Page 93

“Protect my people, Alex,” he told her, his voice rough with emotion. “Succeed where I failed.”

Before Alex could disagree with his statement, before she could tell him what a wonderful leader he had been to his people, what a wonderful husband and father to his wife and children, he disappeared into the mist.

And so did she.

Twenty-Seven

Hours later, Alex lay on the grassnext to Xira, staring up at the gradually setting suns overhead.

After the Gate of Lost Souls released her, she had called for her draekon, and together they’d soared the skies all afternoon while she’d filled him in on everything that had happened.

Eventually Xira had delivered them toLendasa Marnaand settled them on the fairy-light island, which, in daytime, was just a normal—if still pretty—patch of forest-, lake- and mountain-covered land. Without the bioluminescent glitter surrounding them, neither Xira nor Alex had become painted with colour; something that was almost disappointing, since the idea of showing up to the feast covered in a rainbowed plague might have taken some of the sting out of the Tia Aurans’ refusal to help. If nothing else, it would have at least been enjoyable to see their reactions.

Now that the time was drawing nearer for her return to Medora, Alex struggled to find a way to broach the topic she so desperately wanted to talk to Xira about.

“It’s almost amusing, watching you squirm,” Xira said after she’d been silent for a full five minutes.

“You know what’s not amusing?” Alex returned. “You being able to read my mind when I don’t want you to.”

He made a scoffing sound. “Wereallyhave to work on your lying skills.”

Alex’s lips twitched. “I’m pretty sure that’s not a character trait I want to adopt.”

“Perhaps not,” Xira acknowledged. “But you’re truly hopeless when it comes to deceit.”

“Again,” Alex said slowly, “I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”

“You’re also hopeless at hiding when you’re anxious about something, so spit it out.”

She bit her lip, but even with his invitation, she didn’t know how to ask. Mostly because she was afraid of the answer.

When she remained silent, Xira uttered a loud—if entertained—sigh and said, “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”

Narrowing her eyes, Alex said, “Excuse me?”

He didn’t respond to her question. Instead, he recited the words of their bonding, “‘Heart I give you, soul to share, strength and mind, both here and there. Forever and always,vaeliana.’” He dropped his nose until they were as close as his size would allow and said, “Of course I’m coming back to Medora with you, Alex. That you even feared I might not is absurd.”

Alex’s nose began to sting but she fought back the prickle of tears. “You have a life here, though,” she whispered. “You’re literally the Lord of the Sky Kingdom, the ruler of your race.”

“And I will be back in Medora, too, for those who make the journey with me.”

Jolting, Alex said, “Others are coming?”

Holding her gaze, he said, “Draekora was home for many of us, and for a very long time. Despite the tragedy that occurred there, I’m not the only one with a reason or a desire to return. And besides,” he added, “once your Meyarins are free again, they will benefit from our reinstatingMahna ess L’randae. They surely have to be down to their final reserves ofZ’aoby now, if not having depleted them entirely.”

Mahna ess L’randae, Alex recalled, was the twice-yearly Giving of Life ceremony where the draekons wept tears for theMeyarins. Those tears—theZ’ao—were a foundational source of power for Meya, not just because they could be refined into Myrox and then ground into dust that created the colourfulmyraesfire, but also because they powered the wards around the city—wards that kept certain places free fromValispathaccess, and wards that had kept the waterfalled valley itself hidden from the rest of Medora ever since Aven’s banishment, keeping him away as well.

At least until Alex had let him back in.

“They are,” she confirmed, remembering Kyia telling her that there was very littlemyraesleft in modern-day Meya. That, plus Aven had used Lady Mystique to pull Xira into the future just so he could have access to a draekon—and its tears—and have the upper hand in the coming battle.

Thankfully, that plan had been thwarted. Even if Aven had still, technically, come out on top in the aftermath.

“I can’t believe you’re coming back with me,” Alex whispered, humbled that he’d make such a drastic life change just for her. Especially after what happened to his mother back in Draekora.

“I can’t believe you thought I wouldn’t,” he returned. But then he said, “I won’t be leaving exactly when you do tonight—I still have some loose ends to tie up here, the same ones that kept me from travelling straight to your side when I felt our bond snap back into place upon your return from the past. But it shouldn’t take much longer before I can make the journey through theabrassaalong with those of my kin who wish to call Medora home.”

“Take your time,” Alex told him earnestly. “And I mean that—I don’t want you anywhere near Aven as long as he has Vae’varka in his possession.” She looked down and added, “He’ll remember everything now, so he’ll know how much you mean to me. You need to stay far away from him until all this is over.”