We had been soaringover the Vayr Sea on Nox’s back for two days—we were all starving, sunburnt, and had barely spoken to one another. The tension in the air was thick, and it was entirely my fault.
Despite my attempts to explain my intentions to the men, Lia recommended not talking about the specifics of what had occurred. It was best to avoid any further confrontation until it was no longer likely that someone would be shoved off the cramped saddle.
Following that, Lia and Gage barely spoke to me. Zaela was back to ignoring my existence, and I was too terrified to face Veli after the madness of everything had settled.
When land finally came into view, a sigh of relief left everyone. Nox flew over the terrain for miles until Alaia’s farmlands were visible, and I had never been more thankful.
Citizens gawked at us as we landed on the outskirts of their headquarter city, and the moment my feet touched the ground, my wobbly legs buckled from not being able to use them for days.
Three horses and their riders approached us, and as they came into view, I realized it was General Vern, Finn, and Landon.
“You’re back!” my brother yelled as he dismounted his horse and pulled me into a hug.
“Hi,” I answered softly.
He grabbed my shoulders and pushed away from me while he held me there—his eyes roamed over me curiously and then met my own. “Are you okay? I figured you would be kissing the ground beneath your feet by now,” he joked. “How was your week out at sea?!”
I turned and looked back at Gage as he followed Lia and Jace over to speak with the general. “I would prefer not to talk about it right now, Finn.”
“That bad?” Landon chimed in, and my gaze whipped to him.
Taking in the sight of them, I nearly did a double take. They were bothfilthy, and Landon was wearing a full suit of armor.
“What the hell happened while we were gone?” I asked with a chuckle that I never thought would come out of me again.
“Training,” they answered in unison.
“General Vern put us to work the second your ship sailed away.” Finnian laughed. “One of us is clearly much more trusted with a blade than the other.” He gestured to Landon and his new attire.
“You’ll get there someday, Finn.” Landon smiled at my brother, and it warmed my heart, yet an ache followed.
I turned back and observed Gage, whose eyes left the general and wandered to me at the same moment. I quickly looked away, unable to bear the weight of his stare.
“So, are you going to tell us anything that happened? Or do we have to wait for Lia?” Finn asked.
“Well, for starters, I was definitely wrong about Zaela having feelings for Gage.”
“And how was that proven? Last I saw, you were ready to claw her eyes out every time she glanced at the man.”
“It’s not my place to say, but I think you will find that she and Veli have been getting close since we last saw you.”
Their eyes flared with surprise, exchanging a quick glance before returning their attention to me.
“Those two banding together sounds terrifying,” Finn said.
“It’s just as scary as you’re thinking.” I winked but forgot to muster up the fake smile to make it believable.
“If Zaela doesn’t have feelings for Gage, then why do you look so solemn?”
I turned back to where the rest of them stood, where Veli had now joined them as Nox remained between us. As if they felt my stare, they all turned to face us, and their eyes lingered on me for so long that I thought I would faint.
“I believe you’re about to find out,” I answered in a whisper.
They all approached, the general paying no mind to me as he stormed right past us to mount his horse. “These two have been training with the men since you’ve left. You can decide where they shall continue their efforts. I will awaityour orders, Commander,” he said to Jace right before his horse took off into a gallop to head into the city.
Lia walked up to us first and threw each of her arms around Finn and Landon’s shoulders. “Missed you both! How was it here holding down the valley?”
“Well,oneof them seems to have passed the general’s tests,” Zaela joked as she crossed her arms.
