They seemed skeptical, but Icouldn’tblame them. The war seemed endless, as though itdidn’tfollow the rules of time.
To them, the war would never end.
Our sense of urgencyhad motivatedus to ride faster than before. Now, we had not only our own army at our fingertips, but theOcreinIsle navy, too.
We couldn’t mess up now.
Wewouldfree the fae trapped outside of Neokell.
Even if it was the last thing we did.
We’darrived back to The Haven the night before last, promptly fell asleep, andwereup at dawn with Giles at our door, requesting our presence for a day of back-to-back meetings.We’dexplained, with Teagan’s help, the agreementwe’dcome to with theOcreinIsles.
Our advisors had not taken it well, to say the least.
But whatwe’ddone had been done. All we could do now was move forward and make the most of what we had.
I hadn’t seen Aurora since we’d returned, though, and I planned to change that today.
Knocking on her chamber door, I steeled myself for the sting of rejectionI wasalmost certainshe’dcast upon me.
Yet when the door swung open,her body almost slumpedin relief.“Viva! You had meworriedsick.It’sbeenweeks!”sheexclaimed as she looked over my form, as if making sure I was all in one piece still.
Stunned, I was silent for a moment before explaining. “I’msorry, Ishould’vetold you we were leaving for a little while. We had some… business to attend to in theOcreinIsles.”
My friend’s eyebrowsfurrowed. “Aren’t their borders closed? How did you…” she trailed off, obviously confused.
“We took our chances, and it paid off.That’sall,” I shrugged. Not wanting to burden her with too much unnecessary information, I carried on to why I was there. “But I wanted to seeifyou’dlike to spend some time with me today.I’veasked for some small dishes to be brought to one of the lounge rooms for us—ifyou’djoin me.”
Aurora’s lips pursed as though she was going to say no, so I was surprised when she nodded instead. “I’d like that.”
I grinned at her response, then motioned for her to join me out in the corridor. But as we neared one of the lounge rooms, Byn, Rayven, and Quinn all exited from it, joining us in the hallway.
“Avi,” Byn said affectionately once he caught sight of me. Stepping forward, he cupped the back of my neck, tilting my head up as he planted a soft kiss against my lips. I smiled against him, my gazefullof heat when he finally pulled back.
Once he stepped to the side, I peered at Rayven, then Quinn, who was shutting the door behind them. “Is that the lounge where the snacks are that Iasked for? I hope you threedidn’teat them all.”
“No, definitely not.There’sa lot of other…” Quinn’s eyes flicked toward Aurora, and I realized she was censoring herself in front of the winged female, “stuffin there, though, that we can go over with you later.”
I frowned slightly, but after whathadhappened with Ezra, Icouldn’texactly blame the general for being overly cautious.
“That’d be great, thank you.” I nodded. “We’llcheck out the other lounge, then. Come on, Aurora.”
I grabbed Byn’s hand and squeezed briefly before heading down the corridor to the second lounge room in theValwain’swing of the castle.
I could smell the sweet, buttery scent of baked goods upon entering the room, letting me know we were in the rightplacethat time.
Aurora and I let the door fall shut behind us as we made our way over to the small table by the orange stained-glass window. It hada lovely depiction of a tree making up the pattern of the glass, and I found myself feeling a spark of joy when looking at it.
As we sat before the handful of plates, I smiled at the disheswe’dbeen served, full of different pastries, breads, cheeses, and fruit.
Safe foods that the Southerners I was closest to had learned I liked. And therefore,Aurorashould, too.Maybe Bynhad overheard me requesting the snacks and had recommended these foods specifically. Iwouldn’thave been surprised.
“You’re grinning like you’ve gone mad,” Aurora said as she placed a flaky bread on her plate.
“Sorry,” I said, clearing my throat. “I was just thinking. Please, help yourself.”
Auroraobservedme in a way that let me know she had thoughts of her own to share. Though, Ididn’tpush. If she wanted to talk about whatever it was,she’dsay something.
