He laughed once, harsh and humorless. “Don’t act like you did this for me. If you had, you would have brought your army to fight with mine to keep Heliconia from getting as far as she did. Instead, you continue to protect your own kind while mine suffer.”
“Enough,” Aurelia said.
We both looked at her.
“This isn’t about who should’ve told whom,” she said. “The only thing that matters is this: Heliconia wants to drain every throne in this realm and remake herself into something we won’t be able to kill. If we keep arguing, she’ll get what she wants.”
She turned back to Talthis. “You asked what you’d be getting,” she said. “The answer is three courts who will stand with you when she comes for your throne. Summer, Autumn, Midnight. Autumn’s army is gathering now under a shared banner between Callan and me.” Callan huffed but didn’t argue it, though I was sure it pained him. “They will march where we send them and fight bravely.”
“And Midnight?” Callan pressed. “Will they march for anyone but themselves?”
“Yes,” Aurelia said gravely before I could offer up any kind of answer. She met my gaze steadily. “Soon,” she said, echoing my promise to her.
And I knew I would not be able to stop her from trying to open the gates. Not for much longer. The danger be damned.
Talthis studied her. Then studied me again, like my confession had rewritten some equation in his head.
“I will take this to my queen,” he said.
He wasn’t promising anything. But it was more than we’d had when we walked in.
“She doesn’t have to pledge troops,” Aurelia said. “Not yet. Just guard her throne. Use whatever magic she has to make sure Heliconia can’t get near it. If that means closing borders, do it.”
“And if it means painting a target on our backs because we chose a side?” Talthis asked softly.
“You already have a target,” I said. “You just can’t see it from inside your walls. Concordia didn’t think they’d fall either. Ask them how that went.”
Finally, he inclined his head. “You have given us much to think about. It will take some time for me to hear her answer, but you are welcome to remain while we wait for word.”
“We’re not staying,” I said. “We’re headed northeast.”
His gaze flicked to the mark on Aurelia’s throat, then back to mine. “To your court?”
“Until we know where we stand,” I said.
Talthis dipped his head.
“Thank you,” Aurelia told him.
He gave her a long look. “You’re different than you were when we last met,” he said quietly. “Your power has grown. I can feel it in the air.”
“I am becoming more myself,” she told him.
“Indeed.” He glanced between us. “You’re all welcome to take rest and refreshment before you depart.”
“We could use both,” she said.
Callan looked visibly relieved though he actively avoided looking at me as the guards led us to tents of our own. I didn’tbother trying to speak to him again. Not when exhaustion left me without any words that would have changed things betweenus now. Instead, I slipped into the tent beside Aurelia’s, shucked off my boots, and slept hard enough to forget this world.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Aurelia
By the time the old hunting trail bent toward the foothills of Midnight territory, my entire body felt like it had been scraped hollow and stuffed with gravel. Four days of walking through the darkest hours of the night. Four days of hiding in bramble thickets during the day, buried under leaves so no Obsidian patrol would spot us. Four days of eating sun-dried rabbit and foraging for berries. Four days of Callan muttering complaints under his breath and Rydian pretending not to hear them.
And four days of… this thing simmering between Rydian and me.
A pull.
