Willis nodded, gaze dropping. Several seconds passed, and he regained some of his strength, rising to his feet.
“We will have the departure ceremony for him tomorrow. You will need to choose a second to help you with the release.” Ariana’s gaze remained lowered, looking at the ground.
“It is you. You are the second,” Willis stated without hesitation, and her attention moved to his face.
She shook her head no. “I don’t deserve it. It is my fault he-” Her voice quivered, and it took everything for me to keep my feet rooted to the ground and not go to her side. Even as Edda held out her arm before me as if to bar me from moving.
Willis’s strong hands gripped her by her shoulders. “You are his family, my family. His life would have ended long ago were it not for you being in it. You gave him a chance to love and be loved. No one but you deserves to stand with me for his release and departure. He would have wanted it to be you at my side.”
A sob escaped Ariana’s wavering control, and she would have crumbled to the ground if Willis wasn’t there. His arms circled her as leaned her forehead into his chest as she wept.
Together, they mourned the loss.
“Let’s go,” Edda’s said. Her dark eyes turned from them. “After she finishes here, we will have a small meeting to discuss what occurred in the Sidhe territory. Against my advice, Ariana wishes for you and the other Lysian to be present for it.”
“Kole?” I lifted a brow at her, pretending to not know his name.
I did not care for Edda’s opinions of me or the Lysians, not when Ariana stood trembling in Willis’s arms. Whatever happened that caused Landin to lose his life was not good. The fact that she now wished for a meeting, the day she returned, and right after having to go through the challenge of tellingWillis that Landin was gone, meant that whatever she had to share was pressing.
Edda’s response to me was a grumble before she turned. I followed her through the streets. Looking back, I could still make out Ariana and Willis holding one another, supporting each other so that they both could remain on their feet.
Willis arrived justa minute before Ariana. She was the last to enter the small chamber, closing the door behind her. Her gaze avoided everyone as she made her way to the only open seat left. An unease moved through the small space. Everyone except Willis watched her with anticipation. The entire room was silent as if holding its breath. We were made up of Edda, Willis, Kiora, Kole, and me. I was surprised to see such a small group joining the gathering. There were no elders present other than Edda. Outside of the Lysians, it appeared only those closest to Ariana were privy to whatever it was she wished to discuss.
“For those of you who may not yet know, we lost Landin during this trip,” Ariana stated, and Kiora’s gaze slid to Willis, whose face remained unreadable. It seemed as though both he and Ariana regained their composure in the little time they had before the meeting began. “Clause has requested that I come to stay with him for some time and learn of the Sidhe ways.”
My blood went ice cold. She couldn’t have been entertaining that invitation. To willingly spend time with the one responsible for the death of her friend.
Somehow, I kept the growl from my throat when I asked, “Requested or demanded?”
“If I do not accept, then he will see it as a threat and attack.” Her gaze lifted, finding mine across the table. Having her attentionmomentarily immobilized me, the flicker of sadness within those green eyes tore at me. Though she tried her best to conceal it, she could not hide it. Not when my focus was intently on her. Every trace of emotion that slipped through the cracks in her calm demeanor may as well have been shouted. It stirred a ripple of anger from within. If I ever got my hands on the Sidhe King, then he would know what pain felt like. I would make sure of it, and I would take my time with it.
“You are accepting.” The way Willis said it, it was as if to confirm what he suspected. It was not a question. A completely ridiculous assumption that she was going.
“Yes,” she answered, still keeping her gaze locked with mine.
I stiffened. “No. You are not going to live in some mountain with a madman. You are the Leader Superior to your people. You cannot abandon them.” It was absurd.
“I would do thisforthem.” She clarified, remaining outwardly calm while my control was slipping with every breath.
I shook my head. “Ariana. I will stand with you. My Lysians will stand with the Bavadrins. We can take the Sidhe together. There is no need for this.” Sitting beside me, Kole nodded his head in agreement.
The young Sparrow archer turned to Ariana. “I am afraid that I agree with the Lysian. We just got you back, Ariana. I do not wish to let you go so easily.”
Thank the Spirit, one of her friends had a decent head on their shoulders.
Ariana’s gaze finally broke from mine as she looked at the table before her. “We would lose,” she said as if it were a fact, no question about it. “Between the two of us, we may pull together a few talented conjurors while he has who knows how manypowerful ones.” She then turned to the other Bavadrins in the room. “He has the Dunes Clan. They did not disappear years ago. They live under his command.”
Ariana turned to me as she explained who they were. “The Dunes Clan lived in our lands but not under our rule, at least not directly. They were granted freedoms partially because they lived in the desert and hardly interacted with us. But they were incredibly skilled fighters, gifted, their skin enhanced by conjuring abilities. They were rumored capable of standing their ground in hand-to-hand combat with Lysians.”
“So, we will find some other way.” I was desperate.
Ariana had always been out of reach, even when she had been living in my home. I only recently began to think of her as more than I previously allowed for. And now, she was slipping away before I ever even got to–
“He has Iona,” Ariana spoke my sister’s name, and my heart nearly stopped in my chest. My train of thought stolen.
“You saw her?” Kole’s voice was ghostly.
Her attention slid to his with a frown. “No. But he confirmed it.”
