Page 34 of Phoenix Falling
“Basile, James, could you give us a moment?”
The males nodded and moved forward, blocking the path to give Grim and me some privacy. I turned my back to the crowd, facing my best friend.
“I am proud to stand at your side today, Sun.”
Grim’s hood hid most of his expression, but his words held a faith in me that I took to heart.
“I did not wake this morning prepared for this, Grim.” I thought back to the dream he’d awakened me from, and an ache settled in my chest. It would be days before I could get away to see Rissa again. No matter what Grim or anyone else thought, I did need the distraction of her, if for no other reason than to give me respite from the pressure of my current position.
My phoenix raised his head inside me, huffing out a breath. His certainty in Rissa, his belief that she was important, that we needed her, communicated itself to me.
“None of us know what we’ll face in a day, my friend. But you knew it would eventually come to this. And I cannot think of anyone I would trust more to follow.”
“I don’t want to do this alone.”
He settled a hand on my arm. “You aren’t.”
But it wasn’t Grim or Basile or James in my mind just then. It was Rissa. A tremor rippled through me—shock, surprise? I wasn’t sure, but whatever the emotion, the vision was impossible. Rissa was human, not Archai. She could never walk beside me as queen.
My phoenix thundered in protest. The scent and taste of smoke filled my mouth.
Grim’s eyes narrowed on me. “What was that thought?”
Grim would never intentionally intrude on my mind without permission, a fact I was grateful for in that moment. A female on the mind of the king? And a human female, at that. She could be considered fair game for examination as a threat to our people. I would never put Rissa in that position. I needed her for me, not for my people.
“Nothing to be concerned about.” Rissa was separate from my life with the Archai. She belonged to me alone.
“I hope not,” Grim said. “But should you need to discuss it, I will keep your confidence, Sun.”
For the first time ever, I doubted Grim’s words, not because he didn’t believe them—I was a hundred percent certain he did—but because on waking this morning, my life and priorities had been forcibly changed whether either of us liked it or not. Some parts of my life must now be kept separate, safe, where before they would have been considered inconsequential. Grim might not have thought that far ahead, but eventually he would.
With that thought, the first panel of a wall between myself and my former world settled into place. I squared my shoulders, took a deep, calming breath. Then, with one last look to Grim, I turned to face my people. And the chant that rose as I walked a path through them into the Arena only added to that barrier:
“The King is dead; long live the King!”
ChapterFifteen
DEMETRI
Ientered the dorm a couple of nights after the crowning, my heart racing and my palms actually sweating. I should wait, I knew I should wait, but something inside me couldn’t bear to, no matter how nervous I was. Nervous enough that Lyris took one look at me across the room and smirked.
“What’s got you so nervous, Dragon?”
“You know what’s got me nervous.”I’d never thought I’d be nervous over a female, not like this. I’d had relationships before, but no one had drawn me like Imogen. No one had ever felt this important. Who wouldn’t be nervous knowing they were taking the next step in a relationship like that, knowing they could mess it up?
Archai males were confident in most things, but when it came to females? Not so much.
“You’re not going to mess up,”Lyris said in my head, letting me know I’d been broadcasting her way without realizing it.“Now get over there and ask her to dinner, for goodness’ sake.”
I took a deep breath at my twin’s command, and when I let it out, I felt my body relax. Lyris knew me so well; she would know how important this was. If she had faith in me…
“Demetri,”she grumbled in my head.
“I’m going, I’m going!”
Imogen sat across the wide room on her bunk, a book in her hand, a slight smile playing across her lips. She looked so innocent like that, so young. And yet my soul cried out for hers, no matter how long a life I’d lived.
I reached the edge of the bed, and Imogen looked up.
