Nicu sniffled through his remorse. Mirroring his father’s grip, he clutched Poet’s jaw. “Partners in crime.”
The jester’s throat bobbed. “But you’re destined for more. To pave your fate is all we’ve ever wanted, and I’m so fucking proud of you.”
Briar had been observing with both hands clamped over her mouth. Now the princess rushed to join their embrace, the trio forming an unbreakable circle.
Nicu understood what it felt like to be left behind. Until this mission, he’d never been the one to do the leaving. And while the lad acknowledged this mistake, so did his parents acknowledge their grown son’s time had come.
Poet murmured something into Nicu’s ear, which filtered to Briar. Between them, the words settled.
They had more to share. But it must be saved for later.
As the jester pulled back, delayed mischief unfurled across his countenance. “If it comes to pass, I’ll be honored to fight beside you once again.”
Briar tucked Nicu against her. “I agree,” she whispered.
The instant my liege shuffled backward, freeing Briar for Poet’s appraisal, the jester’s eyes burned on her. Strung to their limits, delayed to the point of agony, the greatest pairing knownto Autumn slammed into one another. With a deep growl, the jester heaved his wife against him, their mouths colliding with the same force we witnessed between Jeryn and Flare.
Prying apart Briar’s lips, Poet launched his fingers through her hair. His tongue speared into her, the kiss blowing the princess nearly off her feet. With the same vigor, she met his kiss, their mouths clenching.
My attention slid toward Aspen, who deviated between admiring the scene and marshaling her resolve. But as she sensed my gaze and found me staring, dread sunk its talons into my chest. We knew what must be done.
Breathless, the jester and princess dragged their mouths from one another. Poet mashed his lips to Briar’s forehead, inhaled her scent, then let go.
Rounding on me and Aspen, the jester tapered his eyes. In the earlier years, before Nicu reached adulthood, Poet would have made a deal with Jeryn to disembowel me for enabling Nicu. To the same extent, he would have strung Aspen from the tower by her wrists.
However, the man inclined his head, silently thanking us for keeping Nicu safe. Briar echoed her gratitude, nodding as well.
I bowed my chin, indicating there was no need. The clan guarded one another. That was how we lived and breathed. As Briar’s note declared when Nicu found it hidden in a tree, none of us ever truly survived on our own.
In the interim, the trees had ceased their onslaught, boughs relaxing enough for daylight to trickle through. Against its will, we had turned this landscape into a battlefield.
For the next few hours, our clan atoned for the invasion and transferred the dead to a funeral pile beneath a maple tree. Because they hadn’t been given a trial, Briar showed mercy. With the immeasurable grace of a sovereign who representedher nation’s actions, she draped a leaf over every forehead and murmured the same words she had uttered during Merit’s death long ago.
Poet was less charitable, his expression murderous. Yet out of respect for his wife, the man checked his fury.
My joints shook. Rhys had anticipated his legion would be sufficient to decimate our clan. On that score, he’d been wrong.
But however manipulative His Majesty had been to the troop, and however much they opposed equality, I bore the brunt of their passing with the responsibility of a commander. Perhaps I could have done or said more to sustain their allegiance.
Or perhaps not. From across the grass, Aspen’s resilient expression tacked to my own, communicating what I needed to hear. Once, I would have laid down my life for them, and while I still held myself accountable for their dissent, I’d once served these warriors with the utmost loyalty. From there, the choices of my brethren had been their own.
The dead faded before our eyes. Beneath the maple, nature spirited them to the afterlife, a breeze sweeping by in their wake.
At one point, Flare materialized to report Jeryn’s progress with his patient. Lyrik’s wound had been deep, but his condition was stable. Only time would tell if it remained that way.
Poet and Briar cast their son uncertain glances. Nicu had kept his feelings to himself until Flare appeared. At which point, the young man’s stricken features sat plainly on his face.
Well-versed in Nicu’s enthusiastic nature and visceral love for people, naturally his father and mother would misconstrue this as purely a source of overt friendship, particularly since the alchemist forsook himself for Nicu’s sake.Although their son had wept to the heavens, so much had happened in the span of an hour, the incident occurring too rapidly to distinguish anything beyond that.
Given time, that impression would inevitably change. But not this soon.
After giving my liege a reassuring hug, Flare dashed back to the alchemy chamber.
Another hour passed as we drank from the creek, bathed our wounds, and processed the destruction while clearing debris. Mopping blood from the higher platforms would take longer; therefore, that task must wait. Many of the watch hawks had participated in the combat, while others had disbanded at some point.
At last, the remaining portion returned. Flapping their voluminous wings, the fleet sailed over The Lost Treehouses. Cutting through the dome of leaves, they executed a synchronized circular formation, a coded message they’d been trained to deliver.
My head whipped up, along with everyone else’s. “The traitor camp,” I announced with a heavy heart.
