Page 51 of Lady of the Lost Fae

Adeena’s while light fades, and the hydrol regains vision only a few feet away from me. It’s too late to summon my wings. They’d be crushed of the hydrol knocks me off my feet again, and they’ll never unfold in time anyway. I’m looking between Adeena and the hydrol, and I’m coming up blank.

I have no fucking idea what to do.

“You need to move!” Adeena screams, reminding me I’m about to be made into a hydrol’s snack.

A shadow from above plummets into the hydrol, and I realize it’s Izan. With his sword in his hand, he make a clean slice through the hydrol, separating its head from its body as he lands on top of it.

The hydrol’s body goes limp, and black blood begins seeping out of it, coating the lawn in the thick liquid.

“Thanks,” I grunt I offer Izan a hand, pulling him off the back of the dead hydrol.

Izan wipes his sword on a spot of clean grass, trying to scrape off the bloody tar. “I saw it in the water from inside the manor. I got outside as fast as I could.”

“Two court rulers saved by a second in command? Maybe Izan should be high lord if you can’t take care of yourself,” Lyra says as she appears on a balcony overlooking the lawn.

“I distinctly remember saving your sorry ass last night,” I roll my eyes as I look over at Izan.

And I find him… blushing?

I glance between Izan and Lyra. There’s been a weird tension between them lately, and I haven’t been able to figure it out, but perhaps this is it? Are there deeper feelings here?

“We’re fine,” Adeena mumbles as she dusts herself off. “We had it handled.”

I open my mouth to argue, but I stop myself.

There’s a good possibility she could have handled it on her own, but she wasn’t given the opportunity to prove it before Izan shot down from the sky.

I watch Adeena as she flicks muddy blades of grass off her trousers. The way the morning sun illuminates her skin sends chills down my spine.

She’s absolutely beautiful, and she’s fearless. Admittedly, she’s more powerful than I am, and sometimes more stubborn too.

She’s Adeena Devna, and she can do anything she sets her mind to. Perhaps she should be here.

Chapter Twenty-One

ADEENA

Dreyden returned to Fire Court two days ago and arrived back this morning. The lost fae ruffled a lot of feathers while they were there, and there are still a lot of unhappy Fire Court villagers waiting for compensation over stolen items and closure knowing justice was served where deserved.

Most of the day he has been busy working on a project with Alaric, setting up the booths at the market in preparation for being self-sufficient hopefully someday soon. They stopped by for a quick lunch at the coffee shop I’ve been trying to get restored, but they didn’t stay long.

Lyra and I have been slowly settling in, and the lost fae seem like they’re beginning to settle in too. Everyone seems to be genuinely happy here, and it makes me even more excited for our future.

The manor is coming together piece by piece. It’ll be an excruciatingly long process getting the entire place cleaned up. I haven’t counted, but I estimate there are at least fifty rooms throughout the manor. That doesn’t include the equestrian stable out back, the training arena, the ballroom, or the atrium.

Lyra seems to be relaxing in the house already. Going through it room by room, cleaning up memories of her childhood has been therapeutic for her, and she’s finally forced to acknowledge shecanexist in this place without her grandparents. That’s the hardest part for her. Them not being here.

Lady Hali and Lord Weylin have both stayed true to their word, and they’ve each sent teams in to finish cleaning up wild fires and begin preparation for farming. With the help of specialized teams within each court, the Wychwood Forest border is nearly secured.

The loose creatures are being put back into the Wychwood Forest, and they’re killed on site if they refuse to go back.

In my free time, I’ve been busy cleaning up the streets and buildings in the heart of Northford. Broken windows seem to be our biggest problems, but we’ve got a trained glazier cutting and installing windows. Several of the lost fae are apprenticing with him, learning the trade, and from what I’ve seen, they’re quick learners.

The lost fae are coming together with the few remaining original members of Northford, creating an incredible community of people. The entire clean-up is a group effort. I get a little emotional watching everyone working together.

Alaric has been a crucial part of our growing community. His son, Razvan, has been a great influence on my dish duty boys, and they’ve all taken a liking to him.

We called it a day early today, and the boys wanted to play games in the street. They asked some of the older fae to supervise because while the Sky Court is being cleaned up, not all the looters or creatures have been caught. I decided to stick around and watch when I saw them setting up their games.

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