Page 162 of A Warrior's Fate

It was a statement. There would be a vigil tomorrow for those hurt and killed during the attacks. And even before that, life would not stop, no matter what the rogues had done last night. They wouldn’t win. The people of Deimos were resilient.

Isla tugged at the hood of her jacket—Kai’s jacket—the red paint still staining the sleeve. At her side, hung a satchel, carrying the broken diadem and the dagger. The items clinked against each other with every step, and Isla swore sometimes, they sang, the sound reverberating longer than one would expect.

Kai had the papers with the messages tucked in the pockets of his own hooded garment. Ever since she’d clued him in on everything she could—and he told her why he’d figured Io was to blame—he’d been silent.

She hated that his claims had made sense, in theory. Linking back to Charon, the land that bordered them, a land Io was apparently “close with”. But something was still missing. Something still felt wrong. So, until then, she curbed the sickness in her stomach and forced herself not to ponder it until they had more information.

Kai, it seemed, couldn’t do so as easily.

Isla glanced up at her mate. He walked close to her side, their arms and hands occasionally brushing against each other. His focus held on the landscape before them, a pensive expression hardening his face.

Isla knew he would run himself ragged, spin himself into insanity if it meant he could protect who and what he loved.

On another brush of his skin against hers, Isla grabbed his hand and interlocked their fingers. Kai looked down at her as she wrapped her other around his upper arm. She tugged herself closer, happily accepting his warmth, and placed a kiss on his clothed shoulder before resting against it. She cocked her head and held his stare, smiling sweetly up at him. A little blissful distraction. An attempt to find a pocket of peace for them both.

“Hi,” she said.

Kai’s lips ticked upwards—not a beaming grin, but enough—and he leaned over to echo the greeting against the line of her hair. He kissed her forehead, before turning to look forward again. Isla knew his mind was still running faster than he could keep up with it, but his features had softened, his muscles loosened, and the bond felt less strained. She couldn’t ask for much else.

Kai shoved his hand in his pocket, and for a few more steps, they walked, tangled like an actual couple on a midnight stroll.

Isla’s eyes were fixated on the crystal-laden earth when she heard Kai say in a breath, “Luna Isla of Deimos.” Even without looking up, Isla could feel the grin on his face growing. “It has a nice ring to it.”

She took in a deep inhale of chilled air, nearly making herself cough as a shot of nerves coursed through her. “Does it now?”

Kai hummed in affirmation. “And speaking of rings.” He loosened his grip on her hand, holding it delicately in the view of both their faces. “Would you want to pick yours, or do you want it to be a surprise?”

Isla hadn’t thought about her mating ring. The glittering jewel she’d wear on her finger as a second outward symbol that she belonged to another—besides her mark which would fade into something more subtle in time.

She tugged her bottom lip between her teeth. She’d seen plenty of the gems. Davina wore hers around her neck—not customary, but also not unusual—and Cora’s ring from Adrien had been gorgeous, taken from the Imperial vaults.

Isla cared little for extravagance but appreciated pretty things.

“You have proven to have good taste,” she told him, hoping the image of her in her dress from the banquet flashed through his head too.

Judging by the nod of his brows and the indent in his cheek, it had. Kai lifted her hand to gently press his mouth to it. “Surprise it is then.”

The action had sent sparks up her arm, through her body, and Isla couldn’t resist the urge to pause their steps, just so she could kiss him properly. He didn’t hesitate to deepen it and pull her closer, sending an I love you through the bond.

Thankfully, their journey had been free of passers-by, so they could enjoy the moment, their pocket of peace, just a few seconds longer.

When they eventually made it to The Bookshoppe’s door, there was a faint light glowing on the other side through the opaque glass, though the sign on it clearly read CLOSED. Sounds of yelling and laughter carried into the night air.

Was Jonah not alone?

Kai looked at her and the bag before lifting his hand to the wood. He knocked on it several times in an off-beat, peculiar cadence. Three quick taps, three quicker ones, before the last hit that seemed to linger and leave stillness on the other side.

A few seconds passed, a wind sweeping across and displacing Isla’s hood when darkness rippled across the window. Then came a clicking sound—just one lock this time—before the door swung open.

The scent of booze practically thwacked Isla in the face, and much of it came from Davina.

The hotel secretary’s green doe-eyes, glazed over from what Isla assumed was the source of her potent scent of wine, were wide as she shifted her gaze between their two intruders. She wasn’t the only one here at the shop. Jonah, Rhydian, and Ameera stood around one of the study tables, bottles of liquor in front of them. The four of them wore equal expressions of shock, though, she was sure it was for Kai’s surprise visit rather than hers.

“You assholes, did you forget to invite us?” Kai heckled, pushing his hood back on his head, revealing hair still a bit mussed from Isla’s hands through it. His happiness to see them practically radiated from him. She didn’t even need the bond to feel it.

From any of them.

It was the first time that she’d ever seen their “family” all together.

---