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Evelina

Evelina didn’t sleep the few short hours they had before sunrise. She lay in her cabin, wondering if Daimon was able to sleep. She wished more than anything that she could lie with him, but that would lead to questions from the others. She was happy in their bubble together, just the two of them.

Her legs were sore, but her body was far more relaxed than it had been in years. Still, she hadn’t been able to sleep, her body buzzing after last night’s confessions. As the sun finally lit the sky, she slipped into mostly clean leathers and left the cabin before Gloriana woke up. She found Keir sitting by the camp’s center, stoking the fire with a stick.

“You know you could just use your fire instead?” she asked as she walked up to him. Keir shrugged, his eyes not leaving the flames. “You okay?” She sat down on the ground beside him.

“Yes.” He sighed and shook his head. “No. Do you ever get tired of fighting in this war?”

At this point, everyone had to be tired of it. It was impossible not to. Still, it was a surprise coming from the Aegis council head. War was bred into their souls. It spoke volumes that he seemed just as tired as everyone else.

“I look forward to the day we get to go back home for good,” she admitted. “If anyone can lead us to victory, it’s you and Daimon.”

He poked at the fire again, sending a flurry of embers into the air. “You know, I was worried about you two working together at first with the history you have.”

She turned to him, her brows jumping up. “He told you?”

Keir smiled, still stoking the fire. “We’ve done a lot of patrols together throughout the years.” He glanced at her, his eyes sad. “I always told him what an idiot he was for not returning to you.”

“He could use a little push sometimes,” she said with a small smile.

Keir grimaced, offering a commiserating look.

She realized how thankful she was for Keir—for all of the Riders—in this moment. For the most ruthless warriors in the realm who supported Daimon above all else, not because he was their commander, but because they respected him.

“Most Riders could,” he admitted. “We’re hard to love.”

Evelina released a long breath. “You’re soldiers. You spend so much time being strong for others that you forget to be strong for yourself.”

Keir huffed a laugh. “You sound like Senna,” he muttered.

She stood and brushed her palms against her thighs, rubbing the dirt off. “I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else,” she assured gently. “They rely on you, you know. None of you would exist without the other.”

He nodded, closing his eyes for a brief moment, as if clearing out a passing pain. “And us, you.” His weathered face softened. “You’re a part of our fleet too.”

Tears welled in her eyes as she felt a sense of belonging in the last place she expected to feel it.

Evelina was lost in the memories of last night as she took stock of the shelves. She replayed every kiss—every touch.

She sat on the floor, her legs crossed as she weighed rennew powder in a small bronze scale. Once it tipped two ticks down, she marked the weight on her parchment and beside it added, Low stock.

The wooden floorboards behind her creaked and she whirled around. Daimon was leaning against the doorframe, the door open to let the cool breeze in. His arms were crossed loosely over his chest and his eyes were brighter than she had ever seen them, a soft blue instead of the usual blazing midnight.

“Don’t stop on my account.” He pushed off the frame and slowly walked toward her, his gaze roaming her body. “I could watch you all day.”

“You could watch me count and tally jars all day?” she teased.

He smirked and stopped once he reached her. She looked up at him from where he stood and her heart began to beat a little faster. In all her time in the camp, she hadn’t allowed herself to really admire him, to drink in the curve of his lips, the short beard that lined his jaw. He crouched down until he was eye level with her and reached forward to tuck a strand of loose hair behind her ear.

His hand paused against her face as he said, “I could never tire of watching you, Eve.” She swallowed and her cheeks flared red. He smoothed his thumb over the blush. “So beautiful when you blush for me.”

Before she could answer—or swat his hand away—he stood again and offered his hand to her.

“I want to take you somewhere,” he said softly.

She raised a brow but slipped her hand into his. He helped her up, a gleam of excitement in his eyes. His normally guarded expression was gone—he almost looked like the boy he used to be, carefree and ready to take on the world.

“Where are we going?” she asked .

He smiled and slipped his hand into hers. “Somewhere I’ve never taken anyone.”

Zephyr was waiting outside the cabin, watching them expectantly as they approached her. They were going to fly.

Evelina stopped and tugged at his hand. “Shouldn’t we be training or something?”

He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. “We won’t be gone long,” he promised.

She nodded and followed him to Zephyr. She grabbed the rope hanging off the saddle and hoisted herself up. It had become easier to mount her in the times they had patrolled together.

Daimon swung himself up next and seated himself behind her. The saddle pushed them close together, her back pressed firmly against his chest. But she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t leaning against him regardless.

Zephyr stretched her wings and pushed off the ground. They were above the clouds in seconds, her wings stretched out wide as she sped through the air.

Evelina leaned her head back against Daimon’s shoulder. He rested his cheek against her and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist.

As Zephyr leveled out in the sky, Evelina thought about all the years she had missed with Daimon. They could’ve been doing this since he became a Rider, had he chosen to tell her the truth. Still, he made his decision, and they would both have to live with that. She could hate him for leaving her in the dark for so long, or she could take advantage of the time she had with him. There’d been so much loss during the war, and had there not been, she might’ve chosen to stay angry with him. But she’d seen death, experienced how quickly things could change. All it took was one stray ferrum arrow—one exposed move—for a life to be taken.

No one was invincible—not even immortals .

So instead of holding onto her anger, she let it drift behind them in the wind.

They flew over the clouds blocking the forest beneath them. She couldn’t tell if they were headed west or east, but Zephyr seemed to know the way. Daimon pressed a soft kiss against the curve in her neck and she shuddered. He smiled against her skin.

“You are far too good for me, Evelina Manor,” he whispered, his voice nearly lost among the howling wind.

She turned her head and buried her face in his neck. The scent of cedar and frost enveloped her. She couldn’t help but breathe it in. He smelled like a forest on a crisp winter morning—as if fresh snow had just blanketed the ground.

Now she understood why the Riders loved to fly so much. There was a calmness in being so high up—a sense of freedom that came along with the possibilities that lay ahead. She could spend hours with him up here, far away from the war and the worries on the ground.

Zephyr tilted her nose down and started their descent, though Evelina would’ve been happy to fly the rest of the day.

Once the clouds cleared and she could see the ground, she saw they were above a lake. The sun splashed rays of light onto the water’s surface, making it sparkle and glisten with each ripple. Zephyr flew them closer, her wings churning rolling waves. She landed on the muddy shore, her talons sinking into the wet soil.

Daimon slid off first and turned around to help Evelina down. Once on the ground, she turned to admire the beauty around them. A patch of willow trees surrounded this end of the lake. They swayed with the breeze, their branches dancing to the sound of the wind. Small white butterflies hovered around the trees, floating through the cascading leaves. In the midst of so much heartache and war, Evelina had forgotten how beautiful her land could be.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered. She turned to him, finding his eyes on her .

“Yes, it is.”

He grabbed her hand and led her toward the willows. There was a small, worn path that was etched into the grass. It disappeared behind the tree closest to them, the long branches of the willow hung like a curtain to what lay beyond it.

Daimon gently pulled back its branches, rustling it enough that several butterflies flew off. Evelina stepped through the tree and he let the curtain of leaves fall behind them. The branches were so thick that they were shaded from the sun.

“What is this place?” she asked, her voice filled with awe.

He continued to lead them down the small path, through more branches and trees. “A place I come to when my thoughts are too loud and the world is too heavy.” It was like they had been transported to another world, a place without their past and their sins. “But this isn’t what I brought you here to see,” he added.

Even if it had been the reason they came, it would’ve been more than enough. Just being here with him was all she needed.

Through the trees, she could see an outline of rocks glistening in the sun—the opening to a cave, she realized.

A wide stream fed into the cave, the water so clear that she could see the bottom of it; teal stones speckled with white, purple crystals practically glowing, and every color in between.

But they didn’t stop at the colorful stream. Instead, Daimon led them into the cave. The walls were damp and the ceiling barely high enough for Daimon to stand up fully in.

The deeper into the cave they walked, the darker it got. The sounds of the forest quieted behind them, leaving only the ripple of the water bouncing off the cave walls.

Somehow, it felt more secluded than being alone above the clouds.

“Just a little further,” he whispered.

They had walked far enough that there was no longer light from the opening to see the path before them. She could barely see the outline of his body, let alone where they were going. He kept her close, his hand never leaving hers.

He slowed to a stop and sat down, tugging her hand to get her to do the same. Once she was seated, he released her hand.

It was pitch-black. Without his hand, it almost felt like she was alone. She only knew he was still there from the sound of his soft breaths.

“This is what I wanted to show you,” he whispered so softly she had to strain to hear him. He brought his hands together, a loud clap echoing off the walls.

“What are you?—”

Her breath caught.

Thousands of tiny blue lights snapped on and glowed so brightly that she could see him sitting beside her now. The lights lined every inch of rock and reflected off the water around them.

It felt like she was in the stars.

“What is this?” she breathed.

“Small insects that glow in the dark,” he explained. Their light began to fade and he clapped again, causing their light to brighten once more. “They live in dark, quiet places.”

She watched as their glow slowly dimmed, in awe of the tiny creatures. “I’ve never heard of a creature like this,” she whispered. “How did you find it?”

“During training with the fleet, we would take solo trips exploring with our wyvern.” He clapped again once the lights winked out completely. “Z found the lake and refused to explore anywhere else after. She kept bringing me here regardless of where I wanted her to go.” He chuckled to himself, lost in the memory. “Finally, I started to explore more and more, until I found this place.”

There were so many sides to Daimon that Evelina hadn’t seen in her time at camp. A softer side that he didn’t let others see.

“You’re not who I imagined you to be, Commander,” she said softly .

He turned to her, his eyes gleaming in the blue glow of the cave creatures. “And who did you imagine me to be?”

She reached forward and pressed her palm against his cheek. He melted into her touch as she said, “I thought I had lost the boy I once knew. I’m starting to see he didn’t go anywhere.”

The light above them dimmed and they were plunged into darkness again. This time, he didn’t clap. They sat in silence together, letting the darkness surround them.

“You’re not the girl I used to know,” he finally said. He wasn’t whispering anymore, his voice loud enough to cause a handful of the creatures to glow. She could see the curve of his lips, the upward tilt of his smile. “You know who you are—what you do and don’t want to be. Either way, I’m just as in love with you today as I was back then.”

Her breath froze in her lungs.

In that moment, she knew she had never stopped loving him. Even through the years of anger and pain that he had left in his absence—through the ache of losing him and never understanding why.

She never imagined he felt the same way. That the love she kept hidden in her heart for him mirrored the love he had for her.

“I don’t want to lose you again,” she said suddenly, loud enough that more of the creatures flared brighter. “If we make it through this wretched war, I don’t want you to disappear again.”

He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers. “You’re still a princess, Eve.”

She gripped the collar of his shirt and shook her head. She knew the feelings she had for him ran deeper than love. It was more than that—her soul sang when his was near.

“I’m the last heir that would be chosen for the crown.” She leaned away from him. “If this were Carwyn, perhaps it would be hard to convince our mother and the council to allow her to be with a fae of her choosing, but we all know I’m not Carwyn. I’m not even Ren or Lyria. ”

He sighed and took her hand in his. “You really believe we could convince the council and the queen to let us be together?” he asked quietly, his eyes fixed on where his fingers were laced with hers.

“I do,” she swore. “When this is over.”

He looked up, bringing his gaze to hers. “When this is over,” he said with a sad smile.

Deep down, she knew this was the least of their concerns. Even if the council approved, Daimon’s fate would still hang over their heads until the day the dark gods decided to claim him.

But in this cave, with the blue light fluttering, she couldn’t feel the weight of the outside world anymore. No Nyx, no Vidaris, no Moros or rebels. It was just them, together, beneath the false stars.