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Had Liliana revealed the contents of my note?
My stomach plummeted as Kazimir flicked his fingers, the imperceptible movement that signaled he was about to use his magic.
“Kaz–” I started, but was cut off when Viktor voiced his opinion.
“Vaenor is a month’s ride from here, so if the change was ‘recent,’ as you say, we would not have had sufficient notice to obtain the new paperwork. If I remember correctly, the Crystal Realm has a grace period for all new laws enacted to give ample time for word to spread throughout the large kingdom. Surely we fall within that grace period.”
The Crystal Fae’s eyes narrowed on him. “You still can’t prove who you are. How do I know you aren’t another group of refugees?”
Refugees?
With a flourish, Kazimir produced the Night Crown from his bag and placed it on his brow. “Isthisproof enough?” The emerald color in his eyes deepened to black, and I waited with bated breath to see if he would unleash his binding magic should the male challenge him again.
With a backward glance at his companions, the Crystal Fae grumbled and settled into his saddle. “Niilo, send a raven to Blire Palace immediately, notifying them of the king’s entry into the Crystal Realm.”
Kazimir made to move forward, and the archers lifted their bows in one smooth motion. “You haven’t been dismissed,” the leader said smoothly. Another soldier, Niilo I assumed, slid fromhis saddle and scribbled on a piece of parchment against his horse's hide. Then he opened a small cage hanging there, quickly securing the note to the leg of the bird inside, and threw the creature into the air.
The tension rolling off Kazimir was palpable, and I tried my best not to shift in my saddle as we waited for the Crystal Realm’s warriors to settle and release us. Niilo lifted his hands to the sky, and the bird zoomed away on the artificial wind propelling it. Once it was out of sight, the soldier remounted his horse, nodding to his commander.
“Right, here’s how it’s going to go. That raven has sent word into the Day Realm of your entry and that we will be escorting you until we reach the border. We’ve requested another unit to replace our station. Don’t try anything, or you won’t like what happens when you reach the Day Realm.” Without waiting for a response, he turned his horse and kicked him into a gallop.
The growl that rumbled from Kazimir’s chest was animalistic, though he spurred his horse on in pursuit of our escort’s leader. Viktor and I followed, the remaining Crystal Fae taking up position behind and around us as we raced around the foothills of the Agrenak Mountains.
I tightened my grip on my reins and glanced sidelong at Viktor. My oldest friend stared straight ahead, into Kazimir’s back, and refused to look at me. With gritted teeth, I returned my attention forward. I didn’t trust Kazimir not to unleash his binding magic on the Crystal Fae who would be escorting us, endangering Viktor and me. He cared for nothing and no one but himself these days, and maybe it was my lack of sleep, but I was running out of patience for it. Tired of walking on eggshells around him. Exhausted from biting my tongue.
I wanted my friend back, the one who’d lived at my house while Cazius was off searching for Izidora. The one who wasstrong, calm, brave. The one who’d earned my trust and loyalty in the years riding across the continent together.
Was he gone forever, or was there still a chance for him?
The question lingered, louder than the waterfalls and the hoofbeats in my mind, as we hugged the path through the Crystal Realm. Thank the Goddess it was a short one, otherwise, we might be fucked by the time we arrived at the Day Realm’s border.
8
Pain threaded through my teeth as I gritted them, forcing myself to take another step forward. The wood beams parallel with my forehead inched by as I fought with everything I had to just fucking reach the end of the training ring. Sweat soaked my hair, my clothes, my entire body as I managed to move my trembling muscles one last time before collapsing forward on hands and knees. My chest heaved from the force of my efforts, and cheers erupted around me, from the guards it seemed I’d sparred with only days before.
But it fucking wasn’t days since I’d held a sword and won my weight class at Béke.
The darkened crystal flared alongside my rage. Tears mixed with sweat and dropped onto the dusty ground beneath me as I lamented the loss of the strength I once had. Digging my nails into the dirt, I allowed that grief to flow through me and bend to my will, then shoved myself upright, swaying slightly.
I was not done yet.
Drazen, Ruslan, and Zuriel watched me with bated breath, but I ignored them and pushed on, the edge of the ring only steps away. Liliana stood there with another metallic cocktail ofDemon blood, and the moment I reached her, I snatched it and downed the entire glass. A trail of red joined with my sweat and tears, and I was grateful that my back was to the rest of the onlookers, because I was certain I looked insane.
“You did it!” Liliana exclaimed, overjoyed for my weakness. But her bubbly face fell as more tears did from my eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“I feel so helpless,” I ground out, blinking at the sky as I tried to regain control of my emotions. Even the sunny blue day couldn’t brighten my mood. It was my first summer out of the cave, and here I was, trying to jam together the pieces of me that wanted to shatter when I should have been laughing with my mate and enjoying the warm wind that gusted down from the mountains. I was weaker than I had been taking my first steps into the world beyond.
And here I thought I couldn’t regress any further than that.
She laughed and smacked me on the shoulder, causing me to jerk my head forward and shoot her a confused expression. “Of course you’re weak, you laid in bed for half a year. But you know what? You’re a fighter, and before the week is up, you’ll be ready for a sword again. We’ve got to show these dumb males who're really in charge here.”
Her unabashed confidence pulled a grin from me, and I swiped my face with the bottom of my tunic. “You’re right. They think they’re so powerful, but we can bring them to their knees anytime,” I quipped, some of the heaviness that clung to me like a winter cloak lifting.
“Exactly,” she giggled, glancing over my shoulder at the pack of males hovering like mother hens.
Zuriel’s melodic voice floated over the din of clashing swords and into my ear. “Well done, cousin. Ready for magic lessons now?”
“Ugh,” I replied, making a face and earning a snicker from Liliana. The three came into view as I faced them, stoking the white fire that wrapped itself protectively around the rest of my magic. At least the sun still made this new mixture of white and black undulate wildly in my chest. “Can I have something to eat first?” I groaned, my stomach making its wants known with a rumble loud enough to echo around the Agrenak Mountains.
