Page 130 of Slaying the Shadow Prince
‘So, no hard feelings between us?’ Talemir asked tentatively.
‘If you’re good enough for Drue and Adrienne, you’re good enough for me. I hear even the damn bird likes you.’
Talemir huffed a laugh. ‘Well, he’s supposed to be a decent judge of character, I’m told.’
But Dratos was still staring after Wilder. ‘If it matters… I think you did the right thing.’
Talemir gave him a grateful look. ‘I hope so.’
A short time later,Talemir stood face to face with Fendran Emmerson, doing his utmost to stop himself shifting nervously from foot to foot. It was an outdated notion as far as he was concerned, but the Naarvians he had spoken to still respected the tradition.
But before Talemir could open his mouth, Fendran gripped his hand firmly. ‘My daughter hasn’t needed my permission or blessing for anything in a long time, nor would I be fool enough to try to impose either upon her,’ he declared, his voice gravelly. ‘But for what it’s worth, Warsword – shadow-touched or not, you make her happy, and that’s all a father can ask for.’
Talemir’s heart felt tender, both from Wilder’s outburst and Fendran’s kindness, but even more so from the sheer hope that now swelled there. The shadows upon Naarva were gone for the moment, and he and the people like him had a future ahead of them.
He watched Drue say tearful goodbyes to Adrienne and her father, while Gus took an inelegant tumble from his horse, his wings still interfering with his balance. Luckily, he was joining their party on the journey to the old university, and there would be time enough to teach the boy how to move with them, not against them.
When at last the company separated, Drue came to his side, her eyes bright with tears, but happiness too.
Talemir took her reins from her and passed them and his own to Dratos with a grateful smile.
‘What are you doing?’ Drue asked. ‘We’re about to ride out…?’
Talemir grinned, tugging his shirt over his head and looping it through his belt.
Drue blushed. ‘Uh… As much as I enjoy the view, is now the —’
‘I thought you might like to go ahead of the company,’ he said, calling his wings forth. They speared through the muscles of his back, only this time, there was no pain.
They flared proudly behind him.
Slowly, Drue smiled at him in realisation. ‘You want to fly…?’ She stared in wonder.
Talemir took her up in his arms, pressing a kiss to her lips. ‘With you? Always.’
He braced his knees and launched them skyward, eliciting a shriek of delight from Drue as she clung to him, grinning from ear to ear. The crisp air kissed their skin and tangled in their hair, the white clouds close enough to touch.
‘Hold tight, Wildfire,’ Talemir murmured.
And together, they soared east, towards a new home, a new future, a new hope.
Epilogue
TALEMIR
Six months later…
Amid the fallen kingdom of Naarva, on the island to the northeast, blue jasmine, sun orchids and midnight roses bloomed. Hidden among the vines, the university, which had slipped into disrepair, was in the slow process of being restored, but as evening settled, work ceased and made way for something else.
Talemir Starling gazed out onto the quadrangle, the sandstone pillars wrapped in flowers, candlelight illuminating the small podium at the far end where he was expected in just a few brief moments. His chest swelled as he took in the aisle, soft shadows drifting along it like gentle wisps of smoke.
‘Nervous?’ Dratos asked with a grin. The shadow-touched ranger sat on a nearby window ledge, wings tucked behind him as he chewed on his pipe. Over the last six months, he’d been instrumental to the progress of their little colony and the restoration of the university. He had helped Talemir with the others, with those who weren’t as accepting of their darkness. Dratos was perfect for that, because he’d embraced his own with all his heart and was rarely seen without his wings or shadows dancing around him. But however helpful he was, he was also a pain in the arse. He’d taken to calling Talemir the ‘Shadow Prince’, rather than the Prince of Hearts, and had grandly dubbed himself Dratos the Dawnless.
‘No,’ Talemir replied, accepting a swig from the former ranger’s flask. It was the truth. He had been waiting for this day since the moment he’d clapped eyes on Drue Emmerson.
But that didn’t mean there wasn’t a subtle, bittersweet note to the occasion. Only because Talemir wished Wilder were there with him. He hadn’t seen or heard from his protégé since the battle, and though he’d never admit it to the younger warrior, it felt like a little piece of him was missing.
Neither of them, upon taking their Warsword vows, had ever envisioned a day where they might make new vows, deeper and longer-lasting than those of the Great Rite. It felt wrong that Wilder wasn’t here to witness such a feat.
