Page 58 of Blood of Two Crowns

Lokus’ brows leapt further. “Do you wanna know the last timethatmale gave me a hug?”

I smirked, already knowing where this was going. “Let me guess. Was it the last time youweren’ta dickhead?”

Pomona and Val snorted their laughter, and I even heard Nakoa chuckle behind me as he finally dried his eyes enough to face them.

Lokus narrowed his eyes, lips twitching. “You make a fair point,drakonati.”

Chapter

Thirty-One

NAKOA

Icouldn’t help but be impressed when Keres successfullyfoldedmy entireolana kah’hei,Rumiel,Zurie, Malekai,anda whole boat to the Kahlohani Islands. Zurie wore a tight expression as she stepped up beside me. “Your court will want you killed for this. The Lords and Ladies…”

“Mycourt,” I remind her, gesturing to myolana kah’hei, “would do no such thing.Yourcourt is welcome to try, but I doubt they’ve already forgotten that I was the one killingthem.”

Zurie nodded, some of the tension draining from her body, and stepped back into Keres’ arms. My gaze drifted to myolana kah’hei,and all of their eyes were already fixed on me and shining with unmistakable pride.

Pomona stepped forward, placing her small yet calloused hand on my chest.“You did it.”

I curled my fingers around her palm, my chest filling with overwhelming gratitude and love. It eased some of the crushing pain in my chest that Mareina wasn’t here with me to witness this. The culmination of all the sacrifice and suffering swelled in Pomona’s eyes as she looked up at me, and I felt mine burn in response.

“Wedid it,” I whispered between us.

She gave me a watery smile, causing a tear to descend the apple of her rosy, freckled cheek. I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the top of her head before giving the rest of myolana kah’heia nod of gratitude. Sending a prayer up toAkashin gratitude for them, I also asked that I would one day be able to do for them everything they’d done for me. For our cause.

I turned to find Malekai waiting by the rail of the quarterdeck, staring out at the wasteland that had become the Kahlohani Islands with a dour expression.

Earlier, I’d accompanied him, Rumiel, Keres, and Zurie to lead a group of our soldiers to each of the islands to evacuate and free the remaining slaves. I’d wanted Zurie to see firsthand what she’d done. The poverty, the hunger, the mostly barren and rotting land, the gaunt look in everyone’s eyes- including the fae she had running the islands and enforcing her slavery.

Some of them had been happy to pledge their allegiance to me, even if it meant serving out sentences of indentured servitude in mines for as long as three decades, depending on how long and how much they’d aided in enforcing the slavery on my islands. A few of them, however, had taken one look at me and my demon-esque features and vehemently refused.

Mareina’s words, spoken not so long ago, echoed in my mind.

“… If you wanttrueloyalty, you will help them.”

But as I’d looked them in their hate-filled eyes, I also realized that there were some who didn’t want to be helped. I dealt them mercifully swift deaths and fed the beasts of the Kahlohani seas with their corpses.

Throughout all of this, I’d anticipated a cool indifference from her. Instead, Rumiel and I had felt remorse and anguish pouring off her in waves.

My pity for her, however, remained rather nonexistent. What else did she expect? What had she thought slavery would look like? Did she think exploiting the land, overharvesting, andleaching the soil of all of its nutrients wouldn’tkillthe island itself?

Even Keres had worn a torn, but no doubt admonishing look on her face.

This was my first time returning to the islands since the war. I knew things were horrific, but seeing it all first-hand after so many years… Words could not describe the simmering rage burning in my chest. It made me want to kill Zurie all over again.

She’s the only one who can open the portal.

I hadn’t even asked her yethow.And I didn’t care so long as she did it.

“Are you ready?” I asked, approaching Malekai from behind. He turned to face me, unmistakable guilt weighing his expression.

“I’m sorry, Nakoa.”

I nodded, taking in his pained expression. “I know.”

While he hadn’t outrightly enforced the slavery here, he’d still served Zurie in nearly all the ways she’d asked. As had Mareina. Apparently, it was easy for most people to ignore what remained unseen. It had worked in Zurie’s favor that the islands were far enough away to remain out of sight and out of mind from anyone who might otherwise care where aetra came from.

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