Page 47 of Enchanted Shadows (The Enchanted Kingdom #6)

K essara slept much better than I did that night. I dozed in and out for hours at a time. Restless even in sleep. At one point in the night, I must have woken her. She used her shadows to cover us both in darkness, the cool weight of them finally enough to lull me into a deeper sleep.

I hadn’t said a word, neither had she. She’d just done it.

Her quiet kindness was the thing which drew me to her most. She didn’t do it to be flashy.

She did it just because. I knew I was stealing borrowed time with my wife.

Eventually reality would rear its head and force me to be rid of her.

No matter how much I wanted otherwise, it was going to happen.

But for this day, I would fight for her and with her.

Wars should never be taken lightly, were never meant to be first resorts, first lines of action. Too many innocent, uninvolved people were the ones hurt most. That was why we focused on taking down Theon the way in which we had. Cut the head off the snake.

I knew all of this to be truth, the compass which had ordered my steps these last few years. Yet for Kessara to feel safe, I found I was willing to tear the realm seam from seam. She deserved better. Agria deserved better.

“Ready?” she asked. We were ready for the day, about to head up to the deck of this ship to check on the Wylan ship.

“In a moment.” I grabbed her necklace out of my pocket before reaching for her hand, closing her fingers around it.

She was wearing a nicer dress for our arrival in Agria. One she must have worn the day she escaped it all, as it didn’t look quite the fashion of Wylan. Once she felt what it was, she looked up to my eyes, that little line between her eyes forming. “You didn’t destroy this?”

“No,” I told her. “Merely kept it safe for you. Take it. And if we get separated?—”

“No!” she snapped.

“I wasn’t even done explaining.”

“No! I will not leave you behind, Owen.” Her voice was breathless, emotion swirling in her eyes. “Don’t ask that of me.”

“I don’t want to be apart from you either,” I explained gently.

“But I cannot exist in a world where you are not safe. So if something does happen, today or tomorrow, if all hell breaks loose, put it on and either get your ass across the river to Dra Skor or get to the Wylan ship. I need you to take it.”

“I can’t.” Her voice tore at the words. “Not without you.”

“I’m ordering you as your commander, pleading as your husband.” I pushed her hand toward her. “Just keep it. That’s all I’m asking. In case you need it.”

She looked at it and then at me again.

“It’s just a necklace, Kess. Take it.”

She looked at me for one long moment before she finally moved to place it in the pocket of her dress.

I thought that would be the end of it, until we made it to the doorway to the deck, sunlight and glittering water beckoning us into a day which was trying its best to look like it might not end in bloodshed.

She looked over her shoulder and mumbled, “It’s more than a necklace. ”

“And you’re more than a princess to me,” I admitted. I stepped up behind her and whispered in her ear, “Do try not to kill anyone today.”

She inhaled deeply. “Fine. Steal all my fun then.”

“There’s always tomorrow.”

Laughing, we headed into the sun, together.

Agria was hot. And not just hot, but sticky hot. I was certain I was going to evaporate into thin air. Become one with the mosquitos and humid haze.

I wasn’t trying to compare Agria to hell itself, but on first impression, it felt like at least a close cousin.

Except where the legends of hell spoke of fires, Agria instead was teeming with trees.

Agria was green, crawling and bursting with vegetation.

Wylan had trees: a small, forested area next to the castle, but that was nothing like the number of trees in Agria.

There were little hills and mounds of land instead of mountains, and covered on each one popping up on the shoreline were more and more trees.

As if the soil and ground craved the shadows of the trees as much as her people.

As the sun began to set, we’d been instructed to dock at a location closest to the castle, which fortunately for us, was on the northwestern corner of Agria.

Kessara said we’d have about a half hour ride to Itzahl castle, the name meaning shadow protection . We’d meet with her mother there tonight.

Throughout the day, Amos had planned the best course of action for the Slay Sisters, deciding that they would sleep for one night at an inn in Seros, the town on the docks.

Thus giving the castle a moment to prepare for their presence out of politeness.

We were planning to stay hopefully no more than three nights in Agria.

And that was if things went well. If they didn’t, we could easily leave right back for the Wylan ship late tonight.

I looked to Jessina and Amos, talking on the Wylan ship while the ships finished docking. “Stay out of trouble for the next day.”

“On our best behavior, Commander,” Sam called over to me in assurance.

I turned to Kessara and said, “That’s what scares me most.”

I wasn’t all that surprised an hour later when the trees barely parted to reveal the castle hidden within the trees. The rainforest wasn’t cleared for the castle. Or if it was, it decided to just grow in around it.

Again, this was a land bursting in green but shrouded in darkness. The castle, like her ships, was sharp angles and black, dark. It was far smaller than I thought it’d be, but it was built sprawling instead of upward like ours.

It struck me that I’d now been to three of the five castles in the realm. Which was shocking, because I was a damn terrible delegate. Pretty words just weren’t my thing. Brute force, however, was. Yet here I was.

I quickly reminded myself part of my plan wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow, so I needed to play nice for now. Tonight required... finesse.

“Your mother will be waiting right away,” Calix told Kessara as we clomped forward in an open top carriage big enough to hold us and half of Team One. The rest of Team One followed in another such carriage.

Calix had only tried to talk to her twice today. And twice she’d shut him down.

Kessara dipped her head toward Miles. “It may seem obvious, but just in case it needs saying, if my family would like to play their parlor trick of imprisoning us to remind us who is in charge, the Wylan team will retaliate.”

Calix scoffed. “You really think she’d do that to you?”

Kessara snapped, “Let’s not pretend like it hasn’t happened before.”

“Yes, but that was Damek’s doing. Your brother is—has always been—difficult.”

Miles snapped, “So why are you chummy with him, then?”

Calix closed his eyes a brief moment. “Likely the same reason the twin princes humored their father and stayed close to him. To try to water him down. To try to curb his ambitions and temper with logic and rational thinking.”

This prick really thought he was so noble, didn’t he? Based on everything Kessara had told me, I wouldn’t put it past Calix to have been encouraging those very things in private.

Kessara’s eyes met mine as if she were thinking the very same thing.

I reached my hand across to her thigh and squeezed.

Calix clenched his teeth, clearly displeased I was touching what he still saw as his.

I didn’t find it in myself to move my hand.

Upon arriving at Itzahl Castle, other than having my first thought confirmed that it was lower to the ground than the other castles I had been to, the second thought that struck me was that there was a hell of a lot of glass.

Again, it was mostly dark, cast in shadows already though there was still an hour or so of daylight to be found.

The castle had intentionally been built in and around the trees, granting immediate access to the shadows.

Without delay, we were ushered into the throne room in Agria. A wall of glass windows sat behind the thrones, a balcony beyond those.

There sat her mother and stepfather in crowns, and who I had to assume was her half-brother just behind them in another chair, a smaller crown on his head. Her parents at least looked pleased to see her; I wasn’t so sure about Damek as he appeared unbothered, his court mask intact.

Her mother had her graying dark hair braided in long strands out of her face, only drawing attention to the the massive crown on her head.

Her dark, watchful eyes told me immediately who Kessara developed her observation skills from.

Kessara’s cheek bones and eye color may match the Valanova twins, but the graceful way she carried herself was like her mother.

I also noted Kessara’s skin tone was slightly lighter than her mother’s shade of darker brown.

“My daughter!” her mother smiled. “So good to see you alive and well. You could have at least let us know of your travels.”

“I would have,” Kessara said, voice strong despite how hard she was squeezing my hand in hers, “had it felt safe to.”

Her mother considered that for a moment before her eyes finally moved to me. Apparently, appearances won out over curiosity. She wasn’t biting. “And how exactly has Wylan managed to ensnare you in so little time? What is this I hear about you getting married ?”

Kessara looked to me with a smirk. “I did. To this man. Commander Owen Raikes. Also an honorary prince and heir in Wylan, but his military reputation precedes that.”

I noted the order she’d said my titles in. “Lovely to meet you.”

“Is it?” One of the queen’s eyebrows quirked in a way which screamed “queen.”

“It could be?”

Her lips turned up at the corners before she looked back to her daughter. “You look well. And I know you must be tired, but tell me, did they treat you well? Or send you packing?”

Kessara raised her chin slightly. “They welcomed me. With open arms. Are allowing me to train with a team there.”

She considered that a moment. “I see we have much to discuss. ”

“We do,” Kessara agreed.

I ran my thumb over Kessara’s hand in support while I mentally rolled up my sleeves to get to work.

Only for her mother to say, “Rest up tonight. We can talk in the morning. You are home. That is all that matters.”

“Mother—” Damek began, rising to his feet.

The queen was not to be deterred, though.

I noted she hadn’t introduced her husband or her son.

But then again, the royal bloodline was hers , so I wasn’t sure she had to.

She held the most power in the room. “She has been gone for four months. She has returned safely. She is allowed one night of peace.”

Huh. How about that?

“But Your Majesty—” Calix began.

“No,” the queen snapped. “Two of my three children have been missing for months . Do you think I am truly dense enough to not suspect the motivations behind that? She is home. That is what matters most.”

Kessara ignored Calix entirely. “I would also like you to meet the team I am training with in Wylan. They snuck on the Wylan ship which also came. And are here.”

This time the queen truly did smile. “Sneaking on ships? Getting married in three months?”

“I am efficient,” Kessara confirmed.

“So it would seem.” The queen turned her sharp stare onto me. “That team and an entire Wylan ship too. How many men did you bring with you, Commander?”

“Enough,” I answered. “Enough to ensure Kessara’s safety.”

She cocked her head. “You do not think she is safe in her own country?”

I didn’t hesitate but managed to refrain from looking at the two biggest deterrents to that very thing who were both right in this room. “No.”

“For God’s sake, can we just hug her already?

” The king asked, finally rising. His brown bald head brought attention to the crown resting on it.

Made it impossible not to notice. The Agrian castle might not rise and tower into the sky, but their crowns sure did.

“We feared she might be dead for a while.”

He wasted no time, closing the distance. He was slightly shorter than his wife, unimposing in stature in the way he walked and laughed.

I let go of Kessara and stepped aside, allowing them all to have a moment.

“Sister,” Damek greeted but remained standing by his throne, arm over the back of the chair lazily.

“Brother,” Kessara said back in the same bored tone.

“Until tomorrow?” The queen said, patting Kessara’s cheek.

“Tomorrow,” she confirmed.

As we moved to leave, Calix did not. No doubt he needed to give a report on everything he had seen and heard while in Wylan.

Which was fine. Tomorrow was going to be far more interesting anyway. I was counting on it.