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Byn reached up as if to cup my cheek, but paused, as though remembering my earlier request. Without hesitation, I tilted my head to meet his hand, pressing the side of my face into his warm palm. Selfishly, I wanted his comfort.

I just wanted him .

Byn’s eyes flicked to my throat, where I suddenly realized I was still lightly bleeding from.

Before he could freak out on me, I said, “Byn, I’m fine, please don’t make a fuss.”

“I can go get Chess,” he offered, still staring at the wound.

“I’m alright, I promise,” I reassured him.

Despite the reassurance, he ripped a small strip from the bottom of his shirt and reached forward, lightly tying it around my throat like a choker.

“Thank you,” I murmured, eyes flickering to where his shirt now exposed some of his tanned stomach.

“Can I hold you?” he asked quietly. “I… know what it’s like, more or less. To lose a parent or two.”

Tears welled in my eyes once more, heart aching for the male before me, who had been through so much.

“You deserve everything you think you’re unworthy of and more, my love. I promise,” he said gently, then opened his arms, motioning me forward.

I chewed on my lip a moment before giving in, despite my heavy heart.

I crawled into his lap, repositioning my wings to fit around us tighter than before, and wrapped my limbs around him.

Soaking in his warmth, his comfort, as he rubbed small circles on my back, I sighed shakily.

His gentle strokes helped to ground me back into my body, slowly but surely.

As if he understood exactly what I needed.

This is it , I realized.

This is what home feels like.

With that thought alone, the dam in my mind that was holding everything back finally broke.

And for just that moment, safe in the arms of my husband, I allowed myself to grieve.

***

After allowing myself to break down in a safe place—in Byn’s arms, wrapped in my wings—we began walking farther into the forest to find the rest of our group.

Not but fifty feet in, we found Chess and Laurence, along with Eden.

The moment Eden saw me, she chirped happily and bounded over to me. I flung my arms around her neck in a warm embrace by way of greeting, and she rested her head on my shoulder.

“How are you, girl? Did you take care of Laurence for me?” I asked her sweetly.

“She most definitely did. If she wasn’t so quick and agile, I’m not sure we would have made it out of some of the situations we found ourselves in,” Laurence responded for Eden, making his way over.

Laurence gently stroked the griffin’s head, then glanced my way. “Thank you. Being able to be in the sky again, especially at a time like this… that meant everything to me,” he said thickly.

I smiled softly at him and nodded. “Anytime, Laurence. Truly. With all the duties I’m sure Byn and I will have when we arrive back at Cairnyl, she’ll need somebody to check in on her more often than I’ll be able to. Would you mind looking after her for me, when I can’t?”

“But what about—” he started, but I interrupted.

“I can find a second guard, if it means Eden is being taken care of by somebody I trust.”

The older male smiled at me, the emotion written there raw.

“It would be my pleasure,” he said. “Looks like you’re stuck with me a while longer, Eden.” He stroked her head again.

Eden chirped sharply in response, causing us both to laugh.

Once our giggles died down, Laurence looked at me. Really looked at me.

“I heard what happened,” he said softly. “Are you alright?”

I pondered the question a moment, then shook my head, smiling sadly. “No. But I will be,” I said, unable to stop myself from looking towards Byn.

Laurence followed my gaze, then gave me a knowing look.

“I’m here if you need anything at all, my queen.”

“Thank you, Laurence.”

Byn and Chess broke apart, and Chess walked over, looking ready to examine me.

“I can give you a salve for that, you know,” Chess said, examining the strip of fabric around my throat.

Without thinking, I reached up and lightly touched the fabric.

“I’ll think about it,” I responded.

Truthfully, I wanted a reminder of the events that transpired today. I never wanted to forget; today had shaped me.

Once Chess saw the deep cut on my arm, he insisted on going full trokav mode on me, sprouting some fancy plant and crushing its leaves to mix with water and rub on the wound.

It sealed over quickly after, leaving nothing more than a thin, small scab.

He said the wound on my neck wasn’t deep, but due to the location, would likely leave a faint scar.

I decided I was alright with that.

Just as I saw Byn looking towards the battlefield, probably wondering why Quinn hadn’t checked in yet, the general herself came barreling through the forest, straight towards us.

She stopped running once she got close enough, panting lightly. It wasn’t until she stood closer that I saw the panic in her eyes, and the troubled expression covering her face.

“Ezra’s gone,” she declared, and I could tell even she was confused by it.

The group was quiet a moment, before Byn simply said, “Show me.”

Laurence, Eden, and I took to the skies, flying directly over Byn, Quinn, and Chess as they sprinted in the direction of where we all last saw Ezra’s body.

As we neared the area at the edge of the forest, I could see from the sky that Quinn was, in fact, right.

Ezra wasn’t there.

We landed nearby, wings tucking in, as I walked to the edge of the plants we had sprouted earlier, reuniting with the group.

Now, each flower and plant had been trampled. It looked almost like a crime scene—semi-fresh blood had spilled on the greenery, then it looked like something, maybe Ezra himself, was dragged away.

At seeing the blood and ruined plants up close, Quinn fell to her knees, her breathing heavy as tears welled in her eyes.

“I lost him once, and now I’ve lost him again,” she said quietly, eyes glued to the deep red blood before her.

“Maybe one of the carriages saw him and picked him up. For all we know, his body is already headed back to Cairnyl,” Byn suggested, but I could feel his uncertainty.

Quinn shook her head, her shoulders drooping.

Before I could think better of it, I crouched down next to Quinn.

“Earlier, the random pain you felt. You and Ezra used the royal inks, didn’t you? You weren’t in pain yourself, you were feeling Ezra, right?” I said, somewhat quietly, as though divulging a secret.

Quinn stilled, then whispered, “Yes. I think so.”

I could tell the entire group was stunned, troubled, and confused as I glanced to them. I felt it in Byn, and saw it in the firm set of Laurence’s eyebrows, in the down-turned lips of Chess.

“Tell me about it,” I said to Quinn, gently grabbing hold of her hand.

Quinn finally tore her eyes away from the bloody mess before us, looking to where our hands met. Then she looked up, searching my face, and the pure grief in her gaze made me want to look away.

“I felt the connection between us fade to almost nothing when he closed his eyes for the last time. But then when I was feeling his pain, it felt like… like being torn apart from the inside. As though my heart and lungs were on fire, or being lit up somehow. I didn’t know what it was, but I realized it must have been coming from him when I saw he was missing.

That’s when I finally slowed down long enough to figure it out,” she said, still peering into my eyes, looking frantic.

“Figured what out?” I asked.

“Ezra. He’s still alive,” she said, and finally saying it aloud seemed to take a small weight off of her shoulders. “I can still feel our bond, connecting me to him. It’s faded, like he’s still gravely hurt, or far away, but it’s there. I don’t know how, but he’s not dead.”

Yet , was the unspoken word that held in the air.

At that, I wasn’t quite sure what to say. I looked up to Byn, hoping to find answers in his face, but he looked just as stunned as I felt.

“You’re confident?” Byn asked her.

“Yes,” she said simply, her hand unconsciously grazing the spot under her armor where her tattoo lay. If it were showing, the tattoo would reveal a hefty tree with branches of fire.

Byn ran a hand through his hair, contemplating, then nodded.

“We will do everything we can to find him,” he promised her, “but right now, we need to think of our people. We need to regroup, follow the proper protocols, and assess the wounded. Ezra is strong—wherever he is, he’ll be alright. Once we reassess, we’ll start looking for leads. Deal?”

Quinn stared at him for a moment, as though contemplating leaving to find her husband this very second. Finally, she nodded.

“Thank you. For believing me. I know it sounds crazy,” she said softly, rising to her feet.

“Your instincts have never led us astray before. I doubt they will now,” Chess stated, Byn nodding his agreement. I looked hesitantly at Laurence, but his expression was guarded, troubled.

I considered questioning him when I felt Rayven’s shadow energy nearby, heading for us, along with two other new energies I was unfamiliar with.

“We have company,” I said by way of warning.

Byn’s eyebrows furrowed, confused, but then Rayven and two other people—one male and one female—materialized not but ten feet from us, stepping out of the shadows of a tree.

Byn, likely having felt when their physical forms touched the earth, whirled around to face them.

Then, a smile broke out across his face, despite the revelation just revealed moments before.

Fortunately, I had been studying him long enough now to be able to tell when he’s truly happy or not. And right now, it was definitely just for show.

“It’s good to see you again, Prince Callum and Princess Caelia. I heard how you both voted in the South’s favor to send aid. Thank you for that. We’re in your debt,” Byn said, tipping his head to the royals in thanks, then clasping forearms with who I assumed was Prince Callum.

Both the princess and prince reminded me of Drayven—quickly reminding me that his family originates from the Ocrein Isles.

The female, Caelia, had curly, black hair that reached her waist, and dark eyes to match—like two voids of light.

Callum’s eyes matched his sister’s, but the coils of his hair were closely cropped to his head, and he had just a bit of a beard growing in, like he hadn’t had time to properly shave in a while.

The siblings' skin tone was darker than even Rayven’s—something I was unaccustomed to seeing in the North.

They reminded me of Maya, from The Haven’s library.

Though, unlike her, both were dressed in thick, dark metal armor from head to toe, and had various amounts of blood on them from the battle.

“Well, we couldn’t allow you to have all the fun,” Caelia responded with a smirk, placing her hand on her hip.

Callum nudged her in the side with his elbow, then looked back to Byn.

“It was the right thing to do,” he said to Byn, dipping his chin.

“Stay a while, come with us back to Cairnyl. We can find arrangements for your soldiers,” Byn offered.

Callum and Caelia shared a look, then Callum nodded to Byn. “Alright. It’s time we catch up, anyways. And gives us time to figure out why there’s a child of the sky standing with your group.”

Feeling my cheeks heat up, I looked to Byn. He held a hand out to me and met my eyes, where I found silent encouragement waiting.

After taking his hand, I stepped up to his side as he told the siblings, “This is my wife and queen, Aviva of the North.”

Both royals’ eyes went wide as they looked me up and down—from my wounds, to my wings, and finally my eyes.

“Not solely Northern, though, huh?” Caelia said, the tone of her voice rubbing me the wrong way.

“My mother hailed from the South, but my Father was King Horace Heartshire,” I responded, making sure to keep my chin held high.

At that, Caelia’s expression faltered, as though simply hearing my father’s name ignited fear in her.

After that, both royals’ faces appeared much more guarded.

Byn cleared his throat after a second to break the silence—and tension.

Slinging an arm over my shoulders, he said, “Let’s work on getting home.”