Page 38 of Eluvonia (Rift of Ages #1)

AERIS

D eclan leads us around the side of the castle, his steps light with purpose.

The dull stone walls give way to a breathtaking view of the gardens, and my breath catches in my throat.

It’s a sight that demands awe—a vast expanse of vibrant flowers in every color imaginable, their petals shimmering like jewels in the sunlight.

A large Dragon-shaped fountain stands at the center, water cascading from its mouth into a clear pool below.

The mist catches the sunlight, creating a delicate rainbow that hovers like magic in the air.

“Holy shit, this is gorgeous!” I blurt, my mouth falling open.

My legs move faster on their own as I stride into the garden, leaving Declan and Kaida behind.

The sun kisses my skin, the wind carries the soft perfume of flowers, and for the first time in what feels like an eternity, I don’t feel like I’m suffocating.

I lean down to smell a cluster of pale blue flowers, their scent sweet and light, then glance over my shoulder to see the two men watching me. Declan is grinning, arms crossed, while Kaida stands stiffly, his expression unreadable.

As I walk further in, something catches my eye—a large blanket spread neatly over the grass, with a woven basket placed in the middle. Small throw pillows are scattered around it, their rich fabrics catching the sunlight. I frown in confusion and turn to Declan.

“What’s this?” I ask, gesturing to the setup.

Declan rubs the back of his neck, a small, shy smile tugging at his lips. “You’ve been through a lot, and you’re constantly on edge. I thought it’d be nice for you to relax for an hour or two. Don’t you think you deserve that?”

My chest tightens, and for a moment, I can’t find the words. The thoughtfulness of it catches me off guard, but I manage a soft smile. “That’s… really thoughtful, Dec. Thank you.”

He nods, motioning toward the blanket. “Well, don’t just stand there gawking. Sit.”

I plop down on one of the pillows, my muscles already relaxing. I glance at Kaida, who’s still hovering like a storm cloud. “Are you going to sit down, or are you just going to block my sunlight all day?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

Kaida’s eyes flick to Declan, then back to me, before he finally drops onto a pillow with a grunt.

Declan starts unpacking the basket, pulling out small plates, cheeses, fruits, and meats, along with a bottle of something golden and fizzy. He pours the drink into a glass and hands it to me.

I sniff it suspiciously, wrinkling my nose. “What is this?”

“Champagne,” Declan says, sitting back on his heels. “It’s a kind of liquor.”

I tilt my head, puzzled. “Lick-er?” The word feels foreign on my tongue.

Kaida smirks, popping a grape into his mouth. “Fermented juice with bubbles.”

“Like mead?” I ask, glancing between them.

Declan chuckles. “Yeah, mead is a type of liquor. Try it. It’s better than that swill from the inn.”

I take a tentative sip, and the bubbles immediately tickle my nose, making me pull back with wide eyes. The taste is light and sweet, much better than the bitter mead I remember choking down before. Without thinking, I down the whole glass in one go.

Kaida snorts. “I think she likes it.”

Declan refills my glass, but this time he holds it just out of reach. “Take it easy. Liquor has an effect on the body if you drink too much.”

I roll my eyes but nod, setting my glass down with a soft clink. As Declan hands me a small plate of food, I can’t help but be impressed by the spread before me. I pop a piece of fruit into my mouth, savoring the tang that bursts across my tongue.

Declan leans back, picking at a piece of cheese.

“Did I ever tell you about the time Kaida fell out of a tree when we were kids?” I reach for a piece of cheese, a crumbly blue that promises a perfect balance of sharpness.

The moment it touches my tongue, the flavor hits hard—tangy and bold—but then a smooth creaminess follows, softening the bite.

I chew slowly, letting the taste linger as I listen, drawn into the story.

Kaida groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Declan, don’t.”

“Oh, I’m absolutely going to,” Declan says, his grin wicked. “ So, there we were, barely ten years old, not able to fly properly yet. Kaida gets it in his head that he can climb the tallest tree in the yard. He’s halfway up when—”

“I slipped,” Kaida interjects, scowling.

Declan snickers. “Slipped? You screamed so loud I thought the gods themselves were coming to smite us. And then—”

Kaida throws a grape at him, hitting him square in the forehead. “Shut up, Dec.”

I laugh, covering my mouth with my hand. “Please, don’t stop. This is the most entertainment I’ve had in weeks.”

Kaida glares at me, though there’s a spark of amusement in his eyes. “Traitor.”

I pop another piece of cheese into my mouth, letting its buttery sweetness mellow out the sharpness of the blue from earlier. It’s a nice balance, like the lightness in the air between the two of them, easy and familiar.

As their banter continues, I lean back, letting their words wash over me.

It feels… good. Simple. For a brief moment, I’m not the Fae girl that was kidnapped and is now surrounded by Dragons and danger all the time.

I’m just Aeris, sitting in the sun, laughing with people who don’t completely hate me. I think.

But the peace doesn’t last long. A high-pitched squeal shatters the moment, and I turn to see a woman sashaying toward us from the front gate.

She’s… stunning, in a meticulously crafted way.

Chestnut-brown hair falls to the small of her back in perfect waves, and her blue eyes practically sparkle.

Her tan skin glows against the tight, white dress she’s wearing—one that leaves very little to the imagination.

“Kaida! My darling, I’ve missed you!” she trills, her voice somehow more sugary than the champagne I just drank .

Kaida groans, dragging a hand down his face.

I glance at Declan, raising an eyebrow. He leans over and whispers, “Seraveille,” like it’s a dirty word.

Oh. The supposed betrothed .

Behind her, I spot Shura trailing with a smug look plastered across her face. Great. Just what I needed to ruin this rare moment of tranquility.

Seraveille stops in front of Kaida, throwing a quick, dismissive glance at Declan and me before focusing all her attention on him. “Kaida, did you hear me?”

He doesn’t even look at her, staring off into the distance like she’s not even worth acknowledging.

“Kaida?” she tries again, her practiced smile slipping just slightly.

Kaida sighs and finally stands, shoving his hands into his pockets. His expression is utterly deadpan as he stares at her. “What do you want, Seraveille?”

Her smile falters, and her gaze flicks back to me for a moment before returning to him.

“I missed you, silly. But here you are, having lunch with a… Fae .” She spits the word out, her face twisting in disgust, as if the very thought of it leaves a bitter taste in her mouth.

I can feel the weight of her disdain, and it only makes my teeth grind harder.

Kaida rolls his shoulders, patience visibly thinning. “Alright, let’s get one thing straight.”

His shadows spill out beneath him, pulsing with his words, stretching and curling like living tendrils. He gestures to me without breaking eye contact with Seraveille.

“This is Aeris. She’s my responsibility. The Ymirals give us one ‘Líer,’ and she’s it. She’s with me for life. Anyone who so much as looks at her the wrong way will lose a hand—and I will feed it to them, finger by finger. Do you understand?”

Silence crashes down. Shura looks moments away from combusting, while Seraveille… her face twists between shock and horror.

Declan, meanwhile, is cackling like a madman.

“W-what?” Seraveille stammers, her voice rising in disbelief. Her gaze flicks between me and Kaida, narrowing as she struggles to make sense of it. “Kaida, what are you talking about? You and I… we were supposed to—”

“We’ve been betrothed since we were hatchlings,” she continues, her voice laced with both pride and confusion. “Our joining was never just about us. It was meant to be a symbol of power, a union for the Dragon Realm. It has meaning.”

Her eyes flick to me, her lips curling in open disdain. “And yet, here you are, throwing all of that away… for a Fae?”

She shakes her head, as if trying to rid herself of the absurdity of it all. “How can a Fae—someone so beneath us—stand in the way of what’s meant to be ours?”

Kaida’s expression doesn’t waver. “I’ve said what I had to.”

Without another word, he grabs my wrist, pulling me to my feet with an unyielding grip. His strength leaves no room for argument.

“She is mine,” he says, voice sharp as a blade. “And no one will touch her.”

Before I can even process what’s happening, he’s dragging me past the two stunned women, his grip firm but not painful. I glance back at Declan, who’s scrambling to his feet with a hasty, “Ladies,” before hurrying to catch up with us.

I stare at Kaida’s back as he pulls me toward the castle, my heart pounding for reasons I don’t entirely understand.

Mine .

The word echoes in my head, unsettling and impossible to ignore. It wasn’t just a declaration—it was a warning, a claim, a promise wrapped in steel, and he had said it in front of his betrothed.

I should be furious. I should rip my wrist from his grasp and demand to know what the hell he thinks he’s doing. I should tell him I belong to no one. But I don’t.

Kaida’s grip on my wrist is firm, his pace relentless as he drags me through the castle halls. The shadows follow us like a living tide, twisting in the corners of my vision. His silence is louder than the echo of his boots on the stone floors, thick with something I can’t quite decipher.

I’m supposed to fight this. I should fight this.

And yet, all I can do is follow, pulse hammering in a rhythm I don’t recognize.

Behind us, Declan trails along, muttering something that sounds like a half-hearted complaint. I barely register it.

Because Kaida called me his.

And I don’t know if I hate it—or if some traitorous part of me doesn’t mind at all.

We reach a large wooden door, and Kaida shoves it open with enough force to rattle the hinges. He pulls me inside, Declan following, and slams the door shut behind us. Only then does he release me. I rub my wrist, watching as he stalks back and forth across the room like a caged predator.

Declan leans casually against the wall, arms crossed. “So, are you going to explain why you dragged her in here like a sack of potatoes, or is this your new way of bonding?”

Kaida shoots him a glare sharp enough to peel paint, but Declan only grins, clearly enjoying himself.

I stay quiet, my arms folded as I watch Kaida. His jaw works, hands flexing at his sides. Finally, he stops, turning toward me with a scowl.

“If she or Shura bothers you,” he growls, his voice rough and low, “tell me, and I’ll deal with it.”

Before I can respond, he strides past me, brushing close enough that I catch his faint scent of smoke and pine. The door creaks open, then his shadows slam it shut behind him, leaving a tense silence in his wake.

I blink at the now-empty doorway, tilting my head slightly. “Well,” I mutter, “that was dramatic.”

Declan bursts into laughter, his warm, easy chuckle filling the room. He steps closer, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “He has an… odd way of showing he cares,” he says with a lopsided grin. “Think of it as his version of a hug.”

I snort. “If that was a hug, I’d hate to see what a kiss looks like.”

Declan grins wider, giving my shoulder a reassuring squeeze before letting go. For a moment, his gaze softens, and there’s something unspoken in the air between us. “Thank you for today,” I say quietly, the words carrying more weight than I intend.

He bows dramatically, one hand sweeping out. “Always at your service, m’lady.”

I roll my eyes, but a small smile tugs at my lips. For a moment, we just look at each other, the firelight from the hearth dancing in his golden eyes. Then he clears his throat and takes a step back.

“I’m going to find the big oaf,” he says, the grin returning to his voice. “Make sure he’s not frying anyone alive.” With a wave over his shoulder, he heads for the door, his laughter trailing behind him .

The door clicks shut, leaving me alone. I exhale, the tension in my shoulders easing just slightly as I glance around Kaida’s room. My gaze lands on the bathroom door—it’s my favorite place in this luxurious prison cell, the only place I can truly let my guard down.

Without hesitation, I head inside. The marble floors are cool under my feet, the oversized shower calling to me. I turn the knob, and steam begins to fill the room, beckoning me. Stripping off my clothes, I step under the hot spray, sighing as the water cascades over me.

It’s a balm for my body and mind, washing away the weight of the day. The grime, the tension, the echoes of Seraveille’s shrill voice—it all spirals down the drain. I let my head tilt back, water soaking my hair and trickling down my spine as the sound surrounds me.

Kaida’s voice cuts through the haze of my thoughts, clear as if he were standing right here: “She is mine.” The way he said it… It wasn’t just possessive; it was layered, deliberate.

A warning. A claim. A promise .

A quiet laugh slips out as I run a hand through my hair. “Dragons,” I mutter under my breath, shaking my head. “Always so Intense.”