I ignored their silent battle, laying a hand on Res’s head. Silence pooled between us, comfortable and familiar. I let it linger, if only for a moment. One moment of peace before responsibility came rushing back.
“How’re you feeling?” Ericen asked at last, handing me a glass of water from my nightstand.
I drank greedily. “Like I got hit by a crow,” I replied once I’d finished, earning an indignant trill from Res. “What happened? Is everyone all right?”
A smile curved Ericen’s lips. “We won.”
My breath released in a rush, and I swallowed hard as a knot unraveled in my chest. It was over.
“Your friends and family are fine,” he said. “Res has been taking care of the wounded. He healed the worst of your wounds too.”
Res puffed up as I patted him.
“How did you survive?” I asked. My voice was hoarse, my throat raw. “At the end, I couldn’t—” Even the memory hurt to touch.
“You,” he said quietly. “Right before you passed out. Res’s body practically exploded with light. I think he thought you were dying.” A smile tugged at his lips. “I was just lucky you fell on me. Apparently, even when you’re fainting, you can’t resist me.”
I snorted harshly, seizing a pillow and walloping him with it. In true Ericen fashion, he caught it in a viselike embrace and used it to pull me close.
Then he kissed me.
When at last he pulled back, I felt steady again.
“Now what?” he asked.
I smiled, my fingers curving over his. “Now we move forward.”
* * *
I filed out of Caliza’s office alongside Kiva. The last few weeks had been a whirlwind of meetings and bureaucracy that’d left my head spinning, but I was proud of what we’d accomplished.
Kiva had recounted for me how Res’s shadow crow had been flying over the lake when it’d dispersed. By the time she’d swum out, Illucian soldiers were bearing down on her. She’d led them into the woods, picking them off one by one. That was when she’d stumbled across our reinforcements clashing with the Illucian rear guard. They’d overpowered them and gone straight for Elaris.
After Ericen and I left, our forces had broken through the last of Razel’s lines and subdued the rest of her army. Some chose to fight to the end, but many surrendered when faced with three armies. They’d been escorted back to Illucia under Rhodairen guard as a sign of good faith to the empire’s new king.
Ericen’s transition hadn’t been easy. A small contingent of the surviving Vykryn had already pledged to him, led by Shearen, who Razel had apparently made Valix before his betrayal. With one of the kingdom’s most influential leaders pledged to Ericen, the rest of the military quickly fell in line. It didn’t hurt that by Illucian customs, Ericen was the rightful king. Tradition was a powerful force in Illucia.
It’d only been a few weeks, but I already missed him.
What would become of our relationship now that he was king had been a thought I’d refused to ruminate on for long. I knew I wanted to be with him, but our circumstances seemed designed to keep us apart. He had a kingdom to reign in and rule; I had one to rebuild. But the idea of losing him threatened to open a hole inside me.
Rhodaire had pledged what support it could to the other kingdoms, though Caliza wasn’t particularly happy when I explained I owed Samra a new ship, especially with so much work to be done in Rhodaire itself. She spent a good hour lamenting over the one-of-a-kind stained glass windows Caylus’s horn had broken. Apparently, they’d been a gift from a long-ago queen of Jindae, made of the same composite as the glass arrows.
Caylus had sent me a letter from Eselin, saying he intended to stay there and become a scholar. He’d already gotten a job at a local bakery, where he’d started selling his inventions, including a teapot that retained heat better. He’d sent one along with his letter, painted meticulously with a delicate crow design.
Estrel appeared in the doorway as Kiva and I entered the foyer, a grin on her lips. “I have something to show you guys.”
I glanced at Kiva, who shrugged. Caliza joined us as we followed Estrel out into the garden and around the castle to where the royal rookery was nearly fully repaired. The foundation of the structure had gone undamaged in Ronoch; all we’d had to do was clear away the wreckage and rebuild the inside.
Estrel led us toward it, then paused with one hand on the door. She flashed a last smile before she pushed it open.
I froze in the doorway as Caliza gasped.
Scattered across a bed of hay, their shells bright in the noonday light, sat the remaining crow eggs. I gaped, covering my mouth with both hands, and simply stared. And then slowly, I began to laugh. A deep, shuddering, half-sobbing laugh of delight.
Beside me, Kiva grinned uncontrollably, her shoulders shaking with growing laughter.
Then I saw Ericen standing at the edge of the nest, a gleam in his blue eyes.
