“Besides,” she added, “pretty sure the only reason Lucinda hasn’t given him the boot from the kitchen is because no one else knows how he does it.”
I laughed. “Lucinda deserves a raise, I think.”
Ian walked toward the window closest to where I lay on the chaise, distracted by something. He looked out at the garden and took a deep breath. “Once tomorrow starts, there’s no going back.”
My shoulders slumped forward as the nervous energy for our path ahead returned. I wanted to spare the people I loved from the road we traveled.
Kalliah moved to sit next to me, squeezing onto the chaise, and Ian turned to face us. “We have fought our entire lives to survive, but this will be the hardest battle yet. I just—” Ian paused, running his fingers through his loose hair. “I need you both to know how much I love and admire you. It has been a privilege to be your friend for all these years.”
It felt like all I did was cry lately. The burden of the kingdom, the grief that had come with this fight—they were constant companions whose only outlet seemed to be through tears. I didn’t know how else to respond though. Even Kalliah looked like she was ready to burst into tears, a rarity when it came to her.
Kalliah stood and moved next to Ian, grabbing his hand and laying her head on his shoulder. “The privilege has been all mine.” She sighed then stood, still holding Ian’s arm. “You two took me in and trusted me with your deepest secrets. You made me feel like I belonged somewhere for the first time in my life. Like I had a place, not just in this palace but in this world. Even when the other maids would make fun of me for having lesser magic, you never once let me believe a word they said. Your kindness changed my life. Your friendship has given me more than I ever dreamed of having.”
My chest expanded, bursting with the love and connection I had in these two people, my oldest friends. “I love you both so much,” I said, my voice wavering as I walked toward them. “Through thick and thin, you two were always the ones who kept me from breaking. Without the two of you, I would be nothing more than pieces of a Fae disguised as a princess.”
I reached out, wrapping them both in an embrace.
These were my rocks. I would not have survived years of torture and deceit if I hadn’t had these two friends by my side. I owed them everything.
Kalliah pulled away first. “Well on that mushy note, if this is our last night before war, I’m going to find my man.”
Ian grimaced, but I couldn’t help but giggle. “Don’t you meanmen?”
With a completely deadpan expression, Kalliah picked up her belongings, and turned to me before reaching the door. “I don’t have the slightest clue what you’re talking about.”
She left before we could tease her any further. “It took Leif, what, three years to get her to admit she liked him?” I asked Ian. “How long do you think Jax will have to wait?”
“At least half that,” Ian said, walking to the almost empty plate and popping the last biscuit in his mouth. “Come on,” hesaid before swallowing. “Let’s go outside for a moment and get some air.”
I nodded, following behind a misty-eyed Ian. I knew if I said something about his show of emotions, he’d make his usual comment that his eyes had simply been watery from the dry air.
He opened my balcony door, and we stepped out onto the veranda. We’d stood in this spot so many times before, pouring out our hearts to each other.
I leaned my elbows on the marble railing overlooking my garden. My once beautiful escape lay dead and dreary beneath us. I closed my eyes, gripping my hands together as I thought about how I’d tend to it alone now. Without Corbin. I inhaled a sharp breath as the pain in my chest became almost unbearable.
“This is really it,” I murmured, “the final battle of good and evil.”
Ian let out a breath. "Remember everything I taught you. All the training we did was for this. Unknowingly, we’ve been preparing you for this your entire life.”
Gripping the cool marble railing in my hand, I could feel the light magic inside of me dancing in anticipation, pleading to be let free. It seeped outward, giving the area a small glow. Ian glanced down and smiled at me. “Fates, Lan. Of course once you gained magic it’d be as beautiful as it is powerful.”
I tried to laugh, but it came out strained, emotions clogging my throat.
“I just hope it will be enough,” I whispered. “I hope I will be enough.”
“Illiana Dresden,” Ian spoke in his captain voice. “You have survived more heartbreak and anguish than any Fae should have to suffer. You were tortured for years. Your parents couldn’t help you because they were under Andras’s spell. Fates, they weren’t even your biological parents. You never even had a chance to know your birth parents. Yet you stand here today, a survivor.Not once did you let any of those things break you. Andras’s torture alone would have made even the strongest of soldiers crumble. I would know,” he added with a whisper. “But you stood tall. You fought back.”
“I—”
Ian held up his hand. “No, let me finish. Lan, you did all of that without magic. Look at you now. You don’t just have magic, you have one-of-a-kind, never-seen-before light magic. Something so rare and so unique, of course it would be your power. You have always been enough, and there is not one doubt in my mind you will fulfill these Fates’ awful prophecies and save us all. You just have to believe in yourself as much as every single one of us believes in you.”
I pulled away and threw my arms around Ian, unable to stop the sobs as I clutched onto him. “I could never have done this without you. I love you, more than I can ever say. It wasn’t because of myself that I survived. It was because of you.” I lifted my head and looked into the eyes of my best friend. “I was nothing without your support. Thank you for loving me, for reminding me what’s real, for enduring the nightmares together.” I couldn’t continue, couldn’t get any other words out.
Ian hugged me tightly again. We didn’t move, just stood there, savoring the comfort we brought each other. Though my heart sagged, heavy with worry, it also strengthened because of this man. I’d cried at the loss of all my parents, believing I had no family left, but Ian? Ian was my family.
“You helped me not only survive, but you created the beginning of this crazy family we’ve assembled. The one we’ve chosen for ourselves.”
He laughed, his breath catching as he sucked it in, wiping his eyes. “Fuck, this group is insane.”
