Page 129 of Clash of Kingdoms

“I love you too,” Kingsnake said to me as he clapped me on the back. He pulled away, his eyes slightly wet.

Larisa came next and hugged me around the neck. “I love you.” She kissed me on the cheek before she stepped away.

Viper followed her, having the same stony expression I wore, locking his emotions behind iron gates better than the rest. “I love you, brother.” He gave me a hug.

I patted him on the back then looked at Cobra.

“This really sucks…but I’m happy for you.” He hugged me harder than all the others.

I gripped him back. “Thank you.” I sniffed and let him go.

Clara came last, hesitant because she knew how I felt toward her kind.

But I let it go and hugged her. “Take care of my brother. You’re the only person he listens to.”

She relaxed in my hold and hugged me back. “I will. Take care, Aurelias.” She moved away.

“Let us know when the wedding is,” Kingsnake said. “We wouldn’t miss it.”

I nodded. “I will.” I looked at them all again, knowing there was nothing else to do but get on the ship and sail away. “We’ll visit. I promise.”

“I know,” Kingsnake said. “We’ll visit too.” He forced back his emotions as best as he could—not for himself, but for me. “Have a safe journey.”

I turned away from my family, walked up the ramp to the deck of the ship, and then felt my body shift and rock with the waves that bobbed in the harbor. The crew removed the ropes that tied the ship to the dock, and the galleon immediately started to drift out to sea, the wind filling the black sails instantly.

I moved to the edge to see them standing on the dock, waving to me, forced smiles on their faces.

The heat seared the backs of my eyes, and when they were too far away to see the features of my face, I finally let the tears fall down my cheeks.

TWENTY-NINE

AURELIAS

After the ship took me to shore, I grabbed my horse and rode across the frozen landscape toward the passage that connected the bottom of the cliffs to the top. There was snow on the ground, and now the cold affected me far more than it did before. I rode hard, sticking to the shore where the snow was less deep, and then cut across the land once the cliffs were in sight.

The ramp was narrow with sharp turns, so I had to take this at a walk, but as I rose higher in elevation, I started to feel the change in temperature. It grew warmer the higher I rose, the cold now a distant memory.

When I reached the top, the castle of Delacroix was in sight. The grass was green, and the trees were in bloom. But the light was fading fast, and if I wanted to be there before dark, I’d have to ride hard down the path. It was the same place where Harlow and I had stood together and debated our next move. I’d wanted to take her to the docks so I could get a ship away from this land, but she’d tricked me into returning to Delacroix.

That trick was the reason I was there at that very moment.

I rode down the dirt path, passing merchants with carts as they hurried to get inside the gates of the city before dark. The gates were open, so I rode straight through them and handed my horse to the stable hand. Most of them recognized me and stared a little too hard, like they knew I had changed but couldn’t determine how.

I walked into Delacroix, taking the long path up the hill toward the castle. Huntley and his family might still be in HeartHolme, but I suspected they had returned once the war was over to rebuild their other Kingdoms.

Once I would have known if Harlow were here because I would have been able to feel her mind. Now I felt nothing.

When I reached the gates, the guards let me enter without question, knowing exactly who I was.

I entered the castle, the grand stairs before me, the stone walls shielding me from the sunlight. But I realized it didn’t burn anymore. It actually felt nice. I could head straight to Harlow’s bedroom in the hope that she was there, reading on the couch or staring at the village from her open window.

But I turned to the right, heading to Huntley’s study instead.

The door was cracked open, and he sat behind his desk, scribbling a note with a hurried hand. He finished it quickly then rolled up the parchment and dropped it into a copper tube to send to the aviary. He seemed distracted because he didn’t notice me standing on the threshold. Or perhaps his guard was just down because the war was over and peace had returned to their lands.

I knocked on the open door.

Huntley’s eyes immediately flicked up to mine, cold like he expected me to be a guard who had interrupted him. But when he realized it was me, his entire body went still, including his eyes. Several seconds passed of intense eye contact, and then all the muscles in his body relaxed in surprise.

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