The remaining Nepheli took off, flying into the fiery evening light.
Savine screamed in anguish and sank to his knees. He failed Avery. He didn’t protect her when it mattered. Worst yet, he never told her the whole truth about what he knew in his soul. And now? The very people who had extracted and butchered his soul to the point he believed he wasn’t worthy of a soulmate held his true soulmate.
Time seemed to cease as he pressed his face to his chest, doubling over the dirt mound he formed in his rage. His mate. They took his clever and kind Avery from him.
After what felt like an eternity, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. His spent essence didn’t even move under the touch. Soothing calm mingled with sorrow wafted over him. Savine looked up to see his sister. She took his hand in hers and pulled him up from the earth he had formed in desperation to save Avery.
Kyla pulledSavine to her and embraced him in a way that was all too familiar. It was the same sympathetic hug she’d given him all his life. After so many abusive encounters with his father, his sister had been there. And even though he’d pushed her away, she was there for him after he escaped Rylo’s towers. Wordlessly helping him through the pain and torment in his wretched body and soul. It was no different today.
“We’ll get her back, Savine,” Kyla whispered as she rested her head on his shoulder. “Ride now. Ride with all haste and bring Raikin and Jay. I heard what you said. She’s your soulmate. Garnel and I will take care of our people.”
Savine’s body shook as his drained essence crested on the edge of burnout. Abyss, no, he would not let his weary body stop him. He had a duty to check on those who were injured in the battle. He had a duty to bury their dead and see that their souls were sent on their way to Arcadia. It hurt the very fiber of his being to leave his fallen warriors. He knew it was the weight of a ruler to sacrifice his own desires for those of his people.
But he couldn’t do that now. He’d sacrificed his needs to his people day in and day out for over twenty-five years. He would not do it now. His soulmate needed him now.
“Have Raikin and Jay ready with extra elk to ride hard within an hour. I need to visit where he captured Avery,” Savine said as he turned toward the woods.
The air in the forest was cooler and smelled fresh compared to the charred stench remaining on the battlefield. The shaded comfort of the forest brought him peace and space to think about what he must do next. Rooted back into the ground, the trees no longer walked across Aeritis. It was as if the hours of battle had never happened. He was not in the mood to speak to the trees, yet they called to him.
“Prince of Chaos, she was here,”they whispered, their voices weary from effort.“Taken, she fought for her freedom. She fought…”
“Where has the King of the Wind taken her?” Savine asked. He figured if anyone would know, it would be the trees.
The trees were still for a long time. Minutes passed by as Savine rested on a log. The log was damaged, but one end was still intact. Savine stretched his long, aching body against the ground. Strangely, as he lay there, he sensed Avery. As if she too had contact with this patch of dirt.
Finally, a tree responded,“South they fly.”
Savine nodded. As he expected, they were going to the Towers in Nephel. Nearly impossible to breach by land, the impenetrable spires of rock formed the basis of Rylo’s kingdom. The only folk he’d ever known to breach the towers were Kyla and Garnel, led by Raikin under his camouflage. Savine’s release was the only known time anyone survived escaping from Rylo’s stronghold. The only way this would be possible was with Raikin by his side.
As he sat up from the ground, something caught his eye. He walked over to where a spruce was badly burned and drenched in water. The tree flinched under his touch, its pain from the conflict it had endured. He felt the residual essence in its branches—and something else. A different magic. A magic that could only be from a witch, or maybe two. Susan was with Avery. Maybe Rue and Weston were with her, too? At least she wasn’t alone. She had her friends beside her.
Savine picked up a teacup from the ground. Avery’s honeysuckle and mint scent, along with her distinctively human scent, lingered on the cup. Savine’s stomach clenched as he lingered over her scent. He could not wait longer. Every moment he thought of that man touching Avery made his skin slick with cold sweat. Avery needed him now more thanever.
His people would be better off with Kyla and Garnel leading them. Savine had to get to Avery before she was harmed.
As he moved to leave, the spruce near him stirred. Its voice was raspy, tired from what it endured that day. The words it spoke made Savine collapse to the ground. “The King of Latiah is responsible for this attack. He will give the King of Nephel what he wants for the woman.”
Savine cursed. He wanted to roar against the power-hungry king. A man who had caused such pain in his life, and yet continued to hurt him. He wanted to strike that man down with all his essence.
“What the fuck does Rylo want? Avery?” Savine spat out.
“No…”the tree shuddered.“What he has always desired.”
“We will not ally with a king against his people,”a tall, stately larch spoke.
“We serve the true King of Latiah,”another tree said. Before long, all the trees were whispering their loyalty to Savine. Savine’s hands reached up and touched the cedar bough crown on his head. He would get Avery back. Then, he would take his rightful place as the true King of Latiah.
“Give word that I am riding south. Do all you can to slow the progress of the King of the Wind. Tell the trees to keep me informed of my father’s plans as I ride. I’ll keep to the forests,” Savine declared.
His blue eyes blazed with resolution as he stormed toward the spent and charred battlefield. Kyla, Garnel, Gaelyn, Jay, and Raikin were gathered together near a campfire as he entered the former loyalist encampment. The man mourning his lost mate would have to be buried for now. He needed to be a king.
“Raikin and Jay prepare to ride with me. Kyla, you, and Garnel will lead our people. Jasper allied with Rylo. For now, we have defeatedJasper’s army, but we do not know who else Jasper has as allies. Watch for the skies,” Savine spoke without room for question.
Raikin and Jay followed Savine. Raikin’s face was tight, a look of irritation as he stayed close to his soulmate. Raikin made a small sound, like he was about to speak, but Jay gave him a pointed look.
“We understand, Savine. I would do the same for Raikin,” Jay said as he squeezed his soulmate’s hand affectionately. The two had always been this way. Jay, so open-hearted and understanding for a fae warrior. Raikin was always cold as ice to everyone but Jay. It is as though he saved all his love and desire for only Jay. Which was fine with Savine. The last thing he needed was tenderness right now. He needed Raikin’s cold and calculating way of negotiating with the world and his ability to slip into places unnoticed.
Within the hour, Savine, Jay, and Raikin were on the trail leading south from Bayberry. The night was clear, and the stars shone brightly. But even the light of the stars didn’t reach the forest floor as Savine and his companions worked over limbs and underbrush along a faintly marked trail.
