Skylar turns to her. “What about them?”
“They were mates, or at least I’m pretty sure they were. I’d no clue how they could have been when they ruled separate countries, had their own families. But they must have been like us.” Astrid still can’t believe it, but the mate marks are right there—proving the truth of it. Skylar has a constellation, though not Sqaõi’s. It’s a constellation Astrid doesn’t recognize. And Astrid has a flame for Skylar. Which seems fitting, for the Heir of Fire. “Mates who are, well. Mates. Friends.”
“Did you have any idea?” Skylar stops, releasing Astrid’s hand to scoop up some water. Astrid crouches next to her, doing the same.
“Not at all. The Blood Binding connection threw me off, maybe.”
“Yeah, me too.” They sit quietly, drinking.
“How do you feel about it? Being connected to me for the rest of your life? Which, to be fair, could be not very long at all.” Skylar sounds vulnerable, and Astrid’s heart squeezes. Skylar, who has been alone for so long. Who has had the very few people she ever loved taken from her.
Astrid hugs her, and Skylar stiffens before hugging her back.
“First of all, I’m used to having death on my doorstep. I’ve lived my entire life believing I might die at any point and knowing I’d definitely die at twenty-four. So we might not have very long to live, but I will cherish every second more I get to live with you as my mate.” Astrid pulls back so she can see Skylar’s face. “I lost a sister in Vatra, but I found one, too.”
Skylar’s amber eyes blink rapidly, then she hurls herself on Astrid, the hug practically strangling her. “I’m so sorry for what I said in the arena, I didn’t mean it. I just wanted you to kill me.”
Astrid chuckles. “I understand, but, Skylar? Don’t ever try and make me kill you again. Or I’ll fucking kill you.”
Her mate laughs, coarse and throaty. “It’s so funny when you swear. It’s like hearing your granny swear.”
Astrid punches her in the arm. “My Grandma Tania used to swear like an Ulven. Gram used to scold her for it constantly.”
“I never knew mine. It was always just me and my mum, until it wasn’t. She never even told me where her family was from, just said they lived somewhere very far away and that one day, this”—she pulls the pin from her hair—“would guide me home.” She twiddles it, before knotting it back in her hair. “Maybe she meant you. It would guide me to you.”
Astrid presses her lips together. She’d felt it, too, that connection through the hairpin. “I’m glad you still have something of hers.” She takes Skylar’s hand and twists the ring on her finger. “And of his.” She reaches for the pendant, reassuring herself it’s still there. Does the same with the cuffs her dad gave her.
“Me, too,” Skylar says quietly. “I wonder if he’s… in there.”
She means his body, and Astrid’s fist clenches at the thought.
“Cam is not there, not the real him. He’s at peace, I promise you that. But, Skylar, we won the duel—both of us.” Astrid stands, lifting Skylar with her and linking their arms. “You are queen of Vatra, whether your father likes it or not, and I’m queen of Arturea. Maybe only in name for now. But we will do everything we can to put a stop to all of this, together.”
They walk back toward the familiar and the dragons, Skylar’s eyes on Kaida curled up by Bastet.
“Together,” Skylar repeats, an edge to her voice. “Let’s go see where this Heart is, then, shall we? See if it’s worth all the trouble it’s put us through.”
“There’s something here, I can feel it,” Skylar murmurs.
They’re crouching beneath a ledge jutting out of the canyon face. This close Astrid can see the striations of the rock, and it’s like a spectrum of Skylar; red, gold, brown, and amber. Is this what it’s like to be mated? She’s now seeing her mate in a rock?Get a grip, Astrid.Hereyes carry on traveling along the canyon, but she can’t see an entrance of any kind.
“There’s no way through here,” Astrid says.
“There’s some kind of force field. It’s hiding the entrance.”Like the way through the Isfjell mountains, Astrid thinks. “And if we try and step through it, it’ll do something horrible to us.” Skylar grins at that and Astrid shakes her head. Still a liability.
“Well, let’s avoid that. You think you can drain the wards?”
“With your help I can. Power me up?”
WAIT,Bastet interrupts, nose twitching. ICAN SMELL HUMANS CLOSE BY. TWO OF THEM.
“Then we’re in the right place; they’ll be the guards.”
Astrid palms her Masking Mist, pours it over all of them. “This will buy us a few seconds.” She goes for another vial but realizes she only has two left, neither of which are helpful in this situation.
“We won’t need a few seconds,” Skylar says with a grim smile. How is she being so casual about all this? Astrid feels like her insides are crawling out of her body.For Zryan, she keeps reminding herself.For the Heart. Though they’d agreed the priority was Zryan for now. Until they could regroup in Arturea, find her mother and the Ulvene, and bring reinforcements to secure the Heart properly.
Mjolnir is somewhere nearby, waiting for Skylar’s signal, Kaida with him, although the little dragon has been instructed to stay hidden until they return. If they don’t return, she has strict instructions to fly to Isla Draka. Astrid twists her hands. She hopes it doesn’t come to that, not least because Kaida is unlikely to be able to make that journey on her own.
