She nodded her understanding, thenstraightenedso she was no longer leaning against the balcony railing.
“Think about dinner, alright?” Matea took a step back toward the shadows.
“I will,” I promised her, just before she dissipated into darkness before my eyes.
And just like that, I was once again left to tend to my own thoughts.
***
A new weight on the edge of the couch I was lounging on stirred me from my dozing. I almost panicked until I felt Byn reaching out through our connection. He felt calm, content—even joyous.
I cracked my eyes open to see him sitting next to me on the edge of the cushion.
I must’ve slipped into a light slumber while I was soaking up the sun above. If the position of the sun in the sky was any indication, I’d only been out for roughly an hour.
“Hey there, my gorgeous wife,” he murmured, then leaned down to kiss the top of my head.
Pulling myself out of my sleepy haze, I sat up abruptly. “How did the meeting go?” I asked as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
Instead of answering right away, he repositioned himself on thecouchso he was lying next to me, instead of sitting nearby. There was more than enough room to stay side by side, but before I knew it, we had melted into each other. I rested my head against his chest, my pointed ear listening to his heart beating strong. Our legs intertwined, and his arms held me like I might slip through his fingers at any moment. I draped an arm over his waist and slid myhand up his shirt, softly runningmy handup and down his back in soothing motions.
To anybody else, weprobably lookedlike wedidn’thave a care in the world. But when I reached inwards, towards Byn, I could feel the anxieties that troubled him—and to getthere,I had to pass my own.
After some moments of allowing him to relax after what I could tell was a stressful meeting, he finally answered inNolvym.
“The route to the Isles has beenlaid—downto where we shall camp each night. But wehave toleave as soon as we feasibly can. Wecan’twait for even our fastest corvids to fly there and back with a message, simply hoping for the best. Plus, we can negotiate better in person.We’lljust have to hope that they decide to greet us with open arms.” He sighed.
“That’s… not very reassuring. What did Callum and Caelia say about it?” I asked, also responding in the dead language that rolled off our tongues with ease.
“Callum will stand with us against his parents.He’stheir heir, so he holds some weight with them. But from what I remember,they’restubbornfae, Avi. Even with Caelia, who is allotting to follow her brother into whatever he does,I’mnot sure we have enough to offer them.”
With that, the air felt heavier.
Not having enough to offer them simply wasn’t a choice.
“Who is going on the journey?” I asked, running a nail up and down his spine. I watched as small chillsroseacross his skin at the contact.
“I wasthinkingthe same ones who went on the scouting missions with us, but thatisn’tfinal yet. Obviously, Callum and Caelia must go, butI’munsure about the rest of theValwainjust yet.”
“How is Ezra?” I asked quietly, trying to soften the blow while switching back to the modern language.
I could feel the guilt radiating from him at the thought of his best friend. His brother.
“He could be better, buthe’sdoing as well ascan be expected.It’sgoing to take time for him to put muscle back on, andhe’sresting a lot, buthe’smostlyjust happyto be back with Quinn. Surprisingly, she allowed Rayven to watch over him for the evening.She’sbehind on her duties since Ezra’s return, but at least sheseems to knowshe can only put them off for so long.”His eyes drifted to the distance, as if thinking.“He’s startedasking what hemissed while he was gone, and what kind of troublewe’vebeen getting into since he was here last. Quinnhasn’tallowed anybody to fill him in, though. She says he needs more time.”
“Hmm,” I hummed, contemplating whathe’dsaid as he ran a finger up and down my side, pushing my shirt up slightly with each passtomake more contact with my skin.
“How areyou, my love?”heasked, raising his hand to cup my face gently, tilting my head up to look at him.
“I’ve had worse days. But…”
He raised an eyebrow, but waited patiently for me to gather myself.
“Matea visited earlier. She invited me to dinner with…ourgrandparents. Tonight.”
Byn’s eyes widened slightly. “What will you do?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I’velost all the familyI’veever known, in one way or another. Now Iseem to haveanother chance—but what if I end up losing them, too?” I met his gaze once again as I asked, “What do you think?”
