I nod and close my eyes, picturing myself stepping inside my friend’s body. I wander past bones and muscles and veins. My journey leads me to the depths of his being, to his heart and soul. My imagination slips when I feel nothing.
I shake my head and release an exasperated breath.
Kyron slides his hand down my arm and rests it over mine on Ulric’s chest. He clasps our other hands together and brings them to the Imperium. His voice is a tranquil rumble against my ear as he says, “Call to it, Raelle.”
I’m not sure what that means. Does he want me to coo at it until it prances over to me like a tiny pet? Or... My chest tightens and I jerk forward as if yanked by a leash. I grasp on to that feeling and reel in the line. Ulric’s gift doesn’t seem to budge, but the connection I’ve found pulls me toward it.
Kyron kisses my temple. “That’s it. Keep going.”
I gather the line faster and faster until I’m brought to a halt. Curled up inside of Ulric is a ball of energy. It glows purple and pulsates like it’s barely breathing.
“I found it,” I whisper, as if I might scare his power away.
“Coax it awake. Gently run your fingertips over it and let it know that it is all right to come out and play.”
I imagine stroking the energy, and it sizzles to life. The snap of electricity is very real. Ulric jerks under the shock, and I don’t pull away until the purple orb consumes the entirety of his being.
Opening my eyes, I meet my friend’s surprised expression. “You’re an Electro,” I say with matching astonishment.
“Perfect,” Terro sardonically states.
“Of all the gifts the Statera could give a man-child,” Greer grumbles.
Ashavee steps forward and crosses her arms over her chest. “I’d say it’s fitting.”
I smile up at him and find pure gratitude in his gaze. “Me too.”
Ulric taps his finger to Kyron’s hand resting over mine on his chest. An electric snap crackles in the silence, and Kyron rips his hand away with a hiss.
“Damn, that’s powerful!” He glares at Ulric while rubbing the red mark just under his middle finger. “I agree with Greer and Terro. The Statera made a terrible choice.”
Ulric’s boisterous laughter fills the cottage. He is like a child who has been gifted the toy he has longed for since he can remember. He holds his arms out and tilts his head back, saying, “Let the Allaji king come for me. I’m ready to give him a taste of the torture he inflicted upon me and the other Cyffreds.”
I understand Ulric’s need for vengeance. The wounds Zek imposed are not only scars on our bodies but gaping lesions that still bleed within our souls. Now, we have the chance to meet him and his forces as equals on the battlefield. Every Cyffred that wants it will have the power to make Zek pay for every atrocity he has committed against Pliris.
Thirty
KYRON
The air takes on a different feel the moment we cross the Pliris border. It is fresher, lighter. Every breath is easier to take in. Maybe it has always been this way and being away gives me a new appreciation for what I’ve always had. Or perhaps it’s being so close to home that has me relaxing for the first time in six days.
My friends feel it too. Their eyes sparkle with the prospect of seeing those we left behind, and the tension they carried during this journey seems to have given way with being on our own land. After everything we’ve been through, it’s good to see them returning to normal. They aren’t the only ones who appear to be lighter.
Raelle sits tall on her horse. Her leathers are covered in a thin layer of dust and little wisps of her hair have broken free of her ponytail. A smudge of dirt streaks across her cheek from where she has brushed the sweat away. I’ve seen her in gowns and decorated in jewels, but she’s never been as beautiful as she is right now... inourkingdom where she will rule by my side.
I never saw her as anything but the queen she is meant to be, but I know she forfeited that belief in herself when she returned from Allaji. It was unlike her to rollover in the face of adversity. Since the moment I first met her, she was fighting against the status quo to do the right thing. It was her first trait I fell in love with. While I was living by the rules, she was breaking them.
It was a blow to my gut when she lost that same spirit when it came to fighting for us. A part of me knew she had been broken, whipped, and degraded until she was grateful for a fraction of what she deserved. She would have settled for a king and servant relationship with me if it meant we were together. It was so unlike the princess who attended my anointment months ago. She offered me no grace even after she found out that my intentions were for her and her father. And rightfully so. She deserved to be treated as my equal, not a pawn in my righteous plan. That fire I love is back, and I’m going to do whatever she needs to keep it that way.
I never asked for much in my life. It wasn’t that I thought I was unworthy. I just accepted that the color of my eyes was a dead giveaway that I didn’t belong in Lucent. It didn’t matter that I didn’t siphon other’s gifts now or that I couldn’t remember my time in Stigian. The fact was that I stole a gift, let it feed my own, and it was an unforgivable sin to the people in the kingdom I considered home.
No number of tears and blood was enough to redeem myself. To the people of Lucent, I could have very well been the reason that someone they loved didn’t come home ever again. I empathize with their heartache because I drained my own father of his gift and killed him. I was the murderer they feared me to be. The rest of my life is dedicated to atoning for his death by undoing the harm of my mother and every ruler in my bloodline before her.
But I didn’t just live for myself or to right the wrongs of the past anymore. Raelle and I shared a dream. Our hopes extended far beyond us—equality, peace, freedom. I want those things so badly for Pliris that I would bleed for them. But it’s our future I’m most excited for. The possibilities are infinite.
I would create the family I always wished I had with Raelle. My friends and her family would join us to celebrate holidays. Our children would be surrounded by love and laughter. Our children... A mixture of a snort and a laugh bubbles out of me. I never gave myself permission to really consider having children. It was impossible to see where they would fit into my life, but now I see it so clearly.
“Ky?”
