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“My destiny is to save her then help her find the one she is meant to be with. The one who will wear the crown.”
“When the hell are you going to see that youarethe one who is meant to wear the crown?”
“I am not good enough to be with her, let alone lead this world.”
“Why is that, I wonder? Because you took on dark magic accidentally after your sister’s death? Or perhaps it’s because, even though you could have ended the war centuries ago, you chose not to because, in doing so, you risked unleashing a dark fae on this world? Bloody hell, Rafferty, for such a smart man, you sure are a dumbass.”
My last moments with Ember run through my mind, watching her walk away, hearing her soft cries until she fell asleep.
“Why would Fin help?”
I turn to her. “Who do you know that has the most to gain with Taranus’s death? Do you really think he’d pass up the chance to kill his mate’s murderer?”
“No.” She mutters a curse. “Dammit. This is a right mess. Do you at least know where she’s going?”
“She mentioned that they’d found her near Mossy River.”
“That’s not terribly far from here,” Heelean says. “We can likely reach it within the hour if we leave now. Once we reach the edge of the tree line, we can dematerialize there.”
I start toward her, but she holds up a hand. “What is it?”
“If we show up and stop her from returning home, you’d damn well better have a good reason for it.”
“She can’t die.”
“That is not your choice to make. If she was dying when you met, you need to give her a reason to live.”
“Living isn’t enough of one?”
“Not when dying would save the person you love.”
I shake my head. “She doesn’t love me.”
“No? You sure about that? Because I’ll be honest, you’re lying to yourself so damned much I wonder if you’d even see the truth if it bit you on the ass.”
“I already had a mate,” I remind her.
Her expression softens. “Do you truly not believe you are worthy of a second chance?”
The words mirror Ember’s so closely that they shatter another piece of my soul. “I didn’t,” I reply as I reach down and gather my blade. “But then I met her, and she changed everything.”
“You love her, then.”
“I do.”
“Then why the hell are we still standing around?”
* * *
By the timewe arrive at the edge of the forest so Heelean can dematerialize us, we’re already far too late. Taking shelter in brush that shields us from view, I take in every inch of the scene before me.
A small clearing has already been set up as a battle camp with one giant tent erected in the middle and a handful of smaller ones surrounding it. Taranus’s men patrol, marching in white and gold armor that glints beneath the bright sun.
How the hell did they know we were going to be coming here? Did Taranus suspect I would try to take Ember home?
Ember.
Frantically, I scan the area for Ember and Fin, but there’s no sign of them. My gaze travels through the camp then to the trees just beyond. Is it possible they changed course and went back? Or is it—
