She cried out and ran down the steps, wrapping me in a tight hug. I hugged her back.
“Your mother would be so proud,” she whispered.
My jaw dropped as I stared at her. “You knew her?”
Melaena smiled through her tears. “Why do you think I hired Aiden and Maz? Your mother sent them to me.”
I smiled back, a sense of peace stealing through me. I felt, in a way, that I’d finished what Mother had set out to do. And I truly hoped she was as proud of me as I was of her.
“Kiera!”
I turned to see Ruru rushing toward me, his face split in a huge grin.
“Your brother and sister!” he shouted, waving me toward him. “They’re calling for you!”
The next fewdays were gloriously busy.
As word spread that the city was free from Renwell and his Wolves and now under the protection of the Falcryn king, life breathed back into Aquinon.
Everyone helped to clear the streets and burn the dead. Nobles and city folk alike shared food and medicine with the injured and opened their homes to those who needed it. Melaena took in widows and newly orphaned children, caring for them in the opulence of her club.
Aiden cleared out Asher’s mansion, which Renwell had been using as a garrison for his Shadow-Wolves. Now, Rellmiran soldiers mingled with Dag warriors and Eloren sailors on the once-pristine grounds.
Pride swelled through me every moment I witnessed the city come together in a way I’d never experienced. It was amazing how life flourished once the heavy shadow of fear dissipated.
I helped as much as I could, but I constantly drifted by the waterfall. After I’d ensured that Everett and Delysia were alive and well—through much shouting and dancing and more tears, I grew impatient for the temporary rope bridge to be finished.
Aiden had started its construction immediately, as he said he would. Our archers had shot many ropes across the perilous gap, and Pierce and a few other friendly guards had anchored it on their side of the bridge.
Daire and several brave sailors, who were used to climbing the ropes of their ships, ventured out to twist the ropes into a bridge. We secured the workers to our side with ropes around their waists, but I still watched them with my heart in my throat.
Sometimes—my favorite times—Aiden would keep watch with me. He’d sneak away from his many tasks, wrap me in his arms, and stare at the palace with me. The beautiful prison, with its sunrise-colored stone turrets and gleaming windows, was something we’d both avoided our whole lives.
And yet . . .
We didn’t speak of it. But the future loomed as large as the palace.
A question needed to be asked. And answered.
Occasionally, I’d glance down to where the waterfall pounded into the sea, knowing that Renwell was dead at the bottom. Like that woman from Mynastra’s Tide so many years ago. My old mentor was another sacrifice Mynastra had gladly taken. But she probably preferred the other one we gave her.
Before burning the Shadow-Wolf bodies, Aiden ordered some soldiers to toss all the sunstone armor and weapons into the sea. Just as at Calimber, the weapons of the night sky met the sea with a sigh. As if Mynastra were exhaling in relief. The waterglittered in the dying sun, the remnants of a dark legacy melting away.
On the third day, Aiden shook me awake from where I slept in one of Asher’s rooms. I typically collapsed into whatever bed was empty—Aiden joining me in the brittle hours before dawn.
He swept a kiss over my brow. “Come to the palace with me, Kiera.”
Chapter 67
Kiera
The ropearound my waist felt too thin and fragile. Aiden expertly knotted it, his fingers brushing over my hips with soft yearning.
“See you on the other side,” I said breathlessly.
He tucked a stray hair behind my ear. His eyes were full of thoughts that I’d seen gathering the last two days, like water in a dam. “I’ll be right behind you.”
“Don’t worry, we’ve got you,” Ruru assured me from where he and Daire stood by the sturdy post that held our ropes.
