“What?” she snarled, her face turned away. But he still could tell there was dampness on her cheeks.
“I believe it,” Loche said when she remained bent over a pile of combs and jewelry, her hands clenching and unclenching as her chest strained against her shirt.
“What do you believe?” she snapped.
“That any man would consider himself lucky to marry you.”
The female froze, and Loche would have been worried had he not seen Merrick and some of his brothers do the same thing. Fae could go so still it was difficult to believe any blood pumped through their veins. It was slightly unnerving, but also helpful, since he needed to talk to her.
“Iviry,” he said, his voice soothing, as he took another step into the room. “It might not be a conventional marriage, but I feel lucky that it’s you. From what I’ve seen, you’re a great leader who puts your people first. You’re loyal to a fault. You, like me, will do and say what’s needed to keep our people safe. I… think we can be good together. We just… we need to figure out how to balance everything. But we will. And we’ll do it as one.”
She still didn’t say anything, but… her shoulders started shaking, and first Loche thought she was laughing, but then the quietest, faintest sob floated through the room.
Fuck. He’d said the wrong thing again. Loche dragged his hands down his face before he decided to at least try to comfort her.
Walking up to the fiery-haired Fae, he squatted before her downturned face, and when she didn’t run away or say anything for him to step back, he rose andgently shifted her into his arms, using a hand to tilt her face toward him.
She was so fucking pretty, even with tears flooding her eyes and snot running out of her nose, that he almost had to step back not to give in to the strange urge to kiss them away, but then she mumbled something and he couldn’t help but pull her closer.
“What did you say?” Loche whispered, and he thought he could hear the crack in his heart when she sniffed again before responding.
“I-it’s all gone so fast… I was… I was just going to help Raine, and now I’m somehow leading Vastala into a war I am not sure we’ll win… And I’m with people I don’t know, and who I doubt like me, and—” More sobs choked her words, and Loche swore quietly to himself when that fierce mask she usually carried vanished, revealing a woman with feelings and uncertainties and doubt—the exact feelings always swimming within himself.
“You don’t have to do this,” Loche whispered as she nestled her wet face into his neck. He held on to her as if he could hold the pieces of her that felt like they were breaking. “We don’t have to do this.”
Iviry quieted for a second, before she pulled back and looked at him, her copper brows drawn close. “But don’t we? If not us, then who?”
He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.
Because Iviry was right…
If not them, then who would try to ensure that they all survived the coming weeks?
Chapter 16
Raine
Friends? Frelina just wanted to be friends?
No fucking way.
Raine muttered to himself as he dragged his tired bastard ass up the ship’s stairs and across the deck, and stomped over two other ships to reach the one where Loche and Iviry planned to host their training today.
His mutters turned to sighs when it proved quite challenging to get through. Not just because each ship was packed with Fae and humans and the odd shifter and half-Fae dispersed amongst them, but because the air was so damn heavy with tension. And not the good kind.
Raine flashed his teeth when a Fae beside him shoved a human out of the way to get closer to the makeshift training ring. Thankfully, the Fae realized who he was, but even so, Raine forced himself through the walls in the Fae’s mind and snarledIf you don’t treat thehumans with respect, I’ll encourage you to take a long fucking swim in the sea.
With a white face, the Fae apologized to the human, who was oblivious to what had just gone down, and smirked as if it were he who had somehow instilled terror in the two-foot-taller male.
Raine just clicked his tongue, his gaze flying to the sky for a moment. He caught a few other pairs of eyes as he barged through the crowd, watching their gazes drop and their feet fly backward, dragging others with them, and realized he must look as fucking annoyed as he felt.
He didn’t have patience for this type of tension in his usual state. And now? He was sober. Sober and feeling so fucking stupid and guilty and… Emotions crawled under his skin until he felt like ripping it off his flesh.
What the fuck had he been doing?
Raine winced as Solana’s voice rang in his mind.
You’ve been an absolute idiot.
