Page 112 of Chaos and Destiny
Fen slugged him in the shoulder. “Any ideas?” he asked Lichen.
“Yes, actually. I’d wager it’s your magic calling to you.”
“So, you do think I have some?”
“It would make sense,” he answered.
“But we’ve tried everything, and I can’t get to it.”
“Perhaps it just isn’t time yet,” he said, closing his notebook.
“Maybe now that you know what it is, it won’t happen.”
I didn’t mention that the nightmares didn’t happen when Fen was touching me. I wondered if he had figured it out though. Because he always took watch when I did and always slept right beside me.
“Let’s get to sleep,” Fen said. “Tomorrow looks to be a very long day.”
I laid out my blanket and covered myself with my cloak, closing off the cold in the air. Fen laid his out beside me, but within minutes, he was under my cloak and throwing his blanket over the top of us. He had done his best to filter his magic, slowly keeping us all warm as we traveled, but each day he grew more tired, his eyes more wary. I snuggled in close to him and felt his warm breath caress my neck, the sensation trickling down my spine as he yawned. Keeping us warm was draining him. He slept so soundly when he could and never seemed fully rested in the morning. I was sure when this was all over with, he’d need to sleep for days. Apparently, that’s how magic worked.
“Are you okay?” I whispered to him.
“Just tired.” He yawned.
He wrapped himself around me, and within minutes his breathing had slowed. I could hear my mother’s voice warning me. I shouldn’t trust anyone. We had come leaps and bounds from that first day in the forest, but the rush of feelings? I wasn’t ready. I never wanted to be mated, but I hadn’t thought I wanted to fall in love either. Still, Fen was starting to feel like home. And it wasn’t just him. It was all of them. They had grown on me.
I woke to Kai shaking us.
“Time to go,” he said, ever the chipper fae.
I rotated in Fen’s arms and trailed a finger down his ear until he smiled and opened his eyes. Our noses were nearly touching, and he pulled me in closer.
“Good morning, beautiful Ara,” he said.
“Good morning, Princey Poo. Time to go slay those dragons for me.”
“Lead the way, Princess.”
We walked through the plan one more time and stood together as a group watching the dragons for longer than I think any of us had planned. Saying we were going to just easily travel through them was a lot more difficult than actually doing it.
Eventually, Greeve came up behind me. “Ready?”
Fen squeezed my hand. “Wait. Maybe I should go first. Just in case it doesn’t work out the way we think it will.”
“Honestly, Fen. Ara could kick your ass. If anyone is going to slay a dragon today, it’s going to be her,” Kai said.
“And besides,” Wren added. “You have to take over an entire kingdom one day. It’s not like your life isn’t important also.”
He nodded but yanked me into his arms for one last hug. I could feel his desperate heartbeat before Greeve grabbed my hand and cleaved me away. I closed my eyes and wished for it all to be over as soon as possible. The wind was disorientating, and I didn’t particularly care for this means of travel, other than it was fast and hopefully undetectable to the winged beasts.
We landed on the opposite side of the horde in a small crevice in the mountainside. Nestled within the walls, I couldn’t see a thing happening outside.
Greeve didn’t take a moment to catch his breath. He ordered me to pull out a weapon and, in an instant, was gone.
I couldn’t see the horde from where I was, but a few circled above, filling the sky. I tried to stay hidden, pressed up against the rocks, while I held my breath and waited for Fenlas. When he arrived, he pulled his sword, nodded to Greeve, and didn’t say a word as he turned and blocked the outside view. Again, Greeve disappeared and we waited. I thought he’d turn to me. Reach for me. Something. But instead, he watched the opening as if his life depended on it. His friends were like family, so not being able to help protect them must have been so hard on him.
An eternity passed. And then another. And when I felt Fen’s panic, I knew something was wrong.
“Where is he?” I whispered.
