Page 24 of Heir of Broken Souls (HOBF #3)

Chapter 24

Delilah

H ow can something feel so right yet so utterly catastrophic to those around you?

The sea calls to me as I stand along the boardwalk of Azalea’s shores. As if every crashing wave screams my name. Every fiber of my being knows that this is the right decision and that this direction will provide desperately needed answers, yet behind my back lies a tattered city, to my right a fallen court, and further in the distance, thousands lie dead.

Our people are slowly dying day by day with every slash and strike of a demonic talon. Our swords are never dropped because our enemy doesn’t stop moving forward. How can we in good conscience leave them? But how can we in good conscience know that answers are somewhere out in the sea and not find their salvation?

By the grim and sorrowful faces everyone adorns, I dare say our hearts are all waging the same war. Knox especially.

His back is as tense as ever, the fighting leathers molding to his body like a second skin. The face of a warrior, the heart of a king, and the face of my mate.

It’s his heart, the one of a king, that has his lips thinned into a straight line, his brow furrowed, and his gaze darting behind him to his ruined city.

All you seek lies beneath the tempestuous saltwater heap. Along with our reminder of why we’re doing this, I send soothing touches in the form of golden tendrils down the bridge. Enter upon your discreet and all your answers will be at your feet.

At the last line, Knox’s shoulders loosen, the furrow in his brow straightening out.

I’ve been doing this all morning, repeating those same two lines from the prophecy that is forcing us to leave our city behind temporarily. The only way I’ll be able to without the guilt suffocating me is knowing that even if I sacrifice myself in exerting all my power upon the demonic army, unless Peter is in his true form, he will never die. He will just continue to summon new beasts from another world, making my sacrifice in vain.

Upon trying to calm Knox, I purposely leave out the part of the prophecy between those two lines I keep repeating. Like the battle we must win at sea that it alludes to.

Although with riddles and prophecies, I’ve come to learn that not everything is as it seems.

Ripping my gaze away from my mate, I spin on my heel toward Nolan. “Don’t forget to feed them three small meals a day. I know others say two but they get crabby if you don’t give them extra snacks.” Humor dances across Nolan’s eyes as I continue. “Oh! And make sure you tell Edgar not to let Creseda fool him. She’s very convincing but three is enough. I don’t want to come back and see that her belly has doubled in three weeks.”

Nolan whistles. “Don’t believe Creseda’s hunger, noted.” He ticks each point off on a finger. “Henry will try to ride through the city, so make sure we ride him and not the other way around.” He runs his fingers over the stubble on his chin. “Oh yes, and don’t let them find their way into the house.”

“Be careful with that last one. Creseda got inside two weeks ago and has been obsessed with returning ever since.”

His brows flick upwards in surprise. “She has expensive taste, it seems.”

Nolan, due to the demand of everything waging along the border of the human and Fae lands—and now Cardania too—hasn’t slept at the house in weeks. He barely knows what occurs there anymore. Granted, he never used to; he preferred staying at his mother’s house but with everything going on he thought it best to stay within the guarded walls of Knox’s estate. That clearly didn’t last long.

I grip his hands, squeezing as I plead, “And please, at the first sign of trouble?—”

“I’ll teleport them away. I promise I won’t let him get his hands on them.”

Emotion clogs my throat. It seems I’m always leaving them behind in the care of others. I wish I didn’t have to, but the sea could turn on us in a matter of seconds, and I don’t want to risk losing them at sea because I feel panicked at the thought of our separation. It would be selfish and cruel to drag them onto the ship…although so is leaving them behind while we’re in the middle of a war.

“Will you be all right?” I ask suddenly, my worry extending to the Fae that has surprised me the most these passing weeks.

People always talk about grief and how it changes you. While Nolan lost his sister and mother, there’s still hope in his heart he will find them. However, with Ace, there is not a flicker of hope left. It irrevocably changed him.

He clears his throat, his eyes taking in his family as we prepare to leave. “I’ll be all right.”

“Promise me you will stay safe.”

So much has changed within the last three months. If I told myself before I’d not only be begging for Nolan’s safety but trusting him to take care of Creseda and Henry too, well, I would have told myself to get some rest because I was clearly hallucinating.

Nolan dips his head, placing his hand over his heart. “I’ll try my best.”

“I suppose that’s all I can ask for.”

He lifts his chin, pointing in Knox’s direction. “Go on, he’ll lose his head if I take up more of your time.”

I snort. “He’ll do just fine,” I say, but I turn away toward the ship bobbing in the ocean.

Knox wasn’t wrong. With the city evacuated, we had dozens of ships to choose from, and this one is nothing short of magnificent. A true beast of a ship, staggering one hundred and fifty feet long, its sails billowing in the early morning breeze. With five stories, eleven bedrooms, and a deck large enough to house Zephlyn, Aurora, and our entire court comfortably, it’s safe to say that when we laid eyes upon it at our dock, we all let out an appreciative whistle.

Besides the two-person rowboat that Easton and I acquired to escape, the one in which the mermaids tugged me into the Fae lands alone, I’ve never been out to sea, let alone on a ship. I may have smuggled hundreds of people to safety upon boats I acquired secretly behind the human king’s back during my time in the palace, but I never got on them.

Tearing my gaze away from the ship that has a roll of nerves tumbling through my veins, I keep telling myself that everything will be all right, that I’ll be safe. After all, I lie in Knox’s arms and sit atop Aurora at heights that should make me pass out from the sight of the sheer drop. This shouldn’t be too different.

But I’ve heard of wobbling sea legs and I’m not all too excited to experience it.

A low grumbling growl reaches my ears from atop the ship. Tipping my head back, I find golden eyes peering down at me, along with a pair of blue ones. Ones that used to be filled with life but now appear as dull as the lingering gray clouds above us.

I wonder how they feel to stand atop something so wobbly.

“Frightened?” Knox drawls as he stops beside me, gazing upon the griffins too.

“In more ways than one.”

Knox fixes me with his stare, the sapphire in his eyes matching the dark hue of the sea that beckons us. Shadows tangle with my golden wisps along our bridge, the bond between us tightening. The river below appears calm, but beneath its surface is a deadly current, ready to rip us away. It’s fitting for everything we feel right now.

Knox wraps his arms around me. What are you most afraid of? he whispers in my mind.

We’ve lost so much, Knox, and we’ve been fighting for so long. I’m terrified it will all be nothing.

I should be comforting him. I’m supposed to be, but there’s always been something about Knox’s voice, the calming deep timbre of it, that makes me spill my secrets.

For once, I can’t promise anything , he says gutturally.

I know , I say softly back, nestling further into his chest.

A light kiss brushes across the top of my head, and as his lips leave me, his mouth opens only to snap shut a moment later as the energy in the air changes. Pulling back into my physical body, I note that it’s a subtle shift, and yet it has everyone surrounding us freezing.

Elysia stops lugging suitcases, Harlow stops bickering with a silent Lenox, and Axel stops glaring at the ship. Even the griffins straighten, their hackles rising.

The sea brightens, the already light blue water turning as clear as the crystal around my neck. Around the bend of the jagged cliffs, water ripples, a slow, steady glide of a V that I know all too well.

The pod has arrived.

While the mermaids are callous, wicked, and cruel to those on land, they must be something far greater to the ocean. If I didn’t know any better, I would have assumed the water was welcoming a queen.

Before the bobbing ship rises Naia and her pod, all seven in their unique color and glory. Not one was left behind.

Naia, for once being cordial, dips her head. “Knox, Delilah…your people.”

Returning the same gesture out of respect, Knox and I lower our heads. Noting the way Amelia’s gaze narrows on Axel behind us.

Naia’s red eyes slide to the large ship beside her, without a care or concern for something so large swaying precariously close to her tail. “Have you chosen to bring aboard sailors?” Naia asks.

“No, my court and I are capable of sailing it ourselves.”

Capable or stubborn, only Knox and I know the true answer.

“Good,” she says, her voice as cold as ever. So much so that I’m surprised the water doesn’t ice over.

“The less who know, the better,” Amelia adds.

Knox slides his palms into his tailored pants pockets, appearing aloof despite the stress pounding through his mind. “Before we venture into the open seas, I must ask something of you.”

The grin that slides into place on Amelia’s face is the definition of nightmares. “Wish to make a bargain with us, princeling?”

“King,” he barks, stunning the second.

Amelia’s shock only lasts so long before she narrows her eyes. “We don’t owe you anything, King ,” she spits.

Without a care for the venom in her words, Knox’s gaze remains on Naia’s. “On the contrary, I believe you do.”

Naia holds up her hand to silence her second as she relents, “I’ll hear your demand, yet make no promises.”

“The witches,” he rushes out, his stony expression remaining on the mermaids and not Harlow, who stiffens behind him.

Naia’s brow arches. “What of them?”

“Black magic is now within these lands, right along their borders. I find it hard to believe that wasn’t a purposeful choice from Peter. Do you see if they wish to join his cause?”

The question, while I should have been asking, slipped my mind. By the looks around his court theirs did too. Except for Harlow. She doesn’t seem shocked in the slightest.

“My sisters and I see nothing.”

Knox lets out a heavy breath, only to freeze as Naia goes on. “That is only because a decision has yet to be made. When one has been chosen, we will see. Whether we will be too late to stop them or not, we won’t know until the time arises.”

Without another word Knox turns and strides toward Nolan, whispering something in his ear that even my Fae hearing can’t pick up. Whatever he says has Nolan frowning, a dark look crossing his features. “Are you certain?” he whispers.

“Absolutely.”

“Care to share with the rest of us?” Amelia sings. Her sultry sarcastic attitude shows us all a glimpse of the next three weeks. I just hope we can at least get some peace and quiet within the ship’s rooms.

Knox turns such a menacing look in her direction my back stiffens. “Share your secrets and I’ll share mine.”

Her mouth snaps shut at that.

Clapping my hands, I call, “Well, as lovely as this is, I believe it’s time to go. Any other cryptic messages you have for us?”

Something akin to sorrow fills Naia’s eyes before it vanishes entirely. “Trust is needed on this journey, Delilah. Without it, we will all perish.”

I give her the most sickening sweet smile. “Trust is earned .”

I spin on my heel, ignoring the looks and no doubt glares searing into my back, and step onto my first ship, praying it won’t be my last.

* * *

With a flourish, Knox opens the door to the room we’ll be staying in for the foreseeable future. Relief is swift and fast at the lavish room he reveals. I’m not quite sure, perhaps it’s all the books I’ve read, but I was prepared to be stuffed into a small single bunk room that wouldn’t be large enough for even our wings. But this is fargreater than my imagination.

To the left sits a large king-size bed, topped with cream pillows and throws. Adjacent to it, a fire in the fireplace already roars, and is surrounded by enough leather chairs to fit Knox’s entire court comfortably. Two doors on either side of the bed lead to the bathing room, which, by a quick glance, is just as large as the bedroom with a claw-foot tub, marble flooring, and large mirrors along the walls.

I kick the door shut and, with a groan, drop the bag in my hand. The sound of steel knocking around inside of it is not lost on our ears.

Knox’s brow quirks. “Bring the entire armory with you?”

I shrug. “Can never have enough in my opinion.”

By the quizzical look in his gaze, something tells me he knows I have a new fear of never having a weapon on me after our little incident in the Deyanira Mountains. I can never allow my magic to become a crutch. I can kill with my hands and a sword just as well.

Tracing the welts on my palm from the weight of it, I sigh. “You would think with Fae strength I wouldn’t find such a tedious task draining, yet here I am complaining about carrying luggage.”

A dry laugh floats from Knox’s lips. “There are some things in life that, no matter how extraordinary you are, remain mundane.”

“What a pity.” I throw myself upon the four-poster bed, then rise up on my elbows and drawl, “You think I’m extraordinary?”

Knox strides toward me, eating up the distance. He slowly crawls over me, forcing my head back against the plush bed. The heat in his gaze pins me to the spot.

“I think you’re exquisite.” Heat blossoms across my cheeks as Knox lowers himself, his lips a hair’s breadth away from mine, his hot breath fanning across my skin. “As divine as they come.”

My gasp is a sharp inhale of air before Knox plants his soft lips against mine, turning my body into liquid beneath him. The kiss is slow, steady, but nothing short of devouring. Stars explode behind my eyelids, my golden tendrils shaping into tiny hearts around my head as Knox consumes my every nerve.

Pounding against the door, followed by the call of Knox’s name, has him ripping away from my lips with an agonized groan. He drops his forehead into the crook of my neck. “Gods… Just one moment. That’s all I want. Just one brief moment of uninterrupted time with you.”

“Knox!” Lenox booms.

I ignore him, stroking my fingers though his hair. “That time will come,” I whisper gently, sending soothing energy down our bridge.

His shoulders loosen, but not entirely. “Not soon enough,” he mutters with a growl as Lenox continues pounding against the door.

“Knox!”

Within the blink of an eye, Knox is beside the door, throwing it open. “What,” he hisses.

Lenox bristles at the tone, until his amber eyes dart behind Knox to my form on the bed. Shockingly, he grimaces, his cheeks blooming with a red tint. “My apologies. Naia is growing fussy. She wishes to leave but we can’t take off?—”

“Without at least three hands on deck,” he finishes for Lenox. Breathing in deeply, Knox gives himself a moment, then glances over his shoulder at me. “This isn’t over.”

I slide off the bed, slinking to his side. Knox follows my every move. “I wouldn’t dream of it,” I purr.

At the heat in his eyes, Lenox points over his shoulder. “I’ll be…up top when you’re ready.”

Knox’s smirk is feline as Lenox hightails it out of the corridor. “Was it something I said?”

“I believe your eyes spoke for you. They’re practically alight with fire.”

“They always are when they’re on you.”

I click my tongue at him, then roll my eyes as the grunts and groans above deck grow louder. “Go on before they begin spreading rumors of why you’re late.”

Knox leans back against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest. “What if we simply made their speculations true? Then it wouldn’t be a rumor.”

My chuckle fills the hallway, along with the stomping of boots.

“Don’t make me drag you upstairs,” Axel deadpans.

“You wouldn’t do such a thing.”

“Right now, I either have you or the pod to contest with, and quite frankly the mermaids terrify me more than your temporary wrath.”

Knox pushes off the wall with a click of his tongue. “Gods, they’re going to be a pain in my ass.” Before he gets too far, Knox lowers his mouth to the shell of my ear, his hot breath sending chills down my arms. “We’ll finish this later tonight.”

“Mm-hmm,” I murmur, noting how Axel practically sneers my way in disgust.

It takes everything within me to hold in my scoff, to not let Knox know how Axel is looking at me. It’s one thing to joke around about his fear of the mermaid’s power over Knox’s but it’s another entirely to disrespect his mate, and something tells me the dirty look the once second just gave me would make Knox light him on fire.

One thing is for certain, I need to apologize to Axel.

Once they’re gone, Harlow steps out of the room parallel to mine with a flourish. Her head swivels to the right as Elysia exits the one adjacent to her. Groaning, she slams her door shut. “Of course, the only room left was squished between the mated Faes,” she grumbles. “I’m never going to sleep.”

Elysia’s eyes widen. “I will be partaking in no such activities. The only reason Axel is in my room is because Knox still has him assigned as my sordid guard dog.”

“You say that now, but I’ve heard about the mating bond. It’s impossible to ignore.”

Elysia crosses her arms over her chest, every feature racked with defiance. “I promise, that will not be happening.”

Harlow cocks her head, a familiar glint in her eyes relighting. “The mate you were assigned not appealing enough?”

Elysia can’t stop the blush from creeping across her face, making me bite my tongue. “I don’t find someone attempting to kill me attractive, no.”

“How boring,” Harlow muses.

Saving Elysia from Harlow’s retorts, I chime in, “There are eleven bedrooms on this ship. Why not take one of the lower-level rooms?”

Harlow turns. “Have you seen the rooms below deck?”

“No, but I’m sure they’re just as lovely though,” I say, thinking of the luxurious room at my back.

Harlow visibly shudders. “I wouldn’t assign the witches to those rooms.”

My brows flick high. “That bad?”

“Horrid.”

Elysia looks to Harlow curiously. No Fae interacts with witches if they can help it, and we’ve mentioned them numerous times this morning. I can’t imagine what’s running through her mind.

“Has Axel spoken to you yet?”

My hackles bristle immediately at the change in topic. I know how Harlow feels about Axel and how we handle the situation, although now knowing that she’s right, there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to give her that satisfaction. The gloating would never end.

I force my face into a neutral expression to avoid showing how much Axel’s evasiveness is hurting me. “No,” I answer nonchalantly.

“Have you tried talking to him?”

I sigh. “And when would I have, Harlow? In between us leaving the lands that are currently being conquered by my worst enemy, or when he’s slamming doors in my face?”

Harlow raises her hands in surrender. “I’m not the one slamming doors in your face.”

“Thank you,” I say, overly sweet.

“I will say, it’s about time we all stopped tip-toeing around him like he’s made of glass.”

“He was for a long time.”

“Because we allowed him to be.”

Anger bubbles under my skin. “Drop it, Harlow.”

“No.” She kicks off her door, getting right in my face, but it’s not as menacing as it used to be. Not with the amount of power thrumming through me, waiting at my fingertips. “Are we done with coddling him?”

“He’s sober, isn’t he?” I snap, anger and guilt fueling my words. A dangerous mix as I stare her down. “What do you want from me? To say you’re right? To allow you to have your ‘I told you so’ moment? Go ahead,” I say with a flourish of my hand.

Instead, she stuns me as she says softly, “I want things to go back to the way they were.”

My anger vanishes at the gentleness in her voice, one that I rarely hear. But I can’t sugarcoat my words anymore. “That’s never going to happen.”

“It could.”

“No, it can’t. Unless you can bring Ace back from the dead, it’s not going to happen.”

Harlow flinches, the armor around her heart crumbling. She takes a step back as if the exchange never happened and turns to Elysia. “Don’t take his distrust of you personally. The last girl who walked in here claiming to be someone’s mate ended up murdering his twin.”

Elysia’s eyes widen in horror, flicking to mine as if to confirm it.

“Harlow,” I hiss. “That’s not your story to share.”

“It is, actually, considering Axel’s life wasn’t the only one Hazel ruined.” Fire erupts within her gaze. “I want the bitch to burn.”

“She’s long gone by now. If anyone was able to find her it would have been Axel.” And he hasn’t found so much as her shadow.

Harlow’s gaze flicks to mine and holds it for a beat before she says as quiet as death, “That’s where you’re wrong.”

Before I can question her, she spins and struts down the hall, taking the answers I need with her to the top of the ship as it sways. Calls and shouts ring out from above as we pull away from Aloriah.

“She’s certainly a character,” Elysia murmurs, watching where she disappeared.

“That she is,” I say with a modicum of humor and turn to Elysia.

My eyes, strangely, fall to her outfit. She’s still wearing the same clothes as when she arrived, her fingernails are full of dirt, she’s barefoot, and the bags beneath her eyes are a deep purple.

My chest constricts. How self-centered are we?

“Gods, Elysia, come in here,” I say, wrapping my fingers around her wrist gently and pulling her into my cabin.

Our lives have completely changed. No one would have ever treated Elysia in such a manner eight weeks prior and yet here we are acting like she’s a barnacle that won’t budge.

Without a word I fill the large claw-foot tub in the washing room with steaming water, courtesy of my magic. I have to say, now that I’ve fully merged, it’s remarkably easier to control. At her gasp, I wonder if rumors of my magic have even reached her.

“Why don’t you go wash up while I rummage through my belongings and find you something to wear?”

Without waiting for a response, I turn on my heel and pick up one of the black leather cases and heft it onto the bed. Minutes tick by as I rummage through my clothing

However, Elysia doesn’t move from the center of the room, her eyes slightly wide and glazed. I straighten. “Are you all right? There should be soap in the cabinets,” I offer.

“Why are you doing this?” she says softly.

My head rears back. “I’m sorry, we’ve been all over the place and not as attentive, as you can imagine with everything that’s happened?—”

“No,” she cuts me off. “Why are you being kind?”

Her question stuns me for such a long time I begin to count the number of waves smashing against the side of the ship. I land on twenty-seven before I find my voice again. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Her mouth opens and snaps closed.

I drop the clothing in my hands and round the bed, coming to stand in front of her. “Are you okay?” I ask gently.

As if the question was the final straw, those three little words packed with far more weight than normal, tears flood her eyes, spilling over her cheeks.

I panic, clutching her shoulders and hoping she can see me through her misty haze. “I’ll be right back.”

Before she can protest or ask, I’m out the door, taking off with Fae speed down the corridor and up the stairs until the crisp air of the ocean brushes against my skin. With Aloriah far behind me and the sun belting down around me, I rush to Harlow’s side.

She grins, tipping her head back, probably expecting an apology from me, but whatever she sees in my eyes has her rising. “What is it?”

“She has no one, Harlow. No one.” My heart pinches. Elysia standing there reminded me so vividly of the girl staring back at me in the mirror of Hazel’s cottage that first day I woke up in Aloriah. “We are all she has now, and the girl doesn’t even have a pair of shoes ,” I spit.

A flicker of emotion passes through her brown eyes, akin to what’s beating through my heart right now. All of us have one thing in common—knowing the feeling of having no one to turn to.

Harlow was abandoned by her coven and shunned by Fae.

Lenox was trapped within a hole his father designed for seven years.

Knox lost his parents at a young age.

Axel no longer has the other half of his soul.

And I… My list will crumble me, so I shake my head to push it away for now.

“She is breaking right now and we need to help her,” I say softly.

My words snap her out of her frozen stupor and without saying anything, Harlow is with me, rushing for the cabin below, to the woman we selfishly ignored when she ran to us with nothing but the clothes on her back the day her mother and two sisters were brutally murdered before her eyes.

Axel follows our every move until we descend the stairs out of sight.

And for once, I pray that all the Fae ears on this ship overheard me.