Page 62 of The Last One Standing (Rogue X Ara #4)

Adonis would never gain the upper hand again.

With the help of my wyverns, we’d pinpointed the location of every human army throughout Auryna.

I’d taken his men’s supplies and cut off their communication.

Wyverns took their sense of safety. His kingdom was falling into ruin, and when his people’s hunger and desperation drowned their sense of loyalty, I gave them a target much closer and tangible than the infamous Fae king.

While Livvy and Ara would have my head when they found out, it was a tactic, a valuable one: swaying allegiance.

All we had to do was plant the seeds of doubt. His people’s need for an outlet would sow them into outright dissent all on their own. We’d sent the orders to disperse men and women throughout Auryna to begin the whispers of a Stirling heir.

It was quiet now, angry murmurs among the common folk, but a ruler’s power was built on the foundation of their people’s loyalty. He might command armies, but it was the masses who held true strength.

The fact that he was Fae would’ve been enough to send them into a frenzy, but they wouldn’t have believed it. It would’ve started and died within hours. But a long-lost heir to Godrick? That they could believe, and more so, wanted.

Their king was false, his crown stolen, rusted, his hands stained with the blood of the previous monarchy and the queen that should’ve been. Auryna adored Godrick, and the hope for his heir would spread like wildfyre.

Adonis’s throne was cracking beneath him, and he was none the wiser.

“Does Livvy know she’s the descendant of royal blood?” I asked.

“Isn’t this the largest stash of secrets ever spilled?” Iaso chuckled. “No, she doesn’t.”

“Someone will have to take the throne after Adonis.”

She tilted her head toward me. “Yes, and with Godrick at her side, Auryna would celebrate in the streets. They loved him.” She gazed up at the sky, her arms stretched out to either side. “Did you know Godrick is Elora’s father? Well, adoptive father.”

“Yes,” I said, “but Ara doesn’t yet. Is he still aboard the ship?”

She nodded. “Yes, with Livvy.”

“Elora’s here, too,” I said. Iaso popped up with excitement, but I lifted a hand.

“Elora needs to explain everything to Ara first. She doesn’t know anything about Elora’s parents.

Elora never told her, and I don’t want her thrust into another potentially painful situation without some kind of warning. ”

“Ah, I was afraid of that.” Iaso deflated, her head turning in the direction of the sea.

“Though, they do need to see each other—and Livvy, too.” She flattened her hand over her heart.

“I can’t imagine what Elora’s reaction will be.

Poor girl has lost nearly everyone she’s ever loved… She needs him.”

My gaze fell to the ground, scorched from my earlier distress. Like mother, like daughter.

“When can Calypso be here?” I asked, circling back to the most pressing issue, the one that kept me out of the cave and away from Ara when all I wanted was to go back to her.

I knew her oath was different, felt it swirling within the sun, among the others but not with them—not one of them.

“She can travel through water, so in theory, minutes.”

“In actuality?”

“In actuality, she does what she wants, whenever she wants it.”

I dropped my head to my hand. “Fuck. Can nothing be simple?”

“Life is never simple.” She ran her hand over my back near my scars, and I flinched—more than flinched. I jumped away from her touch, my pulse spiking.

“I’m sorry.” She clutched her hands in her lap. “Do you…still have pain?”

I clenched my jaw, pressing my lips together. Of course, I still had pain—in my back, yes, but the hurt in my soul was far worse.

“We need to summon Calypso here,” I said.

Iaso saw through my diversion with ease, but she didn’t push. “I’ll send her a letter.”

“What will we offer her? Money?” I waved my hand through the air. “Too trivial. A castle? A title?” The suggestions poured from me, but they wouldn’t be enough. I could offer all three, and it wouldn’t tempt her in the slightest. The specificity of her request in our last deal told me as much.

“I want to be alerted when the final war starts.”

A knot of anxiety wound in my chest now that I knew who and what she was, but I didn’t regret striking the deal. I should have, but I didn’t. My loyalty was to Ara first, my kingdom second.

While I gave Ara the dagger Edana brought, I kept the one from Calypso. The magic imbued in it hadn’t dissipated when I found her. If Adonis ever managed to get that vile tonic in her and block our mate bond again, the dagger would still lead me to her.

“I believe I have something that should suffice.” Iaso stood, dusting off her leather trousers.

Iaso…in pants? How distracted had I been?

“Thank you,” I said as she turned to leave.

“You’re welcome, and”—she reached for my hand and gave it a quick squeeze—“thank you for talking with me today.”

That stone of guilt in my gut wrenched.

She paused, head tilted. “You’re sure this is what you want to do?”

“No, I’m not sure.” I barked a dry laugh, throwing my hands out to the side.

“I’m not sure of much of anything, but we do need to know what oath Ara created, and we have to maintain some kind of relationship with her for the weapon if nothing else.

The only thing I do know is that we’ll figure it out, be it today, tomorrow, next week, next year—well, not next year.

” I released another strained laugh. “We don’t have until next year.

We have until Winter Solstice to figure everything out, and I know we will. ”

There was no alternative. No matter what came, no matter the odds, we would win this war, because anything less would be a death sentence for the person who mattered most. Failure was not an option, and I refused to acknowledge it as one.

Iaso’s gaze lingered longer than usual, like she were searching for the boy she raised, the hurt, pessimistic product of his environment, but he was no more.

I’d finally outrun my father’s reach.

A sheen of tears glossed her eyes as she placed a warm hand on my shoulder.

With that, she strode off in the direction of the ship. When Iaso disappeared into the treeline, Aurum leaped into the sky, shimmering in the sunlight. His thoughts danced and played as much as his movements, a happy chattering and youthful optimism that brought a smile to my lips.

That smile sank when something stirred in my chest—stirred, then wrenched, determined to rip my heart out. I jerked to my feet and stumbled, my hand flattening over my sternum, eyes flaming.

The world spun, my vision blurring at the edges, but I forced my feet forward into the cave. White-hot fire flared in my chest, each breath flaming the agony.

“Ara!” A roar tore from my throat, raw and desperate.

I fought my way to her, the other half of the bond being shredded and ravaged— our bond.

The ground tilted beneath me, and I staggered into the stone wall, catching myself with both hands. Pain clawed at the edge of my consciousness until?—

It ceased.

The pain was gone.

Our bond…

“Gone,” escaped under my breath.

Shards remained in its place, slicing at my heart with each erratic beat.

Pushing off the wall, I ran around the corner and stopped in my tracks. The cave had been silent because it was empty.

Ara wasn’t here, but her blood was. The scent filled my lungs like poison, stinging my eyes and burning my throat.

My knees hit the stone with a hard crack.