Page 28 of A Kiss of Healing & Honor (Darkstone Academy #4)

A hush fell over the assembly. The air suddenly felt thick with tension and anticipation.

A knot formed in the pit of my stomach. As I glanced at Boreas, I saw him stiffen and pull his feathers tight against his body.

“Boreas,” Lady Aeolia began, her voice dripping with disdain, “you have disgraced yourself and our aerie with your outrageous behavior among the humans. You have acted without honor, without regard for our traditions, and challenged the authority of your clutch-mother.”

I watched in horror as Boreas flattened himself under the weight of his mother’s words, as if they were invisible mountains piled on his back.

“Clutch-Mother, I never meant to harm the aerie.” His voice cracked with the emotions flooding through our bond—shame, fear, and horror. “Or challenge you. I only wished to help Princess Jacinthe!”

Lady Aeolia appeared unmoved by his appeal. “The reasons are irrelevant. You have overstepped your bounds, Boreas. Repeatedly,” she snarled, her feathers bristling with anger. “Worst of all, you placed our aerie mark upon King Menelaus’ hatchling without my knowledge or approval. I don’t tolerate that kind of insubordination from any of my hatchlings, much less one so recently fledged!”

The air in the chamber seemed to crackle with tension as Lady Aeolia drew herself up to her full height, her massive form towering over Boreas. “From this day forward, let all be advised that I expel my hatchling Boreas from Argestes Aerie!” Her words rang out into the sudden silence. “He has forsaken your own kind in favor of the humans he apparently adores.” She turned to Boreas. “Go. Let the earthworms be your family now.”

Boreas staggered back as if he had been struck. “Clutch-Mother, I beg you,” he whispered, his wings and long neck both drooping, “do not cast me out. The aerie is my home. I have nowhere else to go.”

I turned a pleading look on King Menelaus. “Can’t you help Boreas?”

My father sighed and shook his head. “This is aerie business. I cannot undermine a clutch-mother’s authority over her hatchlings.”

Lady Aeolia snorted in reply to Boreas, curls of smoke veiling her gold eyes. “You should have thought of those things before you betrayed my trust,” she spat. “If you choose to remain here, you will live as an outsider, a pariah. You are nothing now, just a friendless, kinless, homeless vagrant.”

Boreas pressed his belly to the grass and bowed his head. His anguish sliced through our bond like a knife, his devastation reverberating through my spirit with a sickening intensity.

In that instant, my horror and outrage ignited into a blazing inferno, consuming every shred of restraint and common sense possessed.

“How dare you?” I shouted, my voice shaking with barely contained fury as I stood and marched forward to confront Aeolia. “How dare you treat your own son with such cruelty, such heartlessness? Boreas has done more than anyone else to heal the conflict between our peoples. He deserves better from you!”

“You presume to question my authority as clutch-mother, little human?” Aeolia’s eyes narrowed. Her crest bristled with indignation. “Just so there is no misunderstanding, I repudiate the aerie mark my hatchling so foolishly bestowed upon you. You are an outsider and have no say in the affairs of Argestes Aerie.”

The sight of Boreas, usually irrepressibly confident, crushed in the grass made my protective instincts blaze like wildfire.

“Boreas is my mate!” I declared fiercely, my gaze never wavering from Aeolia’s. “His happiness is my concern. I won’t stand by and watch you cast him aside like a piece of refuse.”

“Then he is yours,” Aeolia said contemptuously. “Take him and do with him whatever you wish. I’m done with him. He’s no hatchling of mine. Not any longer.”

She crouched and leaped into the sky. A few wingbeats brought her to the top of the canyon’s cliffs. She banked and disappeared from sight.

I turned to Boreas then. My heart ached as I met his golden eyes, dulled with shock and despair.

“Boreas, listen to me.” I reached up and pressed both hands to his great, scaly muzzle. Then I poured every ounce of love and admiration I felt for him through our soul bond. “You’re not homeless or kinless. You’re part of my family. My aerie,” I told him. “You belong with me, with all of us. And I swear to you, on everything I hold dear, that I will never, ever abandon you.”

As I spoke, I could feel a tentative flicker of hope amid the jagged shards of his pain. “Friend Jacinthe,” he breathed, his voice raw and vulnerable. “My clutch-mother is right. I’ve fucked up so many things… training you how to use Fire magic, trying to rescue you… If you take me in, how do you know I won’t just fuck everything up again, like I always do?”

“I don’t know that. And I don’t care.” I gently smacked the side of his jaw. “Yes, you’ve made mistakes. So have I. We all have. But your mistakes don’t come from a place of malice or selfishness. They’re born out of your desire to protect and care for those you love. You’re open-hearted, loyal, and generous. And I love you.”

Boreas leaned into my touch, his lids closing. “Thank you,” he whispered brokenly.

But our soul bond informed me he didn’t really believe me, and despair still filled him.

“Do you remember the first time we met?” I asked, stroking his warm, glossy green neck-feathers. “In the castle courtyard last summer, when those mage students were attacking me and Elswyth and Rheda?”

Boreas huffed out a laugh, wreathing me in sulfurous smoke. “Those fucking little crows. How could I forget?” His voice was tinged with fond exasperation. “You were such a scrawny thing back then, all elbows and attitude.” He glanced over at Alondra. “And Alondra was a fledgling in the wrong flock.”

“I was, wasn’t I?” she said, almost cheerfully, and touched her still-short hair. It had grown in nicely after Boreas burned it off, but was still only collar-length.

“And you were just as much of an arrogant ass as you are now,” I retorted. “But even then, despite all that bluster and bravado, I saw what kind of person you really were.”

Boreas tilted his head, his eyes searching mine with a kind of hesitant vulnerability that made my heart ache. “Oh?”

“A prince who didn’t hesitate to stand up for a bunch of lowly kitchen apprentices.”

I hugged him then, my arms wrapping tight around the glossy feathers covering his neck. “I am blessed and honored to share a soul bond with you, my Boreas,” I whispered.

Boreas was silent for a long moment, his breath hitching slightly in his throat. And then, slowly, tentatively, his wings swept out to wrap around me, holding me close against his feathered chest.

I felt the hurt and shock ricocheting inside him ease a little.

“Jacinthe. My friend. My mate,” he whispered. “Thank you for trusting me. For believing in me. For… for choosing me now.”

I smiled against his warm feathers.

“I’ll always choose you,” I whispered back. “Always and forever, Boreas. You’re a part of me now. A part of our family. And I will never, ever let you go.”

∞∞∞

In the wake of Lady Aeolia’s departure, Menelaus announced, “Audience is over for the day. Anyone has a petition they want to present, come back tomorrow afternoon.”

He snapped his fingers and one of the downy young Wind-Walkers scampered up to him. “Show my hatchling and her companions to the guest caves. Give Mage Armand the cave closest to mine, and Jacinthe the cave with the ten sleeping chambers.”

“Yes, my king. This way, please,” it chirped in a high-pitched voice.

It turned and waddled toward the nearest cliff.

I glanced back at Mama, expecting her to follow, but she lingered near King Menelaus, her fingers entwined with his. Her face was radiant, suffused with a joy I’d never seen before. It transformed her, erasing years of worry and heartache.

“Go on, dearest,” Mama said, her eyes twinkling. “Menelaus and I have some catching up to do.”

Oh. Oh.

Blushing, I nodded and turned to follow our diminutive guide.

It led us past dozens of carved monumental doorways leading into the cliff. I marveled at the intricate patterns etched into the stone doorframes.

“Here we are, Mage Armand,” the little dragon announced, stopping before a massive archway hung with a black-and-red painted leather curtain. “The royal guest cave. I hope you find it comfortable. Rest and refresh yourself. We will bring you supper shortly.”

The next set of guest quarters were located another two doorways further down, behind a leather hanging painted sky-blue.

The little dragon chirped the same phrases of welcome as before, then waddled away.

Remembering the bare, unwelcoming interior of the Telonos Gate guesthouse, I braced myself for another uncomfortable stay.

But as we stepped inside, my breath caught in my throat.

The artificial cavern behind the blue leather curtain was enormous, easily large enough to house a full-grown dragon. Unlike the guesthouse we’d stayed in last night, this chamber was illuminated with floated mage-lights and furnished with an eclectic selection of carpets and a random-looking assortment of human-sized furniture pieces, creating a bizarre juxtaposition of scale.

“This is… unexpected,” I murmured, running my hand along a gilded armchair that sat next to a tall, carved wood hat-stand hung with an assortment of human clothing in rich fabrics but mismatched styles.

Ilhan chuckled beside me. “It seems our hosts are trying to accommodate us.”

“In a rather haphazard manner,” Gwydion commented, patting the down-stuffed cushions of a low divan shoved against the wall.

“Go on, explore. I’ll catch up with you once I’ve finished changing into human shape,” Boreas said, settling himself on the collection of colorful carpets spread out on the cavern floor.

Fernan and Alondra darted ahead, exclaiming over the odd collections of furnishings in each of the sleeping-chambers.

Flanked by Ilhan, Tama, and Gwydion, I wandered deeper into the cave, marveling at the mismatched opulence. Ornate mage-light lamps with stained-glass shades cast rainbows across the rough stone walls, while plush Djinni rugs covered patches of the floor like colorful islands in a sea of rock.

We explored a series of caves clearly intended as sleeping chambers. Each one contained several human beds, all of them different shapes and sizes. Some had elaborate canopies and bed curtains. Others had carved and painted headboards.

One had a wrought-iron frame with a mattress wide enough to accommodate an entire family with plenty of elbow room to spare.

I eyed it, wondering what it would be like to share it with all four of my soul-bonded. The thought made my cheeks heat.

“Look at this!” Alondra called from the next chamber. “There’s a bathing pool! It’s huge! And it’s filled with hot water! “

Intrigued, I went to investigate. The innermost chamber housed a natural pool, steam rising gently from its surface. The warm, humid air was thick with the scent of minerals.

“A hot spring,” Boreas explained, entering the bathing chamber. He was back to his usual giant red-haired form, and dressed in a long, loose silk robe tied at the waist with a gilded belt. “This area has a lot of them. Almost every aerie cave has at least one.”

I bent and dipped my fingers into the water, sighing with pleasure at its perfect temperature. After days of travel and hardship, the thought of submerging myself in this pool was almost too tempting to resist.

“This is more than I expected,” I breathed, turning to face my companions. Their faces reflected excitement. “After last night, I never imagined we’d find such luxury here.”

“Shall we settle in?” Tama asked. “I am curious about this strange bath of hot water.”

Gwydion’s silver eyes glimmered with mischief as he sauntered towards the steaming pool.

“Why don’t we all bathe together?” he suggested, his voice dripping with playful seduction. “It’s been far too long since we’ve had any real privacy.”

Before I could decide whether Gwydion’s suggestion was serious or a joke, Alondra let out an exaggerated groan. “Ugh, you’re terrible, Prince Gwydion!” She rolled her eyes.

She looked at Fernan. “Come on, Count Fernan. Let’s leave them to whatever awful things they’re planning to do next.”

As Gwydion fizzed with mischievous laughter, Fernan, looking equally uncomfortable, nodded. “Yes, Lady Alondra, let’s, ah, explore the rest of the aerie. And perhaps see if those fuzzy dragon chicks can find us some food that isn’t meat.”

As the two of them hurried out of the cave, Alondra gave her brother a reproachful look.

Ilhan turned beet-red but folded his arms and said coolly, “No need to rush back, sister. Good luck in your quest for bread and vegetables.”

Boreas, who was still subdued, managed a chuckle.

“Well, that takes care of the last of our chaperones,” Gwydion said, turning to me and the others with a wink. “Now, where were we?”

I shook my head, unable to suppress a smile. “You’re incorrigible, you know that?”

“It’s part of my charm,” Gwydion replied, his expression softening. “But in all seriousness, my sweet Jacinthe, I’ve had little time alone with you since… well, since before your duel with Lady Erzabetta.” He looked around the little group. “And that’s true for the rest of you, too. Am I right?”

Memories of the duel flashed through my mind—the fear, the anger, the desperation I’d felt after Erzabetta tried to have Tama killed.

I looked at the faces of my companions and felt a surge of love so powerful it nearly overwhelmed me.

“You’re right,” I said softly, reaching out to take Gwydion’s hand. “We haven’t. And I… I need to thank you all. These past two weeks have been… unimaginable. And I wouldn’t have survived them without you. Without your love, your loyalty, your strength.”

I took a deep breath, my heart pounding as I made a decision that felt both terrifying and absolutely right. “I want you to know that I pledge myself to you—all of you—as your spouse. No matter what awaits us in the capital. You are my family, my heart, my home.”

The silence that followed was thick with emotion. I could feel the others’ reactions through our soul-bond—surprise, joy, love so intense it made my knees weak.

“Ah, sweet girl. I much prefer this family to my old one.” Gwydion pulled me into a tender embrace, joined quickly by the other three.

“We’re more than just friends and lovers now,” Boreas declared, his smile returning at last. “We’re an aerie, just like Jacinthe said back there.” He paused. “Aeries need a mark to bind their members.”

My hand instinctively moved to my belly, resting over the place where a long scar marred the hyacinth tattoo Mama had given me.

The ruined flower, a reminder of my near-death experience and the Fae ritual that had saved my life and bound these four extraordinary men to me, suddenly seemed like a symbol of rebirth.

“What about… a hyacinth?” I suggested. “A new version of my tattoo, to represent the day you all bound yourselves to me to save my life. And our new beginning now.”

Gwydion’s silver eyes lit up. “I think that would be perfect, love. And I think I can help with that.” He kneeled by the edge of the bathing pool, his long, graceful fingers sketching in the damp sand. “I can use Wood magic to alter the existing marks on you and Boreas, and create new ones for the rest of us.”

I admired the design he’d just created. The stylized hyacinth from my tattoo was ringed by the symbols of all five magical elements.

“Do it,” Boreas said. “Give me the mark.”

“And me,” Tama said. “I wish to prove I belong to Jacinthe’s clan now.”

“And me, too,” Ilhan said. “I want to be part of this group always.”

Gwydion looked up at me, his expression a mix of tenderness and mischief. “And you, Jacinthe? Pledging yourself to all four of us—that’s a big step.”

“Do it.” I met his gaze and smiled as happiness poured through me. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

“Let’s do this in the water.” Gwydion’s lips curved into a sensual smile as he began unbuttoning his doublet. “After that terrible inn last night, I know we’re all dying for a hot bath.”

When we were all naked and sitting in hot, chest-deep water, Gwydion said, “Ready to begin?”

Graceful as a river otter, he slid through the water to where Boreas sat.

I held my breath as Gwydion rose on his knees and cupped Boreas’ face. He leaned in and, to my surprise, kissed Boreas on the mouth.

I tensed, wondering how Boreas would react.

Part Four

Neapolis Capitola