“Am I still your damnation?” Esmyra whispered.
Draevyn pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You’re my everything.”
Her heart swelled as she allowed herself to melt into him, letting the weight of it all settle over her.
Together, they drifted into sleep, bodies entwined, hearts synchronized. And for the first time in Esmyra’s immortal life, she went to bed believing that whatever storms the outside world might bring, they would face them together.
CHAPTER 54
Atlas
Atlas’s boots made little sound on the floors of Sumnae’s palace, but the echoes still felt loud in the vast silence. Days had passed since the ambush, and still the air here carried the faint scent of blood and smoke.
He should’ve left by now and either returned to his own kingdom or went after his brother. Perhaps he should’ve let the elves handle their dead and rebuild without his shadows looming over them. But the truth was, this had been his fault—at least in part.
Atlas was the one who brought Esmyra here, and where she went, chaos followed. He led danger to their kingdom, and whether he admitted it aloud or not, the guilt for it remained.
The sea kingdom came for their goddess, and his brother had come for his love. One he had anticipated, knowing he could handle anything Draevyn threw at them, but the other? Atlas had never evenseencreatures like the ones who stormed the castle gates before. Let alone know how to defeat them.
Esmyra returning from the depths as Kaelypso was the reason everyone believed Maerinys had risen, but to see an entirely new race emerge as well was something else entirely. The proof was right in their faces, and now war was no longer only knocking at their gates. It was here.
His hands flexed at his sides as he approached the towering, repaired doors of the throne room. His men were restless,hewas restless, and every hour spent here was another hour Elowynne was in the hands of their enemy.
The guards swung the doors open, spilling sunlight across the floor. He stepped inside, his shadows trailing behind him as he forced his expression into something that was neither an apology nor surrender.
Keryth wasn’t only a rival king, but also his father-in-law, and Atlas would never want the male thinking he no longer cared enough to go after his daughter. They had barely spoken since the Maerinysean warriors fled Sumnae, rushing after Draevyn and Esmyra once they escaped from the castle. Atlas felt the need to give Keryth the space after everything, knowing his hands were full enough as he reassured his people they were safe.
A sharp patter of footsteps rushed up behind him.
“Your Majesty, wait—” Varis called.
Suppressing the urge to roll his eyes, Atlas kept his pace steady as his temporary advisor fell into step beside him. He’d been avoiding him as much as possible, considering his presence always soured his mood, but he knew they needed to look like a united front to the other kingdom.
Atlas didn’t trust him, but until—orif—Draevyn came back, he was stuck with him.
“Keep your mouth shut, Varis, or I’ll have you removed,” he demanded.
At the far end of the throne room, the elven king sat on his throne, visibly fractured. Fury and heartbreak warred across his expression, the weight of both pressing into the very air the moment they stepped into the room. His jaw tightened as their stares met, but he said nothing.
Atlas crossed the chamber, his cloak trailing behind him. “My men and I plan to leave at first light. I won’t waste another day.”
Keryth’s eyes only narrowed in response.
“I came here asking for your aid,” Atlas continued. “And Iunderstand if it can’t be given now. But my wife, yourdaughter, is in the goddesses’ hands, and I will see her returned, with or without you.”
The king’s fingers tightened on the arm of his throne, and for a moment, Atlas thought he would continue his silence, but then he quickly rose and rushed toward him down the dais.
“I can’t help but notice that your brother has been missing since the day of the attack,” Keryth said, his tone full of rage-filled accusation.
Atlas’s jaw flexed.
“And I’m wondering if he had something to do with her escape. And if this—” Keryth gestured broadly to the scarred hall, the burned banners, and blood still staining the stone “—was nothing but a ploy to weaken us before the true war begins.”
Atlas didn’t flinch, but the space between the two kings seemed to grow heavier, thick with the weight of mistrust and old grudges held.
The truth was, he wasn’t going after his brother. The man got what he wanted—he came for the woman he loved and now Atlas intended to do the same. If Draevyn no longer cared that it would put them on opposite sides of a war, then he didn’t either. All of Atlas’s concerns were bent toward Elowynne and her safety.
And yet… the elven king’s accusation lingered like poison. If whispers began to spread and other rulers believed Draevyn had betrayed their kingdom under his watch, theneverythingLephyrin had built over the last several centuries could unravel.
