FAOLAN
We raised no alarm returning to the First Kingdom. The city slumbered with only the guards walking the battlements of the city walls. We flew over silently. We hadn’t spoken much about the return because the parting weighed too heavily, so when it came time to go to the palace, there wasn’t really a way to leave her without me exposing myself.
I was too raw to care. Not giving a single fuck what the King, Nyx, Jaxus, or anyone else wanted from me. I couldn’t have her, and I’d tell them to shove their laws if pressed. What would they do? Chase me to the ends of the Twelve Kingdoms and beyond? It didn’t matter.
Nothing mattered in the wake of leaving her.
I wasn’t ready, and I thought of ways to offer another option.I went through so many in my mind.
Are you sure about this?
We don’t have to return yet.
Give me another hour, another day, another week.
But the longer I had with her, the longer I’d want and the harder it would be to let her go. It already felt impossible. The idea made me want to strangle the future king, and I’m sure regicide would be frowned on by Nyx.
“What are you thinking?”Caly asked, like she knew.
“Do you want the truth, or a much more appealing lie?”
“The truth, please.”Her tone nearly killed me.
“I wish we had one more day.”I went with a reasonable answer that was close to the truth.
“I don’t know if I can stand having another day with you.”She echoed the words in my heart.
“That was the second part of my thought. I want more time, but I’m not sure we can handle more time.”
She hugged her arms around the parts of my neck she could reach. “Why does this have to hurt so much?”
“Because we both know it’s goodbye.”
She sucked in a shuddering breath, not speaking, but the emotion charged through our bond told me enough.
We didn’t have time for anything else because as we knew they would, the palace watch called out that they’d spotted a dragon, and one they weren’t expecting and didn’t recognize. Our colors were distinct enough to tell us apart, even from a distance at night with the moon as bright as it was.
In a matter of moments, dragons launched themselves from the battlements, approaching. The first to reach us, I knew immediately.
I roared in greeting to Luka and Hazel. Hazel’s demeanor changed from stormy and defensive to smiling. Luka waved from his seat.
“You know them?”
“Yes. They are my friends.”
Jaxus and Kiera joined soon after, and then Nyx and Zaria. They must have noted the change in Hazel’s body language because neither arrived with their defenses up. Both were elated, so happy to see us.
They escorted us to the dragon landing, the only area with enough room for one dragon, let alone four. A guard waited, and my stomach dropped to my feet.
Calytrix climbed off my back and held herself like she was already the queen.
I shifted back, and Jaxus handed me a pair of sweats and let me put them on before he pulled me into a hug. “Thanks,”I said, patting his back in greeting.
“No worries.” He clapped a hand on my shoulder. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
“No?” I asked, forcing a smile. It felt weird to not mirror their moods, but how could I be excited about losing Caly? “I’m hard to kill.”
“No kidding,” Nyx muttered, approaching. “We thought you both dead after the last attack.”
