Ella
Amanda shifts her weight beside me as we stare up into the ceiling of the remains of the observatory.
After I destroyed Ravenna’s crystal castle in Old Moonrise to save my friends’ lives, I offered to have this palace rebuilt.
The mystics refused–flat out.
They said it was a gift and a message from the Goddess that the orrery survived the devastation. It sits in the remains of the palace, warded by Ryatt’s powers against the elements, and has a view of the night sky as I wait for the mystics to arrive. Metal arms twirl in a circle, holding up the planets of our solar system–the moon and the stars around it.
This room has been the meeting place of the mystic’s for millenia, since long before the veil ever came down around Eastonia.
And one thing I’ve learned about the mystics during my time in Eastonia is that they cannot handle change.
A w
KennaNight falls, and Evander and I haven’t said a word to each other. In fact, he’s been pretty much unseen for most of the dozen or so miles we hiked today, all of which were done with me blanketed in my shadow and him running somewhere in his fox form.Or wolf form. I honestly have no idea. All I know is that whatever happened between us last night has made us both unwilling or unable to even look at each other.I know better, which is the worst part. I know better than to kiss a friend and think everything will go back to the way it was before. That’s like, a cardinal rule in friendship between opposite sexes, right?Maybe it did go back to the way it was before, actually, because now we’re not speaking, and I have no idea where he is or what he’s up to.I let my shadow fade and huff out a breath as I come to a full stop in a moon-soaked clearing, my legs aching and feet blistered a
EvanderFlynn and Connor found us right in time. I feel like I’m hanging on to the only shred of self control I have left, and the guilt of keeping the truth of what’s building between me and Kenna is eating me alive.Flynn, thankfully, has taken over entertaining Kenna. For the past day, we’ve been traveling as wolves with Kenna riding on my back, but we’re closing in on the border between the Highlands and the Roguelands now, and we paused to take a break, and Kenna demanded to walk.So, we’re walking, and I’m watching Kenna and Flynn tease each other, and I’ve been purposefully slowing my pace to give them more space.They get along, and while his obvious flirting grates at every single one of my nerves, she’s smiling. She’s also giggling and blushing as Connor, and I walk a few yards behind them down a rough trail leading out of the heavily wooded mountains.&
KennaI just killed someone. I watch the unfamiliar man twitch on the ground as foam bubbles from his mouth. His eyes glaze over–eyes I wonder if he inherited from his mom… or dad. I wonder if someone who loves him is waiting on him to come home. If he has a mate and children. Brothers, sisters….I tear my gaze from the dead man and look out over the dark forest at the shadows creeping toward me. There’s more of them. More men. More Rebels. We’re being attacked. My body acts on instinct as my mind tries to catch up to what just happened, and I whirl to where I saw Evander get stabbed repeatedly while he just–he just stood there and took it. He stood there, screaming my name as I got carried away and didn’t even blink when he was being brutalized because I…“You’re distracting in every way….”His words from the night we kissed in Tiscoln rush through my head as I take a single step in his direction but pause. He’s not moving. His chest isn’t moving. Oh, my Goddess. No. No. No,
Kenna“You’re not jumping like this,” Dad says sharply as he slams the door shut in the room he just booked for me in an inn in Opal Hill.I tuck my trembling hands behind my back and squeeze my fingers to stop them from shaking. He spirited us here, thank the Goddess. If I had to spend another second in Evander’s company, I would have lost control of my already exhausted powers, but I’m still on the verge of dropping into my shadow, and Dad knows something is wrong.His silver eyes–the same shape and shade as mine–hold my gaze with an intensity that makes me want to look away and submit, but I stand my ground.“I want to go home.”“To
EvanderI have the urge to yank Kenna into a sitting room, or a closet, or a fucking darkened hallway the second my feet hit the ground in Moonrise.I can’t, though. Not when our mothers are barreling toward us, and their faces are drawn with so much worry that it could easily break my heart, if I still had a heart to break.I let go of Kenna’s hand and feel the absence of her touch like another blade in my side.But my mom throws herself against me and sobs.I slowly wrap my arms around her, resting my chin on the top of her head. The throne room takes shape all around me–the soft cream curtains, the murals on the walls and the ceiling, the windows overlooking the lake.
Kenna“Don’t say anything else,” Evander growls. The sanctuary of the willow tree darkens to the point I can barely see his eyes gleaming in the faint moonlight filtering through the leaves. He takes a step toward me, trying to close the distance between us again. “We have to. You don’t want this.”“You have no idea what I want.”“Then tell me,” I cut in, my breath catching. “Because I can’t–I can’t pretend like everything is okay anymore. What do you want? If it’s not me, then we need to reject each other!”“I want you. I want you more than anything, Kenna. You are all I think about. You are on my mind every second of every day–the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I think about before I fall asleep and dream about you. I can’t get you out of my head.”“That’s what the mate bond is, isn’t it? An all consuming, wholly encompassing–”“The way I feel about you has nothing to do with the mate bond.”My mind goes blank. All I can see is him, and all I can hear are his
EvanderI’d walk off a cliff if there was one nearby. I’m sure if I ran deep enough into what was once called the Deadlands–the old home of creatures like rogues–I’d find the swift death I’m looking for. Instead, I’m drunk in an inn somewhere in the Roguelands… but not nearly drunk enough to wash the taste of every word I said to Kenna out of my mouth.The inn is full of warriors from all three major kingdoms. The Tarsian warriors are notable by their sandy colored leathers and desert sun-tanned skin. It’s interesting to watch them confer with the Rogueland warriors, of course. The allyship between the Tarsian and the Roguelands is precarious, based wholly on how Alpha King Ryatt and Alpha King Jaxon feel about each other at the moment. Queen Ella split Eastonia in two during the first years of her reign, giving Jaxon full authority of the lands past the river that once walled the Roguelands off from the lost city of Rifthold. I’ve heard Alpha Jaxon likes to hold the fact Alpha K
KennaI’m not sure how two weeks have already passed since Evander and I fought in the shelter of the willow tree. Two entire weeks. I haven’t heard from him or seen him since that night, and maybe that’s for the best.I let my heartache turn to a dull chill that’s carried me on a wave of numbness. I walk the golden halls of the castle. I walk the gardens and city streets. I meet with friends for brunch along the shore of the lake and work at the midwifery clinic any chance I can get.I keep my hands busy with babies and preparations for the Rite.I keep my mind hollow and honed on maps and the paperwork covering my mom’s desk.I keep a smile on my face anytime I stand in front of my parents' magic mirror, listening to my dad fill my mom in on the movements of the allied armies now gathering in the Roguelands with him at the helm.In the past week, thousands of warrior
ColeMisty falls into a dead sleep in my arms on Georgia’s old bed. I can’t sleep. I try, but it’s useless tonight. I’m not sure about leaving her here alone, so I bide my time, sliding out of bed and tucking her in tight before standing by the window and watching the square below as the fires turn to embers and warriors go back to wherever their comrades are bunking down for the night. Maybe it was selfish of me to take Misty here, to sleep in an actual bed, while warriors are literally sleeping outside in the square. The room starts to close in on me, and I make the snap decision to leave. The dorm is mostly empty. A few students mill about, their faces marred with confusion. Students who survived the attack but didn’t get away from Richard and his magic. Students who were turned into voiceless, mindless warriors and remember nothing of the weeks they spent in Richard’s clutches. With our bond back in place, I can sense that she’s still asleep, still safe, as I cross the square.
MistyCole doesn’t let go of my hand. He hasn’t since we left the infirmary, and I walked on unsteady legs for the first time in days, my healing powers finally reigniting to speed through the damage done by using every ounce of my powers to close the portal. He didn’t let go of my hand when Sydney whisked us through space and time to the tropical forest that hugs Serpentia, where the trees are so thick it blocks the moonlight on the forest floor. His fingers are knitted between mine, holding tight, as I follow Sydney, Ryan, and Aviva down a fresh wolf trail and into a clearing on a bluff with a view of Serpentia, and the battlefield. Ella’s kneeling at the edge of the bluff, Ryatt standing beside her, leaning down with a hand on her shoulder. Dad stands nearby, his head lowered as he runs his fingers through his hair repeatedly, his eyes locked on… on the clothing in the clearing. Cole lets go of my hand, falling in step with Ryan and Aviva, while I step forward with Sydney in s
RyanThree Days LaterTarsian is gone. That’s the only way to describe it. The cities, the packs… it’s nothing but endless, blood-stained desert now. Even the sea lapping against the shores of Serpentia is stained a dark red, but I watch it fade as I stand on what’s left of a deck overlooking the ocean. Behind me, the incessant chatter of the injured and healing overwhelm the sound of the waves. A few people walk along the sand–warriors of different ranks and alliances. A young man in tattered Arcane Umbra armor talks to a group of men in armor from the Roguelands, reunited with old friends. The curse is gone. The soldiers the Umbra Mortis turned into his puppets, his monsters, well… so far, they have no memory of the war, which is a blessing. The rest of us remember, though. How could we ever forget what happened here? How are we possibly going to move on? “Ryan?”I turn toward Kenna’s voice as she steps toward me, edging around a group of nurses from Moonrise here to help treat
ColeI choke myself awake. Smoke fills my lungs, smothering my senses for precious seconds I quickly realize I don’t have. Muffled voices fill my ears–a few shouts of pain, of surprise. People are calling out for friends and comrades.I’m not in the afterlife. I know that immediately. Pain echoes through my body like waves, driven by the tide of my heartbeat as my body claws back to life, my chest wounds knitting together in real time. But my hand is freezing. I squeeze the fingers tangled in mine and jolt back to reality, rolling with effort to curl my body around Misty. “No,” I breathe into her hair. “Come–Come back.” I can’t feel her anymore. My hand slides up to her neck, my fingers trembling as I feel for her pulse. It’s there, but barely. A weak thump that pauses for several heartbreaking seconds. “H-Help!” I try to shout the word into existence, but my voice cracks painfully, turning into a scream. “HELP!”Figures rush toward us in a blur. The battlefield erupts into view, sh
MistyI land on my feet in a sea of mist. Silver fog snakes around my ankles, around my glimmering armour made of pure light. For a moment, I think I’m… lost within the aether–in the misty, shadowed undercurrent that separates our realm from the Goddess’s kingdom. But wet grass squishes beneath my boots as I stumble forward, breathless, damn near in pieces. Rain pelts the top of my head as I grope for anything to grab onto before I careen toward the ground. I yelp as my body lands with a thud. Thunder booms, followed by its rolling echo as it bounces toward me. The rain fizzles to a gentle whisper as the mist begins to part. A great stone wall comes into view, and then two voices carry toward me, lifted in alarm. I sit up with great effort, kneeling as I gasp for breath that won’t fill my lungs. I slowly lift my head and see two women–one young and… stunning, with long, blonde hair and ocean blue eyes that seem to glow as she holds my gaze, her lips parted in surprise. The seco
Cole“Undo it,” I tell him. “Take the curse back and reinstate order.”He purses his lips to a thin line, confused. “But, Cole, I can’t. It’s not something you can just… stop. Think about it. Use that big brain of yours. Do you see this place? Tarsian is so much bigger than the rest of Eastonia. Riches beyond belief lay below the sand. There used to be mines and forges here, mines that pulled silver and moonstone from the ground and forges that turned that into magic. Yet, in our time, the magic is hoarded by the royals–the Allied Kings.” He sweeps his hand toward the battle. “But not anymore. Once I open the gate, it’s over. This world will be no more. You can come with me, Cole. Be a god instead of a king.”“You can’t, Richard. You failed. Misty is safe, with her family. You needed her to do this.”He smiles a bit sadly, but his eyes flare with mischief. “Yes, she is. Such a shame, really. It would have been easier to do it with her help. Quicker, less leg work for me.” He opens the
Misty“Forgive me, please,” I say to Mom as we walk side by side to the war room, which is really just a massive training area at the very base of the castle. “I know I just got back…hours ago….”“Bring them back for me,” she replies sadly, her hand ghosting down my back. She stops at the staircase leading to the furthest depths of the castle. I turn to face her, and she tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear. “I’m okay here. I’ll keep the kids happy and comfortable.”That’s my mom’s power. Being the leader of this family. She has a knack for bringing everyone together, keeping everyone loved and… whole. I pull her into a hug and squeeze. “I’ll come home again, I promise. I’ll be bringing my mate home with me in time for Solstice, I promise.”Her tears fall into my hair. I reluctantly let her go and turn for the stairs, refusing to look back. I have to look forward–only forward–if I’m going to get through this. Ella’s already in the armory, sorting weapons, her eyes locked on her tas
MistyEverything else is a blur. Aviva’s screamed words. Ella’s rushed explanations. Grandma taking me by the shoulders and leading me away, tucking me in a sitting room somewhere in the depths of the castle. I barely feel her arm on my shoulder. I barely register sitting down in a chair, holding the bloody pages in my lap and watching the firelight dance over the untidy scrawl I know so well. I sit there for what could be hours. Eventually, I’m joined by Sarah and Kenna… and then Aviva. Still, I haven’t read the letter. I’ve read my name, addressed at the top of the first page, over and over again. This is his final goodbye, and I’m not ready to accept that. “What are we supposed to do?” Kenna grinds out. “The reports coming out of Tarsian are–”“I don’t fucking care what they are!” Sarah’s voice pitches with fury. “The father of my sons is fighting for his fucking life right now, Kenna.”“My mate, too!” Kenna shouts. “But we’ve been told to stay, to be prepared to defend Moonrise
MistyI wait in the hallway for Luke, not believing he’s actually here, in Moonrise, in the same place I currently am. Eventually, he’s escorted around a corner by two of Ella’s royal guards. His eyes go wide when he sees me, his cheeks flushing. “Misty–”“Luke,” I whisper, trying to smile at him, but my heart is skittering out of my chest. He glances at the guards before taking several swift steps ahead of them to reach my side. I pull him across the hallway to a set of windows and benches overlooking the city of Moonrise, now bathed in afternoon light. “You got out,” he says in disbelief. “I heard that you had, but I didn’t believe it–”“Is Georgia safe?” “Yes, she’s with her family. Her father’s fighting, but she and her mother went to Crescent Falls–”“What did Cole have you working on in the castle?” I rush out. “I was supposed to help you with it but never got the chance.”He pulls a small, oval object out of his jacket pocket and hands it to me. “It’s a cryptex. He said it wa