“Mara said you live here now?” he asked, eyeing the Tree of Life behind me. So much had happened since he’d gone. His eyes lingered on the three crystals.
Of course.
I promised him a crystal, and he’d come for it. I nodded, biting back the tears. “Yeah, I’ll get you the crystal.” I spun to go when his hand snaked out and stopped me. Feeling the warm pressure of his skin on my upper arm sent heat right through my core.
“I’m not here for that.” His voice, his touch, I missed it all so much.
I gulped, turning to face him.
“I…” He dropped his hand. “I don’t think we can ever be the same again.”
My heart fell, and I nodded.
“But…” He added, “I’d like to start fresh again. Be something new, work at it every day… like you said.”
Tears sprang from my eyes, and I stepped forward, tentatively, as he opened his arms to me. Feeling him tuck me into him, hug me and hold me… All of the stress of the past few days melted away. We weren’t perfect, never would be, but he was my soulmate, something my very essence craved to be around. Nothing felt right without him.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Lily,” he muttered into my neck, his breath sending warm shivers down my body.
“Me too.” I held him tightly. “I’m so sorry.”
After we pulled away, he turned and looked over at the bridge my fae were building. “Need a hand with that? I got over sixty guys in Mara’s house, waiting on my word.”
A grin pulled at my lips. “Yes.”
We walked to Mara’s together, not hand in hand but at a few feet apart. Like you would on a first date. This was us starting over, getting to know each other again within the new light that had been shed over us.
“So, Mara says you’re Queen?”
“Temp Queen. Couldn’t keep my powers in after you left,” I admitted.
He was silent. “Indra?”
I shrugged. “Not really sure how to deal with her. I moved her to a house on the river with the other elders, questioned her, and took a piece of her hair. I’m hoping the real Queen can deal with it when she wakes.”
He nodded. “I know where my dad is. And where he is, the crystals will be.”
My eyes widened, and I stopped walking. “How do you know? I couldn’t feel the crystals anywhere.”
He looked at me through dark lashes. “That’s because he’s cloaked them, but he’s too stupid to cloak the sword I let him take.”
A grin pulled at the corner of my lips. “You let him take the Sword of Night? So you could seek that?”
He nodded. “But I didn’t expect that he’d be able to control my mind with it.” His voice turned hollow, and he brushed his fingers over his ribcage where his injury once was.
I gasped. “Oh, Liam…”
He waved me off. “It’ll be fine. I’ll track it and get it back and then use it to get all the crystals from him.”
I nodded, but that didn’t seem as easy as he made it sound. Liam’s dad now had the sword, and it could control Liam’s mind. This was going to be harder than I thought.
We made a plan to work today on getting the boys settled in and then move out tomorrow to seek the rest of the crystals with Liam’s help. After Liam’s men examined their new home across the river, we all got to work. By nightfall, the bridge was done, three huts had been built, and the trenches for plumbing were dug with piping laid that diverted water from the river into their homes. Liam’s mom was back, living with Mara, and his brothers were running wildly around the forest, laughing with abandon. It was a good sight to see.
Not all of his men seemed so enthused though. They seemed relieved to be here among the crystals’ energy, but when they passed me, they gave me glares that made it clear I would have to earn back their trust. Cam was still being cold to me as well.
It was clear I was not their Queen.
“Once we get the fence finished to keep anything from the dark forest out, it should be a decent home for now,” I said to Liam, surveying the men sitting around the fire and eating what the farmers had brought in.
