He releases a long sigh and presses his lips to my forehead. “All right. You win for now, princess.”
“Just for now,” I say, opening the door.
He follows me into the dark hallway. My hand gravitates to his, and we intertwine fingers. Our time hidden away from the world is over. With each step up the stairs leading to the deck, reality comes rushing in. The challenges we must overcome are terrifying. They feel too enormous for a newly crowned king and a girl who spent most of her life in the grandeur of a castle. But not all of it will be terrible. Sprinkled in the bad is always some good, and the people waiting to reunite with us will be the very best.
Fourteen
RAELLE
My brother stands at the ship’s railing with Ulric, watching as Pliris’ port grows closer. He’s taller and broader than I remember. Days training under the blazing sun have given his skin a golden glow and dark scruff covers his freckled face. It’s hard to believe this is my little brother in a brown military jacket. He appears to be a grown man, but the wild wonder in his eyes speaks to his youth.
Kyron releases my hand with an encouraging nod. I move across the deck and lock eyes with Ashavee. She sits by Ulric’s legs, her black-on-black spotted fur shiny and clean. I scratch behind her ear as I slide between Rowan and Ulric. Clasping my hands on the wooden rail, I take in the rocky coastline. The beige sand glimmers like diamonds are buried in its grains, and cliffs with grassy tops tower above the sapphire water. Never has anything in nature looked so beautiful.
“It’s hard to look away, isn’t it?” I ask.
Rowan’s head jerks in my direction, his blue eyes wide. The biggest smile spreads across his face and he yanks me into hisarms. I bury my face in his shirt and inhale the faint smells of home—Mama and Salone’s lavender, the soil that clings to Ansley’s red curls, and the wood and cinnamon I associate with Papa. I never gave up on returning to my family, but wrapped in my brother’s arms, I understand how rooted the fear had become. Deep down I believed it might never happen. All it would have taken was one slip of the tongue or act of defiance, and Zek could have ended me. I realize now that every day I was balancing a fine line between life and death. He tried to strip me of everything, to make me his toy. I prevailed and now I’m minutes away from a family reunion.
“I missed you,” Rowan murmurs against my hair.
I step back to get a better look at him, soaking in the face that I’ve always known. When did he go from a little boy with a head of unruly brown curls to the soldier before me? Rowan liked to dig in the mud for worms and climb trees, and now he has pledged to protect our kingdom. He didn’t grow up overnight, or even during the time I was gone. He was changing day by day, and I wasn’t paying attention. I took him for granted, just like I did with every person who was a constant in my life. Mama, Papa, Salone and Ansley, our love for each other made me complacent, but it never stopped me from caring and wanting the best for them.
Gripping the back of his neck, I guide his forehead to mine and whisper, “You came to save me.”
“After every brave thing you’ve done for our family, I couldn’t stay behind and do nothing. I didn’t care what I did to help as long as I was part of the mission that brought you home,” he says.
I hug Rowan again. Words will never convey everything I feel right now. My emotions are a tornado wreaking utter chaos inside of me. My love for my brother spins and spins until I’m clinging to him and my gratitude spills from my eyes in a streamof tears. I hold onto him until the storm passes and only the gentle breeze of calm remains.
With a final squeeze to his biceps, I pull away. The ship’s deck has filled with more people. They stand at the railing watching as home grows closer. Despite the blood staining their uniforms and the exhausted slumping of their shoulders, sparks of joy twinkle in their eyes. My gaze runs along them until it reaches the form standing at the other end of the ship. Compassionate brown eyes crinkle at the side as a wide smile spreads across a familiar face. My feet move at their own accord, racing to close the distance between us. Borin opens his arms, and I fling myself into them.
“My precious girl, it is good to have you home,” he says and places a kiss to the top of my head.
My body shudders as a sob rips from my throat. Everything he did for me, the sacrifices that not only he made but Micah too, and I failed him. With one swipe of my blade, I severed my claim to our kingdom and disgraced myself. I don’t regret it. But I wish it didn’t cost him days, weeks, even years he could have spent with his parah. He gave his guidance to me freely. But would he have done so if he knew the outcome?
“I’m sorry, Borin. So, so sorry,” I say.
He places his palms on my cheeks and pulls me away from his chest. His thumbs sweep under my eyes, wiping away my tears. “You have nothing to apologize for, Raelle.”
“I let you down. Everything you taught me. All the time you invested in me was for nothing.”
Shaking his head, he says, “My time with you was well spent. You saw an injustice and sacrificed everything to stop it. That was the type of queen I tried to teach you to be. It doesn’t matter if you wear a crown or rule a kingdom. I’m proud of the woman you have become.”
My sad tears are taken over by happy ones. “Thank you.”
“Besides,” he tilts his chin, and I follow his gaze to where Kyron stands, “I believe the king of Pliris is determined to make you his queen. So, my many hours spent teaching you royal protocol will still be useful.”
“He’s stubborn and non-compliant,” I say with a chuckle.
“Much like another king who we both adored.”
I nod. “He’s a lot like Micah.”
“He is, and that is good for us and Pliris,” Borin says.
No one would have held it against Borin if he resented Kyron. It was the king’s mother who set in motion the events that led to Micah’s death. He could have washed his hands of this kingdom and lived out the rest of his life in peace somewhere else. My mentor has lost so much and still he gives himself to the betterment of Pliris.
I kiss his cheek and pull away with a smile.
“You’re one hard person to find. You know that?”
