“Perhaps this is why Drustan was powerful enough to crawl out of the Gravhune,” Caelena added. “The first in documented history to be able to do so.”
“He enforced the new precedent by protecting you again,” I added. “When Liam’s parents tried to kill you. Surviving the Gravhune could have been another blessing in response.”
“Who else could inspire a siren to survive the Gravhune, if not an ancient goddess?” Audrey asked rhetorically, “I doubt Drustan’s pure spite alone helped him survive five years of deadly mental and emotional torture. Ithadto be Tynara, goddess of nature and balance, granting another test of good faith, helping Drustan through it, as a reward for saving Hush—er—Caelena.”
“Thank the goddess that Drustandidmake it out,” Sergei interjected. “We need someone with a decent level of spite and strength to take down his father.”
“And to lead our people into the new era,” Caelena added.
“I still don’t know how I feel about Drustan becoming King of Lyndoruun,” Liam murmured.
“But we know what it’s like with Ilia as king, so,” I shrugged with my reply to him. “This is what needs to be done.”
“Agreed,” Sergei said.
I had my own hesitations about Drustan becoming Siren King, like me kissing him as some sort of reward for doing the bare minimum, but I also knew deep in my bones that Drustan would be a much better ruler than Ilia. My intuition hadn’tcompletely failed me yet, so I was counting on it not to lead me astray this time.
“Now we understand thegravityof what we’re fighting for.” Caelena pushed herself off the wall. “If any of this is going to work, I need you all totrustme, and those I also deem trustworthy.” Caelena tapped the side of her head for emphasis. “I just shared vulnerable information that could get thousands of Hyvenmerians killed. Prove to me that it wasn’t in vain.”
“Your secret is safe with us.” Audrey nodded, then she glanced up at Liam, who silently checked in with his mate before muttering his agreement.
“Thank you,” I said to Caelena. She seemed caught off guard by my words, her eyes nervously glanced around the room before she asked me, “For what?”
“For everythingyou’vesacrificed,” I explained. I stepped forward, slowly, carefully, not wanting to scare her away or cause alarm. Sergei stiffened but remained where he stood as I lifted my arms and wrapped Caelena in a hug. “You’ve sacrificedsomuch,” I explained into her shoulder. Her entire body was stiff and still under my hug. “You saved all these women and children. You’re helping a society that just as easily would have killed you had they been given the chance. You’ve been saving lives for years.”
Caelena’s muscles slowly, barely, relaxed under me. I squeezed her again for good measure, before unwrapping my arms and stepping away. The look on her face caught me by surprise. Her eyes were wide, her expression nervous as she pressed her lips together. The unprepared expression on her face dissolved with a few rapid blinks and a clearing of her throat.
“You’re welcome,” Caelena’s voice sounded dry, uncomfortable with my hug and gratitude. “But you’re the one about to make a big sacrifice.”
I groaned and tilted my head back toward the ceiling. “Ugh, I forgot that I needed to die today.”
“God dammit, Van,” Audrey muttered, releasing herself from Liam’s arms to run after me and wrap her in a hug of my own. “I hate this plan.”
“I mean, I don’t love it,” I replied, catching Caelena’s eye over Audrey’s shoulder. “But I consent to it. I understand that this is the best option to buy us, and everyone else, time.”
Caelena didn’t say anything. Instead, she tentatively rested a hand on my shoulder, giving me a friendly squeeze of gratitude. She didn’t need to thank me out loud; her face said it all. As did Sergei’s, who dipped his chin at me once in acknowledgement.
“Also,” I said when Audrey pulled away. “Thanks for at least entertaining the fake-kill me option. You know, instead of just killing me for simplicity's sake.”
Audrey snorted while Liam pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingertips, still in distress over the weight our recent conversation brought to everyone.
“Well…” Caelena squared her shoulders, lifting her mask onto her face again. “Sergei and I have done our best to be as transparent as possible with the mothers thus far.” She nodded her head toward the door that led to the main cavern of refugees. “I think it’s only fair they know the details of our current plan.”
Chapter 25
Igot to play with the kids and some teenagers before Fergus returned with the herbs.
Part of me got way too excited to see the two angsty teens from before holding hands, blushing, shy, not saying a word to each other. Just holding hands while she drew, and he watched her draw. Hidden in a corner, their own little reprieve where crushes could exist without the weight of the world on their shoulders.
Mothers everywhere were packing, gathering their things in case a quick getaway was needed. If our plan went as expected, they would still have several days to get ready to leave.
I hoped, Ihoped, that what I was about to do would buy everyone enough time to properly prepare to get out.
I was sitting in a circle with some younger kids, holding a sleeping infant on my shoulder, getting random moments of his dreams pushed into my mind. The feeling of his mother’s voice in his ear. How safe he felt when she fed him. Random notes from instruments he’d heard already. The baby couldn’t have been more than six months old, but he was big. I had to sit to hold him because of how dense he was.
Nearby, his mother helped his older siblings wash clothes in a portable bin.
“Van,” that was Audrey’s voice. I slowly turned my head, determined not to wake the baby.
