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I didn't know. But I trusted my mate. So, if she believed that, somehow, the evil fucker that’d cursed her as a baby was also responsible for the intense escalation in my father's toxic behavior, then I believed it, too. I knew she wouldn't steer me wrong.
It was because of that belief that Oren, Darla, Aodin, Serafina, Halle, my mate, and I all ended up on a small boat together, approaching one of the Lambert docks under the cover of night. There was another ship with several other allies, including Yvonne and her wife, as well as Semir, and the hawk shifters they’d brought along with them. Once we landed, we were supposed to travel the network of tunnels again until we reached a safe point to emerge and travel to the capital.
I couldn't believe we were going back. When we’d fled, I’d half assumed that would be the last time I'd see my home, and honestly, at the time, I wanted to wish good riddance toward the whole city. Perhaps it was the hope blooming in my chest, but I felt this time would be so much different. This could be the start of us making the capital the home I always knew it could be. Not just for me, but for my entire people.
If we managed to survive, that was. Although I was confident in myself, my mate, and my allies, the truth of the matter was that we were risking death, but it would be worth it if we were able to free the continent from the shackles of war and finally give future generations the peace they deserved.
My stomach roiled again, thanks to being on a bigger ship than before, where we weren't thrown about as much by the turbulent ocean. As if she could read my mind, Ayla reached over and placed her hand on my chest.
A moment later, overwhelming comfort began to spread out from where she touched. It was warm, it was soothing, and it was everything I didn't know I needed. My stomach began to settle down and the uptick in my heartbeat slowly settled.
I looked over at my mate and wondered again how on earth I had gotten so damn lucky. My faded mate could have been anyone or no one, period, but instead, it was one of the bravest, strongest, kindest women I had ever met. Unfair and impossible odds had been heaped on top of her blonde head, yet she'd always persevered. She inspired me to be a better person, to be strong enough to make a world fitting for someone like her to walk through.
“Thank you,” I murmured, my voice low. Although we had our own tiny room, barely the size of a closet, I still wanted it to be quiet for anybody else who’d managed to sleep. Goodness knew we’d need every ounce of rest and recovery we could get.
After the battle had wrapped up, there’d been a long stretch of uncertainty, with none of us fighters on Blath really knowing quite what to do next. We stood at the edge of the beach, looking at the absolute carnage spread out in front of us.
A good number of us hadn’t made it, and their bodies needed to be collected and given whatever final rites were customary to the fae. It made my heart ache, and I knew that should we succeed in finally wresting Camdaria from the hands of corruption, I would build a monument to all the brave souls who had sacrificed themselves so readily.
Hardly any had been soldiers, at least not active ones, as the majority of Blath’s military were naval, and off protecting the council members on their return trip home, or escorting the previous messenger that was sent to the capital. So, it was citizens who had fought and died beside me, going up against insane odds to protect the people they loved.
I wished it would stop there, but that was the one part of war that was so rarely talked about: the tedium of the aftermath. Prisoners had to be collected, locked up, and appropriately taken care of. Then there were the wounded, as well as the citizens who’d fled to the relative safety of the inner island that needed to be fetched and told it was safe. There was damaged infrastructure that would take months to repair, and a few small fires needed to be put out. Food needed to be distributed. Water. Mattresses to sleep on. Medical supplies. The list went on and on and on. It was daunting, that was for certain.
I wished we could have stayed on to help with the cleanup, but we’d only had about a day and half before Aodin suddenly hurried us onto one of Tove’s tiny vessels, telling us that our window had arrived earlier than any of us had expected. Thus, we’d slipped away in the dead of night for what he told us was a three-day journey to Lambert.
While that’d normally give us the leg up on my father, if he truly was taken over by the Shrouded Shriek, did he already know we were on our way? He had to know Ayla and I were alive, considering she’d managed to weaken him enough for him to flee in terror.
Which was absolutely fucking incredible. I could sense in the back of my mind that my mate was stronger, but clearly, I didn’t have any idea she could single-handedly not only hold the Shriek at bay, but also send him packing.
I’d always banked on our final completion of our bond being a power boost, but I was only just beginning to realize just how much I'd underestimated the expansion of our abilities. It just went to show how much Ayla and I were always meant for each other: two halves finally reunited as one—an unstoppable, undeniable whole.
I kept that pride simmering in my chest up until we arrived in Lambert. Although I had been quite nervous when we had first smuggled ourselves out of my homeland, I found myself much more centered when we docked at some clandestine port I didn’t even remotely recognize. It was quite different from the one we'd left all those days ago, tucked into some craggy rocks on the windward side of the town.
From there, we walked across the rickety, salt-worn wood into what seemed like a natural cave system. At least it seemed natural at first until it widened into the ever so familiar style of tunnels I’d come to associate with the Fae. I was half-tempted to make a joke about Aodin's people being more like dwarves or gophers, but I figured it wasn’t the right time. The fae was taking a huge gamble and showing me his people’s secrets. If I ever turned on him, he would be absolutely screwed, so the weight of that was not lost on me.
Nor was the fact that I wouldn't be anywhere close to where I was now if it weren't for my friends. Between Oren, Aodin, my sister, and of course Ayla herself, I would still be the selfish princeling with delusions of grandeur I had been before I ran away. I owed them everything.
It looked like it was time to repay that debt. No matter what happened, I would give my all to ensure each of them could have the life they deserved, and could have the future that wasn’t possible right now with the war, Ayla’s curse, and my father’s corruption. I wanted Oren and Darla to pursue a whirlwind romance as dramatic and wonderful as each of them craved, and despite my misgivings at first, I wanted my little sister and Aodin to be able to explore their chemistry with each other and see if there was something there. They already meshed so well, and I'd learned firsthand what a brilliant and trustworthy ally the fae was.
I also absolutely, without a doubt, wanted to give Ayla her happily ever after. Whether that was as queen or not, I wanted her to pursue everything she thought she could never have. She had already given up so much of her life for others, and I wanted her to be able to truly live for herself.
It was all that weight which made determination burn within my chest. I'd always had a lot to fight for, but now I had even more. All I knew was that that we were reaching a turning point in our journeys together—one that would irrevocably change our lives no matter which way the cards fell.
Naturally, that led to a somber mood as we navigated our way out of the city, up into an abandoned shack that looked like it’d been half burned to the ground. There, a familiar steam carriage was waiting for us, with an even more familiar scent wafting from the driver.
“Mad Dog!” Ayla blurted out in a whispered cry as she rushed forward. I had to blink twice and take a deep breath, but sure enough, the mustachioed man in front of us smelled just like the separated member of our group.
“Aye there, lass. And here I thought you didn’t miss me.”
“Then, you’re a fool,” my mate retorted, throwing her arms around the man, and hugging him fiercely. I approached, intent on greeting my errant friend as well, until another figure sat up from the bed of the wagon.
I tensed instantly, hackles rising, before recognizing that scent too. It wasn’t as familiar to me as Maddox’s, but after a beat, I got it.
“Lady Felicity?” I gasped. Of all the people I expected to see, she wasn’t one of them.
Except I wasn’t really seeing either, considering that both clearly had some strong fae glamours on them. Not only did they look nondescript to a fault, but it was like my eyes didn’t want to settle on them, sliding this way and that, reminding me of Ayla’s old curse .
Ugh, I was grateful not to be in those times anymore. It still pained me to think how I’d spent years ignorant of my fated mate while she was suffering, but hopefully soon, we’d have all the time in the world to make up for it.
