Page 76 of Atop the Faerie Throne
Because Drystan is the only one who’s yet to trust Caed fully, and thus the only reason his curse hasn’t broken.
“I haven’t been the easiest male to deal with since he joined us,” he admits. “I realise I’ve not tried as hard as I maybe should’ve to forgive him. It was simply inconceivable to me that you might grow to love someone who had hurt you so badly. I could never do the same in your place.”
No, I dare say he couldn’t.
Whenever my dullahan is hurt, a wall goes up. After his Winter Court upbringing, it’s no wonder that those barriers are sky high. I’ve never been able to do that, no matter how hard I try. I think Danu knew that when she set the terms of Caed’s curse, which is why my forgiveness played no part in it.
“I am trying.” Drystan drops a kiss to the top of my head. “It’s not easy.”
I know. “I can’t lose any of you.”
Silence reigns.
A stone sinks in my gut, souring the lingering tendrils of pleasure. Drystan can’t lie, so he can’t reassure me.
I hate that I understand it. I hate that he’s trying, and that at the end of all of this, it still might not be enough. My heart gives a hollow little thud.
“If… if Elatha still has his name… will you…?” I can’t seem to get a full sentence out, but he grasps my meaning.
His sigh ruffles my hair. “That certainly doesn’t make it easier, but at least Bree was able to stop him from issuing any more orders.”
Thank the Goddess for small mercies. If Caed was still a threat to me, even unwillingly, I don’t think Drystan would stand a chance.
Twenty-Five
Jaromir
The sunlight is blinding, but I refuse to look away as Rose flits down from her garden room. Pride blooms in my chest, and I ignore Cailu’s and Elduin’s smirks and their murmurs of ‘mate whipped’ as I step forward to catch her before she can properly land. There’s an adorable flush on her cheeks, and my wolf yips, surging forward and urging me to steal a kiss.
“Did you have a nice flight?” I ask.
She nods, but there’s a faraway look in her eyes as she says, “There are lots of refugees.”
No doubt she saw the line of returning fae from her garden. Our bond tells me what her pensive expression doesn’t. Rose’s heart is breaking for her people. We both know they’re returning to find their homes shattered, looted, and burned. Elfhame City may be free, but it still bears the deep scars of war.
As does its Nicnevin.
“We’re working on rebuilding,” I tell her, hoping the news will brighten her mood. “Florian thinks we can get most of the city back to how it was by autumn.”
Her brother and Drystan are holed up, consulting experts on fixing the defences among other things.
“That’s where we’re going now, if you’d care to join, your majesty,” Cailu offers with a wink, and my wolf bristles at his interruption.
“We’re starting with the larger buildings in the inner city that can temporarily house lots of fae,” Elduin finishes for his brother, leading the way to the gate without looking directly at my mate.
At least one of them has some sense.
“But it’s a lot of heavy lifting, so if you don’t want to watch Jaromir get shirtless and sweaty…” Cailu trails off with another smirk.
I swallow the growl building in my chest. He’s completely oblivious to my wolf’s plans to gut him, and that’s how it’s going to stay. For all that the twins sometimes drive me mad, they’re the only two remaining members of Florian’s trusted inner circle, now that we’ve lost Ascal, Kendel, and Merith.
At the reminder, he howls softly in my mind. We fought beside them for decades, and he considered all three of those warriors his pack. Even now, I keep expecting them to turn up, offering their help.
But they never will.
“I can help,” Rose insists, squeezing me tightly like she can sense the cracks of loss running through me. She flits up, perching on my shoulders and running her hands through my hair until a rumble of pleasure escapes me, fur brushing against my skin.
No. Don’t shift, you stupid beast. She’s petting me, not you.
