You’re back,I said to Madrood in his mind.
I’m sorry we took so long.
No problem. You’re just in time.
He stiffened and sent a chiding look to the dragons standing on either side of him.Now.
They dropped, their bellies dipping down to rest on the ground.
Every single, fabulous one of them bowed their heads to me alone.
High Lady,Madrood intoned in my mind, in the courtyard, and in a voice so full of power it must echo across all of Lydel and the continent beyond.I bring you an army.
53
VEXXION
Fury spoke with Madrood and every single Lydel citizen who’d come here to show support, walking among them with a mix of wonder and joy on her face.
Vera and I sat on benches on the edge of the courtyard with the scent of Mayline’s roses drifting around us. As the night waned, our friends went inside, seeking the quiet of their suites.
“She’s amazing,” Vera said softly.
“I love her.”
“As you were destined to do.”
“As I would have even if we hadn’t been fated or betrothed. I will always belong to her, from now until we take our final breath and beyond that. No matter where she goes after this world is over, I will seek her. Loving her isn’t something I do, it’s what I am.” She was the very pulse beneath my skin. Every day with her was an affirmation that my life had meaning.
Vera took my hand and lifted it, examining it in the winkinglights from tiny sprites popping in and out of the garden as if they, too, could not stay away from the gleaming wonder of Lydel’s new high lady. “I apologize. I shouldn’t have left you at Bledmire with him. I should’ve found another way.”
“If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t be the man I am today, the man who finally accepts he’s worthy of one woman’s love.”
“You were always worthy.”
“I’ve done things—”
Her fingers tightened around mine before releasing. “Everything you did, every path you took, was destined from the moment you first took breath.”
“Ihave controlled what I do, not the fates,” I said sharply.
“Have you?” she asked, equally hard.
“Always,” I growled.
Is everything alright?Fury asked in a voice lilting with sweet contentment. She thrived in the love of her people. She was destined for this from the moment she first took a breath.
I was her shield. Her lover. And I would remain at her side until the bitter end.
Everything’s fine,I said lightly.You’re happy?
Very much. It’s . . . breathtaking. They’re swearing fealty, one after another. Promising to dust off their riding leathers, polish their swords, and sharpen their magic. When I ride, they will charge forward at my side. And the dragons . . .Each word she spoke in my mind was a fierce, painful, yet wondrous, stab. Imperfectly perfect, like her.They’re amazing.
The rest of the beasts had flown to the aerie, followed by Airia, Tempest’s flight leader. Only Madrood remained, rumbling behind her like an overgrown pet chall, smoke coilingfrom his nostrils and flames licking through his eyes. If anyone so much as scowled her way, he’d scorch them.
This was what she was destined for—not a simple betrothal with one such as me.
“I still apologize,” Vera said. “I saw . . .”
