, Mavris following behind closely. On the second level, we walked down the long corridor, lined with sconces that I lit with my flames before reaching the wooden double doors to my formal study.
Mavris had barely closed the doors behind him before I spun on my heel to face him.
“Mav, what the fuck is going on? Why is half of Voara in the palace?” My mask having fallen, I could finally be myself—I always could be with him.
He leaned his back against the door and his head made a light thump against it as he ran his hand over his face.
He let out a sharp exhale. “It’s bad, Ryk. Really fucking bad.”
I took a breath and mentally braced myself. If he thinks it’s bad…
“The southern village of Mirren is gone,” he said in a pained sigh. I closed my eyes, knowing what he was about to say next. “It was destroyed by the Glaev.”
I walked over to a cushioned sitting chair by the fireplace and slumped down into it, my elbows rested on my knees and my face in my hands.
“Holy Cethar. How many were lost?” My voice was solemn.
“Almost all of them. The only remaining survivors are downstairs. The rest are family or friends looking for information from those still…missing.” Mavris sat in the matching chair across from mine.
I removed my hands from my face and snapped my head up to him, my eyes wide with horror.
“When did this happen?” I demanded.
“Yesterday.”
The day my mate was chosen.
We stayed quiet for a few moments as I took this all in. Hundreds of males, females, and children…gone. My lands had several areas of decimation from the Glaev, but never a loss so great. My eyes narrowed as the words of Vicria repeated in my mind.
“ ...your Nation will suffer more than it already is .”
“She knew,” I snarled as I stood, the fireplace igniting instantly with my temper. For years, Nations blamed other Nations for the plague—claimed it was some kind of rival attack and had resulted in many conflicts and wars between them.
Mavris squinted. “Who? ”
“Vicria. She told me that Oryn was suffering and that I needed to return.” I wanted nothing more in this moment than to burn her alive, but I knew that would only cause more disruption to the balance.
Sages had a heightened spiritual link to the realm, giving up their magical abilities in sacrifice for the connection.
Killing a Sage was a horrendous crime, resulting in the murderous fae being given back to the Gods, given that both the Spirits and Gods have such a symbiotic relationship.
There must always be balance. But at that moment, I was questioning whether or not the consequences would be worth it.
“How…how would she know? Wasn’t she there the entire time?” Mavris’s eyes tracked me as I paced back and forth.
“I don’t know. But she knew. She was adamant about me leaving and…” I shook my head.
My mate.
I hadn’t yet told my brother that the mating bond had enacted and that I knew who it was—sort of—and that we had been threatened with yet another trial to take it away.
I felt for it, the bond, just to make sure that it was still there.
I needed to be sure that it was. Now that I had it, I never wanted to let it go.
And I wanted more . It was faint, too faint. But it was there. I was certain.
“And what?”
I contemplated telling him for a moment, but ultimately decided against it.
“Nothing we need to worry about right now.” My people needed me and there was nothing I could do when she was in another realm.
“Give the survivors anything they need. Anything at all. Redirect all workers in the palace to assist them. Bring in as many healers as you can for the injured. If they’re not too traumatized, ask them for a recount of the event.
The people can remain in the palace as long as they need. ”
Mavris stood as I continued, “And send a team to the perimeter of the Glaev to search for more survivors in the area. Where is Hakoa?” I paced to my desk in front of the windows, the morning light reflecting off the mountains.
“He’s already there with several Noavo warriors.”
“Good.” I stood at my desk and studied the map of the continent laid out on top of the wood.
From Voara, the southeastern village of Mirren was a two days’ journey.
Hakoa was the leader of my army, the Noavo warriors, and my oldest friend.
He and the warriors were a force to be reckoned with their vast numbers and brute strength, not to mention fiercely loyal. But they were slow in traveling.
“I’ll go down and assist with the survivors. We have plenty of resources to accommodate all of them and anyone else Hakoa finds.” He headed for the door but stopped just before opening it. “Will there be anything else, Lord Ryker?”
This time I didn’t hide my eye roll. “Yes.” I had another task in mind, one I had put off for too long, and I needed someone swift and agile. The Noavo warriors wouldn’t do. “Send for Arra.”
He gave a knowing smile and bowed before leaving me alone in my study.
What good did it do being a powerful Worthy, a Lord, if my greatest enemy was something intangible and had been a mystery for a hundred years? I ran my hands through my hair, pulling at the roots. I shook it off, hoping I would have answers soon.
Bending over the desk, I jotted down instructions on a piece of parchment. It was detailed enough so that I would get what I needed, yet open enough so that Arra could complete the task without much restriction. I finished and folded the paper right before the doors opened again.
When Arra came in, I gestured for her to sit across from me.
“Glad to see you’re not dead. Did you challenge?” she asked.
“Not this time.” I blew out a breath and leaned forward. “I can go into details later but right now, I have a mission for you.”
I handed her the parchment. She opened it and read it quickly before folding it again and placing it in her lap.
“We’ll need a few weeks,” she said with a nod.
“That’s fine. Anything else?”
“Can you make Theron come with us?” she asked jokingly.
The side of my lip twitched. “Highly unlikely.”
“Worth a shot.” She shrugged and stood to leave.
“Arra,” I said just before she reached the door. “I don’t think I need to stress to you just how important this is. Lives depend on it. The Nation depends on it.”
“I understand,” she replied with a curt nod before walking out and shutting the door behind her.
She could do it. I knew she could.
I worked late into the night, helping gather and disperse supplies to the survivors and planning for further fallout from the Glaev, before I went to my rooms on the top level of the palace.
My mate haunted my mind along with everything else.
But a hint of the bond tugged at my soul for her, clouding my thoughts of anything else.
I ran a cold bath to clear my head and shock the hardness from my cock—not that it helped much. Even realms away, the bond enacted my primal drive to be with her and claim her.
Sleeping was a troublesome task. I couldn’t help but think of those pine green eyes looking up at me with those plump lips wrapped around me. Wondering what my name from those lips would sound like, with my face buried in her, ravaging and ruining her.
Fuck this is wrong.