Page 139 of Chaos and Destiny
“More than ever.”
“Do you think it will work?”
I shrugged. “I guess we’ll see if we truly can catch a fish in a net.” I turned to the crowd and spoke for the final time. “The Trials are over. Please join us in the bailey of the castle for a feast.”
Chapter 37
ARA
The northern kingdom was beautiful. Though I knew I’d only seen a fraction of it, in the stillness of the frigid air and the white-capped mountains, a single voice, a single song, could echo through the entire kingdom. And so it did as Greeve stood on the crest of a hill and sang into the endless winter. The melody of his song was soul-wrenching and his pitch and vibrato were perfect. The rest of us stood back, shoulder to shoulder, waited, watched, and listened.
We stood on the cusp of the abyss. A straight line of fae staring into the distance as we listened to his melodious song carry us away. Away from The Mists lurking behind us. Away from the journey ahead. A male as beautiful as Greeve with a voice like a god should never have existed. If Fen wasn’t holding my hand, anchoring me to him, I think I would have fallen in love in that one single moment. His dark hair blew gently in the breeze, and though he sang with his eyes closed, he opened his spirit to sing that ballad. Of all the moments and memories in my life, however long it may be, I hoped this one would always stay with me. The moment a southern fae lost his soul on the wind of the northern kingdom.
“They used to be from here, you know,” Fen whispered in my ear, bringing me back from wherever Greeve had carried me off to.
“Who?” I asked, still watching him.
“The dracs. They lived in the north until the Iron Wars forced them to the Flame Court.
“Do you think something calls to him here?”
“His magic is of the wind, as is this court. This is where his people, my people, came from. I would say something within him probably feels at peace here in these mountains.”
“Do you? Feel at peace here?”
He stood before me, putting his strong hands on my arms. I looked up into his fierce eyes and let his words settle over me. “I know you can’t see this right now, but you are my peace. Whatever it is Greeve feels standing in the Wind Court, I feel that ten times more strongly standing beside you. When you take my hand,” he said, kissing my fingertips, “when you smile at something stupid Kai says, when you don’t back down no matter the odds, when the thought of you brings me more pride than anything I’ve ever done, that’s my peace. It’s not a place, it’s you.”
His words lifted my soul like a prayer. But a tiny seed of doubt remained. He’d been so intense for so long, flawed and angry and possessive. But so was I. Maybe I didn’t want a mate, but I did want someone in my corner. Someone who would have my back no matter what. Someone who would look at me the way he did.
“Attention whore,” Kai coughed into his hand as Greeve rejoined us.
“Don’t listen to him,” Wren said. “That was so beautiful, Greeve.”
“Where did Lichen go?” I spun, searching for him.
Wren pointed. “He’s down by the fire with his nose in a book, I’m sure. I think that’s all he packed.”
“Glad I don’t have to carry that bag,” I said as we made our way to the bottom of the hill. We moved to sit around the warm fire, giving Fen a magic break. He claimed it only took a trickle to maintain our warmth, but a trickle would eventually run him dry.
“Lichen, what the hell?” I jumped to my feet. “That’s my book. What were you doing in my bag? You shouldn’t have opened that!” It was too late though. I felt a foreign surge of anger and then a scream. Eerie laughter covered the remnants of Greeve’s song in the air. I whipped my head around and scanned the horizon. Nothing. “Give me the book,” I growled. “Show me what you were reading.”
“It’s quite interesting actually,” he said.
“No the fuck it isn’t. You don’t know what this book is. It’s not a toy or a resource for your curiosity. You’ve just unleashed something that should have stayed trapped. How? What did you do?”
“What are you talking about?” Fen surged forward.
“What is that?” Wren inched her way toward Greeve.
“The book.” I threw my hands in the air. The haunting scream echoed again.“Listen,” I said, pulling two knives, “I got that book from Coro’s library. It had information about Nealla which I needed. But apparently Aibell also needed me to retrieve the book, and I was supposed to hold onto it. She told me there were creatures locked away inside. I have a feeling Curious Cathy over there just let one free.”
“You’ve been carrying that around this whole time and didn’t think to even mention it?” Fen asked.
“Don’t start with me, Prince.”
“Awesome.” Kai reached for a weapon. “So, before we have to enter the land of doom and gloom, and right after we fight dragons and soldiers, we have to hunt and kill a creature our ancestors could only lock into a book?”
“Aibell,” Fen roared.
