Careful, Dell. I was outsmarting kings before you learned to whisper.
His response was immediate.
Apologies, my lady. I meant no offense.
Dell would not perish as Seryn had. If he thought me offended, better than having him remain here out of a sense of duty. So instead of saying,“None taken,” as I might in other circumstances, I ensured his safety instead.
Prove it.
More silence. I understood his dilemma. Aetherian warriors were taught to protect, not abandon. But Dell knew what was at stake. He had known since the day he chose to stay behind enemy lines, and that he remained alive was a testament to his abilities.
You’ve done extraordinarily well. Let me prove my own worth, now. And join you on our voyage back home.
Home,he whispered finally.It feels as if I have two homes now. But only one clan has my loyalty. I will do as you request, my lady.
This is what we fought for. Returning to the days Dell would be openly welcome in Gyoria. A united Elydor with wide-open borders. Someday, perhaps he could enjoy two homes in this land.
May the winds guide you to safety.
And you as well, Lady Lyra. Trust no one here.
A warning I didn’t need.
Ensuring he was finished, I waited a moment longer and made my way back inside. From the look of the first guard I passed, and the second, I was surprised not to find Terran standing at my door, waiting.
Instead, I opened it, thankful to find my chamber empty, and sank back into the chair, my mind racing with the events of the day. And more importantly, calculating my next move.
Terran wanted the truth. Instead, he would be given a partial one. And that only because it was becoming clear, without him, the Stone of Mor’Vallis would be impossible to obtain.
I would lay you down on that bed and make you scream louder than you have in the long life you’ve lived and be happier for it.
This wasn’t the first time since we’d first met that the Gyorian prince had stirred a part of me that I had little inclination to explore. With little time for entanglements and complications which undoubtedly arose by having a partner, meeting my basic needs had always been sufficient. And perhaps, with Terran, that’s all it would be. A coupling, perhaps better than most, but a coupling, nonetheless.
And yet… the unsettling flutter in my core at his words told me otherwise. Something about this particular Gyorian warrior gave way to a warning I’d always been able to ignore. But our situation was different this time. I needed him, and he wanted me.
That was my answer. And in truth, my excuse too.
To let down my guard without admitting that’s what I was doing. Because wanting him had never been the problem.
Admitting it?
That was another story.
7
TERRAN
I knocked. And waited.
Respecting your enemy was more difficult than not doing so, a lesson my father taught me before his mind had become twisted with hate. He had been, in fact, a wise and fair ruler. I’d never have used the word “kind” or “caring,” even though my mother once described him as both, sending my brother and I into uncontrollable laughter… but wise? Aye.
But the man he’d become since Mother died? He was as much a stranger to me as Kael who had fled to Aetheria without a second thought, leaving his men, leaving me, behind.
“You are looking particularly dour this morn.”
Lyra, on the other hand, was not. She was breathtaking, as always.
Her fitted bodice dipped slightly at the neckline, edged with fine silver threading. Long sleeves tapered at the wrists, where sheer, cloud-like fabric draped delicately past her hands. Her gown moved like air with layers of soft blue and pearl white that billowed with each step.
