Page 86 of Across an Endless Sea

“I don’t suppose you fancy being knight commander?” The words are joking, but I wonder if Drystan can hear the desperation behind them.

“I have little interest in ordering soldiers around every day,” he replies, following me towards the barracks. “One defeat does not make you a bad leader, Jaro. It makes your enemy formidable and shows your fair-weather allies for the honourless scum that they are. Even Florian—”

“Rose will heal him, and this will be fixed,” I mutter. “I wasn’t ready for this, Drystan. Look where I landed us. The outer wall hasneverfallen. Until now. Until today. Untilme.”

“Hundreds of civilians are alive because you ordered the evacuation of the outer city when you did,” he argues. “Your men had time to brace the inner wall because you gave them that time by riding out to meet the Fomorians.”

A plan that cost too many lives… I sigh. It’s downright strange hearing an unseelie try to comfort someone. Usually they’re standoffish, and Drystan has never been an exception, but I appreciate his efforts just the same.

“I’ll find Lore,” he says, with a grimace. “The moment we feel her return, he’ll fetch you.”

Of course, Lore’s version of fetching me consists of blinking directly onto my chest in the middle of the morning, after just three hours of sleep. Thankfully, I had the forethought to put my clothes on before bed—although that was mostly because I didn’t want the delay of dressing when Rose returned.

After the initial annoyance has passed and I’ve shoved the redcap off me, I breathe a sigh of relief at being able to feel her again. Exhausted but alive, and soon to be home. I grab my sword and strap it around my waist, then—as an afterthought—snatch a spare shirt from my drawer for Rose, before nodding once at the bouncing redcap.

We reappear beside a small stream in the forest. At first, I panic when I can’t see her, then I look down.

On the floor, shivering, naked, and unconscious in the leaves and mud, is my perfect little mate. For a second, I panic as I realise her wings are missing, but there are no wounds, so it must be a glamour.

I drop to my knees beside her, dragging her body towards me, uncaring of her nudity and the buzz of the Call between us.

Is she thinner than the last time I saw her? She definitely is. What happened to her hair? Fucking Caed.

The sun is barely in the sky, and autumn is just setting in earnestly, so it’s a cold morning. I waste no time in dragging my shirt over her naked body and bundling her up against me while I check the rest of her for wounds. Lore takes his hat off as soon as she’s dressed and it morphs into a fluffy red trapper hat as he tugs it down around her delicate ears.

“Jaro?” she whispers, and my heart skips a beat. “Lore? Is it really you, or just another trick?”

Another trick? What in Goddess’ name did Caed do to her?

“It’s us. Shh, you can rest now,” I promise, lifting her so I’m standing and nodding once at Lore. “We’ll get you back home.”

Every single hope I had for her return—healing Florian, getting her crowned, retaking the outer city—fades under the tidal wave of worry and relief. I stroke a lock of her strawberry blonde hair out of her eyes as they flutter shut, but it’s now too short to tuck behind her ears.

In the next second, we’re in her garden room. Wraith bounds up from his basket, winding around my ankles as I do my best to walk around him. Lore keeps glancing longingly at the barghest puppy, but ever since Kitarni’s talk about not training the beast to eat the souls of the garden wildlife, he’s steered clear of the ‘snappy puppy.’

The maids are ready with a hot bath, so I reluctantly relinquish our mate to their care, but I don’t leave the room. I should. I know I should. But I just can’t.

At least I’m not alone. Lore is perched on her dresser, his hat back on his head since the maids removed it to wash Rose's hair—though I doubt it will stay there for long. Drystan is sitting on the steps, like he wants to go, but can’t bring himself to move, and Bree has taken up a spot on the roof above with his wings tucked around him like a gargoyle.

The maids tuck our Nicnevin into bed with whispered prayers, and Wraith hops up beside her, curling into a ball against her back and promptly falling asleep. My wolf whines pitifully in my mind, fur scraping against my skin as he begs to do the same on her other side. I’m saved from giving in as Kitarni reaches the top of the steps. Dodging Drystan, the dryad wastes no time in reaching Rose’s side, and the expression of relief that crosses her bark-covered face is palpable.

“Praise the Goddess,” she whispers, keeping her voice as quiet as possible so as not to wake Rose. “Though, I admit, this was not how I hoped for her return.”

“How else did you think she was going to come back to us?” Drystan hisses. “Did you expect Caed to have some attack of conscience? Because, I hate to break it to you; he’s not the type.”

Rose stirs, frowning in her sleep, and I shoot him a glare, pressing a finger to my lips. I jerk my head towards the fountain, away from her bed, and the high priestess and the unseelie both nod and follow me, leaving Lore and Bree to keep vigil.

The small sitting area is hidden from Rose’s bed by a thick row of trees and plants, but unfortunately, it has nothing to shield it from the view of Elfhame beyond.

The smoke wafting from the farms of the outer ring is dark and pervasive. Even at this distance, I swear I can taste it on the air. A tangible reminder of my failure.

“They’re burning the crops,” Kitarni observes, taking a seat on the bench beside the fountain. “We still have enough in the stores to last a few months if we ration…”

I turn away, stomach falling like a stone. Two days ago, we could’ve withstood a siege for decades.

Damn it, Jare, stop moping. Buck up and do something about it.

“We’ll consult Rose on your plan when she wakes,” I say.

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