Page 33 of A Bond so Fierce and Fragile (Compelling Fates Saga #3)
Loche
W hen Zaddock sighed again for the tenth time in minutes, Loche spun around from where he’d stood in the bow, letting the cold wind rush through his hair, and faced his friend.
“I know you’re angry, Z, but it was necessary.” His eyes bore into Zaddock’s blue ones—the ones that appeared to become more and more defiant by the day and that had Loche’s gut coil in ways he’d never experienced before.
“I don’t understand why I couldn’t go with them!” Zaddock shot him a glare back, his entire body twisting with disdain. “You have those Fae bastards. Why do you need me?”
Loche closed his eyes for a moment, trying to find an ounce of patience within him.
Yesterday, he’d sent Amalise, Ardow, and Venko to meet the ship with Geyia and the half-Fae children they’d left behind when they went to find Lessia after that disastrous meeting with King Rioner.
He’d debated for days whether it was worth breaking up the group, especially in enemy waters, but… from what he’d heard from Amalise and the reports from Geyia and Steiner, some of the older Faelings could potentially be quite useful.
They would need them. He didn’t want to say it aloud, but while Kerym and Thissian were rumored to be powerful, he’d seen little of their supposedly feared magic the past few days when they’d sailed through Korina’s waters, heading toward Ellow and keeping an eye out for the rebels.
And Loche knew Meyah and her people were close. He could feel it in his bones, and his spies had also seen Meyah’s ships on the same path they were on.
The final conversation he’d had with Lessia and the others echoed in his mind as his eyes flew across the empty rocky isles flanking his ship.
“Rioner will not risk another failure,” Lessia mumbled.
“He won’t,” Kerym agreed. “He’ll come for us. All of us. It’s how he works.”
Merrick nodded slowly. “You’re right. He’ll attack when the rebels do. It’s what makes most sense. He won’t want to waste any more time, and he’ll bet on…” The Death Whisperer’s face hardened so much with pain that everyone but Lessia and Loche looked away. “He’ll bet on Lessia dying in the fight.”
Loche couldn’t help but let out a shuddering breath when Lessia didn’t argue, only stepped closer to the silver-haired Fae, letting him fold both his arms around her.
As if that would protect her. As if any of them could protect her from what was to come.
“So, how can we gain an advantage?” Loche asked when he couldn’t take watching the woman he still loved try to stay strong for another man.
Especially when he knew… Rioner would win the bet. Loche had known the Fae King long enough to know he wouldn’t give up, not until Lessia took her final breath.
“We’re doing what we can,” Kerym responded as his blue eyes landed on one of the copper-haired sisters who appeared to be eyeing him right back, from what Loche could tell. “If we can get the wyverns on our side, we have a chance. And… if we can get the rebels to stand down, we will win.”
“Don’t forget about Cedar.” Lessia’s eyes brushed his, but Loche had to look down at the hope that shone in them. “He might convince some of the Fae to, if not fight, at least stand down.”
The look Merrick, Kerym, and Thissian shared didn’t instill the same hope in Loche.
“We should find a spot to fight that’s favorable to us.” Kerym’s brother’s voice was soft, but it wasn’t a whisper. “Force Rioner, the Oakgards’ Fae, and the rebels to meet us where we are.”
Loche’s eyes found Zaddock’s, and for once, his friend’s weren’t locked on the blonde woman he followed around.
Nodding as Zaddock’s gaze darted north, Loche cleared his throat. “We have such a place. There is an island on the outskirts of Ellow. It mirrors Korina with its high cliffs, but there is a plateau on it as well. It’ll allow some of us to be out of the water.”
Merrick broke in. “That’s good. Rioner will use his water skills in this fight, so if we can strategically place a few of us on land, we can try to counter them. Although those Oakgards’ Fae wield earth powers.”
“Isn’t their magic impacted?” Kerym asked.
“We’re not certain how their curse works,” Merrick muttered, the iciness in his voice almost as chilling as the haunted look on his face. “I don’t think we can count on it. Besides… they are desperate. And you know as well as I do what happens with desperation in war.”
An involuntary chill had Loche raise his shoulders.
So many enemies. So many things that could go wrong, and so few paths to win.
They’d finally decided it was best for everyone if they drew Rioner and the Oakgards’ Fae who would fight beside him, as well as the rebels, to the spot outside Ellow. The rebels planned to attack Ellow anyway, and this was the best way to keep his people safe.
“Are you all right, Loche?” Zaddock’s voice softened.
Loche definitely didn’t prefer it to the grouchiness.
He’d let Zaddock down.
He’d let everyone in Ellow down.
For what? To save the woman he loved.
That had turned out really fucking great. He’d hurt her so badly she’d never look at him the same way again, and who could blame her?
He was so damned stupid.
“I need you here because I don’t expect the rebels to just speak to us,” Loche said, responding to Zaddock’s earlier question as he refused to meet his friend’s eyes. “I need everyone I can spare, and last I remember, you were quite skilled with the sword.”
“Loche…” Zaddock hesitated, and Loche dragged his hands through his hair, wondering how to stop him from asking if he was all right again.
Of course he wasn’t.
He’d fucked up so bad. Ellow was in danger. So were his people. His friends.
Lessia.
“We all need to do what we can now.” Loche didn’t mean for his words to come out so harsh, but guilt was eating him up, and he could hardly stand it.
At least before, he had been able to think about the woman he’d done it for… But now?
It just made it all worse.
“We will.” Zaddock placed a hand on his shoulder. “I… I’ll be by your side until the end. I made you that vow once, and I will keep it.”
Loche fixed his gaze on an especially large rock formation to his left, even as he felt Zaddock’s gaze whisper across his face.
Because it would end for them, wouldn’t it?
He’d seen it in the Fae warriors’ eyes. In Ardow’s hesitant nod when Loche asked him to get the Faelings—those who had decided they wanted to fight for Ellow. He’d heard it in Zaddock’s shaky voice when he’d spoken to Amalise as she’d climbed into the small rowing boat without a goodbye.
It had only been Lessia who had some ember of hope lighting her amber eyes.
Not for herself… No, he’d seen that same acceptance in her that was mirrored within himself. Neither of them would survive this war, but she had hope for the world…
After everything, she had hope for this realm.
For the people she expected to leave behind.
That’s where they differed.
Loche shook his head. He had no idea how she did it.
“Regent.” Kerym, the more talkative of the raven-haired twins, approached the two of them, and Zaddock’s hand fell from his shoulder as Loche turned to face the Fae.
“What is it?” His brows furrowed as he studied the Siphon Twin, the worry marring his tan forehead.
“I sense something.” Kerym met his eyes briefly before his own shot across the water and dark isles around them. “Magic. Someone or something with magic is nearing.”
The two sisters—Loche had no idea why they stayed around—approached as well, halting right behind the Fae.
“The rebels are close.” Pellie placed a hand on Kerym’s shoulder, and Loche didn’t miss the slight jerk running through the Fae as he tried to plaster a playful grin across his features as he faced her. “You need to get your brother, handsome.”
“How do you know?” Kerym asked, his eyes flitting from the small hand on his shoulder to Pellie’s huge green eyes.
“We just do,” her sister interrupted. “We need to be ready.”
Loche slowly moved his narrowed eyes between the sisters when Zaddock stepped forward. “There. There is a small boat by the formation that looks like a cloud over there.”
Loche’s eyes shot in the direction his friend waved toward, and sure enough, a small white rowing boat approached them from between the islands.
It was still too far away for him to see clearly, but Kerym, who benefited from a Fae’s sharp vision, mumbled, “It’s only three people. A woman in the front—she’s definitely a shifter—with two half-Fae escorting her.”
“How do you know they’re escorting her?” Zaddock asked, and Loche was thankful for it, since the question immediately filled his mind as well.
“They’re watching her the way Fae watch their leader.” Thissian joined them, throwing a quick look at the small woman still clinging to his brother before shifting his dark blue eyes to Loche’s. “They’re there for her protection.”
“Who is she?” Loche wasn’t sure why he asked.
Not when he was certain it must be the elusive rebel leader who always seemed to be a step ahead of him.
For years, his spies had failed to find her. He’d even gone out in search of her himself for a few months, but it had been impossible. It was as if she didn’t leave any traces wherever she decided to reside.
“She is who you suspect,” Soria responded, stepping closer to him while her sister remained between Kerym and his brother.
Zaddock also stepped forward so they all stood in a row, facing the small boat, which moved so much faster than their own, catching up with them in what felt like seconds, even though they hadn’t set anchor.
When the boat sidled up to Loche’s ship, a chain was thrown onto their deck, the clanking jarring them all, snapping them out of the thick silence they waited in.
As a ladder followed the chain, landing on the side of the ship with a soft thud, Soria leaned into him and whispered, “You will be all right, regent. Just remember who you are.”
His brows snapped together, but he didn’t have time to ask what she meant as a dark-haired woman elegantly climbed over the railing, sweeping her long hair over one shoulder when she looked up at the group with a serene smile as the two half-Fae swiftly followed her.
Loche’s back shot straight as he took in the familiar face, and when sharp gray eyes landed on his… he couldn’t help but gasp, “Mother?”