Sylva remained. “You said it yourself—we need every able body to fight the succubus. Human and fae.”
Gwen stifled her sigh, internally tying knots and putting her restraints back into place. “You think I was wrong to distribute justice.”
“I think if you kill everyone who carries prejudice in their heart then we will not have much of an army left.”
Gwen did not have the heart to tell her that any group they hoped to assemble… human, fae, some tortured alliance of both… it was not an army. Not even close. Nor that killing was the only thing that gave her solace these days.
Over Sylva’s shoulder, Gwen watched as doors that had creaked open to watch the exchange closed. She marked the sound of heavy furniture being dragged across the floor to block the doors.
31
EVANDER
Just because he knew the two males waiting for them on the beach did not mean he trusted them. And he certainly did notlikethem. The only being in the world he truly liked was the female standing at his side. The side where she promptly poked him.
“Stop glowering,” she chastised.
She did not give him much time to comply—not that he would—before lifting the arm that was not looped through his in greeting.
“Good tides,” she called, her smile widening with every step.
Agravayn’s eye twitched, which was his equivalent of an effusive welcome. Gaheris, the conciliator, offered a bow to Mya and a respectful nod befitting a consort to Evander.
“Thank you for your quick response,” Gaheris said. He offered a hand to Mya, escorting her higher up onto the beach.
Evander let her go, but only because he knew that she needed to touch Gaheris without being weighed down by him. If she touched more than one person at once, it could become difficult for her to parse motivations and intentions. Evander would not risk a mistake on behalf of his own possessiveness. Letting hergo was the best way to protect her in that moment, he told himself. Again.
“You are worried,” Mya said, glancing back over her shoulder.
Gaheris did not deny it. “The succubus will not stay away forever.”
Evander reached for his shortsword by instinct. He’d given up all his other weapons but this. Small enough to allow him freedom of movement in the water, but still deadly sharp.
“What have you heard?” Evander demanded.
“Nothing,” Agravayn answered. The oldest of the brothers angled his body, never fully turning his back on the sea. Even after signing an alliance with the new queen, he had not eradicated a lifetime of distrust of the Aquarians.
“Messages stopped arriving from Baylaur weeks ago,” Gaheris elaborated.
“You’ve been ignoring their missives for months. What did you expect?” Evander countered.
They’d ignored them because the brothers had suspected treachery from the crown, Evander knew. Rightfully so, after word had come of Gawayn and Roksana’s betrayal. And then the death of their third brother, Gareth. Evander did not linger on the events of the past few months. That was a luxury the current situation did not afford them.
But if Baylaur had stopped sending any communication at all…
“We sent a runner. A wind wielder, using the breeze to hasten his steps.” Gaheris looked at Evander as he spoke. Evander also wielded wind, though his was so cold he only used it to touch another’s body in battle.
Mya gasped, jerking her hand away from Gaheris’ arm. She could not read his thoughts. Despite most interpretations of the prophecy, that was not how her ethereal powers worked.She sensed intentions and emotions. Her light blue skin turned grayish as she paled, reeling from whatever she’d felt from Gaheris.
“Baylaur has fallen to the succubus,” Agravayn said. “The war has begun.”
Mya reached for him. Once, he would have pulled away. First, to hide his emotions from her. Then, to shield her from them. But theirs was a true marriage of souls. There was no hiding from her now.
Evander tried to sort through his own emotions so he could understand what Mya was able to with a single touch. There was fear for what this meant for his new Aquarian home. Anger that Agravayn and Gaheris had not found a way to tell them sooner—unreasonable a response as it might be, it was there nonetheless. He expected to find regret. But though the loss of an entire city meant something to him, he truly held no affection for the goldstone palace itself. He did not regret any of the actions which had brought him to Mya.
There was guilt. It was strongest, and Evander knew Mya felt it by the way her sapphire eyes softened at the corners.
“My forces are ready. General Ache has command and has agreed to serve alongside your troops. Not under them,” Mya said, looking specifically at Agravayn. The Aquarian scouts had reported he’d gathered his own force from nearby elemental estates and towns.
