I nodded shakily.Breathe in. Breathe out. And look to the other side.
Delysia and Everett waved to me from the palace steps.
“Why are you smiling?” Aiden asked close to my ear.
“That’s all I ever needed,” I said. “Someone who loves me waiting for me on the other side of the abyss.”
“And someone who loves you to cross it with you.”
My smile widened, and I gave him a quick peck on his stubbly cheek. Then I dropped to my hands and knees and crawled out over the waterfall, with Aiden close behind.
Bits of cold spray struck my face like the driving snow of Dagriel while Rellmira’s sun warmed my back.
The braided rope ladder swayed under our weight, pitching my stomach with it. But I gritted my teeth and kept crawling.
You’ve watched Daire and the others do this for days. It will hold you.
For once, I appreciated the unceasing roar of the waterfall. It grounded me. I had no desire to soar through the air again.
Hands grasped my arms and hauled me upright before I registered that I’d reached the other side.
Everett crushed me in a hug so unlike him that I squawked in surprise. Delysia laughed and clutched us both, talking so fast I couldn’t hear her over the pounding of my heart.
But Ididhear her gasp, “Oh!”
We all turned around to see Aiden step onto solid ground, a grin on his ruggedly handsome face. He untied his rope and looped it around a post.
Delysia tugged on my sleeve. “Introduce us,” she hissed out of the corner of her mouth.
I tried to hide my smile. “Aiden, this is my younger sister, Delysia, and my older brother, Everett.” I squeezed both of them. “Everett and Delysia, this is Aiden Falcryn.”
“I think you meanKingFalcryn,” Delysia murmured, dipping into a perfect curtsy.
Aiden bowed, his black hair sweeping over his brow. “I haven’t been crowned yet. But I’m so pleased to meet you both.”
Everett bowed as well. “After everything you’ve done for Kiera, our mother, and our kingdom, the honor is ours.”
“I wouldn’t be here without your sister,” Aiden replied, his gaze flicking to me. “I hope?—”
“Oh!” Delysia gasped again, much louder this time.
She broke away from us to throw herself at the third person who’d crossed the bridge. Henry clutched her in his arms, his face buried in her long golden hair. They murmured thingsto each other we couldn’t hear. Delysia fussed with his torn uniform while Henry smiled down at her.
Something tugged in my chest.
I glanced at Aiden, who was already looking at me.
That dam was close to breaking. I could feel the words pushing and straining against the fears that held them back.
Ducking my head, I busied myself with untying my rope.
Everett cleared his throat. “There’s someone waiting for you inside,” he said to Aiden. “A Teacher named Librius.”
Aiden’s eyebrows drew together, and he nodded. With swift steps, he led us up the stairs. I wondered how he felt entering the palace. Not an assassin in the night, but as a king returning home.
Some of the palace guards were gathered outside, their armor gleaming in the sun. They bowed as Aiden passed. Had their loyalties changed that quickly, or had they always wanted to serve someone better? The latter seemed more prevalent in the soldiers and city folk. But I wondered how much opposition Aiden would face in the coming days, months, years.
You could face it with him.
