“Zekel is coming for you. I knew it would happen once I brought you home. His ego is too inflated to let me win. He said he won’t stop until he has you, and I realized there is nothing I can do to stop him. Every move we make is nothing more than a delay tactic, but I promise I will fight for you until the end.” The last of his words crack with terror mounting inside of him.
I take his hand and kiss his palm. “I know you will.”
The last thing I want to think about is Kyron’s end when our life together is just beginning. I want to grow old with him and bicker about silly things. I want to lose count of our happy times and have the bad overshadowed by every joyous occasion. But the life I have with my parah very well could be short-lived.
“Don’t hide me away in the palace. I’ve had enough of being kept like some precious jewel. I want to fight with the sun on my face and sleep in your arms under the stars. I want tolivewith you even if it’s for a short time,” I say, my words dripping with desperation.
“Fuck,” he whispers before his mouth presses to mine.
He kisses me with such gentleness, as if my lips are the delicate petals of a flower. “Get dressed and meet me in the dining hall. I’m going to talk to Greer and have her increase the forces along the border.”
He stops at his dresser and takes the Eporri out of the box where he keeps it and the Posseda. Sliding the stone into this pocket, he glances back at me and gives a weak smile. When the door clicks shut behind him, I fall into the chair next to the fire.
The hideous emotions raging within me storm to the surface. Doubt and resentment have tears trailing down my face. Every second I have with Kyron feels like stolen time. The universe is constantly working against us and the cause we fight for. All I want is for him and me to know what it’s like to think of nothing but us, and for that not to feel like an unforgivable transgression. Yet, that will never be our reality.
No, the responsibility we carry doesn’t allow for us to be so self-centered, especially with the magnitude of what lies ahead. Pliris might as well be moving a mountain with our bare hands. Only this mountain is in the form of an entire kingdom of shifters, with a mighty army.
I take a deep breath, wipe the tears from my eyes, and find my composure. I refuse to give up. Pliris will need all the help it can get if we are to even try demolishing this mountain before us stone by massive stone. I may not lead the way as their queen, but I will stand by their king as we take on this impossible feat.
I stop in front of the two guards standing watch outside of the dining room. They move to open the doors for me, but I stop them with a lifted finger. Our most trusted friends and family may sit behind these doors, but it doesn’t make me any less nervous. This will be my first official act in Kyron’s court. I can’t help but wonder how my reputation as a fallen queen will precede me. Some will believe I’m attempting to take my place as ruler again, and many will feel that I have no right to voice my thoughts on kingdom matters. I can’t help but worry that the people I love most might feel the same after the sin I committed.
I run my palms down the smooth black leather of my tight breeches and straighten the front of my red jacket. With a nod of my head, the guards throw open the doors. The room goes silent, and all eyes turn to me. The soles of my knee-high boots click on the shiny white floor as I make my way to the head of the table. I curse myself for tying my hair back at my nape. I feel vulnerablewithout the brown waves blocking my profile. Taking the empty chair to Kyron’s right, I fold my hands in my lap and look at those around me.
Borin sits across from me in a deep purple jacket with a high neckline, looking regal as ever. His gaze locks on to mine and he slightly lowers his chin in approval. Papa sits next to me in a gold and black guard uniform. His chest is adorned with medals that claim he is the captain of the king’s guard. He reaches over and places his hand over mine, giving it a squeeze. Across from Papa is Greer, with Terro and Ulric on either side of her. She sits back in her chair with one booted foot resting on her thigh. She looks casual and disinterested, but I’ve seen this cool demeanor before. Kyron once wore it when he was the army’s general. He was anything but bored with gatherings like this. In fact, he was always waiting for that perfect moment to show just how invested he was. I pause on Ulric as he stretches his neck to talk to the person on the other side of him. Ashavee sits at the last seat in her human form, and she rolls her eyes at whatever Ulric whispers. It’s good to see her here, to know she finally feels safe enough to join us in the weaker of her two forms. Leif and Wel occupy the last two chairs on the other side. Their hands rest on the tabletop, their fingers brushing against each other.
“I am sorry I’m late. It took me longer to get ready for this meeting than I’d thought,” I say.
Kyron looks at me and the question in his expression is clear:are you all right?I nod and he gives his attention to the rest of the table. “Zekel’s focus seems to be Raelle,” he says.
“That’s not true,” I interject. “The bones are a symbol of war. He wants you distracted on the wrong thing, making it easier to attack you.”
He cocks a brow, and his answer is a deep, rumbled, “It’s working.”
“It can’t. We need to be preparing our forces.”
Ashavee sits up and says, “Raelle is right. If Zek presented you with bones, it is a matter of days before my people are upon us. In the same breath, I do believe he will focus on capturing Raelle at first. You’ve proven she is your weakness. He wants that power back.”
Everyone goes quiet, stewing in Ashavee’s words. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that I’m a problem. Even an ounce of this kingdom’s assets going toward my safety puts us at a bigger disadvantage. I refuse to be the reason we lessen our chances of survival.
“Then I’ll go into hiding. Kyron can rest assured that I’m somewhere safe, and maybe it will give us a slight advantage with the Allaji concentrating on finding me,” I say, hating that I even have to suggest it. My actions made it clear yesterday that I would do anything for this kingdom. There is no better time to prove that than now.
Leif leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. “The plan has potential.”
“It doesn’t,” Ashavee counters. “Raelle was paraded through our court. Zek’s most skilled warriors know her scent. Even if she hides underground, they will find her.”
“Can’t we like... I don’t know. Slather her with animal smells or something?” Terro asks.
Ulric and I scrunch our noses and shake our heads. “Been there. Done that. It didn’t work out too well for us. We made it just beyond Zek’s palace when they cornered us,” he says.
The memory of the shifters’ blood-thirsty gazes flashes in my head. We almost didn’t make it off the island alive. The only people who will stand a chance are the Khiros, and we will need them all on the frontlines.
“Raelle needs to be redeemed with the Statera,” Kyron says, pulling the Eporri from his pocket and placing it on the table. It catches the light, reflecting it in a rainbow of colors. “The stoneis useless to me, but she can control it if I make her queen. It will give us an advantage on the battlefield. She is unstoppable with it.”
“That’s true, but we don’t know of anyone who has been redeemed after killing in a sanctuary,” Borin says, eyeing the stone that his late husband had implanted in my leg as a baby.
With a gentle pat on my hand, Papa lets go of me and says, “Even if there is a way for Raelle to fall into the folds of the Statera’s grace again, we don’t know how long that will take. We need to find another way to keep her safe.”
“No,” I say, pushing back from the table and standing. My feet take control, anxiously strolling the length of the room and back again. “No one is to be put on special duty to guard me. And even if I could gain the Statera’s forgiveness in a day or two, it won’t matter. The Sacred Gift of the Allaji is too powerful. Zek can shift into an animal unlike anything we can comprehend. He will have speed, flight, and strength on his side. Even with the Eporri, I’ll be no match for him.”
