YOU WILL FLY!I screamed down the bond.
I threw my strength into his wings, the muscles between my shoulder blades burning, my neck aching, my eyes watering, and my lungs stinging as water shoved up my nostrils.
Blackness and then…
The brightest light slammed into us as Tiberius broke through the crashing waves of the lake and into the blazing sun. Gasps echoed along the edges of the cliffs as Tiberius’s dark form emerged from the center of the Eye of the Wood.
He spun midair, spraying water around him that glinted in the sunlight, the thin arc of a rainbow trailing around him. He was magnificent. A spectacle that had thousands of elves gaping in silent awe, before erupting in a chorus of cheers.
I huggedTi’s giant neck and rubbed the inside of his fuzzy ears with my thumbs an hour later. He finally dismissed me as a mother hen and stalked into the forest on his own.
“Ronan and Vander brought a handful of Rising soldiers.” Vulcan approached the small table where my friends sat with plates full of food. “They’re at the south end of the lake.”
Smart. Steering clear of the queen and her quarry was a good idea. Especially Vander. Even with his release, there was enough for us to worry about.
Yet thousands of us danced and celebrated. Saros still reigned in Sultira. The dark king still haunted the world from the north. Countless remained enslaved as ashen on his godsforsaken island.
I glanced around, taking in the jubilant Lotrennians, celebrating and dancing without a care in the world. Isla’s warm arm brushed against mine as she leaned in.
“They’ve suffered too,” she murmured, as if reading my thoughts.
“How can we sit here and…” I looked around. Kegs of ale were tapped, and a jaunty chorus began in the distance, where pairs began a bouncy, choreographed dance.
“And celebrate? Andlive?” Isla’s dark brows lifted.
I ground my teeth and shook my head, unable to meet her amber eyes.
“Lotrennia suffered for hundreds of years after the War of Ruin. Most of the ashen turned early on were elves. And you must remember, we live a long time. We’ve lost so many. And after Bayne and Nerissa left these shores… The mystic wasn’t lying. Lotrennia suffered then, too.”
I shot her a look.
“I’m not blaming them,” she replied, holding her hands up. “I joined them, for gods’ sakes. I’m saying that this…” She gestured to the celebration around us. “It’s a miracle they still have the ability todothis. Tobethis. Theyare the unbroken ones.”
My shoulders sagged. She was right, of course. She nudged my side.
“We deserve to live a little, too,” she said, a spark lighting her eyes. “Come on. We’re dancing. And finding those Rising soldiers.”
