“No more miserable than living out your life as the last of your race in a realm that hates your kind. And I don’t need your pity,” I snapped as her expression began to soften. “I made a sacrifice so that my people could live, and I don’t regret it.”
She scowled. “What do you mean, so that your people could live? I thought King Aolis killed all the dragons.”
“Right,” I drawled. “Allof them.”
Adara rolled her eyes. “Well obviously notall, since you’re here.” Without warning, she jumped to her feet and began pacing the room. “Giant’s teeth, I don’t have time for this.”
“Time for what?” I asked.
“To argue with a crotchety old dragon!” Adara threw up her hands. “I don’t understand why those lights brought me to you. The elder said they’d take me where I need to go, but what I need is to get back to my village and find out what happened to my mother. And you aren’t helping at all!”
“Adara, wait—” I started, but she was already storming out into the night. I sat on the worn rug for a moment, waiting to see if I could let her go. It would be so much easier if we could just part ways here—she seemed young, still wet behind the ears, and I wasn’t in the mood to play nanny.
But after a minute, the mate bond began to tug at me. Gritting my teeth, I tried to resist, but it quickly turned into a burning sensation. With every minute that passed, the pain spread farther and farther, until my entire body was screaming.
Snarling, I pushed myself to my feet and stalked out the door. There was nothing for it. I was going to have to follow her, even if she ended up leading me to my own demise.
8
King Aolis
“YourHighness, General Slaugh has returned.”
King Aolis frowned, turning away from the Gaoth Aire general he was meeting with. It was customary for him to spend his mornings in the throne room, hearing out the requests of his people, and he did not appreciate being interrupted.
“What of it?” he addressed his sergeant-at-arms, a tall water fae clad in the black matte armor all members of his Shadow Guard wore. “I do not need to be informed every time the general comes and goes from the castle, Kian. If Slaugh needs to see me, he can do so once I’m finished here.”
The sergeant cleared his throat. “The general understands you are busy, but he insists this is of the utmost importance. He has a prisoner in tow—a female crucial to helping him accomplish the…mission.”
King Aolis straightened in his throne, the air fae before him immediately forgotten. “Send him in,” he commanded. He waved a hand at the fae, who had traveled all the way from the air realm to meet with him. “You’re dismissed, general.”
“But Your Highness!” the general protested, outrage flashing in his mercurial eyes. His pale blue leather armor, reinforced with silver plates, creaked as he straightened his own tall form, standing his ground. “We haven’t finished discussing the plan for reinforcements—”
“As I explained to you, I am actively recruiting more soldiers to help in the fight against the shadow creatures,” King Aolis said, his tone clipped. “We will send reinforcements when we can. In the meantime, you and your Lightning Riders must continue to guard the border. That is your duty now, just as it was during the Dragon-Fae War.”
The general opened his mouth to argue, but King Aolis lazily curled a hand around the black spear that sat to his left in an ornate stand. The spear hummed in his palm, coming to life, and Aolis steeled himself against the hunger that rippled through him in response. Everyone in Ediria respected the Spear of Destiny, the legendary weapon Aolis had used to exterminate the dragons and bring peace to the kingdom.
It was a good thing the general did not know that this was not the true Spear of Destiny, or that wielding it came with a terrible price Aolis could rarely afford to pay. Not if he wanted to maintain the little control he had left over his own mind.
The general’s face went pale, and he snapped his mouth shut. “My apologies, Sire,” he said, bowing stiffly. “I have forgotten myself. I will return to the Gaoth Aire now.”
“Good. Send Lord Oren my regards.”
The air fae general left, and King Aolis suppressed a sigh. He knew that this was not the last he would hear from the Gaoth Aire—they had grown tired of fighting off the shadow creatures at the border, largely on their own with very little support from the other kingdoms. So far, the hostages Aolis had taken from each of the Houses ensured that the other realms remained under his thumb, but he knew the subservience of their rulers would only go so far. If the shadow creatures grew too far out of control, they would come for him regardless of the safety of their children.
That was why he’d thrown the general out, and allowed Slaugh to interrupt him. He desperately needed this mission to succeed, and he was not yet ready for the air fae nobility to get wind of the fact that he’d made any progress with it.
“Send General Slaugh in,” Aolis ordered the sergeant-at-arms, his tone rife with impatience. The sergeant stuck his head through the double doors, and a second later, they opened wide to admit Slaugh. Aolis gripped his spear a little tighter as the general strode in, his body humming with anticipation. A female trailed behind him, her head bowed so that her long, dark hair hid her face. She wore a dark green dress that was torn at the hem and the left sleeve, and he spotted a healing gash on her forearm. Her hands were bound in front of her, her shoulders slumped forward in defeat. Clearly there had been a scuffle, but Slaugh had managed to bring her in.
Could this be the one he was searching for? The girl of ice and fire, who would drive back the shadow creatures and unite the kingdom?
“Your Highness.” Slaugh sank down onto one knee in front of the dais and bowed his head. The female, however, remained standing, and shock hit Aolis like a slap to the face as she finally lifted her head. Familiar emerald eyes stared out at him from behind a comely face he’d once seen almost daily, but instead of smiling at him as they once had, they glittered with unsuppressed rage.
“Aolis.” She bit the word out, her teeth bared. “It’s been a long time.”
“Gelsyne.” Aolis managed to keep most of the surprise out of his voice. He knew he should command her to kneel, but he was so stunned by her appearance that he didn’t bother. “I haven’t seen you since you and Princess Olette ran from the wedding feast. When the Oracle informed me of Olette’s death, I assumed you had perished as well. Why did you never come back to court?”
“Because I have no desire to serve a traitor king,” Gelsyne spat.
