I tighten my hold on her, lips brushing her temple. “Sleep, my love. When you wake, we’re going home.” I don’t say the words that hang in the air: for war.We’re going home for war.
Her eyes flutter shut, her body melting against mine. For the first time in forever, it feels like we’re not running or fighting—we’re justescaping into each other.
The tether hums steady and quiet.
And in the hush between heartbeats, I finally let myself believe we’ve survived the dark.
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
KAEL
The moon risesto its peak.
Leather creaks as I fasten my bracers, the scent of oil and smoke still clinging to the room as the moonlight cuts through it. Elyssara sleeps for now, one arm slung across the empty space where I’ve been; the silver cuff gleams faintly against her skin, still pulsing with the heartbeat of her unbound power.
I buckle the last strap across my chest, the off-balance weight of only one of my twin blades settling against my back. But I don’t miss it. Not if it means Elyssara is free to decide her own fate.
The air tastes of war again—iron, sweat, inevitability.
Behind me, a knock.
Elyssara stirs, pulling the blankets over her head with a groan.
Ronyn steps in without waiting for an answer, bright eyes dancing with mischief.
“Sounded like there wasn’t much sleeping going on in here, Your Majesties,” he teases. “Not the ideal preparation for a war where the odds are stacked enormously against us, but I suppose everyone prepares differently.” His smug face waits for one of us to take the bait.
“Fuck off, Ronyn,” Elyssara grouses from under the blankets.
“Of course,My Queen,” he mocks, pitching his voice into a low rumble.
I can’t help but smirk at his audacity, but Elyssara groans again, pulling the blankets tighter around her ears.
Teddy and Seren push through the door next, leathers fastened, armor in place, armed to the teeth in gleaming steel. Seren’s abandoned her skirts for leather trousers, her hair bound in a tight knot at the nape of her neck, a leather strap pulled taut around her forehead. She looks…like a warrior.
Elyssara. I prompt down the tether.Look.
She pulls down the covers, folding them across her chest and tucking them under her arms. Her vibrant eyes find Seren, dressed for war and unrecognizable from the girl who once hid behind her skirts. Daggers at her thighs, her small crossbow hooked across her back. Elyssara’s lips part in awe.
“Look at the woman you’ve become,” she breathes. “All the way from Revryn’s loft to…here.”
Seren’s mouth twists into a devilish grin. “I’ve never been more ready.”
Teddy stands proud beside her, looking down at her with reverence, like he’s witnessing the future she was born for—like she’s magic incarnate.
But his eyes blow wide as he takes in Elyssara’s bare arm, the golden etchings and the silver cuff that wraps around them. “Your mother’s cuff,” he murmurs.
The room stills.
Ronyn curses quietly under his breath.
The door groans open again, and Rubi and Mavyrn stalk through like they’re ready for violence. For once, Rubi’s hair is out of her face, braided tightly, the white-blond tips fastened in a leather strap. Sickle blades and potions hang from thebelt at her waist, and I see the strong warrior beneath the wild woman. Mavyrn looks the same—ready for battle, face carved into a scowl, menacing and focused. But as always, she’s ready to further agendas. Whose? I have no idea. I just hope it aligns with ours.
Jax pads in behind them—silent, sharp-eyed, lethal in a way that needs no armor, her presence cold enough to steal heat from the air. Her midnight hair is braided back from her face, with chakrams at her belt, and a score to settle.
“Where did you get it?” Teddy presses, voice like cold steel.
But I ignore his question and give him the answer he really wants. “It’s the fifth relic.”
