The small enclave I had claimed as my own—which the public seemed to also acknowledge and avoid when I was present—currently housed Aurora and me, along with stacks of books. They ranged from the existence of Titan Wolves, to theziriliumof the South, to the ties the South had with theOcreinIsles in the past. If Aurorawasto stay here inCairnyl, I wanted her to at least have a clearer view of what was true andaccurateabout the South and its people.
“But…you’reable to wield shadows, right? How did that come to be?” Aurora questioned, and I could tell her curiosity was piqued. Even the tense demeanorshe’dworn since the moment of her arrival had relaxed a fraction.
“Well, apparently, my mother was—”
“Your Majesty!”Laurence calledout from the main sector of the library, cutting off my explanation.
“Laurence?” I stood from my chair as my friend and bodyguard slipped in through the closed curtain separating this enclave from theremainderof the library.
“There you are! We need—” He halted when he realized I wasn’t alone today, and I stole a glance at Aurora.
Her relaxed demeanor had vanished, replaced then with tense muscles and a scowl. She picked up the bookwe had been reading from together andproceededto ignore Laurence and me completely.
My wings and shoulderscaved inslightly, disappointed.I thought I had been making progress with her.
Sighing, I turned back to Laurence andrefocused. After motioning for him to continue, he cleared his throat and carried on. “TheValwainneeds you, my queen. I canaccompanyyou to the meeting room.”
I narrowed my eyes slightly at the male before me. I could tell there was more hewasn’twilling to say, but with how hostile Aurora had acted toward him before, Icouldn’tblame him for being hesitant around her.
Nodding, I faced Aurora again.
“It’salright, Aviva. Igetit. You have more important matters to attend to,” she said before I could even utter a word to her.
“No, Aurora, it isn’t—”
“I said it’s alright,” she said sternly, her wings curling around her instinctively—something I knew she only did when she was upset.
“Your Majesty…” Laurence urged, and I could hear from the tone of his voice that it was pressing.
Picking at my cuticles viciously, I said to Aurora, “We’ll catch up later, alright?”
Auroradidn’tbother to even spare me a glance as I hooked arms with Laurence and let the curtain fallbehind us. The heaviness I felt in my heartdidn’tdissipate even as we exited the library, arm in arm.
“What is it, Laurence? You have that look on your face,” I said softly, so only he could hear.
“It’s Teagan,” he said quietly. “She’s returned.”
“Already?” I questioned, the shock I felt reflected in the way my eyes grew wide. It had only been two days since she’d left.
Laurence cast me a look that confirmed, but that also caused my anxiety to spike.
The two of us sped through The Haven, crossing over into the private royal wing, where most of theValwainstayed—uponByn’sinsistence. Laurence came to a stop in front of one of the first meeting rooms in the long hallway, and I could hear chatter beyond the door.
Nodding my thanks to Laurence, my hands met the door, pushing it open and stepping inside. My bodyguard was a step behind me, shutting ittothe outside world.
My ears perked up at the sound of Byn’svoice, and I searched for himin the midst ofourValwain, along with theOcreinroyal siblings and, to my surprise, Matea—whose gaze found mine almostimmediately.
“I understand, but did you—”
“Byn, I did everything I could! I can assure you of that,” Teagan responded, hervoice raised louder than her usual soft attitude. “They weren’t lettinganybodyover that border.”
“Alright,alright. This simplyisn’tthe response I was expecting.” Byn sighed heavily, his shoulders sagging in defeat.
Stepping farther into the room, I asked, “What happened?”
All eyes landed on Laurence and me at the sound of my voice. I rounded the table and lounge area to Byn’s side, gently brushing his form with the tips of my feathers as I passed. I watched as his tenseshouldersrelaxed a fraction at the innocent contact. I could feel his building anxiety ease as I came up next to him.
OnceI’dfound my place, Teagan leveled her gaze at me as she explained,“I got to the border, but was swiftly told to turn back around and return home, unless I wanted trouble to befall me. From what I could tell, for some reason, Dimitrididn’tmake it public knowledge in the Northwhokilled King Horace, but tensions arevery highright now. The soldiers there were outright hostile, threatening not just me andLychenbut the guards I had with me, too,” my sister by marriage said. “Theydidn’toffer any clear explanation about thecorvidswe found, either. I have a feeling they simply had their way with our birds. I tried to stay and reason with them, but I feared if I had stayed any longer,they’dhave attacked.”
