Orion reaches for her again.
But Isera, who has been completely on her own since she was ten years old, isn’t used to being comforted. She isn’t used to relying on others or leaning on them for support. So she just staggers another step back while shaking her head in panic.
Orion, however, doesn’t let her pull away. He doesn’t let her push us all away just because she doesn’t know how to handle affection. How to be loved.
Grabbing her before she can retreat again, he pulls her tight against his chest and wraps his arms around her.
She breaks down completely.
Her entire body shakes as she clings to Orion’s shirt and cries into his chest.
He just holds her tightly, standing there like a calm shelter in the storm. I can’t see the expression on his face, though, because he has his back to the rest of us. Neither can Isera, since she still has her face buried in his shirt. And I have a feeling that that might be for the best.
“I feel like I’ve spent months trying to break into a locked room,” Isera gasps out between sobs. “Only to finally kick thedoor down and realize that the room is empty. That after all of these months and all of this effort, there is nothing inside.” Her fingers grip Orion’s shirt harder, and her body shakes violently as she cries. “Oh Goddess, I just feel so fucking empty.”
Pain hits me like a stab to the heart.
And also a deep sense of recognition. Isera has been single-mindedly pursuing her revenge against the man who tormented and killed her mother in the hopes that she will stop feeling grief over her mother’s death and regret over the fact that she spent a hundred and fifty years hoping that her mother had a terrible life because she thought that her mother had abandoned her.
But getting that revenge apparently didn’t change either of those things. It didn’t make the loss easier to bear and it didn’t just magically make her regrets vanish.
Uncomfortable feelings twist like vines between my ribs. Because I’ve been doing the exact same thing as Isera.
I still want my revenge, and I’m going to fucking get it. But maybe it’s time to start fightingforsomething instead ofagainstsomething.
My gaze drifts to Draven, who has moved closer to me and slipped an arm around my waist.
I’m not just fighting to get revenge against Jessina. I’m fighting for my and Draven’s future. And for my friends’ futures too. I’m fighting for freedom. For a new dawn. For a time when Draven and I can just fly off into the open horizon and explore every inch of this wonderful and messy world. Maybe it’s time to focus more on that instead of just on how much I hate Jessina Iceheart.
Orion twists his head and gives us a pointed look over his shoulder.
A ripple goes through the rest of us, and we quickly take the hint and move a short distance away so that Isera can finish breaking down and picking herself back up without all of us gawking at her. Orion remains, though. He keeps his armsaround her as he murmurs something, his voice so low that only she can hear.
On Draven’s other side, Galen awkwardly clears his throat, sounding incredibly uncomfortable.
For a few seconds, we all just glance from face to face while trying to figure out how to move on from that topic. The other dragon clans are still keeping their distance, but they’re staring in genuine shock at the infamous Unseelie King as he comforts Isera there on the grass.
“Question,” Alistair begins, thankfully saving us all from this suddenly awkward silence. Seriousness descends on his features as he narrows his eyes slightly. “Why would Jessina just leave like that? If my mate of six thousand years was lying dead inside someone’s wards, I would prowl outside, watching like a hawk for a chance to get through.” He arches an eyebrow in question. “But she just suddenly whirled around and sped away.”
“Maybe she just realized that it’s futile,” Grey replies with a shrug. “This is theUnseelieCourt. Not the Seelie Court.” He flicks a glance at me and Alistair. “No offense.”
“Offense taken, but it’s fine,” Alistair replies with a short huff of amusement.
A slight smile tugs at Grey’s lips before both seriousness and pride return to his expression. “No one gets in or out through these wards without His Majesty’s permission. And she must have realized that.”
“Yeah, but then why not just leave? Why speed off like her ass was on fire?”
“Maybe—”
“Oh fuck,” Draven suddenly interrupts.
Dread flashes over his features, and his eyes widen as if he has just realized something. The sight of it makes panic crackle up my spine like lightning.
“What is it?” I ask, my pulse now thrumming in my ears.
Draven turns to me, that awful sense of realization stillpulsing across his features. And before he even opens his mouth, I suddenly already know what he is going to say. What he told us would happen the last time we suggested killing Bane before we had Jessina under control.
“The Seelie Court,” Draven says. “Jessina is going to destroy the Seelie Court.”
