Caramel eyes met golden ones, and they spent several seconds staring at each other. “I trust him,” Iyana finally said.
Emmeric’s mouth dropped open. “You can’t be serious! He—”
“Has helped us every step of the way!” she shouted at him, tearing her gaze away from Altair. “Phaedros take me, he came back with us to rescue you! He exposed himself to Uther, the man who wants to use him for some nefarious plan, to saveyou, Emmeric.”
“He’s got ulterior motives, Iyana! When are you going to wake up to see that?”
Iyana scoffed. “You’re just jealous.”
“I am not just jealous. I amjustlooking out for your best interests!”
She threw her hands in the air, small sparks of fire exploding from her. “I love him!”
Emmeric recoiled, speechless. She loved him. Shelovedhim? Even after Emmeric laid out the entire sordid history of the stars, she still was going to sit here and say she loved him. Pursing his lips, he nodded slowly.
“Okay. I’ll drop it. But this is on you, Iyana. I’d hate to say ‘I told you so’ someday.” Then Emmeric left the group, sparing none of them a glance. He barely contained his anger and his hurt, and now he was thankful he didn’t have a method of blocking her. That rage…he hoped to all the gods Iyana could feel it through their bond. A reminder that she was physically and magically connected tohissoul. Not Altair’s.
Phaedros take him, this woman was infuriating.
Chapter 44
Iyana
Despite the risks, they decided to camp where they’d stopped for lunch. The information that Emmeric and Altair had both dropped on them within the span of thirty minutes was too much to deal with. Iyana needed to process her thoughts and emotions on the subject to determine what she believed. Not long after Emmeric had stormed off, his anger hot within her chest, she’d excused herself as well.
The woods were thinning the closer they got to the ocean, and with her magic to warm her, Iyana appreciated the beauty in this part of the world. She walked through the stunning landscape, boots crunching in the snow. Sounds of life followed her, creating a beautiful harmony—finches cheeping, the loud chip from a cardinal, a rabbit scurrying underneath the snow to return to its warm burrow. Hearty evergreen trees were prevalent with snow heavy on their boughs. Hanging icicles caught the light, making it dance over the sparkling, wintry ground. She had always loved the colors of the desert—the red stones, the green cacti with beautiful blooming pink flowers, the lizards and animals with various shades of black, yellow, orange, and brown. And the sunsets…she hadn’t seen any in her adventure so far to rival the ones back home.
Homesickness struck her like an arrow through her heart. She missed her little hut, the sounds of the children running through the village, her friends… but most of all she missed her grandmother. Iyana wished for nothing more at the moment than to be curled up in front of Imo’s hearth, the scent of herbal tea in the air, her grandmother teaching her an important lesson whilst mixing medications at herworkstation. Grandmother’s advice would have been infinitely useful the past few weeks.
But her grandmother would never give her opinions ever again. She’d never yell at Iyana to look away from the stars or scold her for breaking a glass jar.
Iyana fell to her knees with an anguished wail tearing from her lungs, the snow immediately soaking through her pants. The bite of cold didn’t affect her as she buried her face in her hands and sobbed.
This crazy ‘chosen one’ business had cut the grieving process for Imo short, and she had attempted to bury her feelings by focusing on the task at hand. Then she had been captured, tortured, and subsequently rescued from an evil emperor. Instead of dealing withthattrauma, she dove into Altair. Now Iyana was questioning if that was short-sighted of her. Maybe she should have been more wary of the star who had fallen to the earth and literally swept her off her feet. She had fallen for him, fast and hard. She loved him.
If all of what he’d done so far had been a lie, then Iyana didn’t think she’d be able to put herself back together. Not when he was currently the only thing holding her broken pieces in place.
Iyana didn’t know how long she’d been kneeling in the snow when Altair found her, but her knees and toes were numb, and her tears had frozen to her eyelashes. He wordlessly picked her up and sat on the ground, cradling her in his lap. His magic coursed through her to warm her and dry her clothing. She was grateful for the gesture as her own magic had disappeared, as it always seemed to when her emotions were high.
Regardless of what she had just learned, Altair felt safe. Sweet petrichor smelled like home, and she curled into him, resting her head on his shoulder. Clenching his shirt in her fist, she fought back another round of tears. Altair sat there silently, not judging her and not defending himself. He let her feel her emotions and offered silent support by rubbing her back in slow, soothing circles.
“I don’t know what to do,” she finally said, her voice quiet.
“I know, my star,” was all Altair offered in response. He tangled his fingers in her hair and held her closer. Tilting her head back to look at him, she saw him gazing off into the distance.
“Altair…” Iyana paused, needing to ask, but she didn’t want to know the answer. Altair hummed when she didn’t continue. “Why did you not come for me before Athusia?”
Altairs bright eyes looked away from her, guilt shining through. “I wanted to, astalle, but I couldn’t.”
“Why, though?”
He heaved a sigh. “I tried, but something was interfering with my magic, and I couldn’t catch up to you.”
Iyana sat with his reasoning for several moments. She wanted to believe him, and he did seem guilty. At least for now, she could afford him the benefit of the doubt. But now that she had asked one question, so many others sprang forth.
“What are we doing?” she asked. “You and me. What is this? Is it real or are you playing me?”
Altair eventually turned to her after a long silence that was about to drive Iyana crazy. Long enough she began to think she truly meant nothing to him and Emmeric had been right. His brows furrowed, eyes appearing sad. She buried the innate desire to smooth his stress away.
