Chapter 59
Darrow
At seven minutes past noon tomorrow, our window would open to travel to Earth.
Tadeus had repaired the ring perfectly as promised, though it took him late into the night to finish.
Aella had to send him back first thing that morning, so she could bring in extra security before reactivating the portal conduit.
We weren’t taking any chances with it getting broken again.
After that, she’d needed a full twenty hours to recover.
We’d spent today gathering supplies and deciding precisely what to take without overburdening ourselves.
Idwal’s seer was able to view the area close to the ring at our destination and informed us that the season was the same on the other planet, with similar temperatures to Veronna. He saw a mixture of open grasslands and pockets of trees, but no nearby structures.
I’d considered bringing a tent, but it would take up too much space in my pack, so we’d settled on waterproof blankets we could string overhead for some protection should it rain.
We would also bring food, changes of clothes, sleeping bags, magical paraphernalia for foreign language comprehension, and weapons.
I took a drink of my ale, then looked at Aella, who sat next to me. “It is interesting to be together in the place where we first made our deal.”
“What’s odd is why I am willing to sit in the same seat as the woman whose breasts you had your face buried in when I arrived,” she said with a scowl. I loved that she was showing more jealousy now because that meant she was growing to care about me and think of me as hers.
I chuckled. “Her name escapes me in the presence of your beauty.”
“You think you’re clever, don’t you?” Aella asked, lips twitching.
I tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. “Whatever keeps me in your good graces, dear wife.”
“Can you two just stop?” Faina grumbled. “We’re gathered here to enjoy our last night on Paxia together, and you can do those things in the bedroom at Darrow’s loft later.”
Jax snorted. “Ignore her. She couldn’t find anyone worth pairing up for the night, so now she’s cranky.”
He had his arm around a beautiful female elf, so of course, he was happy. While Loden had always been more selective than any of us, he’d also managed to find a sweet, brunette elf with enough conversation skills to keep him engaged. My sister was the only one left alone.
“I can kidnap Malachi right now and hold him hostage for you if you’d like,” I suggested.
Faina’s expression turned to horror. “Don’t even think about it!”
“Who is Malachi?” Aella asked.
I didn’t dare give the whole story aloud with guests in the back tavern room, but I didn’t want to keep details like that from my wife. She deserved some answers, especially ones that I could give without causing harm.
Malachi is one of my closest friends from Karganoth that I’ve known since I was a child.
He is also one of my spies currently on border patrol on the western side of Porrine for the dark elves.
Faina hates him because he was cruel to her when we were children, but now, he’d do anything to win over her heart.
Aella shook her head. That sounds hopeless.
He’s a good person and an exceptional warrior. She could do far worse.
Don’t you care that he’s a dark elf? Aella’s expression showed surprise.
I snorted. Do you care that I’m half?
Fine. Fair point.
A server entered the room, and Jax gestured at her. “More ale for all of us!”
“Of course,” the pixie replied and headed back out the door.
Aella leaned into me, resting her head on my shoulder, and I swore my heart skipped a beat. She’d never done such a thing before in public—at least not without me kissing her until she relaxed, but that didn’t count. It gave me a faint flutter of hope that maybe it could work out between us.
I’d worried she would spend the evening tense and irritated after we brought Ori to the newly repaired ring earlier today.
The shapeshifter had taken the appearance of a light elf male to draw less attention.
Despite everyone being polite, it had been awkward.
Ori never liked meeting new people, and my usually friendly wife did nothing to ease the tension, not that I could complain under the circumstances.
We’d dropped my spy off near the portal under the guise of additional security.
We also had thirty soldiers from Veronna, two dozen faery warriors from Penoria, and Idwal had brought four dragon slayers—over half the total that existed.
No one wanted to take any chances. I’d considered having us sleep the night there, but we had no idea what to expect on Earth.
A night of bonding, followed by comfortable beds, seemed like the better option.
Let the rest of them suffer a night in the cold.
Rather, it would be more since they’d have to keep the ring secure for our return in a week as well.
“Let’s have a drinking game,” Jax proposed as the waitress returned with fresh mugs.
I shook my head. “No. We’ll enjoy this last round, and that’s it. I don’t want anyone hungover in the morning.”
It was nearly ten in the evening. Usually, I would have loved nothing more than to stay up much later and drink with friends, but we were leaving tomorrow on a mission that would either save or doom our world. We’d be fools to risk that in any way.
He let out a loud sigh and glanced at the elf beside him. “Guess it’ll be you and me here shortly.”
She smiled and pulled him in for a kiss that made me wonder how he didn’t choke on her tongue.
We chatted and joked until our mugs were empty.
Then, I took my wife back to my loft. Though she’d visited the city several times now, she’d never been to the residence I maintained here.
I was glad I’d told the others to find somewhere else to stay the night.
“It’s nice and cozy,” she said, looking around at the living room.
I led her to the couch, sat, and pulled her onto my lap, grateful to find no resistance. “It was meant to be my getaway from my responsibilities, so I designed it for comfort.”
“You picked the furniture?” Aella asked, surprised.
I curled my arms around her as she rested her head on my shoulder. Dear nameless ones, why couldn’t it always be like this between us? I suspected the ale had relaxed her, but I’d enjoy it while it lasted.
“The beige paint, wood floors, furniture…everything was my choice when I had the place converted into a living space.” The downstairs had shops that closed at dusk, so we had complete privacy for the night.
Aella lifted her head a little to look at me. “You’re dangerous, Dare.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
She traced my face with her soft fingertips, and it felt like being touched by an angel. “Nothing about you is quite what it seems. Sometimes, I want to hate you so much, but then you do something that makes me like you a little more.”
I pressed my lips to her hand. “What do you want me to do now?”
“Kiss me like it’s our last night on this planet.”
There was no point in arguing that it was true because I knew what she meant. We had no idea what tomorrow would bring, so we’d live for the moments we had now. I adjusted her to straddle my lap, and then I gave her a kiss she’d never forget.