His wolf stirred.
Not one word, furball, Ronin growled.Not one. Fucking. Word.
Cold indifference, huh?
What did I just say?
The creature huffed.You can pretend that you haven’t been pining for that female for the past two hundred years, but I know the truth. And now you have a chance to fix what was broken. Don’t let your anger stand in the way.
Ronin snarled out loud.What I do or do not do about her is none?—
You’re a child. I thought maybe you’d grown up, but?—
Stay OUT of it.
His wolf sighed and settled.
Ronin stripped off his shirt, wishing he could’ve taken a shower but too exhausted by this insane day to even consider it. Instead, he folded his massive body into the small, but comfortable bed.
And as he slipped off into a restless, tossing slumber, he couldn’t help but wonder who would break first.
Him or Mireille.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Tristan leaned against the doorframe of Trophonios’s workshop, hidden beneath his wings and awaiting his cue as Ione began her speech to the gathered rebels.
Tonight, Ione would officially turn leadership of the Teles Chrysos over to Tristan.
An impressive mix of all three sub-species of Fae had gathered in the village square, several sporting Teles symbols on their shirts or jackets.
Ione, wearing a sleeveless white tunic over flowy pants and crowned with a circlet bearing a fire opal, addressed the crowd. “I am pleased to see so many familiar faces. And even more pleased by the new. Welcome, friends and future allies.” As a human, her voice had always been confident. Her Turning had honed it into something even more powerful—a dagger forged into a sword. It sliced through the square, demanding attention. “Already, we have shown you evidence of Adelphinae’s pleasure with our work.”
The festivities had commenced with an Anointment, a sight which Tristan would not soon forget.
Several long-standing members of the Teles Chrysos had bowed before Ione, all with mixed-species heritage; Trophonios himself had verified the human ancestry within their bloodlines. Ione had knelt with each supplicant and held their hands as they muttered prayers to Adelphinae.
Though Tristan agreed with the foundational principles of Adelphinae’s dogma, he wasn’t sure if he believed the Goddess was an actual living entity. If she was, Tristan might have some questions for her after everything Ione had claimed at dinner last night. A dinner that he hadn’t said a word to Ione about all day.
But watching those Fae—the Anointed, as they were now called—show off their newly-restored fire, water, and lightning… Someone, or something, had provided it. If not the Goddess herself, then who? Or what?
He wondered what it might feel like to be blessed with a second element. To wield fire or lightning as easily as he summoned the wind. Futile musings, really. The Erabis line was the oldest and purest on the planet. Fae to the roots, not an ounce of human sap flowing through the family tree.
Ione continued, “Adelphinae herself, in her Compendium of Creation, stated that Fae and humans were created as equals. And that it is her wish that we share this world and her generous bounty. But that message has been lost over the centuries. Suppressed by greedy leaders who sought to invalidate her worship, to hoard resources for themselves and establish unnatural hierarchies between the species and sub-species. And in doing so, have dampened her elemental gifts.”
Several rebels spat upon the cobblestones.
“With the increased support we’ve received these past decades, we are closer than ever to achieving our goal of taking back the Crystal Throne and restoring our Creator, so that all Ethyrians may thrive once again. Tonight, we thank you for yourpatience and ask for your continued support. But I would not do so without offering proof of our progress.
“We have gained the most important ally in our fight against the Empire. One that many of you will recognize. A leader who was stripped of his title, stripped of hisbirthright, before he could enact his plans for peace. Plans that caused his family to brand him a pariah and exile him to the colonies.”
Ione glanced over her shoulder toward Tristan before turning back to the crowd. “It gives me the greatest honor to welcome the true leader of the Teles Chrysos. The male responsible for my own immortality. The male who Turned me into the Delphine and hastened my relationship with our wonderful Goddess.
“The rightful Emperor of Ethyrios—Prince Tristan Erabis!”
Shouts of joy rippled through the crowd as Tristan whipped his wings open and stepped into the square.
The Fae parted like a sea before him, many dropping to their knees and bowing their heads, others reaching for him with tears in their eyes.
