My crew. My saviors. My friends. I’d been harsh to them, accusing them of keeping things from me, and they had been, but not for the reasons I’d assumed. They’d been trying to protect me, as they’d promised, and I hadn’t believed in them enough to trust that. I owed them so much more than an apology for my behavior. The reason I was alive today was because they hadn’t broken down and told me the truth. They’d spared my mind from shattering at the cost of our strained friendship. Not anymore.
Lorian and I opened our mouths to speak at the same time. With a small smile, he motioned for me to begin.
“I should have believed in you when you promised you had my best interest in mind. You’d never led me astray. In all of my time on the Phoenix Heart, you’d protected me like your own family. I am so sorry, Lorian. You do not know how much you changed my life that day you found me in Tempestas.”
“You are family. You owe me no apologies, Nairu.” He stepped forward and pulled me into an embrace. “When I learned the truth of your past, I was furious. It was agonizing to lie in wait and hope that your memories would return to you so that we could do something about it. I did not wish to lie to you, but I had no choice.”
“I know. I understand.”
Kaelias and Makatza had an arm wrapped around both of us in an instant, and it took everything in my power not to start crying all over again.
Makatza was the only one to shake me from my feelings, making me laugh. “Don’t become a crybaby all of a sudden,tzuk vartu.You’re part of a pirate crew. We have a reputation to keep.”
“If you’ll still have me.” I smiled.
Lorian nodded. “Always.”
Jyuri arrived with Zorinna next. The last of our party, but not the last person I needed to apologize to. Zorinna I’d judged for her animosity towards Lorian, but I’d not known her then, hadn’t remembered the complicated past the siblings shared—a past which Zorinna had shared with me in confidence in my past life, only to have me behave coldly towards her in this one.
Both Lorian and Zorinna had their own reasons for their estrangement. Despite my deep care for them, I lacked the right to force their reconciliation. I would care for them both, whether or not they chose to repair their relationship. I would not—could not—choose one over the other.
Zorinna’s eyes met mine immediately, and a crease formed between her brows before she remembered herself, and the perfectly unshakable mask appeared. “Nairu… it’s been too long.”
I pulled her into a hug and whispered against her shoulder, “I am so sorry I was mean to you, Zorinna.”
She leaned back, patting the back of my head. “You were being protective of your friend. With the distance I was keeping, you did not know me as anything more than a stranger. I will not accept an apology I am not owed.”
I frowned. “You are being difficult.”
That made her smirk, and I grinned at the sight. This was the sarcastic, Elven princess I knew and loved. “As is my nature. The most egregious thing you’ve done to me was look at me like I was a bit of a bitch, and well… I can be.”
She glared at Jyuri, then. “I will apologize forhisactions, however. I assure you he will not harm you in any way ever again. Good on you for giving him a taste of his own medicine, though. I will never let him live that down.”
To ensure our companions couldn’t hear, I pulled her close enough that our whispers wouldn’t carry. “I know you bargained with him… I owe you. I know that. If there is any way to transfer the debt…”
There was no use pressing Zorinna further. She kept things close to her chest, a product of her noble training. She’d not even shared the exact details of her Fae bargain to Jyuri with Alandris. I knew only that Jyuri and his magic were hers to utilize until I was deemed ‘saved’ and that Jyuri could kill neither her nor myself. It seemed too good to be true, and I could only imagine what pieces of herself she’d sacrificed to obtain it.
Jyuri cleared his throat. “As entertaining as this is, why don’t we stop the heartfelt reunion and begin planning our massacre? It’s been a while since I’ve had the pleasure of mortal blood on my teeth. I must say I am excited.”
“Rescue mission, not massacre,” Zorinna corrected with a glare. “We are getting Alandris out and removing the Divine Council’s influence from Val’Naeris. There will be no other deaths on our hands.”
“Oh, sure. The casualties will be justified. Don’t let anyone touch a hair on your pretty little head, and the bloodshed shall be minimal.”
Lorian coughed. “Choosing to ignore that…. We have reason to believe the Council will attack the main temple at the city’s south end. Smaller, outlying temples have already reported grievances against their worshipers. If the council hopes to force the royal family’s hand without directly inciting war, this is how they will do it. King Zaelthrian could explain away the smaller infractions as rowdy bandits, but not an attack on the Temple of the Moon. They guard it heavily.”
I furrowed my brow. “What purpose would this serve other than to start a war with the Elven Kingdom? Surely, they are not powerful enough to take on Val’Naeris’s military.”
“The Divine Council will not claim this attack as their own, just as they have not claimed the others. They wish to oust the royal family from power,” Zorinna answered. “They intend to turn their own people against them, make them question their ability to protect them, so when the Cardinal comes preaching salvation at the hands of their Goddess, they will accept it with open arms.”
“They’ve spread their numbers in secret, quietly, but ferociously. They no doubt have their fair share of followers already in Val’Naeris,” Lorian added. “Those followers will help sway the minds of the people after the Temple of the Moon falls. And anyone else who refuses to submit to their faith…”
“Will die,” I finished in a whisper.
Lorian nodded grimly. “They’ve been planning this in the shadows for hundreds of years. We only learned this much because of Alandris.”
“I told you, you were just the beginning of their plans,” Jyuri said, eyeing me. “You are a threat because you possess the magicof a god in a tangible, human body. They are relying on the people’s blind faith.”
“Are you saying the Goddess isn’t real?” I asked.
