Page 48

I always felt for Dimitri, though. Father never let him wander far, his leash kept short.

Looking back on our situations now, I was selfishly grateful Dimitri was able to take the brunt of Father’s attention on himself.

At least I was still able to sneak away every once and a while. Dimi rarely had that luxury.

Part of me wondered if my twin was on the battlefield today, or if he was left to oversee things back at Gatlyn Castle.

An even smaller part of me selfishly wished he were here, just so I could see him and reassure myself he was alright.

Aurora made it sound like he had been falling apart since my departure, but he had always been the strongest person I knew.

What was so horrible that he couldn’t weather it alone?

Shaking my head slightly to clear the thoughts spiraling in my head, I rested my cheek against Byn’s back as we neared the campsite.

Just one more moment to soak in the warmth and comfort of my husband. I just wanted one more moment .

Sooner than I had hoped, Atlas came to a slow stop, and Byn helped me off of the wolf’s back. Sometimes I wondered if he forgot I could fly.

Before I could take more than a few steps towards the circle of Northern tents, a tender hand circled my wrist. I allowed Byn to turn me around and hold me at arm’s length, hands resting on my shoulders.

“Listen, Aviva… I wouldn’t ask this of you if I thought anybody else had even a slim chance of getting close enough to your father.

You’re in a unique position here, with all his subjects believing you were taken by force.

They’ll want you to reach him, maybe they’ll even help you.

But once you reach him, he’ll know something is wrong.

Play it smart, alright? Use every tool and ability you have.

If we can cut the head off of this beast of an army, they should all fall back.

With the Islanders here, we stand a chance, but the less that die on our side, the better,” Byn said, his voice gentle and reassuring, but with the strength of a king.

I nodded and threw him a cocky smile. “I know, Byn. I can do this. Plus, if things go horribly wrong, I’ll have backup,” I reassured him, wiggling the ring sitting on my gloved hands."And you didn't ask this of me, love," I added.

He reluctantly removed his hands from my shoulders, and I could feel the guilt settling in his chest anyways, simply because he knew this was putting me in harm’s way.

Grasping at the leather and metal armor on his chest, I pulled him down to my level and pressed my lips to his.

He returned my kiss fervently, and through our intertwined souls, I could feel everything he wasn’t able to voice aloud.

The love, the guilt, the longing, the desperation, the pure need .

The kiss sent small sparks running through my veins, and I wondered if it was even possible to ever grow tired of the male before me.

I ingrained the feel of him into my mind, and dedicated the smell of him to memory—spring rain and magnolia tree blossoms.

I broke away a handful of heartbeats later, resting my forehead against his as I whispered reassurances to him one last time. “I can do this.”

Quinn cleared her throat from behind Byn, Rayven next to her looking towards the tents not too far off now.

I looked to her without a hint of the anxiety I felt showing on my face, and gave her a dip of my chin. She returned it with a bow of her head. I appreciated the gesture, knowing that there would be no big speeches or grand reassurances from her, especially not after what just happened to Ezra.

I turned to look at Rayven, only to find him already scanning my expression, likely checking in on me like he did everybody else in the Valwain.

“Ready?” he asked, his voice rough and husky like always.

I nodded, shrugging off the remnants of the messenger's uniform. I tried not to cringe, thinking of him lying beneath a tree on the other side of the roving hills, unconscious. Our original plan hadn’t even worked.

Without the uniform, I now stood in elegant, lightweight armor made of black leathers and gleaming metal.

It was a mixture of the hard, almost impenetrable leathers the North wore—lightweight so as to still be able to fly—with some of the South’s metal armor providing extra protection over more vital areas.

Rayven then handed me his gray cloak—worn in enough to look tattered, as though I had escaped the clutches of the South. That was the story I needed to make my father’s people— my people—believe. I donned it without a second thought, covering the armor underneath completely.

I met Byn’s eyes one last time, hoping he could read the emotions written in them as I began walking into enemy territory.

I heard the beat of the wolves’ paws as they retreated, not wanting to bring any extra unwanted attention to my sudden appearance.

I ducked behind one of the smaller tents on the outer ring of the campsite, Rayven next to me.

“You won’t see me, but if you pay close enough attention, you’ll be able to feel me with your shadow wielding. Remember your training, and know that I’ll be right there in case things go wrong,” Rayven said, his dark chocolate eyes peering into mine.

“Thank you, Drayven,” I replied, which he dipped his head to.

A male of few words.

Rayven suddenly dissipated into shadow, but I forced myself to be hyper-aware of any and all shadows around me. The unexpected might just be my greatest weapon yet.

I felt Rayven clinging to the long shadow I cast along the ground, courtesy of the rising sun, as I rubbed dirt across my face, in my hair, and along my wings.

I wished to the Stars it was enough to trick those I’d have to make my way past, or at least give them pause.

Then, I broke out into a run.

I ran as though my entire world depended on it. And in some ways, it did. I felt free for just a moment, like I didn’t have the weight of a crown on my head, like two different nations weren’t relying solely on me and my upcoming decisions to win this battle.

And after that, to win the war.

For once, I allowed my anxieties to overwhelm me. I let them fester in my chest, let them eat away at my stomach until it was nothing more than a growing pit in the center of my body.

I thought about Aurora and how much we seemed to have grown apart since I left the North.

I brought to mind Dimitri and all of my worries I had revolving around him, and if he was truly going downhill or not.

I pondered how alone I felt when I was first sent away to a strange place with strange fae.

I let it all eat at me until tears were streaming down my face as I ran. I let the hood of Rayven’s cloak fall back as the wind whipped at my tears, leaving streaks running down my face through the dirt I smeared there.

As I got closer to the largest tent, right in the middle of the campsite, my brothers and sisters from the North began to murmur and gasp as I ran past, my booted feet carrying me as fast as one of my air currents.

The closer I got, the louder those murmurs became, until they began to shout.

It only made me run faster.

My chest was heaving by the time I reached the center tent, but as I rounded it to reach the front, I came face to face with six winged guards, each one covered head to toe in that near impenetrable leather and carrying a variety of weapons.

Each male looked as though they were carrying their own personal armory.

“What—” a familiar voice started. “Wait. Princess Aviva?”

Looking up, I remembered to put on my best performance.

“Joel!” I sobbed, throwing myself into the young guard’s arms and allowing the tears I had worked up to flow freely.

The gray eyed, dark haired guard had served my father for around six years now, and he often guarded Father’s meetings with his advisors.

He was one of the only guards who would break his stony mask to smile at me, or would sometimes even look the other way when he’d find me outside of my room when I shouldn’t have been as a young teenager.

Though he was only a handful of years older than me, he had worked hard to make his way from a servant in Gatlyn Castle to a member of the royal guard.

And though I no longer served the North, I admired him for it.

“Princess, how-how are you here? What happened? We were all devastated when we heard you had been taken from us,” Joel said, his voice laced with concern as he gently put space between the two of us when he noticed the way the five other guards were watching us.

Each one had removed their hands from their swords though, which was a good sign.

They didn’t view me as a threat to them.

Yet.

I had to bite my tongue to keep from correcting him as I responded. Queen . No longer Princess .

But I knew they recognized me right away. Their eyes bounced around from my partially covered face, to my white hair, to my dual colored wings. They, at least, had not forgotten me so easily.

“The South has been trying to persuade me to join their side of the war for months. They’ve been trying to break me.

” I forced my voice to crack, reaching up to touch the eyepatch covering my green eye, hoping they’d believe it an injury.

“I-I don’t know why they chose me, but this battle was to be m-my first test. The moment they turned away for just a second, I ran.

I knew I’d find my people here somewhere.

” I paused, sniffling, tears falling still.

“Is… is Father here?” I made a show of looking around cluelessly, though I knew he’d be inside the tent Joel guarded.

Joel looked to the other guards around him, and though they seemed slightly skeptical, they also seemed to look on me with pity.

If only they knew.

When Joel hesitated, sharing weighted glances with his fellow guards, I pushed again. “He is, isn’t he? I just want to see my family. I want to go home , Joel.” I spoke with a voice full of raw emotion, my lip trembling and eyes watering all over again as I looked upon him and the other guards.

“Let her in, Joel. The King can’t be upset that we let his stolen daughter in,” one of the others said, the only part of his face not hidden by his helmet was his blue eyes.

For a split second, I wondered if it was weird that I had missed seeing other blue eyed people, just slightly. Even if I wasn’t fully blue eyed anymore.

Not that these males seemed to know that, or even suspected anything was amiss.

Joel loosened a breath. “Alright, alright. Let’s get you inside, Princess.”

I forced myself to let out a sob of relief, thanking Joel repeatedly as I allowed him to lead me inside the giant tent.

It took everything in my power not to drop my act as I beheld who was inside.

Not only my father and his advisors and his top general—who, to his credit, looked as though he’d actually been called off of the battlefield—but also my brother. My twin.

Dimitri.

He was alive. And he was here .

My father’s piercing gaze settling on me was enough to knock the air from my lungs and make my anxiety spike. I felt Rayven stir slightly in my shadow, now pooling closer to my feet with the torch-lit chandelier overhead. His presence eased that knot in my stomach just enough so I could breathe.

I continued to make myself look small, helpless, and scared as I looked back at the king sitting before me, only a few paces and a wooden war table between us.

Dimitri stood like a startled doe at our father’s right hand.

His jaw went slack at the sight of me, and I saw him take a step forward before Father cast a cruel looking warning glance at him that made Dimi freeze.

It was like my arrival broke him of his trance—but Father didn’t want it to be broken.

He wanted to keep Dimi’s leash as tight as possible.

My heart ached at the sight.

Father turned his attention back to those before him.

“Joel, I thought I told you not to let anybody inside this tent,” Father said, though it sounded like a threat.

“Y-Yes, my king, but it’s—”

“ Anybody. ”

I audibly heard Joel gulp, and suddenly I was reminded why my father was still in power.

Everybody feared him.

After a few tense heartbeats, Father sighed deeply, then waved a hand.

“Everybody but my children are dismissed. And Joel?”

The guard looked upon my father’s face with pure fear.

“Don’t let anybody else inside. At any cost,” Father said, much too calm for somebody who was just reunited with their daughter after months apart.

Joel nodded, and without another word, ushered each person out, being the last person to leave. He cast me a worried glance before letting the tent flap fold shut behind him, leaving me alone with the only family I’d ever truly known.