Page 131

With Farissa at the helm, Audra’s warriors helped tend to the wounded, and the makeshift infirmary at the training arena was less full by the day. People from all walks of life who’d taken part in the battle returned to the fortress, injuries healed, ready to assist in whatever way they could.

No one had heard from Dratos since he’d found Anya’s body, and Wilder didn’t expect they would for some time. He didn’t know if the nature of their relationship went beyond friends, but he had glimpsed that grief when he’d thought Thea lay dying in his arms… If Dratos needed to take to the skies to find reprieve from something similar, then Wilder would never begrudge him that.

As they slowly started to put the broken pieces of Thezmarr back together, Wilder sensed another farewell on the horizon. Sure enough, late one afternoon, Talemir approached him in the stables.

‘It’s time we returned to Naarva,’ the Shadow Prince said, a note of regret in his voice.

Though it felt like a punch to the gut, Wilder dipped his head. ‘I understand. You need to get back to Ry.’

‘We’ve already been gone too long.’

Wilder cleared his throat and offered his hand. ‘It’s been an honour to fight alongside you again.’

Talemir glanced down at his hand before knocking it away abruptly and pulling him into a hard embrace. ‘The honour has been mine, brother.’

Wilder gripped his former mentor’s shoulders. ‘Thank you… For all that you’ve done. Now, then… and in the years between. Without you, we wouldn’t have won this war.’

‘We all had our part to play.’ Talemir smiled, releasing him. ‘I almost called you “Apprentice” then… But —’

‘You realised I haven’t been your apprentice in over a decade?’

‘I can’t be that old.’

Wilder scoffed. ‘I assure you, you are.’

‘Matured like a fine wine then, eh?’ Talemir said with a grin.

‘If that’s what you need to believe.’

A pointed cough sounded from the door. ‘About time you two kissed and made up,’ Drue said with a note of amusement. She gave Wilder a wink before she addressed Talemir. ‘I miss our son and his menacing ways. Take me home, husband.’

Talemir beamed at her, as though hearing the word husband from her lips still gave him joy after all these years. ‘I was just saying goodbye.’

Drue came forward and wrapped her arms around Wilder. ‘Don’t be a stranger, Hawthorne,’ she said. ‘Naarva is no secret now, and we’d love to have you and Thea any time.’

‘Thank you,’ Wilder replied. ‘I hope it’s not long before we see you again.’

Terrence soared into the stables then, landing on Drue’s shoulder with an impatient squawk. Apparently the hawk was ready for the kingdom of gardens as well.

Wilder walked them out to the corral, where Talemir’s wings materialised and his shadows swirled as he pulled his wife into his arms.

Wilder raised a hand in farewell. ‘Be seeing you,’ he said.

When Talemir and Drue had gone, Wilder found Thea alone in the armoury, poring over a spread of maps and scrolls. She was rubbing her temples with a grimace.

Wilder leant against the doorframe. ‘Long day?’

Thea’s gaze snapped up to his, her frustration instantly softening at the sight of him. ‘The longest.’

‘I was going to go back to the cabin. Come with me?’

She pushed off from her workstation and came to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and locking them at the small of his back. ‘Gods, yes,’ she muttered, resting her forehead against his chest.

He huffed a laugh and kissed the top of her head. ‘Come on, then.’

With their arms around each other, they walked through the woods, towards the western foot of the mountains. The further they got from the fortress, the less evidence of the battle there was. Soon they were surrounded by trees, and it was as though the scorched ruins of Thezmarr were a distant dream.

‘We haven’t talked about it,’ Wilder ventured, with a tentative glance at the beautiful woman at his side.