Garnel ran over to the guards on duty before he returned to Kyla’s side and continued walking toward their tent.
“Did you meet with Savine this afternoon?”
Kyla sighed. The meeting with her brother had gone better than she expected. At least he was giving Avery a chance to return home, even if he thought she was trapped in Aeritis. His emotions were so sure that Kyla hadn’t bothered to convince her brother to let her lead Avery up to Quartz Mountain. She knew he’d say no.
“He’sgoing to let Avery return to Quartz Mountain, but refused to let me be the one to do it. He thinks bringing Avery up the mountain will be a good assessment of whether she’s ready to travel, not that he actually thinks she can return to her realm. I think he’s afraid I could pray to Althea to open the portal or something. He doesn’t know that’s not how this works.”
Pride drifted down their bond as Garnel said, “Althea does answer your prayers at a much higher rate than the rest of us. You probably could get her home through prayer.”
Kyla felt a twinge of guilt. She hated keeping secrets from Garnel, but she couldn’t tell him that she doubted Avery would make it home, too. After all, Avery was marked by Althea. She’d keep that secret until Garnel asked directly, or Savine trusted the rest of his council to share that information.
“He says her job here isn’t complete. Savine is convinced Avery can kill the Latian King,” Kyla said as she took Garnel’s hand in hers. It was so much larger than hers, calloused, and slightly textured. She watched his essence flow under his skin, all those tiny lines like fur. It wasn’t lost on her that her bear shifter soulmate would probably terrify Avery if she saw him in his other form. There was a reason everyone referred to the rebel general as the Great Bear. “Try not to shift if she’s around. I don’t know how she’ll react to seeing a bear nearby.”
“I won’t shift in front of her. I’d thought about that earlier,” Garnel replied. He pulled Kyla’s arm closer to him, letting her body lean against his as they walked through the encampment.
The bustle of folk working and living their life filled Kyla’s senses. It always amazed her to see how so many fae had banded together for her brother’s cause to end the corruption in Latiah. To stand up for the oppressed and to end the violence plagued by the King’s reign. “Do you wonder if Savine sees what he’s accomplished? Even if we’ve beenin a stalemate for years. These people live normal, everyday lives thanks to him.”
Garnel’s hazel eyes sparkled with sadness. “He doesn’t see it. He’s so lost in ending Jasper that he misses out on the small victories.” Garnel let go of Kyla’s arm as he caught a stray ball flying through the air. Two young boys shouted their thanks as Garnel tossed the ball back to them.
“That right there—young folk able to have a childhood without being harmed by their king is enough to make all these years worth it. But it’s not enough for Savine. You know he won’t stop fighting until Jasper is defeated. Even if Avery is sent by Althea to end Jasper’s reign, how will he gain control over the nation? How many loyalists will we have to kill to take Orofine? I’m fucking tired of killing my own countrymen, even if it does mean a better future.” Garnel shook his head and tucked Kyla’s arm back into his.
Kyla sighed. They’d had this conversation before, many times over. “Would you rather we spend the rest of our lives migrating between the Middens and Bayberry? Never returning home to Orofine? Savine is private. I can only get the smallest read on how he’s coping with this war, and the toll he’s taken as the leader of the rebellion. I know he’s confided with Raikin about what would happen after we defeat Jasper, but I don’t know how he will rebuild what’s broken.”
“There’s no fixing this mess,” Garnel muttered. “How will we ever trust the loyalists after all these years of war?”
Kyla shrugged her shoulders. It was another worry for another time.
They approached their tent and entered into the comfortable space. The tear from Avery was already repaired. No doubt Savine put Gaelyn, the quartermaster, on it immediately. Garnel went straight to the bed, taking off his boots before he laid back with a groan. “I will behonest, Kyla. I’m happy the human is out of here. I’ve missed my bed, and I’ve missed you.”
Kyla scanned the room, looking for any remaining traces of Avery. It seemed odd to not be near her, checking on her. “I missed you too, Garnel. Savine said something strange about Avery, and it’s been bothering me since he mentioned it.”
Garnel cocked his head and stared at Kyla, waiting for her to continue.
“He said that he could feel magic in Avery. But what he described didn’t sound like magic, at least not what the witch stories from childhood said. He said his essence responded to her touch, and there was a warm sensation when they touched.” Kyla furrowed her brows and crossed her arms.
Garnel squinted and sat up, planting his feet on the floor. He pulled Kyla between his legs, and Kyla felt the warm pulsing sensation of their soulmate’s bond. It was always there, this steady beat between them, but when they touched, it became stronger, like a radiant heat between them. “Like our bond?”
“Like our bond. I didn’t mention it at first, but then I teased him about it a bit to see how he’d react.”
Garnel grinned as his hand wrapped around Kyla’s waist. “And?”
“As you can imagine from that silly smile, this question was not well received. But it made me wonder, could a fae have a human soulmate?”
Garnel rubbed the tight muscles in Kyla’s lower back. “I hardly remember history. But Bayberries were once a mixed community long ago. Were they soulmates or married? I don’t actually know.”
Kyla leaned into Garnel’s massage. “I don’t know either. I don’t even know how long magical humans could live. It seems unlikely that they could be soulmates for the fae if they lived a human lifespan. Butmore importantly, I don’t think Savine would even realize he met his soulmate, whether they were human or fae.”
Kyla thought about the broken man her brother had become after she and Garnel helped rescue him from the Tower of Teeth. The torture he’d endured was enough to destroy someone.
She knew Garnel thought the same thing. “He once told me that King Rylo used a fae named Selene to torture his soul. She removed his soul and mutilated it.” Garnel shook his head, and Kyla felt the disgust and disbelief in his emotions. “Savine thinks he cannot have a soulmate. That it’s impossible after what she did to him for Lilith’s death.”
Kyla sucked in a gasp. “He never told me. I didn’t want to ask what happened in there when he was so broken. And he got more secretive as the years went by.” Their relationship had drastically changed when she became his best friend’s soulmate. It didn’t help that she and Garnel accepted their bond when Savine was imprisoned. Even sensing his emotions hadn’t fully revealed how he felt about his soul. “A few years ago, I asked him why he didn’t look for a companion, even if she wasn’t his soulmate. He said he had no desire to stain someone by making her be with him. Another time, he said if he ever wore the bough and antler crown, he’d choose an arranged marriage, just like Lilith did. I feel terrible for teasing him.”
Garnel nodded. “Don’t push him on this. Maybe what he felt was Avery’s magic, but if it’s a bond, let them figure it out together.”
“But Avery won’t—”
“Do notinterfere. Especially with your empathic abilities,” Garnel said, face serious. He was rarely this tense with her, but she knew how protective he was of Savine.
