Page 72
ROYO
CHARM BEACH, GAYA
I ’ve been setting up wood all damn day.
Yesterday, Mikail ordered trees cut down and for spikes to be made to protect Gaya. Hundreds of people turned out to help chop, but now we actually have to build these beach fortifications.
I’m leading a group of locals while Rune’s men also drive spikes into the ground to protect the archers.
A guy digs a hole, I put the spike in, another guy fills it, and then we do it all again until there’s a wooden shelter where the crossbow archers can hide.
Then we move on to the next one. We gotta build a hundred.
The sun is relentless, but being oceanside is nice. Well, except for the fact that we can see the Weian fleet sitting in the harbor. But more and more of Rune’s troops arrive, and it starts to feel like a fair fight.
My shoulder muscles strain, but this beats the hells out of sitting on our thumbs in Rose Palace worrying about Sora. I don’t think Seok will hurt his own son, but the count has wanted Sora dead for a while now.
I strangle the spike in my hands. If she dies, I’ll kill him myself.
Not that I’d get the chance. No, if she dies, Mikail will leap over the strait to kill him, and Aeri will be right behind him.
She and Duval are around two hundred feet above me on the overlook.
This part of the land drops off sharply to the large beach below.
Workers are cutting back the charm fields up there to clear room for the longbowmen and for us to watch the battle unfold.
Other guys are setting up a big tent for Rune.
I shove another spike into the hole in the sand. Aeri, Mikail, and I are doing our own things because we’ve been snapping at one another nonstop since Sora was taken. We all feel guilty. We’re all worried. After losing Sora, I don’t want Aeri anywhere near here, but she’s gonna be, no matter what.
So fuck me, I guess.
We’re also still off. It’s the worst feeling in the world—her being upset with me. But I’ve got nothing to apologize for.
The sea breeze cools my skin, but I still can’t shake the look she gave me after I protected her on the warship.
I was only trying to keep her safe, and I’d do it again.
It’s the whole fucking reason I’m here to begin with.
She’s the one making things difficult. How do you guard somebody willing to die to save everybody else?
You can’t. It’s impossible.
So why do I feel so fucking guilty? My chest squeezes, and I ignore it, grabbing another spike. My legs itch to run up the hill to her, but I’m not gonna apologize for doing what I’m supposed to do.
No way.
It’s sunset by the time I get back to Rose Palace. I’m sweaty, sandy, and I smell like a mule. All I want to do is take a bath and curl up with Aeri. But the bath is all I’m getting.
The stable boy takes my horse, and a servant opens the huge doors. I take a step through, but then I walk backward. I caught a blur of red as I came in.
What was that?
I go back down the stairs and look at the entrance. Roses circle two of the columns—huge ones—and that shit wasn’t here this morning.
“Mikail!” I yell, striding into the palace. “Mikail!”
My voice and feet echo. Mikail comes out of the war room, and Teo follows him, walking with a slight limp. They both look puzzled. I guess it’s weird to yell for a king, but I don’t care. Aeri also appears out of nowhere. I think she was in the library—probably stealing more books.
“Come see this.” I wave them toward me.
We all walk outside, and I point to the columns.
“These weren’t here before, right?” I ask.
The three of them stare.
“No, no they were not,” Mikail says. “Not for a very long time, anyhow.”
He and Teo both get down on a knee. They put their hands to their foreheads. Fallador also comes out of the palace. He looks at the columns, and his jaw drops. He takes a knee, too, while staring at Mikail. Meanwhile, Aeri touches the flowers, then sticks her nose into the petals.
“The goddess,” the men say almost in unison.
Aeri looks at me, a smile gleaming on her face. Her golden eyes are filled with wonder.
Ten Hells, she’s beautiful.
I wipe sand and sweat from my brow, like that’ll make me more presentable.
Mikail stands. He looks at me and then Aeri and smiles to himself. “We’ll have a midnight supper before we leave. I suggest you rest before then…or whatever it is you want to do.”
There’s only one thing I want to do. All right, two with the bath.
The men go inside, but Aeri remains, gently touching the roses. Her fingers twitch. She probably wants to steal one, but she holds back. Once plucked, the flower won’t be the same. Sometimes you have to accept things as they are and admire them for what they are.
Ugh, fuck me.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
She stops and tilts her head. “For?”
“I… I just wanted to protect you.”
“Oh.” She looks far into the dusk. I can tell she’s thinking about that night, the men we lost, Hana’s death, and Mikail killing her father. I don’t think she cares much about King Joon’s death, but she’s gotta feel something.
She shakes her head and then sighs. “I was upset at the time, but mostly at myself. You were just trying to keep me safe.”
“You’re the most valuable thing in the world to me,” I say.
More than gold. More than the blood that got spilt. More than my own life.
Her lips spread into a smile. “In a strictly-friends way, of course.”
“No.”
She closes her eyes and inhales like she’s breathing in the moment. Then she takes my hand, weaving her fingers with mine.
“I’m gross.” I start to pull my hand away.
“I don’t care.”
She holds on to me, and we walk into the palace together.
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