Page 35 of The Night Prince 3
You… you saved him? Declan asked, terrified he’d heard wrong.
Of course!
You saved him. The breath whooshed out of him. Declan would have collapsed if he had not such a tight hold on himself. As it was, he curled half way forwards. He felt Aquilan draw nearer to him.
Yes. Such a simple answer, but such profound relief.
Declan closed his eyes. A faint tremor went through him. Finley was alive! Thank you.
You are most welcome, my Rahven. Finley is quite the talker. I admit that normally annoys me, but his twittering is quite adorable, the elf chuckled.
Declan opened his eyes and wished to hear Finley talking right then. Asking him questions. Expressing his amazement at the fight. Wishing he could be in the thick of it with them.
He’s with you? Right now? Declan clarified.
Oh, yes. So many questions! The elf seemed delighted by them. That was good. Finley was safe.
Finley likes to talk. He likes to know things. No mystery is too small. He means no harm by it, Declan answered weakly. I enjoy listening to him, too.
Especially when it allows you to say nothing, the elf chuckled more.
This elf knew him. So well. Down to his bones. He’d been watching Declan for a long time. Listening to his thoughts and his words even giving advice. But only making himself known now. But why? Why hide for so long? And why reveal himself as a separate entity now? Yet did it matter? The elf had saved Finley. And for that, Declan would be in his debt forever.
Words are not my friends, Declan admitted.
What you think and what you feel are too large to be reduced to words, my Rahven, the elf sounded indulgent. Like a proud… a proud parent.
Is that who he was? A parent? A father? His father? But his memories–he was convinced now that the dream he’d had wasn’t a dream at all, but a memory–had told him that he was an orphan. Jadir. Bloodless. Unless he’d been told lies… Would Lady Ashryn lie to him? Vulre would without doubt. But those questions stuck in his throat. Words betraying him again.
Or maybe he wasn’t quite ready to know the answers.
I am just poor at communicating with words. Regardless, Finley’s talking is pleasant. And I would like to hear it again. Right now, Declan demanded as his heart quivered then added, Please.
He cannot return quite yet. You have to come to him, the elf sounded teasing.
Declan’s heart raced. He would go wherever he had to. He would do whatever he had to. He would have Finley by his side again and never let him leave. Where is he?
Home.
That word shimmered in his mind. Like a stone dropped in still water with the waves flowing out from it. Home was Finley, Gemma, Michael and Shonda. Home was Helgrom, Snaglak and Glom. Home was becoming Aquilan. It wasn’t a place. But what if it was? What if there was a place, too, where he belonged as well as people he belonged to?
Is it home for you? Declan clarified.
For me. For you. Illithor, the elf said the name as if it had a taste. Rich. Piquant. Illithor.
For both of us? It felt momentous saying that.
Yes, my Rahven. Our sacred home. Won’t you come home? Won’t you see me?
Ever since he’d entered the darkness under Chicago, the emotional shocks had kept coming. So much so that the sword–Sorrow’s End–had become his as much as Krith had. He was walking on a crumbling edge. Everything he thought he knew about himself on one side, but on the other? Off the edge? The truth. It was waiting for him. He just had to get to Illithor.
How do I get there? Declan asked.
Ah, I left you a key… The voice drifted away.
“... Declan, does this plan work for you?” Aquilan’s voice was suddenly clear as crystal in his ears.
He thought of where he was going: Illithor. He was journeying there to get Finley back. But he was also going there to meet the elf who called him “my Rahven”. It wasn’t safe to bring Aquilan with him. For the Sun King was like Finley to him. It was ridiculous but true. The bartender and the king! It would never work, but he could feel whatever he felt for Aquilan secretly and treat it as real for it was real for him. He would protect Aquilan from everything and everyone.
