Page 21 of The War of Wings
A question formed like a storm cloud over my mind, impossible to ignore. What if his heart had stopped by now, and he still wasn’t here? What if… What if he ended up in Hell? No. He wouldn’t. I knew it in my bones.
I pasted on a watery smile, swallowing back the acid that had suddenly gathered in my throat at the thought. “You’ll see him one day.” Relief softened their features, their shoulders relaxing at my words. They deserved to know everything, every detail of their boys’ lives, but the clock was ticking.
“It was Castemont, wasn’t it?” Arimara asked, her mouth a thin line as she broke the silence that had fallen. “All of it.”
“Yes. It was Castemont.”
Arimara’s jaw clenched, the action reminiscent of Cal. “That fucking bastard,” she growled under her breath.
I cocked my head, sorting through details in my mind. “Berna, I know some of your story with Castemont, but… Arimara, you knew him too?”
Her face pinched with hatred. She appeared to chew on her words before she spoke. “I had the pleasure of knowing him, yes,” she started, her voice both incredulous and sharp. “ He was always slinking around Kauvras, and I think he may have been the reason he went mad.”
“He was. At least partially.” Arimara’s lip curled at my words, her nostrils flaring as I confirmed what she seemed to already know. “He’d somehow gotten a hold of Kauvras’ blood. I don’t know the specifics. Castemont had complete control of Kauvras. He had control of many people. We were all his puppets and he was pulling the strings.”
Something seemed to break behind Arimara’s eyes at my words, the hatred softening into sorrow. “Kauvras hasn’t arrived here,” she said quietly. “There are only two reasons that could be.”
I reached for her hand. “There were so many that survived the battle. He could very well still be alive.” I decided to leave out the fact that I had quite literally almost married Kauvras. From here on out, if Kauvras lived, it was a fresh start without Castemont’s influence.
Arimara gave a weak smile, wiping away a tear that had slipped down her cheek. “Tobyas’ father and I were happy for the short time he’d been in my life. I loved him with my entire heart. Truly, I did. But Kauvras…” Her voice cracked on his name. “I loved him with my entire being.”
“Without reason, sense, or logic,” I murmured, a sad smile pulling at the corner of my lips. “I know the feeling.”
Another tear traveled down her cheek, and this time she didn’t swipe it away. A sense of sadness hung thick in the air as her eyes searched mine, but there was a sense of comfort, too. Only the Saints knew if she’d see her boys again one day. On second thought, maybe the Saints didn’t know. But I had a good feeling Cal and Miles would end up here. Maybe Kauvras, too.
Arimara pulled me into a hug, a hand rubbing soothing circles on my back as she murmured in my ear, “Tell them I love them.”
“I will. But they already know,” I whispered back, giving her a final squeeze before it was Berna’s turn to say goodbye.
“I’m glad Cal and Tobyas ended up together,” she said as she held me against her. “Thank you for taking care of them. I hope Castemont ends up here in Heaven if only so I can kick his ass myself.” She pulled back, squeezing my shoulders. “Burn him to the ground, Queen Petra.”
“I will,” I whispered, swallowing hard, and I felt the spot where my powers should’ve been flickering with phantom flames. I would burn Malosym to the ground, even if I burned with him. With one final squeeze of each of their hands, I turned to where Larka and Da stood just before the Gates.
My hardest goodbyes.
“Your Majesty?” Arimara called after me. She took a single, hesitant step forward as I turned to look at her. “Did Tobyas ever find his father?”
“No.” I tried to avert my eyes from the disappointment on her face. “I don’t think he did.”
“Please tell him his name is–”
Thunder cracked, the sunlight suddenly choked out by inky black clouds that blanketed the sky from horizon to horizon in a single breath. No, not clouds — smoke. The black smudge on the horizon was growing, crawling outward like ink spilled on paper.
No.Not yet.
Chaos erupted, screams echoing around me as people clambered in the opposite direction of the decay. Arimara and Berna disappeared into the panicked crowd. All at once, everyone began sprinting for the castle, following the invisible order that I was sure Soren had given.
I whirled to see Larka and Da, both of them wide-eyed and frozen in panic. “Go!” I roared, giving Da as hard a shove as I could manage. He stumbled back, his eyes flashing between me and the darkness that was descending around us.
Larka’s features hardened suddenly, a stubborn look in her eye I knew all too well. “You might be okay leaving me, but I’mnotokay leaving you,” Larka growled, planting her feet in the dirt.
“Larka, you won’t survive this!” I shouted as the wind picked up, whipping through my hair.
“I’m already dead!” she answered, crossing her arms over her chest. Her features were etched with determination, her delicate jaw squared.
I whipped my head to Da, my eyes wild. There would be no goodbyes. Not today. Not ever. These goodbyes were ripped from me the moment lightning lashed across the sky. The look in Da’s eyes told me he knew that, and that was enough. With nothing more than a nod, he understood my unspoken plea and grabbed Larka by the shoulders, yanking her backwards in the direction of the castle.
“No!” she roared, clawing at his grip. “Let me go!” Back in Inkwell, Larka would’ve been able to knock him off balance easily, but here, he was stronger. Much stronger than her.
