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Thane slowly opened the cottage door. The hinges squealed quietly, and he stepped out into the warm balmy air. The pair of approaching elves pulled their hoods back to reveal lunar tattooed faces, one redhaired, the other a rich golden brown, styled with braids and twists, one of them had an eyepatch—not Fennan or Aldrich but friends, nonetheless. The female in the center kept her face hidden, however. Only a hint of brown skin showed.And who might you be?Thane thought.

The dirt path leading to the front entrance wasn’t wide enough for the three of them shoulder to shoulder. Gunner and Leif glanced at each other, their pace picking up, pumping their arms in a speed walk. A race, of course. Predictably mischievous, Leif shoved Gunner over green, round-trimmed shrubbery. With a curse and a grunt, Gunner rolled and sprang back to his feet. Thane couldn’t help but chuckle, then immediately regretted it. He clutched his torso, wincing at the pain a simple laugh caused.

“Don’t ruin my rhododendrons,” Vesstan called and sighed, hobbling out from inside. “Bunch of brutes, the lot of you.”

Leif gave an apologetic shrug, while Gunner carefully hopped back over the flowering bushes, adjusting his slinking black eyepatch. Thane didn’t know how he truly lost his eye. He told a different story anytime he was asked.

It was good to see familiar faces. It felt like a lifetime ago that he’d fought beside them in Doonafell. Although he never questioned the Ravens’ loyalty to him, the situation with his father and Thane’s attempt to murder him would surely test it. Thane lifted a hand in greeting, and when the pair reached the patio, they both dropped to one knee. The mysterious female waited a few yards down the path with her hands folded in front of her.

“High King,” Leif said, while Gunner said, “High Prince.” The pair looked at each other, confused.

“He’s our rightful High King, you idiot,” Leif said. “He was crowned High King; therefore he is.”

“I meant no disrespect. I only thought…” Gunner’s tan cheeks flushed, and he cursed under his breath.

“Leif. Gunner. My Ravens, rise,” Thane said, patting them both on the shoulders. They both stood with eager smiles. “Until I remove my father, there will be debate on who the High King is.” Thane cleared his throat, unsure where to take this conversation. Would they be willing to go to war with Tenebris and their fellow soldiers—their brothers in arms. “As you probably know, I did try to kill my father and then took his place as High King. Our laws state—”

Leif grinned, wrinkling the crescent moon tattoos on the corners of his eyes, and grabbed Thane’s hand to pull him into a rough embrace. “We will follow you into any battle, against any foe, Thane.” His rolling accent sounded thicker than ever. A big hand slapped hard on Thane’s back, taking the air from his lungs. Pain shot down his spine from the impact. He grimaced but kept quiet. Maker above, would this injury ever heal? He didn’t know if it was the dragon’s poison that kept his body from recovering faster or if it was too large of a wound. “Oh, apologies, sire.” Leif pulled back, gripping his shoulders and held him at arm’s length. “Are you hurt?”

“It’s nothing. I’m better now.”

Leif’s blue eyes, so bright against his bronzed brown skin, flicked to Gunner. “You never mentioned injuries in your letter. You only said we’d be targeted by Tenebris, and we should go into hiding. The Ravens are ready to be at your side, no matter the cost. We will fight to stop the Black Mage and put you back on the throne even if that means battling against King Tenebris.”

Warmth blossomed in Thane’s heart. Maker, it felt good to know he wasn’t alone in this fight. But battle against Tenebris would have to wait until Thane could wield a sword properly again.

“I appreciate that, but who is your friend?”

“Oh,” Leif said, folding his arms and stepping aside to make way for the maiden. “She insisted on coming. Found her on the way here.”

“And she is?”

The maiden pulled her hood back, and Thane’s chest instantly tightened. He knew that face well even though he’d only seen her once. “Evalyn, I presume.”

“You,” she snapped with accusation.

Thane couldn’t help but smirk. “Me.”

“It was you in the pub that night. I should have known.” Her brown eyes dragged down Thane’s body then back up. “You’ve certainly grown since you were a boy.”

“I suppose I would have.”

“And what now, hmm? The letter said you and your father had a falling out over her. That you actually love her. Hard to believe but the only reason I’m not going to take advantage of your injured state and kill you right now is I need your help to get her back. And if you love her, you’ll do it. Then she’ll be coming home with me. You’ve done enough damage.”

Leif and Thane exchanged a wary look. With a deep, hopefully calming, pull of air into his lungs, Thane cooled the tension building inside him. After he took Layala against her will, he expected this. “I do love her, and as far as who she’s going to go home with, well, that will be up to her.”

She scoffed. “Oh, you suddenly want to give her a choice, do you? You’re not going to try to force her to stay with you? Use her?”

Now he knew where Layala got her attitude from. It was almost like he’d been transported back to the early days with Layala having the same arguments. “I said I loved her. What about that would make you think I’d use her in any way?” He snapped, the pain in his abdomen began to burn again. “Once I explained things, she was free to leave at any time.”

“You expect me to believe you after your soldiers held me captive, threatened me, and gave her no choice but to go with you?” She lifted a hand and jabbed a crooked finger at him, “If you tried to force yourself on her—”

“You’re crossing a line, Evalyn,” Thane tried to keep the snarl out of his voice but couldn’t. “I would never do that. Never. And I had no choice but to take her that day. The mate spell would have turned us into pale ones. Once she knew, she tried to find a way out of it, as did I.”

Evalyn’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “The consequence of not fulfilling the mate spell…” she trailed off and rolled one of the berries on her twine necklace between her fingers.

Mage Vesstan half stepped in front of Thane. His shaky hand dragged over his mid-belly length, white beard. “Today is the first day in nearly a month he’s been able to walk without collapsing. I understand you are frustrated but we all are.”

Thane turned and glared. He didn’t want the pity of Leif, Gunner, or Evalyn for that matter, when they had a mission to accomplish.