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“Then what, pray tell, will bring you immeasurable joy each sunrise when I call out to you?” Ari laughed when Livia, at last, snickered at Kase’s scowl. He grinned at the Night Folk princess. “You shall see us all the time now.”
Livia’s smile was weary, but there all the same.
Ari gestured to Mira in my arms. “You know, all the other littles seem to be asleep. You’re the only one awake, Princess.”
Valen hiked her further up his back. “What do you say, little love? Care to sleep by Mira? Better than the smelly boys.”
Livia nodded, eyes heavy with fatigue. Valen cast Ari a significant look, one that hinted we’d all be speaking shortly, no mistake, of a great many drearier things, then went to settle Livia on the grass where I laid Mira.
Once the young ones were sleeping around the pitiful fire (we dared not draw too much smoke to our location) we huddled close together, three differing kingdoms. Royals, warriors, thieves, it didn’t matter what we were.
“We all saw the same thing,” Elise said. “A flash, the darkness, then we all woke here. Is the Borough intact?”
Ari nodded. “For the most part. Are you telling me Ravenspire is here?”
“Every damn gate,” said Elise.
“Our Nest is above ground,” said Niklas, “and it’s a travesty that I will remedy as soon as I can borrow the claws of a troll.”
“Same with the Black Palace, though we did lose the courtyard, and Felstad is made of even more ruins,” Kase said, flicking a twig into the dying flame. “Our sea is gone. Our regions are one land, one area. It is as if we fell asleep and awoke with our entire kingdom rearranged.”
“Think of when it all fell apart,” I offered. “We saw it in Ari’s fae sleep. I’ve no doubt the people of old awoke to a new world.”
“The difference was they had no memory of a before,” Malin offered, her hand wrapped tightly in Kase’s.
Ari knelt and traced out the land with a stick in the dirt. He lifted his gaze to mine. “You’re certain this is the general area of where we are?”
“I saw the sea. From there, I can gauge our vicinity,” I said. “The golden flares are coming from the shore.”
Ari brushed off his hands. “Are we in agreement that we go toward it?”
“Should we go in a small group?” Kase offered. “We have children with us.”
“I don’t know if it is safer to keep them elsewhere,” Elise said, “We don’t know what we’re facing. How do we protect them if we do not know?”
For a moment we all seemed to consider the notion. Sol cleared his throat and spoke. “There is something that feels almost peaceful about that light.”
“Could be a fae trick, Uncle,” Gunnar said.
Sol tilted his head. “I’ve thought the same, but where is Cal? The West is the only piece missing. What if she is there? Is her home not by the shore?”
“I’m going to just say it,” said Valen. “Calista is the daughter of the king who split our kingdoms. What if she is the one who has restored them?”
“Not such a far stretch,” I admitted. “Calista’s journey was meant to grow. My brother saw to it she was protected. We all know she had a path to find, so it might be that she has found it.”
“How do we explain the attacks on our shores?” Valen asked.
“We don’t,” said Ari. “Davorin has shown us new tricks. His glamour is there, his presence, but it’s almost like he is there in a mist. Nothing tangible. I don’t know where he is and it’s horrifically maddening.”
“Same with the sea fae,” Kase said. “Mal saw his likeness in their memories, but he never showed.”
“I say we rest,” Elise interjected. “Even for a few tolls. Then tomorrow, we do not stop until we reach the sea and find Calista.”
All at once, Bo shot to his feet. “There is someone out there.”
He squared to the trees, head tilted, a hand on the hilt of his sword.
“Our camp is warded,” Niklas said, voice soft. “Remember, no one can reach us if we stay within the borders.”
