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That niggling worry that had plagued me since our ride between the Crystal and Day Realms voiced its opinion, sending another surge of rage up my spine.
What we shared was real.
As if he sensed the direction of my thoughts, Vadim bumped my shoulder, tearing me from the spiral that was dragging me down. “I’m going to take a bath because my balls have retreated inside my body. And since I got a good look at the females roaming the halls, I’m going to need them later.”
Mine and Viktor’s eye rolls were simultaneous. “You can’t stick your dick in an Iron Fae female on our first night, Vadim,” Vitkor griped.
“Why not? Who said we can’t enjoy the spoils of war, prior to the war? Plus, we’ve been working so hard lately. I need to relax before things get bloody. It wouldn’t hurt to use that timeto gather information, seeing as we’ve gotten a lot ofvaluableinformation over the years using that tactic.” Vadim’s evergreen eyes sparkled as he recalled other Békes where we’d used our charm to search for leads on Izidora’s location.
“Shh, not so loud,” Viktor snapped, glancing around us. “They could have spies in the walls for all we know.”
“All the more reason for me to soak in the bath.” Vadim waggled his eyebrows, then disappeared into a room across from Liliana and Endre’s. “See you assholes later.”
And then it was only Viktor and me standing amid opulence and luxury.
“Kazimir, are you okay?” My friend’s sage green eyes were pinched at the corners, and I knew he worried about the unstable binding magic slithering in my chest.
“Fine,” I lied through my gritted teeth.
I was not fine – not when I’d saved Izidora, only for her to reject me when I came to her rescue again.
“I don’t believe you,” he said, smoothing a hand over his already perfectly styled black hair and rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m not Endre, and I don’t know the right words to reassure you, but you are not fine. Judging by the way Izidora looked at Ruslan, she does not appear to be here against her will any longer, and that has to sting.”
More like a punch to the gut that knocked all of the air from my lungs.
I ran a palm over my face and blew out a breath. “I need to get her back.”
A slow smile spread across Viktor’s lips. “Now that I can help you with. Why don’t we wash up and start strategizing on how to make it happen?”
I nodded. “Thanks, Viktor. Meet in an hour?”
“Done.”
Steam rolledoff the surface of the water in a soaking tub large enough for two people, and the earthy scent of lavender filled the air. My toes stung as I stepped into the waiting water, life returning to them after our long ride through the snow. The tingle that spread through my body as I sank was a welcome reprieve from the chill that felt bone deep. Dunking my head underwater, I washed away the grime gathered from long days and dusty roads, surfacing when my lungs screamed for air. After the fifth time, I settled back against a rolled towel on the lip of the tub and pulled my father’s journal from the dark wood table adjacent to me.
I prayed there was something between these pages that would help me, because I felt like I was drowning in despair as everything I’d worked for, everything I was so certain of, came into question. Nothing of note was on the first few pages, so I continued flipping through them, the scent of ink and parchment joining the earthy scents of my bath salts.
My father did not keep an accurate account of each day, but rather random thoughts and ideas as they came to him. I was about halfway through when I stumbled across the words ‘Izidora is an empath’ written and underlined. My heart skipped a beat, body trembling as I searched the surrounding pages for any context or date to indicate when it was written, but nothing stood out. Empaths were extremely rare, and I only knew of one in history – a Crystal Fae who was killed for her gifts after she used them to influence the outcome of a war.
Fucking Fates, that was it, that was why Ruslan wanted her.
She was an empath, and a powerful one at that if she had imbued me with strength while Viktor and I had sparred. She not only possessed the ability to influence emotions – she could manipulate others’ actions. Her empathy was why her emotions were so tied to her magic and how she gained strength from embracing them.
Could her Angel blood enhance these abilities too?
I spent so many years searching for Izidora that I had only heard stories about the races who lived across the continents, and the only one I had met was a Wolf Shifter female whom we rescued all those years ago.
I flipped through the journal again, hoping to uncover other insights that might aid our efforts. My heart stopped at the last entry, and I read and re-read those words – the last ones my father ever wrote.
Kazimir, if you are reading this, then I am most likely dead. After your mother passed, my grief led me on a dark road, one that resulted in consulting a medium at the Crystal Realm, if only to hear Klariza’s voice one last time. Instead, I received a reading that foretold the date of my death. I never told you because I wanted you to live your life without constantly thinking about how many grains of sand remained in the hourglass. My heart is full knowing that you found your mate, even if neither of you has realized it yet. I am so proud of you, my son, for the strong, principled male you have become. The Goddess truly blessed me with you, and I want you to know how much I love you. I am eternally thankful for the years we spent together on the road, for not many fathers get the opportunity to spend so much time with their sons.
Remember who you are in your darkest moments, and you will always triumph.
My throat thickened and I swallowed hard as I wrangled for control with the sorrow that speared its way into my heart. Thememory of our last night together surfaced, reminding me how sad he had looked and how guilty I had felt for leaving him alone. He had been grieving the last moments of his life while I had assumed he had been missing my mother. I wished he had told me, but I understood why he kept it from me. He thought to give me this one last gift, knowing I would need to hear his words from beyond this life. A shudder wracked my body, and I closed the journal, placing it on the stool, only a breath away from succumbing to the anguish that wreaked havoc on my soul.
The heat surrounding me did nothing to warm the chill that settled deep in my bones.
Water splashed over the sides of the tub as I reached for my leather bags, digging through them until I found those scraps of lace I’d stolen from Izidora’s room at Este Castle before we departed. Bringing them to my nose, I inhaled deeply, her rosy scent so faint after all the times I’d buried myself in her.
