Page 133

“She has this hunger, this need to learn and grow that I have never witnessed in anyone.” Landers looked up at me, his green eyes dancing in the dim lighting. “I have lived a long time, Ataliia. I have seen empires rise and fall. I have been the reason for some of the atrocities written intoThe Storiesand have witnessed the best and the worst of what humanity has to offer. But in all these years, in everything I have seen, she is the first person that made me want to be better—to do better. And not for her, not for my realm or my people, but for me.”

He fell quiet for a long moment as Cyloe shifted in front of the fire, her wolf’s tail softly thumbing against the wooden floor panels.

“I really tried to fight it,” he admitted softly as a sigh slipped between his lips. “I told myself that I was not worthy of her, that she deserved someone better. But it was a battle I could not win. She challenges me in ways I never thought possible. She sees beyond the facade I present to the world, beyond the power and the titles. Shesees me. She understands me in a way I have never experienced. Her love, her mere presence, has become a balm to wounds I thought would never heal. She is my anchor, my home.”

I took a sip from my cup, my eyes staying fixed on the flames in front of us. “Aren’t you scared that loving her will only open you up to more heartache?”

“Of course,” he answered, pausing only briefly. “Love is the most exquisite kind of torture. Pain will come from the presenceof it, and from its absence—but in choosing love, you are choosing not to endure that pain alone.”

I tore my eyes from the fire and watched him, taken aback by the depth and outpouring of his feelings. There was poetry weaved into the way he spoke about her. And for only a second, I wondered if Ardan had ever spoken of me like this.

“You are much like me, you know,” Landers said, smiling as he glanced at me with the tilt of his head.

I scoffed, rolling my eyes as a corner of my mouth lifted. “I’m not sure that’s a positive thing.”

“It is”—his smile deepened—“and it is not.” He chuckled, propping his chin between his thumb and forefinger. “You do not believe you deserve love, yet you love at a depth not many can understand. You pretend as if you do not, but you do. And the mere thought of letting anyone see that frightens you. Because if they see it, if you let them in—it makes it real. Makes it tangible. But I can promise you, not showing that love does not shield you from the pain that comes with losing them. But at least, when they do die—and we all will eventually—they will die knowing they were loved by you, and that is the only thing that really matters.” He looked fully at me, such sincerity dripping from his features. “Though I think this is a lesson you have already learned.”

A single tear slipped from my eye and I brushed it away as I nodded.

“The guilt of that has consumed me. That I didn’t tell him when I had the chance,” I whispered, swallowing the lump inching up my throat. “He never heard me tell him that I loved him. But I did—I do, love him. And I’m scared that I will never be able to give that love to someone else.”

“You do not have to give it to someone else, Ataliia. The love you have for him is his, something only the mix of your two soulscould create. But the heart will always make room for more and you will find it is big enough to hold space for every ounce of it.”

More tears began to flow as Landers extended his hand to me over the table sitting between us and I stared at it for a short moment before slipping mine into it. He wrapped his fingers around mine with a gentle squeeze.

“I love you, changeling. You are a thorn in my side, but you are my sister and I love you.”

Chapter thirty-nine

HYACINTH

TheElmmereMountainpeaksof Ithia rose majestically through thick, swirling fog, their slopes cloaked in verdant green forests. Towering bamboo and cedar stretched skyward, their branches disappearing into the mist as if reaching for the heavens. The early morning mist clung to the mountainsides like a living veil, softening the rugged edges of the cliffs and valleys, casting everything in a dreamlike haze.

Nithra pushed us from the earth, her wings beating against the air as we soared toward the highest peaks that seemed to float above the clouds. I took in the scene in front of me, trying to count the temples that scattered the mountain’s cliffs. I let my eyes follow the narrow stone pathways that twisted through the dense forest, their steps worn smooth by centuries of travelers seeking the healing found in these mountains. It felt timeless here, as if the air held the ancient spirit of Ithia’s forgotten legends.

I sucked in a deep breath and let the fragrant air fill my lungs. The ice of winter never touched these lands, and the warm air kissing my skin was proof of that. Ithia was suspended in perpetual spring, and I basked in it.

Today was the day.

The day my soul would no longer be my own. And though it was everything I wanted, I felt the heaviness knowing everything was about to change. We would be at war soon, and I refused to die bonded to another man.

I pressed my cheek to Nithra’s spine, feeling the warmth of her seep into my skin. There was a loyalty between us, unwavering trust that could not be broken. She had been the one that listened night after night to my thoughts spiraled when we arrived in Locdragoon. She had talked me through so many moments when I didn’t think I could go on. She was a part of me.

“Thank you,” I whispered down the fastening and a roar bellowed out of her in response.

My mouth cracked into a wide grin at the sound. I pushed myself upright and threw my arms out to the side, screaming into the sky alongside her as she nosedived toward the mountain’s valleys.

Fly with me, child,she said, pushing her nose deeper into the air hissing by us. I didn’t hesitate at her request, knowing this could be the last time we flew together just for the fun of it—for the freedom of it.

I flung myself from her body, letting my vision shift into dragon sight to see against the wind as I free fell beside her. Wings flowed out of my body as we veered around a mountain peak and I watched as her shadow covered the ground below us. Pure, adulterated joy crashed through my body as I pushed power into my wings andsoared.

For a fleeting moment, all the worries of the world fell away. The looming war, the weight of responsibility—they were distantechoes, drowned out by the rush of the wind and the pounding of my heart. Up here, amidst the clouds and untamed wilderness of Ithia’s peaks, I was free.

Free to soar, to dream, to simply be.

For now, in this perfect moment suspended between earth and sky, everything else could wait.

Our shadows raced across the forest canopy. The wind roared in my ears as I chased Nithra through the sky, my wings beating in rhythm with hers as they sliced through the air. Mist parted before us, swirling in eddies left by our passing. A scream of exhilaration burst from my lungs, the sound echoing off the mountainsides as Nithra’s laughter rumbled down the fastening.