AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I know, me too.”
The announcer’s enhanced voice cut through our conversation, and I heard our three names being called to the first ring. Swiping at my wet eyes, I cleared my throat and straightened, facing Liliana and Domi with a determination to forget Kazimir and allow myself to be free atop Mistik’s back.
“May the best rider win,” Domi grinned, swinging into her mount’s saddle.
Her banter brought a smile to my lips, and as I mounted Mistik again, I replied, “I see some tough competition out there, Domi. But I’m still confident in my abilities.”
Liliana snorted, arriving at our level a moment later atop Twilight. “As long as it’s one of us and not those dumb brutes, I don’t care who wins.”
“Together?” I asked, grinning at my friends.
“Together,” they replied.
27
Béke Day Six
The excitement in the thoughts of every person in attendance at the horse riding competition was like a torrent of rain against the mental barrier around my mind. If it weren’t for centuries of practice keeping everyone out, it would have crumbled under the onslaught. Squeezing my eyes shut, I poured more magic from the light in my chest into the barrier, sighing in relief when the world quietened.
The other Telivér who chose to remain in the Iron Realm perched on borrowed beasts beside me, the group of us watching the scene unfold as riders mounted their horses and prepared to race through the obstacles.
Ruslan had just announced the start of the events, and as he descended from the stage, he searched for Izidora among the crowd. But my cousin was on the far side of the arena with her friends, all speaking with their heads bent close together. Their group was called first, and with her head held high, Izidora rode into the ring. I knew my cousin well enough to know that she was not as okay as she pretended to be, and with bated breath,I waited for her to begin the course. Ruslan watched her with the same intensity, and as I swung my surveillance to our right, Kazimir joined the other Night Fae and zeroed in on her as well.
The three of them were like anchor points for my attention, Izidora’s heart-shaped face flush with excitement and exhilaration as she cleared obstacle after obstacle, Ruslan’s pride as he beamed in her direction, and Kazimir’s fury that tasted bitter in my mouth.
He did not know of Ruslan and Izidora’s new mating bond, of that I was certain. If he had, he would have blown the whole realm apart already. I knew without having to slip into either of their minds that they’d accepted it; the way they looked at each other reminded me so much of Liessa and Ithuriel, and my chest panged at the memories of their tragic romance. My uncle told me he’d never been happier in his two and a half millennia of life, and I believed him when his glacial eyes sparkled with joy. The mating mark he bore between his wings was his greatest source of pride.
It was also his downfall. King Zalan was cruel, narcissistic, and controlling in a way that made even my skin crawl, and his presence at a prior Béke had already solidified my dislike. I didn’t think it was possible to hate someone more than I hated King Azim, but when he forced Liessa and Ithuriel to fuck in front of him while he pinned her down, I knew there was no one I could hate more.
Then I watched him rip Ithuriel’s wings from his back, leaving only bloody stumps in his wake. Ithuriel lost the ability to magic them away, leaving him in excruciating pain until he finally died shortly after Izidora was born. I knew then that he had joined Liessa in the beyond, and for that, I felt relief.
I waited for my cousin to emerge from wherever the wicked kings kept her, ready to help her win the war I had known was approaching for over two thousand years. It wasn’t until I’darrived in Északi that I understood the part I was to play in the Goddess’s Prophecy, and it kept me here even when Rares and King Azim wanted to use me for their ‘experiments.’
At least they’d given my partners and me the courtesy of privacy, unlike what King Zalan did to Liessa and Ithuriel.
The transformation in Ruslan since Izidora had returned with him to the Iron Realm gave me hope for the future of Északi. I had tried to remain as neutral as possible, knowing Izidora needed the space to work out her choice on her own, but secretly, I had rooted for Ruslan. I didn’t know Kazimir, but after what I had witnessed since his arrival with the other Night Fae, I didn’t care to know him either. My lips pressed together as I glanced sidelong at him once again; he was staring daggers at Ruslan. If I had reached out with my mind to read his, his thoughts would have been centered on regicide, without a doubt.
He was manipulative, obsessed, and volatile in a way Ruslan never was with Izidora. Not to mention the ego he carried like a badge of honor. How his companions did not see the darkness lurking within was beyond my comprehension. Why they allowed him to become their king and rule over them was even more so.
Mind reading was not a perfect science, but rather an art, and to remain undetected in someone’s mind took incredible skill; it was a secret I had shared with no one but Ithuriel. The corner of my mouth twitched upward as I recalled Izidora’s refusal to utilize her empath magic to render her opponent immobile. Stubbornly upholding our values must have run in the family.
These days, I almost refused to slip into someone’s mind to read their thoughts, preferring to interact with those around me on equal ground. Besides, after over two thousand years of life, people were predictable, and their thoughts grew boring and repetitive. But Kazimir’s mind was a complex web that I had barely begun to untangle, and I needed to know what heand his companions had planned during their travel to the Iron Realm. The Night, Crystal, and Day Fae had arrived as a group, and I suspected there was a united army behind them. Whether his army was fracturing with every one of Kazimir’s slip-ups remained to be seen.
It wasn’t a matter ofifwar was coming, but a matter ofwhen.
And then it would be time for me to play my part.
My attention was drawn away from my inner thoughts when a cheer rose through the crowd of onlookers. Even one of the Demons released a whoop as Liliana, Izidora’s best friend, sailed over an incredibly difficult jump that had tripped up every previous rider. Though her perfection cost her precious seconds, moments after she crossed the finish line her name appeared directly next to my cousin’s on the magically enhanced scoreboard towering over the arena. Only their other companion, Domi, was ahead of the two, and the group cheered together as Liliana leaped from her black mount.
The Telivér were called to compete next, and I dug my heels into my horse’s side, opting for the higher level course Izidora and her friends had ridden through, while many of the Shifters opted for the lower level course, and Konsteon, a Centaur Shifter, leaped over the obstacles in the middle ring. The time I’d lived was more than enough to perfect the sport, and as I sucked in a deep breath at the starting line, I rubbed my mount’s shoulder, offering him some encouragement. He tossed his head, tensing beneath me as he prepared to launch into action.
The horn sounded, and we were off, wind whipping through my white locks of hair as we sailed over the first jump, landing lightly and angling toward the next. The stallion flew along the course as if he had Angel wings holding him aloft, and I lost myself in the flow of jump, gallop, turn, jump, until the largest one loomed ahead. Pulling up lightly on the reins, I slowed my mount, allowing him time to gather his haunches beneath himand launch us into the air, his hooves clearing the bar with a breath to spare. We raced to the finish line, slowing to a walk only after we’d cleared it. I patted his neck in praise as I studied our completion time and points. We clocked in a few seconds behind Izidora and her friends, and I guided my mount to the side, waiting for the rest of the Telivér to finish their turns.
My chest swelled with pride. The Telivér did not hide from the world as we had been forced to for so many years at the behest of King Azim and Rares. No one seemed to mind or treat us any differently, save for a few of the Night Fae, and for that, a spark of hope rose from within that this war would not be like the Great War between the Angels and Demons. One day, in the history books, they would call this the Age of Innovation, where the world changed for the better thanks to the brilliant minds of a few, most of whom held mixed blood and brimmed with power.
But all changes like this came with a steep cost; lives and blood were the usual payment, along with a measure of trauma and lingering strife.
Izidora waved me over once the last of the Telivér finished, and I tugged on the reins to direct the stallion in her direction.
