Page 24 of Court of Dragons and Ashes

Grayson is searching my face, even as we continue to walk. “Are they in your mind?” I nod. “They’re tidying up their courts, adding further protection to the borders. Aphrodite’s been sending attacks to both of them, testing the armies even now,” he explains to me. “I believe even if we win these tests, she will continue to be a problem for our courts.”

“Bitch,” I mutter.

He kisses the side of my head, and I lean my head on his shoulder, loving and appreciating every new touch between us as we go down the pathways that are all the same. There’s not a painting or statue to mark the areas. “The Earth Court is safe, and so are you. The assassin must have been left here, but I have my guards checking everywhere now, and I’m not letting you out of my sight for the night. I thought maybe you could meet my sister? The Air Court is harder to get into than others, and I believe we have tonight at least before we need to travel to Emrys’s court. You could rest if you’d prefer?—”

He’s nervous. I take his hand, linking our fingers, and interrupt him. “I’d love to meet her. I don’t think I could sleep right now anyway.” I lift his hand, kissing his knuckles once. “Are you okay? We haven’t had a moment to talk about everything that happened in the earth test. Did I imagine you ripping up the maze like some kind of earth god?”

“I ripped it up, let’s just leave it at that.” He turns us around a corner and gently pushes me into the wall, leaning into me. He kisses me softly, just a lingering brush that has me wanting so much more. “All that matters to me is that you’re okay. We can do this. You have one test left. I wish I could take it for you. Part of me wants to keep you here, safe and protected at my side.”

“Emrys,” I breathe out.

“I know.” His voice is pained. “We are one test away from our time, our future. They’ll be gone. We get our world back. We can work out a future between all of us and, while we’re on the subject, what happened with Arden and Lysander? Because things are tense.”

“Lysander fucked up. It’s complicated, but I’m glad you’re here. I feel like I’m going to be suffocated if I try to keep being between them and making sure they don’t hurt each other any more than they already have,” I answer, and Grayson frowns. I quickly explain everything that happened, and Grayson is quiet for a while.

He tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear, sighing. “Let me guess, Lysander did it for his father.”

“How did you guess that?”

“Because all of us know what his father was like and how Lysander just doesn’t see it. Never did. I am good friends with his brother. I’m very glad he’s alive, and his brother knows what his father was like. I believe that’s a conversation Lysander needs to have with his family, to make him realise getting revenge in the name of someone like that isn’t worth it.”

“Maybe you can talk to him,” I suggest softly. “I mean, now that I know about your childhood, perhaps you and Lysander have more in common than you know. Just don’t be mad at him. I’m mad enough for all of us.”

“I’m still punching the fucker for blackmailing you, but I’ll try to be nice, for you.” I’m not sure punching someone counts as being nice. Grayson tugs me off the wall and keeps walking. “We’re sending my mother’s body into the Mists in the morning, when dawn hits the highest point in the Earth Court. I would like you to be at my side for the funeral.”

“Of course I will be,” I quickly answer. “I’m so sorry for everything that happened to her. For her ending.”

“She’s been dead to me for years, an unanswered mystery that I can now put to rest. Some people said she went to the fifth court that night it exploded, but some people said she went back into the maze, that it lured her in again. Now we know. I have to admit, part of me is relieved that we finally have her body. That my sister and I can send her off. Our court can move on from that time of misery. That deadly maze is now gone from our court, and the threat along with it. I needed it gone, and I’m glad I could destroy it. If we have any children, if I’m lucky enough that you ever decide to have one or three with me?—”

“Three?” I cough on the word. Children, it’s never been something I’ve thought about. Growing up, I was taught to fight by Phobos and to use magic by Hera, and I was raised as a fighter. To avenge my parents one day, to make it safe in Ayiolyn once more. To protect myself. Having a future, having children and a happy ending was never on my mind. I’m not sure if it’s something I even want. I raise an eyebrow at him, and he laughs with me.

I like this side of Grayson. He leans into me, like it’s a secret for us both, even if the world must see it. “I must be obsessed with you, because three seems like only the beginning for us. Fuck, I want everything with you. A life full of all the messy, happy, and normal things. I want your safety in my court, in our court, and I should have destroyed the maze a long time ago. I didn’t realise I was even powerful enough to destroy it until I saw how you’d been hurt, and I lost it.”

“I’m okay now, thanks to you,” I whisper back to him. He searches my eyes before leading me around another corner, where there is a door with guards outside. The guards bow, stepping to the side. Grayson knocks once. “Come in!”

Grayson was right. His sister is the image of his mother. Long, dark brown hair that falls to her waist, several bits clipped and braided back with purple flowers. She’s younger, probablygetting on thirteen years old. She is still lanky in that way that I remember being just as I came into my teenage years. She stands up, her pen dropping onto the floor as she squeals in happiness. She all but throws herself at me, wrapping me in a tight hug. I’m a bit startled by her, so much so that my arms sort of stick out in the air awkwardly for a while before I hug her back. “Nice to meet you, um. Well, Grayson never even told me your name.”

“Blossom,” she answers with a grin that is just like her brother’s. Grayson shuts the door behind us. “I feel like I know you, Ellelin. Grayson talked about you. A lot. We used to send letters back when he was in the Dragon Crown Race, and all his were about this purple-haired girl that he met. He claimed you were wildly beautiful, crazy, fierce, and brave. And when he came home, he was so different.” She pauses, looking at her brother lovingly before continuing, “I thought you were too good to be true, but then you came here to go into a deadly test set up by two gods for my brother. You are a freaking badass!”

“No swearing, Bloss,” Grayson orders, but it’s playful.

She rolls her eyes at him and turns back to me. “You are family to me. End of. Whether you marry my brother or not. And, Gray, you’d be stupid to ever let this one out of your sight. She’s far prettier than you. You’re punching, so the humans say. I love your hair.”

“Thank you. I used to have it all purple before. I haven’t had much time to dye it, but I think I’m sticking with the black for a bit, with purple tips eventually,” I explain, rambling a little. Something about her makes me a little nervous, like I need to impress her for Gray. “I’m so sorry about your mother.”

“I’m glad you found her,” Blossom replies, sounding so much older than she looks. “It’s difficult because I don’t really remember her or dad as I was a baby. I remember Gray coming back and caring for me, and stories from my caretakers of my parents.” She shrugs slightly. “Tomorrow is closure for us all.” Ismile sadly at her, and she changes the subject. “What are you two up to tonight?”

“Someone just tried to kill me.” I blow out a breath.

Grayson frowns at me. “That was not part of my plan for the night. Ares sent someone after her, but she wasn’t hurt. He’s not from our court. I’m not exactly sure how he got here, and he must have been left by Ares. The guards are searching the castle, the whole place now, so you must stay in your room. I’m taking Ellelin to the principal city.”

“You are?” I excitedly question.

He pulls me to his side, his eyes teasing. “Do you not want to see it? We could just?—”

I shove his shoulder. “No, I do want to see it. In fact, that sounds amazing. I never really got to see much of the other courts. I’ve just been whisked through them in a rush.”

“Then I’m glad I’ll be the first to show you the Earth Court.” He kisses my cheek.

---