AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It’s probably realizing that yes, she came here, but she’s left again and isn’t coming back.
I’d been resting my hand on the pommel of the sword I’d taken with me, but at the thought I reflexively tightened my grip.
Footsteps echoed across the courtyard. “Noctus?”
“Hello, Kerberos,” I said without looking at my longtime friend.
She stopped next to me and rested a warm hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“Just fine,” I wryly said, shifting to make room on the bench so she could join me.
Ker sat down, leaning forward so she rested her elbows on her knees. She stayed silent, though she glanced at me, a sad smile flitting across her lips. “You don’t have to pretend, you know. We know what Chloe meant to you. No one will criticize you.”
“For inviting my heartache back into my own house?” I asked.
Ker shrugged. “It was a chance to see her—something we didn’t think we’d get.”
“You don’t think I was insane for letting the Paragon bring her? It had the potential for disaster.”
“Nah,” Ker said. “Charon’s been dying to find a way to help her despite the separation. And what better way to do it than right under the Paragon’s nose? It was safer than you might think. Chloe is good enough at acting that we knew she’d be able to roll with it. Though I don’t think she appreciated the Paragon dragging her here without telling her.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “She seemed…upset.”
Ker snorted. “She would have gotten away if you hadn’t been there with your expert Ama-catching skills.”
“Experience,” I said.And maybe a bit of desperation.
I’d thought I was processing Chloe’s absence just fine. It had been hard after she left, but I’d dealt with loss in my life before—it was a constant companion in long lived supernaturals like myself. But after rescuing her from Paw-Pals, even though it was just her cat form, her absence haunted me.
It took everything I had to leave her in her apartment and go. I’d told myself it was because she was injured, and I’d hoped that maybe, if I saw her safe and whole, I could let her go.
But no. Now, I wanted her more than ever, to the point where I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle any good-natured ribbing from my friends.
“Noctus.” Ker paused as she stretched her long legs out in front of her. “Isn’t there any way it could work?”
I listened to the gurgle of the fountain as I tried to recall what we’d been talking about. “Make what work?”
“Chloe, and you,” Ker said. “Since the Paragon officially introduced her to us, don’t we now have a reason to reach out to her? I don’t think the Paragon will be overly suspicious. He’d report it back to the Regional Committee of Magic, but none of them seem interested in you if they think the Paragon has control over you.”
“It’s a wonderful dream,” I said. “But it’s a temporary solution. I believe we’ll soon be leaving Magiford, and while the Paragon might follow us due to his bulldog attitude toward his pointless quest, wecannotlet the Regional Committee of Magic or any supernaturals note our move with interest—something they definitely would do if the last shadow was connected to me.”
“Noctus, you’re an elf,” Ker said. “Chloe wouldn’thaveto move with us—you could use gates to port yourself to her. You’d need to keep portals to Magiford active for a while, anyway, or all the Calor elves quitting their jobs within the same month would possibly raise some suspicions.”
“Not necessarily,” I said. “Humans and supernaturals don’t talk. My people all work for humans—it’s unlikely supernatural society would even notice their absence. But I see what you mean. It’s still…” I stopped talking—I missed Chloe so badly, I didn’t even want to voice just how impossible our situation was.
“You don’t have to be so perfect a king that you become unfeeling, Noctus,” Ker said. “It’s okay to take some risks for Chloe. She means a lot to you, and it’s important to embrace whatever love you can find in life, or you’ll lose yourself. You won’t be a king, you’ll just be a husk.”
“That’s an alluring thought, Ker, but it’s more than just myself that I’m risking. It’s even more than Calor.” I shut my eyes, contemplating just how I could make her understand.
The largest of my duties was that of king. It was a ball and chain, one destined to drag me under and eventually drown me.
But it was more than that. I’d changed the course of supernatural society when I’d killed my family, and I intended to see through the consequences of those actions, no matter how widespread they were.
Perhaps I should tell her. I’ll have to explain to Aristide and Charon eventually, if we do move.
I opened my eyes and glared down at the shackles on my wrists. “I know where the elf princess that the Paragon seeks is.”
Ker straightened up. “You what?”
