Tears of relief stream down my cheeks. I press my hand to my heart, feeling like this pain at least is healing. I can’t stop the sob wrenching from me. “I thought she was dead. It broke… my heart…”
Baelen plants comforting kisses on the top of my head and forehead, his touch and his arms soothing and warm. “She’s okay, Marbella but… after I rescued her she stopped speaking. She says she’ll only speak with you.”
I wipe my eyes. “Why?”
He shakes his head. “We don’t know. She won’t say a word.”
As we ascend into the late afternoon sky, I ask, “What about my family? Are they safe?”
Baelen smiles for the first time. “All of the elves who were loyal to me have gathered on Rath land—a small army—including the entire House of Mercy. Eli Elder is there too.”
“That can’t have made his grandfather very happy.” Eli Elder is Elwyn Elder’s grandson. Eli was one of the first elves to recognize the Elven Command’s sorcery and he went against his grandfather’s wishes in the marriage trials.
Baelen says, “They’ve defended Rath land from every attempt to invade it. That’s where we will go now. To your brother.”
Rath land is right on the northern border between Erawind and Erador. It sounds like it has been virtually seceded into gargoyle territory now.
“Baelen, the entire elven army will attack Erador as soon as they find out I’m gone. I made a deal with Grayson to buy you more time and now I’ve broken it by leaving. The gargoyles aren’t ready and it’s my fault. I should have warned them.”
Baelen says, “They’re ready, Marbella. Your decision not to tell them only delayed their preparation by a few hours. As soon as you disappeared, a war council was formed.”
“With Baelen at its head,” Indira interjects, calling across the wind barrier. “He brought Llion, Liliana, and Talia back and they explained what happened to you. We’ve spent the week fortifying the border.”
“You’ve bought us enough time already,” Baelen says. “We’re ready for war.”
* * *
The flightto Rath land takes a full two hours. Baelen has to fly much more slowly and carefully because he’s transporting twenty elves at once. Along the way, I try to talk to him about Grayson. “Baelen, about what you saw…”
He gives me a quick shake of his head. His gaze flickers to the talon crows flying in the distance. “Not here.”
I try to read his expression. His response was a lot more clipped than I expected it to be and I’m suddenly worried. Back at the arena, I was sure he’d understood the situation, but now I can’t tell if he’s upset, betrayed, angry, or something else. He definitely doesn’t want to talk about it right now.
We approach Rath land as the sun begins to set. As we fly over it, I can see how prepared they are. A number of gargoyle males patrol the sky while the outposts on the ground are manned with elven soldiers. Baelen signals to them and they lower their weapons, allowing us to pass. We travel onward through the outer village and finally into the center to the Rath mansion. It’s not as big as the Royal Residence, but just as imposing. It feels like forever since I spent my childhood in this place.
A group of elves wait for us outside: two male and three female. My heart leaps to see my mother, father, and brother, as well as Jordan and Sahara.
As Baelen sets me down, I don’t know who to go to first. They must have figured this out in advance because my mother races to me with open arms. “My baby girl!”
“Mom.” I haven’t spoken to my mother in a year and haven’t hugged her in seven. She’s crying as she wraps her soft arms around me. I’m a grown female, fought a lot of battles, but seeing my Mom brings me to tears.
“Marbella, I missed you, sweetheart.”
My father wraps his arms around both of us, kissing my forehead. “Darling girl.”
“I’ve missed you both so much.” While I was the Storm Princess, I wasn’t allowed to see or speak with my brother and father. Only my mother was allowed to visit me once each year.
After a long hug filled with tears, my parents give way for Jordan and Sahara, who are beaming at me. Sahara looks exhausted, but she gives up her position leaning on Jordan to hug me. “Welcome back, Marbella.”
Jordan is next, her eyes sparkling with tears. She was the head of my Storm Command before she was married. For many years she was my protector as well as my friend. I hug her for forever before my brother jostles in for his turn. She rolls her eyes at him, squeezing my hand one last time and quickly whispering to me, “We’ll catch up at dinner.”
Macsen fills my view with his ginormous self, giving me a great big bear hug that lifts me off my feet. I still can’t get over how much he’s changed. His auburn hair is cut short at the back and sides and is not much longer on top—a soldier’s haircut. His enormous chest and biceps dwarf me. He raises his eyebrows at my revealing dress. “Wow, big sister. Who did they make you marry?”
It’s a loaded question masquerading as a joke, the kind that only Macsen could pull off, but it’s suddenly clear that it’s the question they all want to ask me. I instinctively reach for Baelen but he’s further away than I expected, at least ten paces from my location, his expression shuttered and closed. I can tell from the way my family and friends look at me that they’re worried. I forgot how much I’ve changed: my skin, hair, even my physique. I’m leaner, stronger, working in the mine for a month gave me muscles I never had before. Not to mention the new addition of the tiara on my head. But the picture I’m painting right now in this dress… is all wrong.
“Nobody,” I whisper. “It was Grayson Glory’s way of making me uncomfortable.” I lift my chin up. “Besides, I’m a gargoyle now. They have a very particular way of getting married that I will follow when the time comes.”
The corner of Macsen’s mouth twitches, but he doesn’t quite smile. I don’t think he’s certain whether my answer has alleviated their concerns yet. “And what is that?”
