So I’m not the only one upset about it.
“We just need to do our part,” I try to reason. “Lunaria will do hers by bringing Nightfall back, and Graylen will be there to watch her back.” I swallow, the pit in my stomach growing. Zephyr huffs again. “IknowI wish we were there, too. But we need to make sure there’s a Penyth for her to come back to. Okay?”
And Adrian. He’s there, too. I find myself annoyed that I’m not there to make sure he doesn’t get his stupid self hurt, too. Lunaria and Graylen can watch after themselves, but the accident-prone, clumsy, can’t help but throw himself into danger, prince?
An odd pinch forms in my chest at the thought.
Zephyr growls, a reluctant grumble agreeing with me and pulling me from my thoughts. Adrian is the enemy. Human. Weak. Not to mention fuckingrude.I’m not sorry I punched, but I am sorry I didn’t do it sooner.
I sigh and lean forward, kicking my legs up and curling up on her back as she flies above the waves. Salty air greets every breath in, filling my nose with a slight sting. We have a long flight ahead of us, and every warrior knows a tired fighter is a sloppy one.
“We meet Lunaria’s fleet on the far left corner of the Cimmerian Forest,” I repeat the plan aloud–mostly to myself, just like I always do before a mission. “We find Iris and Cyprian’s convoys. We ensure the border is still secure from the Crean army.” My eyes grow heavy as my words grow softer. “We await word of my mother’s approval to prepare the Penyth army for war.” My eyes flutter closed. “Then we protect our land.”
Thirty-Seven
Sardonyx
From the cornerof my eye, I see Graylen stagger to his feet—though much slower than I did.
My head snaps down to where Adrian still sits on the ground, frozen.
“You told me this would take us directly to Runnswick—to just outside of the castle.” Venom drips from my words.
Adrian pales, and he at least has the decency to look embarrassed. “That’s what my uncle told me,” he stammers out, holding his hands up in surrender. “It’s not like I’ve done this before.”
I spin away from him—trying to remember that punching him in the face won’t help the situation.
“Are we eveninCrea?” I hiss through my teeth.
Adrian looks around, his eyes widening as if he hadn’t considered that.
“Lu.”Graylen’s words cut into my mind, drawing my attention immediately to him.“Do you feel that?”
I open my mouth to ask what he means, but the look in his eyes silences me. There’s a darkness pressing against my skin that wasn’t there before—similar to how it felt to fly beside the Zenovia Mountains.
It’srevolting. Vile.
A constant state of decay that clings to the air.
It sends a shiver rolling through my body, followed by an itchiness coating my skin.
My gaze locks with Graylen’s, and I dip my chin, letting him know that I feel it, too—the wrongness of Crea compared to the clarity of Penyth.
“I never felt this when I was here before,”I send into his mind.
His eyes harden.“You were already used to the aconite being in your system; now there’s nothing to dampen your fae side from feeling the dark magic woven into this side of the mountains.”
“You felt this the entire time you were here?”I jolt, nausea already stirring in my gut from the stench that rises from the ground.
Graylen nods.“I wish I could say you get used to it, but…”
Well, this is justlovely.
“We’re in Crea,” Graylen says aloud, his voice scratchy but firm.
Adrian looks between us, clearly noticing there’s something we know that he doesn’t, but he doesn’t press.
We trudge through the forest, straining my fae hearing to findany signs of villages or people. Every few minutes, my gaze drifts to Graylen, keeping an eye on him.
