Lida’s hand was on my arm, ushering me toward the back exit of the pub as more kingsguards filtered in through the front. I tore my gaze away from Ronan as we retreated and slipped into the discreet inn we’d selected for the night.
The next morning, a small child delivered a note to my room.
I’m needed in Stynguard for a few months. If the answer is yes, find me at our spot on the Awakening.
-Ro
My vision swam as the dream morphed, and I stood upon a bare rock overlooking the Juniper Sea on the brightest day of the year. The sun had long since set, and each painful minute that passed seemed to move slower. An agonizing realization settled over me, like a slow tide slipping over my anchored body, its waves finally stretching over my lips and nose.
A suffocating weight burned against my lungs as our moons moved across the sky, the Awakening coming to its end. A single tear ran down my cheek as a pain like nothing I’d ever felt clawed its way through my chest. It ripped through my body, icing over the heat in my veins and diminishing my sparks until a void arrived.
I blinked, allowing the feeling to spread through me, before a beast awoke inside that empty space. It flared to life in the dying embers of my chest, a force of self-preservation andsurvival. It stood before my breaking heart like a wolf, vicious and snarling at anything that might try to touch it. To touch me.
It was fire and fury.
My consciousness tugged at me,and I buried my face in Aquila’s feathers, taking a deep breath and then choking as tiny fuzzies sucked into my throat. I coughed into Aquila’s neck, my fingers tightening their grip when I realized he was airborne.
Had I fallen asleep up here?
Yes, Aquila’s ancient voice replied.You’ve been sleeping for the better part of the morning.
Fresh nausea seeped into my gut as I recalled the various sea creatures we’d seen on our flight. There were too many tentacles and teeth. Had something else come through the gate since we’d left? Gods, if I had fallen…
I’ll never let you fall, Aquila assured me, sending a fresh push of confidence down our bond.
I straightened, keeping my face forward as I felt Kresida behind me. My cheeks heated before I squashed the embarrassment. I released my grip to wipe the line of saliva off the side of my cheek.
How far out are we?I asked, my stomach churning as my dream resurfaced.
Aedrialis should be in sight soon,the giant hawk replied in my mind.Something feels off.
I frowned at the concern in his voice, and I scanned the cloudy horizon for the coastline of Sultira. My stomach lurched as a gust of wind abruptly shifted our altitude, and I clenched my legs around him.
“What is that?” Kresida called through the wind as she leaned forward, pointing in the distance.
I squinted as a bright, red tower came into view, jutting out from the white walls of Aedrialis. What the hell?
I reached for the Soleia flames on instinct and prepared to form a shield when I slammed into a wall. My powers burned behind it, the familiar nullifying kiss of a rubelline shoving them below a wave of suffocating repression.
“Holy hell,” Kresida said, letting her hand fall. “Mount Telum is a rubelline.”
Sweat pouredfrom the borders of my nose and my temples as we waited in the stone courtyard of Mount Telum. My thighs ached after the non-stop flight from Kayj. Kresida stood in the corner. Her stillness unnerved me. The War Slayer was a pacer, a wolf constantly on the hunt.
I glanced over the marbled balustrade, scanning the soldiers sparring and training. A moment of appreciation passed as I noted the discipline and the sheer volume of able-bodied men and women. Ronan had been busy.
I went still as his voice filtered up the spiral staircase across the courtyard, and I braced myself. His light curls were golden and bouncing as he strode into the sunlight.
Something reluctant eased in my chest as I scanned him. The training leathers hugged his muscular legs, and the loose tunic unbuttoned at the top made him appear more like the Ronan I knew, not the high steward. Deep bags hung under his eyes, but their sapphire irises sparkled in the sunshine as they landed on me. His brows curved upward as he met my gaze.
My focus snapped to the young woman exiting the stairs a few paces behind him. Her strawberry blonde hair was dull, and her tawny eyes wary as they landed on me. Rage surged beneath my skin, and my lips drew up into a snarl as Vienah crossed her arms, her brows narrowing as they landed on me.
“What the hell is that traitorous water witch doing out of her cell?”
“We have a lot to talk about,” Ronan said when he reached me.
Ronan rubbeda hand over his face as he paced past his seat, the steam from his untouched food drawing little lines of mist against the flickering fire in the corner of the council room.
“So, the gate is leaking monstrous creatures into the world… Sintarrak, Renova, and Ganmira are indeed alreadyhere… and we need the Celestyn Bone to close the gate?” he confirmed, shaking his head.
