Page 15

Chapter Fifteen

B risk wind bit at my cheeks as I pushed my horse harder, the rhythm of her hooves thundering beneath us. Caelum slumped in front of me, barely conscious, his skin enveloped in a cold sweat. I dug the acorn from my satchel, clutching at it with shaking hands. Ronan had promised this would bring us straight back to Naohm, and that’s what we needed. Even though we’d just crossed back over the border to Eyre, I didn’t trust ancient magical agreements anymore. With the fae sucking up all the magic for themselves, it would only be a matter of time until they figured out how to break loose from their cage in Velarune.

I ripped off the top of the acorn and threw it ahead, watching as it burst into a swirl of magic, crackling with energy that twisted into a portal in front of us. With a silent prayer, I drove Sorsha forward, holding Caelum tightly as we plunged through the swirling light.

On the other side of it, the world snapped back into focus quickly?—

My breath caught. I could not sense the sea air, the winds that were always alive in the northernmost point of Eyre. I looked around, my stomach sinking as I got my bearings.

I noted the wide-open land where nothing grew, the hard ground of unforgiving limestone with the thinnest layer of weak grass blanketing it.

The Barren.

We were barely halfway back home. The acorn’s magic had failed us, sputtering out before it could bring us the full distance.

I cursed under my breath. There was no going back now. We were stranded, weeks away from home, with Caelum barely hanging onto life.

Gritting my teeth, I nudged Sorsha forward.

We rode for hours, me clutching Caelum’s limp form, his head lolling against my shoulder. It took every ounce of strength in me to keep us both on the saddle. I scanned the horizon desperately, hoping for a village, a cottage—anywhere we might find help. But the land stretched out before us, empty and quiet, as if we were the last two mortals alive.

The sun dipped lower as the day waned, casting the flat landscape in shadow. Exhaustion pulled at me, dulling my thoughts. My muscles screamed for rest.

Should I stop and build a fire? Try to wait out the night?

Time was slipping through my fingers, and my frustration boiled over.

I dug my heels into Sorsha’s sides once more, spurring her on. “Come on, just a little farther,” I muttered. She grunted but obeyed, surging forward in a burst of speed.

Without warning, a pair of foxes darted out from the brush, their sleek forms crossing directly over our path. Sorsha reared back with a panicked whinny. I clung to Caelum and the reins as long as I could, but gravity tore him from my grip, and we both fell, hitting the stony ground hard.

Pain exploded through my head, and the world went spinning. My vision swam. Blood roared in my ears.

“Caelum,” I croaked, crawling through the dirt toward him. My knees scraped against the rough earth, and my palms trembled as I reached his side. He was pale, his eyes closed, his breaths wheezing from him in thin threads.

The dizziness grew stronger, the edges of my vision darkening. My hands slipped as I tried to adjust the tangle of blankets around him, and I fell forward, my forehead resting against his shoulder.

I couldn’t hold on anymore.

The exhaustion, the pain, the fear—it all swallowed me whole as I sank into darkness.

When I woke, the sky was brighter, the dull gray of morning filtering through the clouds. I sat up abruptly, a cold chill coursing through me as my memory of the day before came crashing back.

Caelum.

I turned to find him unmoving beside me. He was facing away, the blanket still twisted around him. My breath hitched, dread unfurling in my chest as I realized I couldn’t hear his breathing. I couldn’t hear anything coming from him.

My heart ached, my head ached, my whole body ached. Fear crawled over every inch of my skin as I hovered closer to him in the dirt.

“Caelum?” My voice was a whisper, breaking as it left my throat.

I held out a shaking hand over his arm, but I faltered.

I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t roll him toward me and find his piercing blue eyes, always so full of mirth and mischief, lifeless. The small, fragile thing that I’d felt when he’d laid his head in the hollow of my stomach the night before was dying, and I could do nothing to save it.

I could only watch it leave me.

The fae king said I had been his most precious thing. And Caelum had protected me, given his life for me. And for what? Why did all the men in my life want to die for me? Why couldn’t they just stay ?

Tears slipped down my cheeks, the pain in my chest growing sharper with each second of silence. Shudders ransacked my body as I sobbed. I scratched at my neck, looking for a cold metal ring to steady my spiraling thoughts, only to remember it had been taken from me as well.

I had failed the council, all of Eyre. Worst of all, I had failed him .

But then, ever so faint, a voice.

“If you must cry this early in the morning, Miss Blackthorn, might you keep it down? Some of us are still trying to rest.”

I froze, barely daring to believe my ears. Caelum shifted, turning his head slightly toward me, a weak smile on his lips, his golden hair a wild tangle around his eyes. Relief flooded through me, a strange and fierce joy I couldn’t contain. A laugh bubbled up from deep inside of me as I wiped my tears away.

“Y-you’re alive?” I managed, my voice clogged with emotion.

He winced slightly before offering a more committed smirk. “Still here to vex you, it seems.”

I pulled back the blanket to inspect his back where the burns had marred his skin. The edges of the wounds had scabbed over, faint signs of healing that should have taken days, if not weeks, to begin. Not even considering he should have died before his body had the chance. I shook my head, bewildered. “How is this possible? You should be...”

Caelum’s expression softened as he looked away, almost shy. “Turns out, suffering through an entire childhood of being beaten and then healed with magic over and over to cover it up has done something to me. Like a second skin, I suppose. It makes me a bit more resilient than most.”

He still flinched when rolling to lie on his back.

I reached out, my fingers brushing over his chest, his heartbeat strong underneath my hand, grounding me, ensuring me this was real. Then I promptly curled my hand into a fist and punched him squarely in the stomach.

“Ow!” Caelum exclaimed, coughing. “What was that for?”

“For nearly dying on me, you idiot!” I said, my voice thick with anger and relief. “What were you thinking ?”

He looked away, guilt shadowing his eyes. “I’m sorry, Eedy. I truly didn’t mean for things to go that far. I thought I had it all figured out.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I was afraid to tell anyone what I suspected about my skin, with that old law regarding royals and magic. I thought my uncle might call for my banishment right then and there.”

My heart twisted at the vulnerability, a glimpse of the man beneath the charm. He’d been abused for so long, to be molded into submission once he ascended the throne, and instead he’d been given a gift. Magic. But he had to hide that too.

“When did you first notice it?” I asked.

Caelum exhaled, his gaze turning distant. “I was fifteen, I think. My uncle was in a particularly violent rage, and he’d gone after my aunt, too, so I provoked him on purpose. By the time he was done, I was barely holding myself together.”

I swallowed hard, my hands curling into fists at my sides.

“When I saw my aunt had gotten away, I mustered up everything left in me and ran. I don’t know how far or for how long, just that I didn’t stop. My body was screaming at me, but the fear was louder.” His lips quirked slightly, though there was no humor in it. “I don’t remember collapsing, just waking up later in a field of etherose outside the estate grounds. My clothes were torn, my skin was covered in dirt, but the pain...it was gone. Completely.”

Etherose.

He flexed his fingers absently, as if recalling the sensation. “Everything felt new. My skin tingled, like it had been rewoven from the inside out. I thought I was dreaming at first, but when I touched my ribs, expecting agony, there was nothing.”

A slow breath escaped me as understanding settled deep in my bones. My voice was barely above a whisper. “You must have fallen on a ley line.”

He blinked at me.

“I don’t think the healers magic from all the times before transferred to you. I think when you fell on the ley line it claimed you. It gave you the magic you needed.”

After a moment, he murmured, “Guess you and I have more in common than we thought.”

I nodded, a small smile forming on my lips as a bit of tension drained from my body.

His gaze grew warmer the longer we laid in silence. He looked up at me, his eyes tracing my face with such focus, it made goosebumps rise on my arms. He grimaced more as he propped himself up on an elbow, his face inches from mine, his breath fanning over me.

“Were all of those tears really for a rake of a prince like me, Tempest?” he breathed, thumbing away a remaining drop on my cheek.

“I was upset for the kingdom,” I lied, my voice stuttering in time with my heart. “To lose their prince so young.”

“Right,” he said softly, his thumb sliding down from my cheek to whisper against my bottom lip. “Of course. What a tragedy for the realm.”

I tasted salt. I smelled pine.

“Thank you,” I whispered, “for not leaving me behind.”

His brow furrowed as his hand dropped from my face. “Leaving you alone in Velarune was never an option for me.”

My breath hitched. “Caelum, you barely know me.”

He offered a small smile. “I know enough to know it was worth the risk.”

My chest squeezed, an ache building within me from his declaration and the confidence with which he’d delivered it.

He continued to study me intently, and I thought I might cry again, seeing the passion in his piercing blue eyes, fully alive and focused after fearing he was dead. The fragile thing I felt for him was fluttering and flapping again, a phoenix rising from the ashes. For one reckless heartbeat, I thought he might kiss me, and to my shock, I wanted him to.

He tilted his head toward me, his eyelids fluttering, and I mirrored the movements until?—

Sense returned. He was betrothed to another. He would leave after we figured out this magic crisis and return to his fancy balls and enormous castle, and I would just be the witch from Naohm who he’d had a quick romp with after gallantly protecting her from the evil fae. Even if he did feel something more for me, it was never going to be permanent.

And I didn’t want to be just a fond memory to him...so, I’d have to be nothing.

I drew back, feeling my cheeks flush. “I should make breakfast,” I stammered, pushing myself up and brushing the dirt from my skirts. “You need your strength if we’re going to make it back to Naohm to warn the council.”

A crease formed between Caelum’s brows, his lips pinching together. But then he leaned back, and his features smoothed over, a lazy grin spreading across his face. “That sounds like an excellent idea. You may have to feed me, though. I’m not that healed yet.”

I rolled my eyes, but as I turned away, I couldn’t help the smile tugging at my lips, the full wave of relief finally easing the knot of fear that had held me captive the last day. Somehow, against all odds, we had both made it out of the fae realm alive.

But now we had to get back to the council as soon as possible with a ticking clock on our backs. The winter solstice was only a few weeks away, and the fae king had promised that by then the magic flowing through Eyre could be completely gone.