Page 58

Daimon

A sheet of rain fell like a curtain outside, the whir of rainfall covering the sound of crashing waves from the beach nearby. Daimon was hollow inside, breaking piece by piece as he grieved in silence. His anger slowly melted away in the dampness of the cave, leaving nothing but remorse and grief in its wake. Now that he wasn’t giving reports or being the commander, there was nothing to stop the memories of his friends dying in front of him.

He saw Keir and Codax as they plummeted to their deaths. Ranick and Elias as they were killed by Moros. So many of the soldiers who had followed him into battle and ended up never leaving that dark-infested valley. Soldiers who would never come home to their families.

Tears streamed down his face. He swatted them away, his breathing uneven.

The empire had lost so much…

Every bone in Daimon’s body screamed for him to find Evelina.

Zephyr huffed, her eyes following him back and forth as he paced .

“Zeph—”

His mouth froze as a rain-soaked Evelina appeared across from him. She was shivering, her arms crossed over her chest, hugging herself tightly. His eyes fell to her white satin gown, which was molded to every curve of her body, translucent from the water. His mind immediately went to their night beneath the waterfall together, when their friends were still alive. When they had hope of winning the war without losing those closest to them.

“I can’t stay long,” she whispered, her teeth chattering. “But I—” Her voice broke.

Zephyr nuzzled her side, and Evelina wrapped her arms around the wyvern. Daimon’s heart squeezed at seeing his two favorite girls so closely connected. The wyvern finally pulled away and moved past Evelina to the mouth of the cave. Despite the heaviness weighing down on Daimon’s chest, he smiled as his beast sat outside in the rain.

Her tail swished behind her as her body blocked the opening. She chomped at the air, jumping and catching droplets in her mouth. She loved the rain—always had. But he knew it was more than that. He knew she was keeping watch while he and Evelina talked.

A sob tore free from Evelina. Daimon ran to her. He pulled her against his chest and held her close. She was freezing, her skin as cold as ice. He wrapped one hand around her waist, the other cradling her head.

For a moment, he just held her. No words could ease the pain of what they had both lost that day—but he could hold her.

“Ren is gone,” she said, breaking the silence. “Lyria said Mother just passed last night.”

Daimon pulled her closer against his chest, as if he could shield her from her heartbreak.

Evelina had lost her father when she was younger, but she hadn’t been through war before—hasn’t seen firsthand what brutal death looked like. Daimon may have been hurting, but he wouldn’t break, not when he needed to be there for her.

“I’m sorry, Eve,” he whispered, his heart thundering in his chest. “Tell me what I can do. Tell me what you need.”

He wanted to grab her hand and let Zephyr fly them to a remote island. To find an untamed place for them to make their own. No war, no Furies or death or heartbreak.

She leaned back, her hands sliding up his chest. “I need you ,” she whispered. “I need to feel something other than this pain.” She eased the collar of his shirt apart, slowly opening its buttons one by one until she reached the bottom. Her eyes fell to where her hands rested on his lower abdomen.

He needed her so badly it hurt. She was the only remedy for his heartache.

His muscles clenched beneath her touch. He trailed his hand from her hair to her jawline, stopping with a finger beneath her chin. He lifted her face to his, kissing her as if it were the last kiss they would ever share.

She pushed his shirt off and pulled away from him abruptly. Her eyes were fixed to his hip. He opened his mouth to ask if she was okay when she suddenly reached forward. She traced the ink etched onto his skin, running a single finger over the sword.

“My Rider mark,” he explained softly. “We get them the same time as our wyvern when we bond fully. The same sword is on her side.”

Evelina nodded. “Beautiful,” she murmured. She looked up at him, eyes wide and filled with pain.

He leaned in, holding her as if she were going to disappear. She stepped away from him and slowly removed her gown. His gaze never left her.

When he lowered her to the ground, he held her gently. And when he looked into her eyes, he felt the tightness in his chest ease. She didn’t seem to be able to look away from him either, their kisses desperate and needy .

Even as he undressed them, he held her gaze. If she needed this, he would gladly give it to her. He took his time, his hips working at a slow and tortuous pace. He kissed down her body, relishing every feel of her skin against his. He kissed the curve above her hip, then the swell of her breast, mapping her body with his mouth.

They held each other after, her head on his chest.

They were quiet, their breathing shallow and cheeks flushed. Evelina pushed her damp hair out of her eyes for the third time, the strands refusing to stay in place. Daimon stood and walked around her, sitting behind her. He gently pulled back the pieces of hair that had already fallen into her eyes and began to weave the strands over one another.

“What are you doing?” she asked, twisting around.

He reached out and angled her face forward to stop her from turning toward him. “Braiding your hair.” His fingers quickly wove three separate strands together, careful to keep it tight.

“Where did you learn to do this?” she asked softly.

A memory washed over him of learning how to tightly secure his hair when he first became a Rider.

“Do you remember how long my hair was when I first became a soldier?”

She nodded. “Nearly past your shoulders.”

“Far too long for a soldier,” he said softly. “When I bonded with Zephyr, Willow taught me how to keep it secured with a braid. It’s impossible to learn to ride a wyvern with your hair in your eyes. It was hard enough as is.”

“Why not just cut it?”

His fingers stopped their weaving. “I wasn’t ready to give my old life up just yet,” he whispered.

He slowly resumed braiding her hair, then turned to re-braiding just to prolong the moment. He murmured tales of being a young boy without a family to suddenly having more love than he could ever dream of when he became a Rider. The Riders were his family. Keir was his family.

Evelina’s head was tilted back, eyes closed as he talked about a past he never thought he’d share with anyone. His mouth couldn’t stop moving, couldn’t stop opening up to her as she silently listened.

He got to the end of the braid and tore a small string off the hem of his shirt to tie it off. Then he pushed the braid over her right shoulder and rubbed her back.

“Carwyn wants us back on the border soon,” he said softly.

“I asked her to let me go back,” she confessed softly. Daimon blinked, surprised. “I always felt so useless in the palace, even if they allowed me to be a healer. But I think there’s a reason my light came alive in the mountains with you all. It needed to see real darkness first.”

“The darkness is what I’m worried about,” he whispered. “I’m worried I won’t be able to protect you.”

Evelina twisted around to face him. “I would go anywhere with you.”

They stayed together in the cave the rest of the night, until the sun began to peek over the horizon and Evelina had to go get ready for the lux. He wanted to go with her, to stay by her side the entire time.

But they weren’t on the border. She was back to being a princess, and he was back to being a commander in crisis.