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LILY

I sat in the grand hall at the wooden table with my great-aunt and uncle, still in my uniform and armor, dead tired but so devastated I couldn’t sleep or eat.

Survivors of the battle attended to the wounded or put out the fires.

No one chased the Barbarians in their retreat, leaving the dragons to burn them on their journey back to their ships.

Queen Eldinar stared at me, her once-pristine white armor now marked with soot and my father’s blood. “Our minds are not connected, but I feel your sadness like they are.”

My eyes had been on the corner of the table, examining the etching in the wood. “I’m worried about him.”

“With the protection of the dragons, he’ll remain on this side of the veil. Perhaps he’ll heal on his own over a long period. Or perhaps we’ll find something to aid his recovery. I assure you, your father will return to you.”

I lifted my chin and looked at her then at my great-uncle across the table from her. “I need to bring him back to the Southern Isles.”

“It’s probably best if he stays in Riviana Star?—”

“I won’t leave him behind. My mother will want to be with him, but she will be bound by her duty to us and remain behind.

The tension will break her neck. I can’t do that to her.

Also, the dragons live in the Southern Isles.

I can’t have them all stay behind and remain separated from their families. ”

She gave a nod. “I suppose you’re right.”

“I’ll have to send him by ship.” He couldn’t fly, and if a rope binding him to Khazmuda snapped, he would drown in the sea.

“That’s probably for the best. Have the voyage guarded by dragons.

His finest men will volunteer to ensure he returns to his throne.

” A flower crown rested on the table, but she didn’t wear it again.

The flowers were far too pretty for her war-torn appearance.

“I suspect that’s not the last we’ll see of those creatures that align themselves with orcs. ”

“They’re called Barbarians.”

“How do you know this?”

“Because I encountered them on my sea journey. Their ships are covered in gold, but somehow they don’t sink.”

“Macabre tells me they’ve pursued them to the sea, but their ships don’t hold flames. Only their masts burn, but that’s not enough to stop their progression across the sea. They’ve killed many—but not enough.”

My heart had been dead in my chest for the last hour, but it started to pound once more. “What did they want?”

“The forest or the Realm of Caelum, I’m not sure which.

” She watched me with that intelligent and shrewd stare, about to ascend to the hilltop of a new dawn.

“I’m sorry that the responsibility of your kingdom now rests upon you, Queen Rothschild.

But I have no doubt that you will lead your people as well as your father has. ”

It was a responsibility I’d agreed to, but now that I had it, I didn’t want it. “That’s nice of you to say.”

“I mean it.” She gave me a gentle smile.

My eyes flicked away.

Silence ensued, and the longer it lasted, the heavier it felt. A new tension rose, and it was so palpable I could feel her words before she spoke them aloud.

“I’ve seen the dead rise before—by your father’s hand.”

My eyes remained averted, having known this would come to pass.

“The command of the dead is not hereditary, Lily.”

I knew my father would never sidestep an interrogation by looking away. I was a queen now, and I shouldn’t either. My eyes found the strength to match hers again.

“No amount of power is worth your soul.”

“It’s not what it seems…”

“To me, it appears exactly as it seems.” The empathy in her voice slowly faded away. “You traveled to the Dead Island on your journey and propositioned the God of the Underworld. There’s only one currency a ghoul like him understands, and that price was too much to pay?—”

“I did not offer my soul in exchange. The gift was given freely.” If my father weren’t incapacitated right now, he would come at me so hard. I knew he had been angry earlier, but he’d chosen to spend his final moments loving me instead of hating me.

“A gift?”

“Yes.”

Her ruthless eyes bored into mine with the demand of a queen. “How is that so?”

I didn’t know where to start, didn’t know if I wanted to start at all. To share the most intimate and complicated relationship of my life with anyone. “My soul is not forfeited and remains in my full possession. That’s all you need to know.”

She didn’t pursue me like she would if I were her own daughter.

She was forced to let it lie. “Tread carefully, Lily. The God of the Underworld is like a viper in your garden. He’ll rot your fruit and say it was you who didn’t water it enough.

He’ll manipulate you to get what he wants and cackle when he reaps the rewards. ”

Not Wrath. Not the man I knew.

“He granted you more than the command of the dead. A surge of strength and speed unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Even on my best day, battling three of those hooded swordsmen would have come at great cost.”

I wanted no more of this interrogation, didn’t want to try to explain something I couldn’t even explain to myself. “I have a long journey back to the Southern Isles tomorrow, and I’m quite weary.” My eyes flicked away in cowardice.

There was an angry pause, but my aunt let it be. “Of course. Thank you for answering our call for aid.”

“The Southern Isles will always answer the call of Riviana Star.”

I stripped off my armor and bathed in the tub.

Instead of being granted a tree house like I had on my previous visits, I was given the royal chambers connected to where Queen Eldinar resided.

It was an additional building that had been constructed in the last decade, and it was where my parents stayed on their visits as king and queen.

But now, I was the queen.

Even when the dirt and grime were washed away, I continued to soak in the warm water, feeling the temperature slowly fade from my body. With arms crossed over my chest and an emptiness in my stomach, I stared at the opposite side of the basin, just where my toe popped out of the water.

I wasn’t sure how long I lay there, but once the water had gone cold, I finally got out.

I dried off and ran a comb through my wet hair before I found something to wear in one of the drawers. Clean clothes made by the elves had been placed inside, and I grabbed a sage-colored dress and put it on, the material stopping at my thighs.

I sat on the stool at the edge of the bed and stared at the rug on the floor.

That was when I felt it.

A presence so profound it was like a forest fire. But it was also so warm…like the bath I’d just taken. I was in a different place across the Great Sea, but it suddenly felt like home when he was there.

He took a seat beside me, fully dressed in his armor and uniform. His hands rested on his thighs, and he seemed to stare at the rug or the window because I didn’t feel his eyes burn a hole through my face.

“Thank you.”

He didn’t reach for me, didn’t acknowledge what I said.

“You saved my people. You saved Riviana Star and the Realm of Caelum. You saved my father.”

“I can’t take credit for all of that,” he said quietly. “I granted you my powers, but you were the one who used them.” He turned his head and looked at me, the same pride in his eyes as he’d worn earlier. “And you used them well.”

My eyes flicked away back to the rug.

“Your father will live, Xivin .”

“But when will he return?” I said with a shaky voice. “Because I don’t think I can do this…”

“You’re already doing it.” His hand moved to mine, where it rested on my lap. “Your father would have been killed if you hadn’t been there to fight the Barbarians. Even the greatest swordsmen would have feared their blades. You did not.”

“Because I had your strength?—”

“You did not have my strength when you asked your father to come here. When you offered your sword to your allies and this forest. All you had was yourself, and you still had the bravery to come here.” His fingers linked with mine and gave a gentle squeeze.

“I fear the Barbarians will return and challenge the Southern Isles.”

“And you will protect your people if that comes to pass.”

“I’m not my father?—”

“Just as good as.” He leaned forward slightly, catching my stare and forcing me to meet his. “There is no doubt in my mind or heart that you can do this. I will be here with you always. My army is still yours.”

“How—how can you just give that to me? Unless I’ve agreed to something without realizing it…?”

His eyes hardened slightly. “What are you asking?”

“I just don’t understand.”

“I will never take your soul, Lily Rothschild. For any reason whatsoever. I’ve said that more than once, and I’ve proven it more than twice.”

“But you said you can’t interfere with the living.”

He turned quiet.

“But yet you continue to intervene for me. How?”

It seemed like there would be no answer. “That’s my business and doesn’t concern you.”

I looked at the walls he’d put up in his eyes, the stone that I would never penetrate.

“I can’t protect you in the flesh, but I will protect you in any other way I can manage.” His fingers tightened on mine. “I will be the eyes in the back of your head. The strength in your limbs. The army that fights from the grave. You are not alone, Lily Rothschild. Not when you have me.”