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Chapter ten

Bright Sun

Ayla

The tree of my dreams stood on a hilltop. It still bore the scars of times before, when the bark was damaged and the shallow roots contained. It was beginning to heal, but more importantly, it no longer stood alone.

Another tree had joined the first, this one dark and evergreen, with needles for leaves, the trunk persistent and strong. Even here, Zayne’s magic was tethered to mine, and it made the hill far less lonely.

Reaching out, I touched my tree, falling inward.

No longer thwarted by iron, the roots of my tree grew strong, plunging deep into the bountiful earth. Green branches reached to the dark sky as new leaves unfurled to soak in the starlight.

As before, I was drawn to the roots, the way they reached into the vast earth. They were finally free to weave through the soil, reaching a deeper well, drinking more than before.

They grew deeper still. Plunging desperately into the earth.

Only the tree was changing too fast and in ways it couldn’t control. Time would ease the discomfort, time would help it heal, if only there was time.

The roots filled my mind with countless passageways, and I found even more…

The roots of the trees had grown interconnected, those of one tree becoming those of the other. At points, there was no telling where the roots of one tree began and the other ended.

My heart raced. It was beautiful how nature adapted. It was terrifying how the trees were joined.

Trapped, tethered, and bound.

My head throbbed, the dream haunting me as memories from the evening before crashed into me.

The shadows. The shards.

The balcony.

And then we had—

I snapped to alertness, looking down. I had never removed the dress; we’d barely made it into the bed.

By Teyr.

Heart racing, I reached for Zayne. Before I even touched him, he stirred, his eyes wide with alarm that mirrored mine. “What—” he croaked, clearing his throat. “What happened?”

I shook my head, and the pounding grew even worse.

Zayne pressed a hand to his forehead, squeezing his eyes shut. “Are you okay?”

“Something feels strange, but I’m not sure… You?”

“Let me check.” He stilled, signaling his descent into the underworld.

The action was a normal routine, but why did it feel so different? I didn’t just see him drift away…

The icy chill of the Underworld, the flow of its currents, and the steady, persistent ebb of death. I felt it .

I gasped. “Zayne!”

He blinked his eyes open. “What’s wrong?”

“Death,” I swallowed, still stunned by the power of its grasp. “When you went under, I felt it too.”

He lifted a hand to my cheek, his eyes searching my face. “That’s not possible.”

I leaned into his touch. “I know, but…” The dream. My tree, no longer alone. “I think the tether has changed.”

As he considered my words, I watched as his lip curled with thought and his mind whirred against mine. Concern, doubt, then finally, recognition. His eyes widened. “I feel you, Ayla. Your emotions are inside my heart.”

My stomach tightened, and I shifted away, sitting up and cradling my aching head.

“I never meant to trap you,” I whispered into my hands.

He scooted closer, his concern flooding my mind. He wasn’t alarmed, just curious. But still, every sensation was overwhelming. My emotions were already more than I could manage… and now I felt his too.

My head pounded.

Or that might have been the door.

“Meetings start in an hour!” Rhett shouted from the other side. “I’m sure you two had plenty of fun last night, but there’s work to do.”

“We’ll be ready soon,” Zayne answered for both of us.

“Fun,” I echoed with a chuckle. My mind reeled with the implications of this. Zayne could feel all my emotions, just as I felt his.

And right now, while he was surprised and curious, he wasn’t frightened.

He should’ve been terrified. He was stuck with me.

Zayne crawled across the bed and sat behind me, straddling me with his legs. He wrapped his arms around my belly, pulled me to his chest, and nuzzled the back of my head. It should have been so soothing, but I froze, desperate for him and afraid of him, unable to run away or lean closer.

When I didn’t respond to his touch, he leaned back, putting space between his chest and my back. He began to shuffle away.

“Don’t go,” I whispered. “I meant what I said last night. I’m sorry I denied the tether, and I don’t want to go back to that. I just never thought it would become anything more. I wasn’t prepared to have you in my head, to be in yours.”

“I don’t think anything could have prepared us for this.” He chuckled. How he could find humor in this situation… All the same, the laughter sounded nice.

“We’re a mess, aren’t we?” I asked.

“A beautiful one.”

He leaned forward again, and this time, I snuggled against him, wrapping his arms tighter around my waist.

“Just breathe,” he whispered into my ear. “We’ll adapt. We always do.”

“Okay.” I believed him.

He inhaled, the sound like a calming ocean, and I followed his lead as we took a few more deep breaths together.

“How are you always so calm, so in control?” I asked.

He shrugged against me. “I needed control to survive.”

“And you’re sure…” I paused, the question on the tip of my tongue. Are you sure I’m not a burden? Can you handle someone volatile like me?

“Yes,” he answered. “You are my fire, Ayla. My inspiration and drive. Alone, I would wither away, descending into death when life failed to give me purpose. Your passion is beautiful and not a thing to fear.”

My cheeks heated. No one had ever said that to me. It had always been hold still, stop sneaking out, behave like your sisters … I never meant to rebel, not really. But doing what my family asked felt wrong. Doing things my way had been the only way, but the price had been a terrible loneliness.

His lips brushed against my ear. “I know you need time, so don’t respond. But surely you can feel it—I love you, Ayla. I’ve loved you for a long time.”

I could feel it. Like I was the most amazing treasure, one he could admire every day for the rest of his life.

The way he saw me…

I squeezed my eyes tight to fight the tears from falling.

If this was love, I wasn’t sure I had felt love before.

“You are not a burden,” he added. “You are not a disaster. And I’ll kill everyone who taught you otherwise.”

“Please don’t,” I laughed through the tears. “I’m pretty sure that would start a war.”

“If you insist, but the offer stands.”

I turned around to face him, searching his dark eyes, still awestruck to find something beautiful reflected back at me. I wanted to say something, give him something in exchange, but the words caught in my throat.

He shook his head, lifting a finger to my lip. “When you’re ready.”

I nodded, bewildered that he understood. Thankful he could handle me. All of me.

“Now then,” he continued, nodding toward the bathroom. “Showers, clothes. Drink some water to help with the headache because we have a long day ahead.”

I set the phonograph to play easygoing ballads as we prepared.

Zayne dressed himself in all black, finishing the look with his dark traveling cape, the shards secured within.

For myself, I wore close-fitting dark pants and a loose blouse, a dagger hilted at the waist. I wore my hair down in soft waves, deciding against any of the jewelry Iona had loaned me.

Merchant, the look said. Not at all a princess.

We entered the central living room, finding Rhett alone. He picked at his food as Rimu and Ninti chowed down on what looked to be half a chicken.

“How’s Iona?” I teased, swinging in to the seat beside him. “I’m assuming she snuck out already?”

Rhett blushed. “Oh, uh… How did you know?”

“Don’t worry, no one trailed her here,” Zayne added. “I can’t promise anything about this morning though.”

“We needed some time alone,” Rhett finally answered. “And I thought when Ayla vanished into the shadows, the two of you—”

“The two of us were searching for shards,” I corrected. “We had just taken Calindra’s shard when Iona snuck out.”

Rhett put down his fork. “If you have what you need, does that mean we’re ready to leave? Iona needs—”

I shook my head. “There are still more shards here.”

Ninti nosed the last of the chicken toward Rimu, licked her lips, and wandered closer. “How many more?” she asked.

“Four.” Zayne answered. “We couldn’t retrieve any others though. Lord Tallus has one.”

“Tallus?” Rhett shook his head. “Of course he has one if Calindra does. But what’s their plan?”

“That’s something I hope to figure out,” Zayne said. “I’ll listen to gossip today while you two play merchant.”

“And the other shards?” Ninti asked.

“The Starlit King has three,” I explained.

“Fucking Teyr,” Rhett cursed, leaning back in his seat. “There’s no way we’re stealing from him.” When we didn’t answer, he looked between the three of us. “Right?”

“We just need to come up with a plan and—”

I silenced as someone knocked on the door.

“Rhett!” A shrill voice pierced through the door. “I need a word with you.”

He slouched. “That would be Calindra.”

“Can we walk to the throne room together?” she continued.

“Can’t you make me disappear?” he pleaded with Zayne.

“Go.” Rolling my eyes, I ushered him toward the door. “Hopefully whatever you’re doing with Iona will distract her from everything else.”

Zayne vanished into the shadows, and Rhett opened the door. Together, we stepped into the courtyard, Rhett withering under Calindra’s critical gaze. She had trapped Iona’s wrist with one hand and her other was poised to knock on the door again.

“Good. The three of us need to chat,” she snapped.

I gave them a wide berth as we joined the guests ambling toward the throne room, Rimu and Ninti trailing at my heel and Zayne never that far away.

The headache had passed, but his increased presence remained. I could sense the shadows around him stronger than before, far more certain of exactly where he was. The sense of death was far less alarming than before, becoming a natural part of him.

It made me wonder what sensation my magic gave him. Was it like trapped starlight ready to burn? Because that’s what I felt. So much power with nowhere to go.

Except I couldn’t lose control. The guests had watchful eyes, and I’d already gathered more attention than I wanted. As the skin prickled on the back of my neck, I struggled to keep my limbs loose.

Aida’s curious, I reminded myself, working to stay in character as we approached the throne room.

My stomach pitted as I stepped into the pavilion. Made from so much marble, the throne room was blindingly bright in the daylight, but even that couldn’t hide the way countless fae turned toward me.

“Ah, Aida!” The Starlit King motioned to me from where he sat. “The surprise guest of the hour. Come closer, my secretary and I had a few questions about Valterra we hoped you could answer.”