Okabhadwordlesslyteleportedthem closer to Nyr’s border at their request, then disappeared once they were all safe.He’d have to go break the news to his sister, and Iyana knew that would be a difficult conversation.
The five of them crossed over Nyr’s border.Iyana couldn’t even appreciate the temperature difference as they decided to camp right there for the rest of the night.All she was capable of doing was curling into a ball at the base of a tree and pretending to go to sleep.Emmeric could tell she was still awake, and she loathed the concern and pity she felt from him.
Shouldn’t he be angry with her?For mourning a former lover who had stabbed her in the back?Altair didn’t deserve her sadness or grief.At least, that’s what she kept telling herself, but she gave it to him, anyway.
Em told the others in whispers to leave her be, but he sat nearby.He didn’t try to reach out through their bond, and he didn’t touch her.It was comforting, though, to have his presence so close.
It took them several days of walking through the forest to reach the edge of Yrza.Jato and his group of warriors met them, but one look at the group and he apparently decided against antagonizing his betrothed.Kaz was silent like the rest of them, and he kept stealing little peeks at her, a crease between his brow.No matter what either of them said, it was obvious he cared for her in some capacity.
The king and queen requested their presence in the throne room to debrief them on what had happened since they left, but none of them felt up to it.Kaz told Jato that her parents could ‘fucking wait until we’ve had a fucking bath.’Iyana loved her a little bit more for it.
Once they had returned to the same rooms they’d been in before, Emmeric ran her a bath.He hesitated in the bathing room, like he was unsure if he wanted to help her or leave her alone.In the end, he left her in silence for Iyana to bathe herself.They still hadn’t said more than a few sentences to each other, and those were only out of necessity.Iyana was grateful he didn’t try to speak through their bond either, because she’d feel the need to put up her barriers then, and she didn’t have the energy for that.She didn’t have the energy for anything.
The thought of talking or eating was too much to bear.It was difficult enough to complete her entire bath, and the only reason she did was because she hated the layer of blood and dirt that covered her.The crying started again as she watched the dried blood, long since turned brown, washing off of her and going down the drain.That was the last piece of Altair left on this earth, and she’d washed it away like it was nothing.
Iyana’s hand strayed to the necklace at her throat.It felt so right to be wearing it again, and the weight and warmth against her skin were comforting.She could sense the hum of Altair’s magic within the pendant and knew what she had to do with it.Altair had saved her, offering his own life in exchange.
In other words, a willing sacrifice.
The magic he had gifted her would help banish the rest of the stars—one last act to prove his love for her.
A tapping on the door jerked Iyana away from her spiraling thoughts.“Mouse, are you okay?”
Opening her mouth and moving her vocal cords seemed almost impossible, so she sent the message through their bond.I’m okay.It was all she was capable of saying.They both heard the lie, but Iyana could feel Emmeric’s relief that she had at least answered him.
After toweling herself dry, Iyana couldn’t be bothered to get dressed.She didn’t have any clean clothes, anyway.Kaz probably would have had some brought to her, but the act of searching for them was too great of an ask.So she walked through the bedroom naked.Emmeric only watched as she climbed into the bed and covered herself up to her ears with the blanket.There was not a single hint of lust through their bond, verifying just how worried Em was.
Iyana fell asleep easily through sheer exhaustion, but her dreams were fraught with nightmares and memories of Altair.
Chapter 59
Emmeric
Emmericwasstartingtoworry.Not that he hadn’t been worried about her before, but after Iyana had spent a week in bed within Yrza’s palace, only moving to use the bathing room, he was beginning to think she would never recover.
Vacillating between panic and fury was tiresome, but they seemed to be the only two emotions Emmeric could conjure.When she wouldn’t respond to his gentle coaxing, or only ate a small amount of soup he practically poured down her throat, or slept all day, Emmeric would panic.But then he’d remember that she had run off without him on a mission to offer herself to Rigil,without him, and the furious rage would return.He wanted to rant and yell at her when he felt this way, to ask how she could possibly think any of that had been a good idea.Not wanting to make a bad situation even worse, he restrained himself, but there were times he could feel the words bubbling beneath the surface, begging to be set free.
King Saram and Queen Nita constantly asked after them, but he’d been ignoring their summons.Kaz had been holding them off the best she could.He really didn’t care if they took any sort of offense to their behavior or perceived snub.Emmeric hadn’t left their room since they first entered it, instead taking care of Iyana and watching over her.He couldn’t let her out of his sight now, and even sleeping had become difficult.Em would wake every hour to check that she was still there.
Iyana allowed him to sleep curled around her.Her nightmares had returned full-force, and his proximity was the only thing that would allow her to sleep soundly.However, during the day, when she was awake, Emmeric had the distinct feeling that she didn’t want him to touch her at all.It hurt, keeping his distance while she stared blankly at the wall.
The other three would come visit periodically and try to speak with her, but it was always the same.Iyana refused to acknowledge anybody.
There was a light knock on the door, and then Talon let himself and Zane in.Emmeric couldn’t even be mad about the lack of privacy; it wasn’t like they were about to walk in on anything.
“Any change?”Talon asked quietly, glancing over the bundle of blankets on the bed that was Iyana.Emmeric didn’t understand how she wasn’t overheating—the heat and humidity of Nyr was oppressive.
Emmeric shook his head.“Nothing,” he said, keeping his voice hushed.This was how they talked around her now, and he hated it.“I got her to eat some bread this morning, though, so that’s good.”
“Sekhan and even Zahar have been asking after her,” Tal continued.Emmeric bristled at the monarchs’ insistence on seeing Iyana.“Only to see how she’s doing, old man.Calm down.Kekari wanted to come see you, too, but I told them that wasn’t the best idea right now.”
“Thank you,” Emmeric said, meaning it.Kaz’s younger sibling obviously had a crush on him, and he couldn’t field fending off an eighteen-year-old’s puppy love while also dealing with Iyana’s mess.
Zane took a deep breath, and Emmeric knew he wasn’t going to like what the emperor had to say.“The king and queen, though, are becoming more insistent.They want to speak with the Aztia.”
“Well, they’ll have to fucking wait,” Emmeric snapped.
“I know,” said Zane, running a hand through his hair, a habit he’d picked up from Talon.“I’ve been to see them myself a few times, which has helped, but there’s only so much Kaz and I can do before they decide to march over here and take matters into their own hands.”
