“Of course I’ll come,” he said, clapping hands with Astraeus, satisfaction stretching across his face. “And I’ll face judgment when we return. I’m not giving up my title. I’ll speak to the High Steward about it.”
“Already done.” Astraeus’s smile widened as Aeriden seemed to relax.
I ground my teeth and shook my head at the men who simply made up their own godsdamned rules.
“You can’t leave,” I cut in. “Someone needs to watch over Evony and the herd while we’re gone.”
“Hello? I’m standing right in front of you. Please stop acting like I’m a child.”
I blinked at the teenager, whose flushed face was inches from mine.
I opened my mouth as Astraeus held his hand up to Evony. “Drystan has offered to stay to care for the herd.”
“H-he…” I stammered, realizing Drystan was likely the best person to watch over the herd after having grown up with it.
Drystan wanted to stay. He loved Sultira. He missed the Temple of the Sky, the Order of the Death Scholars. And it was safest for him here while he figured out how to harness the Advetis Bone. He wasn’t ready yet. He’d said as much the night before, and I wouldn’t push him. I could almost feel his fear.
My brain raced as I searched to find some way to keep my brother in Sultira. Keep him as far away as possible from Dark King Daimos.
“He’ll be here in half an hour,” Astraeus continued, turning to Aeriden and Evony. “If you would be so kind as to allow Evony and Drystan to watch over your home, I would be forever in your debt.”
My eyes shot to the ceiling before I shook my head at the gentlemanly nature he’d adopted.
“You should pack your things,” he said to Aeriden. “And perhaps, the lovely miss will show Evony to her new quarters.”
The maid’s cheeks flushed as she hid her smile and adjusted her skirts where she stood by the door. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Aeriden gave him a swift nod before motioning Evony to follow him into the house.
Alone with Astraeus, he turned to me.
“My answer is still no,” he murmured. “But we’ll be right behind you.”
“Olienna is the most powerful mystic alive,” I groaned, my words dripping in irritation. “A Bellator. We would be stupid not to use her abilities.”
“I said I won’t do it,” he replied. “I don’t trust her. I will not allow her in my mind simply to get my ships airborne. We’ll be right behind you,on the water.”
My eyes dropped to my hands. Could I really blame Astraeus for being cautious? Memories surged forward, and my stomach twisted at Isla’s haunted face. The Stone Witch, or rather,Olienna, reached into her mind to fly theEvectato Kayj to rescue me last spring.
And now I wasreturningto Kayj. Willingly.
Nightmares hovered like wraiths as images from my time on the island crouched in dark memory. The crescent scar on my breast prickled, my hair standing on end asCyril’s tongueflicked over his lips… phantom, predatory hands ripping into my hair, beneath my dress…
Breaths escaped my lips in quick huff as my vision tunneled. I swallowed, a growing sense of ruin and impending doom twisting in my chest as my fear of returning to the haunted island intruded on my vengeful purpose. Astraeus’s eyes softened as they scanned mine.
“You’re scared,” he said quietly, closing the distance between us and lifting a hand, pausing as my eyes flitted to it.
Astraeus’s leather and cedar scent washed over me, his presence scattering the air around us.
I shook my head, tearing my gaze away from his outstretched hand as blood rushed to my cheeks, irritation surging at my weakness.
Astraeus’s brows tilted as he leaned forward. “It’s okay to be scared,” he murmured.
His face was inches from mine, and his scent enveloped me like a cloud.
“I’m not?—”
“You are notalone, Lyvia. I’ll stay close,” he said, eyes sliding to my lips as his throat bobbed. “We’ll be right behind you. On the water.”
I gritted my teeth, annoyed with my lapse in control, and took a step back, needing to distance myself from the pirate lord. “Fine.”
“Fine.”
