Chapter 38

CHAPTER 38

"Did I not tell you all that she was truly the epitome of might and magnificence?" Conri wraps his arm around my waist, beginning to lead me back up the shore. He speaks as if they all hadn't just heard him literally saying the opposite not moments ago. But the truth of the lykin is shaped by their king, not by objective fact. "Her power is breathtaking, is it not?"

Whispers and murmurs accompany the polite nods. The lykin clearly don't know what to make of me. And Conri notices as well.

"Bewulf, our great uniter, gained his might by entering into a union with a spirit. The lykin's history is made mightier when our kings marry those with power to make it our own. Which is why, in just three weeks, we shall be married beneath the full moon!"

Some nods of approval. Polite cheers. They're still not won over to me. Not that I care. The only person whose perception actually matters is Conri.

"Truly, in three weeks?" I ask him.

"Does this upset you?"

"I only wish it could be sooner!" I laugh and lean into him with a forced smile. "I am glad that I could show you the might that I am bringing to you."

"The might that killed Bardulf." Conri chuckles darkly. "No wonder he was tempted by that power. Were I not the one marrying you, I would be tempted by you, too." His eyes turn to Evander. "Should I be worried about you next?"

The question is asked in jest. But there is a moment where both Evander and I fight a flinch. Luckily, I don't think Conri sees it, because Evander recovers instantly.

"I would never dream of betraying my king." Evander dips into a low bow. "And besides, the mere scent of a human is mildly repulsive to me after all this time in Midscape. I do not think I could ever bed one." He then adds hastily, "No offense to you and your bride, of course."

Conri laughs again and pats his shoulder. "Part of me thinks I should punish you for saying such things about my mate. But I am too reassured by your loyalty to do so." He glances at me. "Assuming you do not feel slighted?"

"Evander has been a loyal soldier to you, my king. It is a relief to know that you have such good men in your care after what happened with Bardulf."

"I would hate for you to have to kill another of my knights," he agrees. "I do not know if bringing me a powerful spirit could make up for it a second time." The warning is clear.

But my focus is on Aurora, who sways slightly at Evander's side. "My king, might I spend this night in Aurora's tent?"

Conri chuckles. "We are in Den, we shall not stay in tents."

"No?"

"You'll see." Conri leans forward to kiss me gently and I expend a monumental effort not to shrink away in disgust.

There isn't the warm feeling of Conri's charm, not even the slimy feeling that Bardulf created when he tried to leverage the magic. There's no haziness to my thoughts. No urges to give in. In fact, I work to return the kiss. When he pulls away, I lean forward slightly, as if I wanted more. But it is all a conscious choice. And a disgusting one at that.

The charm doesn't seem to be having the same effect on me as it once did.

"It is good to see you eager." He chuckles. "But save it for the night and I will keep you up past the dawn."

I smile, looking up at him through my lashes. "I would be so honored."

Aurora is back on Conri and I am on Evander for the short return into the heart of Den. I run my fingers through Evander's fur, pressing and squeezing—like a massage. Anything that could show him that he still has my heart. That there is nothing to worry about despite how I must act with Conri. I wish we had figured out some kind of communication system for when no words could be spared.

The lykin disperse as we trot through tent and building. Conri takes us farther through the trees, to a slope that an earth-bermed structure has been constructed into. Its doors and windows are nestled between the roots of the mighty trees that cascade down the slope. Wildflowers, lupines, lichen, and moss trellis down around it.

We enter through an archway into a large, central hall. In the center is a firepit, burning happily with individuals I recognize as other alphas lounging at its edges. They all look our way when we enter, but Conri waves off their formalities.

He leads us off to the side and into a tunnel that stretches deeper into the hillside. I quickly realize that the cave system that makes up the innards of this structure was naturally formed and merely polished by mortal hands. The adornments of carved pillars embellished with engravings of running wolves and the phases of the moon were certainly not naturally formed.

Led by the faint glow of torches, we plunge deeper into the hillside. In the distance, I think I see a speck of white light that suggests another entrance, but we stop well before reaching it. Conri leads us under an archway—one of the few branches off this hall.

It opens into a modest cavern. A fire crackles in a hearth on the opposite wall with blankets and pillows laid out in a divot in the floor before it, the sunken area no doubt catching the warmth of the flames to fight against the chill of the caves. To the right and left of the hearth are two other archways, their openings obscured by curtains, rather than doors. On one curtain is the embroidered visage of a wolf, a full moon on the other.

Conri explains the obvious. "The chambers of the king are to the left, the moon spirit on the right. So there will be no concerns about you having ample time with Aurora."

I glance in her direction. She emphasized that I needed to find time with her, despite knowing this setup of rooms. It underscores what is already clear—this place is not safe, or private.

Aurora confirms my suspicions. "I would like to spend the night in the grove."

"The grove? Is your weakness truly so bad?" Conri seems concerned, but not upset, which I take as a good sign.

"It is not grave, but my weariness is significant enough that I feel it'd be for the best. One night and I shall be as strong as I have always been," Aurora says without hesitation.

"And of course I will need to stay with her there," I add so there's no doubt.

Conri's frown deepens. "But we were just united, my darling. This evening I had planned to take you to bed."

His fake display of compassion truly disgusts me. "I know, and we will have days and days together, a lifetime. But I am weary, and so is Aurora—we should have some time to rejoin her powers," I say delicately. He does not seem to be easing his disapproval. I shift tactics. "What about this: We merely spend the day in the grove and then I make my way to your bed before dawn?"

The wolf king considers this.

"I could escort them both, my king. That way you can get the rest you so deserve, or attend to other necessary matters, until your bride and spirit are ready," Evander offers.

My insides tighten. Would Evander have offered to escort us before? Does his outright asking give away too much?

"That should be fine." Conri finally relents and I bite the insides of my cheeks to keep myself from exhaling an all too obvious sigh of relief. "In fact, take them there now, will you? You are right in that I have important matters to discuss with the other alphas."

Important matters like planning the details of killing your future wife…

"Yes, my king." Evander bows his head.

Conri grabs my wrist and leans in. "I'm looking forward to seeing you later," he whispers, and leaves. I manage to hold back my shudder until he's gone.

"Faelyn—" Evander moves for me.

"We need to get to the grove," I interrupt him and wrap my arm around Aurora's waist, positioning hers around my shoulders. She slumps into me with a sigh. Evander's eyes widen slightly as he grasps the severity of the situation.

"This way." Evander leads us back into the passage.

Conri had turned left, no doubt going back to the main cavern we first entered into. Instead, Evander turns right and guides us down the hall to the speck of light I saw earlier. Sure enough, my suspicions about it being another exit were correct.

We emerge into a dense copse of the silvery trees of Den. A well-worn path slopes down between them to a large, grassy clearing. At the far edge of the clearing is a large boulder, nearly the size of a small cliff. It is as tall as the hut I grew up in, and twice as wide. At the center of the clearing is another, flat rock. This one large enough for the three of us to stand on together.

Aurora sinks onto the stone the second we step onto it. I ease her down all the way into a laying position when it becomes clear that's what she desires. Shifting, I place her head in my lap. Her eyes are already closed.

"What is it?" Worry is apparent in Evander's tone.

"She's just tired," I answer on Aurora's behalf. Her breathing has become slow and steady—she's already in a deep slumber. "She'll be all right." I hope. "She just needs to rest."

"I've never seen her like this before." Evander steps off the central stone, glancing back up the pathway to make sure no one has followed us.

"She's never had her power split before." Our discussion doesn't seem to disturb Aurora. I rest my hands lightly around her face, fingertips brushing against her cheeks, neck, and shoulders. "And she had to help me to summon Volst. He was too weak to come otherwise, since I'd summoned him so recently."

"I suspected."

"I wonder if Conri is with the other alphas now, plotting my death."

Evander folds his arms and his muscles tense. His mouth is pressed into a hard line. "If they so much as lay a finger upon you…"

"The three of us will leave before they get the chance," I say optimistically. Allowing him to fantasize about hurting Conri too much could be dangerous; he might act on those impulses. "We knew this was a risk of our approach to the circumstances…just like we knew we had no other choice."

"I still hate it." His words and tone are in direct contrast with his body language. Were someone to emerge from the caverns and lay eyes on us, Evander would look bored but attentive for possible threats against Aurora and me. "It's probably the only thing I could hate more than seeing him touch you—his mouth on yours…"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Evander says firmly. "You're keeping yourself safe—all of us safe. We have roles to play, still, unfortunately."

"Does keeping us all safe even matter if it breaks us in the process?" The words are faint and small.

The question prompts movement from Evander. He drops to a knee beside the stone Aurora and I are on, tilting his head to meet my eyes. It briefly draws my focus from Aurora and the depth of his stare steals my breath.

"Nothing, nothing will break us. Fate has tried, the wolf king has tried, but we continue coming back together despite it all. You are my mate, Faelyn. The other half of my soul. Not even the hands of the old gods can break that."

The furrow of my brow relaxes as a small smile curves my mouth. "Your optimism is infectious."

"It's not optimism, just simple truth." He returns my smile. "I will spend the rest of my days at your side, so long as you will have me."

"It would be my life's joy to spend every breath in your company."

"Then it shall be so," he says.

"It shall be so," I echo. As I speak, there's a gentle tingle—like a thousand butterflies settling upon me and then lifting all my hopes and wishes on their rainbow wings. Evander feels the same, I think, as his gaze softens into something akin to elation.

"I wish I could kiss you," he whispers.

"We shouldn't risk it out in the open." I hate to be a voice of reason.

"I know."

"So, you two finally figured it out." Aurora startles us both. I look back down at her to find her eyes open.

"How long have you been awake?" I ask, fighting a flush that's smoldering behind my cheeks.

"The whole time." She grins slightly. Her expression is still worn thin. "Think of it more as meditating than sleeping."

"You were intentionally eavesdropping." I purse my lips and narrow my eyes at her.

"You made an assumption, it's not my fault." She closes her eyes, wearing a little smile. So smug.

"It's true, then?" Evander doesn't seem bothered by Aurora's actions in the slightest. Instead, he has the air of excitement. "We are actually soulmates?"

"Why do you ask questions you already know the answers to?"

Evander shifts his attention from her to me. All doubt is gone. All pretense with it. The barriers I had built within me, the doubt, it crumbles. The feeling that's been there all along flows between us as freely as the magic between Aurora and me.

"How long have you known?" I ask Aurora without taking my eyes off Evander.

"From the first moment." She scoffs, though doesn't sound truly offended. "I am one of the oldest spirits still roaming this world. Do you think such a thing would escape me?"

"Why didn't you tell us?" I'm surprised at how I don't feel upset with her concealment in the slightest. Perhaps it's because of the pure joy that continues to surge through me.

"I've been around long enough to know that there are some things that mortals must figure out on their own. You tell a mortal something, and they fight it. Guide them to their own conclusion and they'll accept with open arms." All the little suggestions suddenly make sense. Her openness to suggest Evander as an outlet for me, her insistence that I could trust him despite appearances…

"Did I ever really need to ‘relieve the tension' to fight Conri's charm? Or was that just a way of pushing Evander and me together?" I ask out of curiosity.

"The charm is very real, as you both know. And relief did help fight it."

"But?" I prompt her, feeling somewhat guilty when it's so obvious that she's still recovering her strength.

"But the connection of a soulmate bond, once accepted, is something that can prevent the charm altogether."

"How?" Evander and I say nearly in unison.

"Think of the charm like a false mirror of a genuine soul-mate bond—it is trying to recreate the pull. If you do not have that connection already, you are potentially open to receiving it. But, if the bond is there, there is no need for more. Like a peg in a hole, there is no space for other magic," Aurora explains.

It all begins to make sense. I see the past months with new clarity. When I first arrived in Midscape, I had shut off my senses to such bonds. By trying to ignore them, I had inadvertently made myself more vulnerable. Ever since returning—since knowing the truth of who Evander is and accepting the depths of my love for him—I've felt that Conri's charm has been nonexistent.

"It's true." The two words summarize so much. "When I was with Conri earlier, I didn't feel the barest edge of the charm."

Evander's brows tip up slightly in the middle, and his mouth parts with a smile that can only be described as relief. I return the expression wholeheartedly. You don't need to worry about me falling prey to him , I say without words. I am yours, and yours alone .