Page 293 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
“A friend gave me music,” she answered, her eyes finding Axel. “When my world was breaking, he cared enough to give me something to drown in when there was nothing else.”
Axel offered her a small smile, and she returned it, even if it was a little muted and sad.
“But I can agree we wish for the same thing, Lady Kyra,” Tessa said, picking up her fork once more.
Kyra smiled, doing the same. “Then it will be my pleasure to show you what we’ve built here.”
After they were shown their rooms, they were led to a building on the other side of Idalia, and Axel was shocked to find it was another portal station. Portals that anyone could use— Legacy, Fae, mortal. It didn’t matter.
The first portaled them to the other side of Sulien Forest, on the east side of the Terrarun River. If he was shocked about the portal station, he was amazed at what they found.
An entire city of Fae.
It spanned for miles and was larger than Idalia.
All of them were Fae that had sought safety from the other kingdoms. Mothers who wanted to save their children. Lovers who were desperate to stay together. Those who had dared to defy the Legacy and were facing the Underground or death. All the Fae from the Sirana Villas, the Celeste Estate, and the Pantheon.
Thousands of them were housed here, and they were clearly running short on space.
“We cannot risk going too far south,” Tana, the Anala Heir, was explaining as they walked through the streets. “The cities there are mainly Legacy, but the Fae that are there are employed and paid fairly. Nothing is forced.”
“And this city is guarded,” Gatlan, her Source, added. “Hundreds of members of our forces are trained outside the city. It is part of their duties to serve on rotation here, as well as the other cities.”
Axel had been watching the male and Corbin. They had apparently been friends during their formative years at the Anala Estate. It was yet another reminder of how much the Fae were forced to sacrifice for the kingdoms. Friends. Relationships. Hopes and dreams.
It had him slipping his arm around Kat’s waist and tugging her into his side while he held Maddox on his shoulder, the babe sleeping soundly and warmed by his mother’s magic.
Tessa had asked to visit a school in the city, and they had opted to stay outside. In a rare moment alone with the Anala Lady, Axel asked, “Lady Kyra?”
She turned to him with a smile, waiting for his question.
“You called Kat a ‘lost fire Fae,’” he ventured. “But with all these security measures…”
“How did it happen?” she finished when he trailed off. Axel nodded, and Kyra sighed. “We have people on the inside in nearly every kingdom. As you can imagine, it is a dangerous thing to ask of someone, and they risk everything by doing so. But when passion and hope win out, the risks don’t seem to matter.”
Maddox started fussing, and Kat reached to take him, snuggling him close. Her head was down, focused on their son, but Axel knew her well enough to know she was trying to process whatever Kyra was about to tell them.
“A little over two decades ago, one of our greatest assets found their way to us. He was deep in the Achaz Kingdom and could sense power,” Kyra continued, and Kat’s head snapped up.
“You speak of Brecken,” Kat said, eyes wide.
“I do,” Kyra agreed with a sad smile. “He did much for the Fae in Devram. So much more than anyone realizes. But all those noble actions still came with costs, and you were one. I did not know what he’d done until it was over. I was furious, but he swore he’d make it right.”
“Brecken is the reason Kat was outside the Anala Kingdom?” Axel asked, not following where this was going.
“He was,” Kyra answered. “Brecken had come across a desperate mother. A Shifter who’d had a child with a Fae. She was being held at the Sirana Villas, and she begged Brecken to take the child and hide him. Refused to be told where so she couldn’t be forced to betray the secret.”
“Corbin,” Axel said, the pieces slowly coming together.
Kyra nodded. “Our alliance was still new and tentative. He didn’t fully trust me yet, which was fair. We keep strict records of all our Fae, and we knew exactly how many children were at the Estate. He swapped the child out.” Another sad smile at Kat. “He took you to the Falein Estate. As I said, I was furious. He wouldn’t tell me where you were, but he swore an oath to watch over you and keep you safe. He checked on you often.”
“And when my Selection year was getting close, he took me to Tessa,” Kat whispered.
“I do not know those details,” Kyra said. “I was to claim you that night under the Accords the moment your fire magic showed itself, but…”
“I claimed her for Arius first,” Axel finished. “You were irate.”
She nodded. “So was Brecken, but it appears to have worked out in the end. Fate can be funny like that.”
