Kyella
After bidding goodbye to Barnabus, with the promise to see him at the meeting this morning, I watched him fly off. His impressive wingspan allowed him to arc up and around a nearby tower, before sweeping out of sight.
The memory of the sense of freedom I felt while on the back of one of Barnabus’ gigantic bat friends—flying over the water toward the city while the wind whipped around my body—swept over me. For a moment, I was envious that I couldn’t fly and feel that heart stopping exhilaration again. The sound of someone moving around in the room behind me drew my focus away from the old god swooping away from me.
Turning and opening the balcony doors, my head fell back as I nearly walked into Kolvar’s chest. His hazel eyes lit up upon seeing me, and he scooped me up, burying his nose against my neck while squeezing me.
“Morning,” I whispered, chuckling at the affectionate greeting. His voice was muffled, but he said something that sounded very similar to ‘good morning’ in a sleep-tinged tone.
When he didn’t let go right away, I allowed myself to melt into the embrace. With the chaos of change and grief saturating the very air around us, I didn’t want to forget to savor the small moments like this. There was so much ahead of us and despite my determination, it had the potential to be overwhelming.
“Have you slept yet?” The deep, somewhat-grumpy voice had me peeking around Kolvar as he let my body slide down his frame and out of his arms. I met Elijah’s concerned gaze as he stood from the couch where he had fallen asleep looking over a journal.
“No,” I admitted as he walked over, examining my expression closely.
Kolvar shifted behind me, allowing Elijah to cup my jaw and look down at me. He spoke softly, concern tinging his tone. “I know there is a lot going on, love, but when we have the time,pleasesleep. I need to know you’re all right and that you’re taken care of. I understand why you stayed up but promise me that at some point today you’ll rest.”
It was the ‘please’ coming from the usually bossy man that had me nodding immediately. I really did plan to sleep—hopefully wrapped up in their arms—eventually.
“Please?”Kolvar questioned, his voice rough from sleep. “Did you hear that? You know it's serious if he’s willing to sayplease, darling.Although, I don’t disagree with him.”
I offered him a knowing smile as Elijah shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips at the playful comment. Glancing back to Elijah, I dipped my head in acknowledgement. “I will, I promise.”
I knew all of us were emotionally raw following Myrin’s wake the previous night, so to see the return of their smiles lightened my own mood. With that thought, I shifted from between them to look for Dakath.
“Where is he?” I asked, confused about when and why he would have slipped out without a word. When the main door opened and he stepped in, freshly dressed and his hair styled back and out of his face, I realized he’d gotten ready for the day.
“I stepped out to get ready,” he offered easily as he approached. “I also grabbed you some tea as well as a few items from your room to get ready.” He placed a kiss on my cheek, and I relished the sweet gesture before taking the tea from him.
“Thank you,” I murmured before taking a sip of the steaming tea. I knew the energy gained from the drink would help me get through this meeting.
“We should probably do the same,” Elijah admitted with a sigh, as if he hated the idea of leaving for even a moment to get cleaned up. Butterflies erupted in my stomach at the thought of the love we shared. I never thought I would experience such a thing, yet alone three times over with each of them.
“I will send word for everyone to gather in the council room once more—how long do you need to get ready, love?”
As I swallowed another sip of tea, I contemplated. “Maybe ten minutes,” I offered in return.
Considering I hadn’t slept, I knew a simple change of clothes, washing my face, and brushing my teeth would do. There was far too much to focus on, and I needed to know that we were ready to sail. I appreciated Dakath bringing me enough to get ready for the day. I didn’t want to waste any time at all, even just to go back to my room.
It was essential that we left today to maintain the element of surprise against the Thaician Empire. The time that Malakai would conclude that Holmeth and the rest of the crew were not returning with me in tow was fast approaching. I knew that realization would launch him into a new plan of attack, and we needed to beat him to the punch.
Which was how I was ready in a whoppingsevenminutes, not ten. As I walked into Myrin’s personal study, I found Dakath looking over one of the journals with a deep furrow between his brows.
Feet stilling, I paused with a thought. As Empress, was I expected to move into Myrin’s personal quarters? To make her space my own? I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Shaking my head, I found myself glad that I wouldn’t have to worry about that until after the war.
“Something wrong?” I asked Dakath as I set the mostly finished cup of tea down.
“Nothing is wrong exactly,” Dakath closed the journal and stood, walking over to me and running a hand over my waist. “I want to make sure we are as prepared as possible for this.”
Just wait until he finds out everything I've learned this morning…
“We will be,” I promised, refusing to believe anything else. Determination and strength like I’d never experienced before coursed through me. Even when I tried escaping from Malakai, I hadn't felt like this. I knew the steely grit would fuel me through whatever we would face moving forward.
“Are we ready?” Elijah asked, unintentionally interrupting us. He and Kolvar stood in the doorway to the hall, dressed and ready. I nodded, walking toward the door before I came to a full stop.
“Wait!” I exclaimed, throwing my arms out as an important recollection came to me. I motioned for them to come back into the room. I had meant to tell all of them when we first woke up, but I’d forgotten until just now. Maybe I needed to sleep more than I thought. “Actually, come in here and close the doors. I don’t want this to be overheard.”
“What’s going on?” Kolvar asked, his brow dipping in concern as he sat on the arm of the couch.
