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Our people adored and revered their princess, but they all held her to an impossible and toxic standard. They expected her to be stronger than them, to always know what to do, to defend them and finally guide them to freedom as though she was invincible.
She wasn’t.
She experienced death, felt sorrow, and even felt lost like every single one of us, the only difference was she forced herself to be everything they thought her to be. What they needed of her, because she knew she was the glue keeping the kingdom her parents built together.
The fierce, resilient, brave Skyborne Princess. Their idol. Their future queen.
Except, no one should have to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, and I feared that one of these days she would finally break into a million pieces. I couldn’t let that happen to her.
Her eyes briefly closed seeing me back and unharmed, and she took a settling breath—like she hadn’t been able to fully breathe since I left with the Warlock King. Turning to Willow, she kissed her best friend’s forehead with love.
“It’s okay. Penelope rests in theLake of Tranquilitynow,” Evie assured her, cupping her cheek when Willow pulled away, and they glanced at each other. “Peace be with her.”
Wiping her face with the shawl she wore, Willow nodded, her tattered whisper echoing the words.
“Kingston, please accompany Willow to her quarters, and make sure she takes a potion to help her nerves. Stay with her until she can find sleep,” our princess ordered, and Kingston swiftly walked to Willow’s side, offering his arm to her so she could hold on to it.
I wondered how much strength it took for him to see Willow hurting like that, the woman he secretly loved, and not pull her into his arms, hug her, kiss her. I couldn’t even imagine not being able to be there for Evie. It must destroy him with every breath not to be with her in moments like these, to not truly be there for her, love her, and help take her pain away.
Quietly sobbing, Willow clung to him, resting her head on his bicep while he guided her out of the throne room and to her quarters.
“Elijah, you should take Harper to her rooms so Ava can tend to her,” Evanna suggested, reminding everyone of the medicine woman who stood near Harper, eager to help heal her fractures.
“Thank you, Princess.” He bowed his head appreciatively for dismissing them, and carefully carried his mate his arms, walking out of the room with Ava on his heels.
“Asher,” Evie continued. “Please gather Jayden, Sophia, and Maya so they can prepare our fallen sister for tonight’s farewell ceremony.”
Turning on his heel, he walked towards the door, stopping briefly to hug me. “I’m glad you are safe, Brother.” His gaze fell to Penelope. “How did you that?”
“I will explain later,” I promised to him and the rest of the Elevated Warriors who witnessed my partial healing. They all nodded, though curiosity was still heavy in their expressions.
“The rest of you should go change and take a moment to yourselves,” Evie continued. “Let’s let our sister, Penelope, lay in peace until the ceremony.”
With her words, the rest of the Sky Legion offered her a bow of their heads and began to dissipate from the space. Their princess had made it clear our gathering here was over.
My steps immediately took me towards Evie, wanting to check on her and make sure she was alright. She couldn’t possibly be after what happened today, but still. Red add purple shadows wrapped around her delicate neck just like Raithian’s light rope had, and the sight hurt me to no end.
She had suffered because of his growing obsession with me.
“This is on you!” Lachlan raged, cutting off my path and shoving me back with both hands.
He reached for me again, but I blocked him from grabbing my shield’s belt on my chest, and shoved him to the side, stepping away from him. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Have you no decency?!” Harrison shouted, stepping between us while Lachlan came at me like an enraged bull.
“You did this.” He pointed an accusatory finger at me while his other hand gestured to Penelope.
The pain of her loss shone as clear in his eyes as it did in the rest of us, and I had to remind myself that this had been his family before it ever became mine. Unable to repress the guilt, I swallowed, because part of me agreed with him.
“Stop this!” Evanna ordered from the other side, just as Finn and Hanna joined Harrison, creating a wall between us.
“He came here for you!” Lachlan reminded, then glanced at the warriors between us. “Why are you stopping me? The princess was almost strangled to death, and Penelope lost her life because of him! You should be making him pay, not defending him!”
Harrison squared off to him, contempt clear in his expression. “I’m stopping you because—”
“Donotsay another word,” Evie’s seethed warning reverberated with a scorching anger I hadn’t heard from her before, and by the way everyone froze in the room, they hadn’t either. She marched towards us, coming to a stop only a few steps away.
“He put everyone’s lives in danger today,” Lachlan argued. “Raithian came here for him, and attacked us because he—”
